"Oh, forgive me; I am boring you," she said. "I am telling you things perhaps that are of no interest."
"You are not boring me, Aurelie," said the blind man. "On the contrary, I am pleased to know, what an honest little girl you are. I like people who have courage, will, and determination, and who do not easily give up. If I like finding such qualities in men, how much more pleasure does it give me to find them in a girl of your age! So ... you started with five francs thirty-five centimes in your pocket?..."
"A knife, a piece of soap," continued little Perrine, "a thimble, two needles, some thread and a map of the roads, that was all."
"Could you understand the map?"
"Yes, I had to know, because we used to travel all over the country. That was the only thing that I kept of our belongings."
The blind man stopped his little guide.
"Isn't there a big tree here on the left?" he asked.
"Yes, with a seat all around it," she replied.
"Come along then; we'll be better sitting down."
When they were seated she went on with her story. She had no occasion to shorten it, for she saw that her employer was greatly interested.