"A maid, a servant to keep our house clean and to cook for us."
"Ah! you want a maid who can cook?"
"Who can do everything, if possible."
"Do you want a first-class cook, like Madame Droguet's, who's a—a blue ribbon, so they say, and makes soufflés and omelettes as big as balloons?"
"No, no, Père Ledrux, we don't ask for such talent as that; just find us a smart young girl, who likes to work and can sew a little. As for the rest, I will teach her what she doesn't know; with the desire to learn, one soon learns whatever one chooses. Let her be honest and virtuous—those are the principal points."
"Well—wait—I believe Poucette would just suit you."
"Who is Poucette?"
"She's Poucet's daughter, who used to work in the quarry and was killed in a cave-in three years ago; her mother died the year before, so the girl lives with her uncle, who's a farmer; but he has children enough of his own, and Poucette would be very glad to get a place."
"Very well; if she's a good girl, I will take her."
"As for being good, I'll answer for that; but when it comes to knowing how to cook, I won't answer for her."