“Thirty sous, for a black hen of this breed! A splendid hen! Come, give me fifty sous.”

“No!”

“What a skinflint this Monsieur Jarnouillard is!—Come, forty sous, and call it a bargain.”

“I won’t give a sou more than thirty!”

“Oh well! if that’s so, give me back my hen this minute. Bless me! you want all for nothing, and even then you must make a profit; I ought to have known that I couldn’t do business with you.”

“Because I don’t allow myself to be taken in!

“No, but you take other folks in!”

“Père Ledrux!”

“Monsieur Jarnouillard!”

“No harsh words, I beg.”