“Ten young maidens fair and free;
All the ten would married be:
There was Dine, there was Chine,
There was Claudine and Martine;
Ah! ah! Cath’rinette and Cath’rina:
There was beautiful Suzon;
Duchess fair of Montbazon;
There was Célimène;
There was La Dumaine.”
As they sang, the farmyard gate opened, and out came the cows. Usually the herd was already in the mountain pastures by the time of the Birthday Fête; the School had never seen it before. Honor gazed in silent wonder and delight at the superb creature who led the way: a cow white as cream, graceful as a deer, holding her head like a queen. Round her neck was a broad collar of leather, richly embroidered in bright-colored silks, from which hung a large bell. As she moved, she tossed her beautiful head, and the deep mellow notes of the bell rang out sweetly on the quiet air. “Ting! ling-a-ling! ling-a-ling!”