Nicolette listened, scanning the faces of the whole company, but they were all immobile. Only the young gentleman smiled amorously at her from the chairs.
The conductor raised his baton, the orchestra began to play, and the prompter gave her the first words of her part.
Nicolette, who was noted for never being able to learn her role, now tripped up in the very first line and sang it as falsely as possible.
They began over again; it went a little better, but "Halt," as they called the conductor, intentionally skipped a measure, causing her to make an awful mess of it.
A chorus of laughter arose on the stage.
"A musical cow!"
"To the ballet with such a voice and such an ear!"
Nicolette, on the verge of tears, approached Cabinski.
"I told you that I could not sing just now. . . . I had not even time to glance at my part."
"Aha, so you cannot, madame? . . . Please hand me the role! . . .
Kaczkowska will sing it."