French classics read with notes Little Naughty Nicholas

The little mischievous Nicholas has accompanied many French people through a happy childhood, and has countless "little Nicholas fans" in France. Nikolai was a schoolboy who had just started school, and he had a bunch of "die-hards", just a bunch of buddies and brothers in school. These little guys are innocent and happy. Wherever they go, they become chaotic.

"Little Naughty Nicholas" is a masterpiece of collaboration between two French comic book masters. Gusini was responsible for writing the story, and Sambe was responsible for the illustrations. The narrative of the story is also based on the method of comics, and the pictures themselves are also wonderful stories.

Notebooks

This afternoon, at school, we did not laugh, because the principal came to class to distribute the notebooks. He didn't look happy, the manager, when he walked in with our notebooks under his arm. "I've been in teaching for years," he said, "the principal, and I've never seen such a dissipated class. The observations made on your notebooks by your mistress are proof of this. I will start distributing the notebooks. And Clotaire started crying. Clotaire is the last in the class and every month, in his notebook, the teacher writes a lot of things and Clotaire's father and mother are not happy and deprive him of dessert and television. They are so used to it, Clotaire told me, that once a month, his mom doesn't make dessert and his dad goes to see TV at neighbors' houses.

dissipé adj. Naughty, undisciplined, inattentive

Faire foi confirms, proves

Priver v. deprivation, non-giving

On my notebook there was: "Turbulent student, often distracted. Could do better. Eudes had: "Pupil dissipated. Fights with his comrades. Could do better. For Rufus, it was: "Persists in playing in class with a roulette whistle, repeatedly confiscated. Could do better. The only one who couldn't do better was Agnan. Agnan is the first in the class and the darling of the teacher. The director read us Agnan's notebook: "Student applied, intelligent. Happen. The director told us that we had to follow Agnan's example, that we were little scoundrels, that we would end up in prison and that it would surely hurt our dads and moms who had to have other plans for us. And then he left.

turbulent adj. Active, noisy

appliqué adj. Attentive, hardworking

Vaurein n. mischievous ghosts, trick-or-treaters

We were very annoyed, because the notebooks, our dads have to sign them and that's not always very funny. So when the bell rang at the end of the class, instead of all running to the door, jostling us, pushing us and throwing our school bags at our heads as we usually do, we went out slowly, without saying anything. Even the mistress looked sad. We don't blame the mistress. It must be said that this month, we did a little guignols and then Geoffroy should not have spilled his inkwell on the ground on Joachim who had fallen while making piles of grimaces because Eudes had punched him on the nose while it was Rufus who had pulled his hair in Eudes.

se bousculer v.pr. Crowded with each other

In the street, we walked not fast, dragging our feet. In front of the pastry shop we waited for Alceste who had gone into to buy six chocolate rolls that he started eating right away. "I have to stock up," he told us Alceste, "because tonight, for dessert... and then he let out a big sigh, while chewing. It must be said that on Alceste's notebook, there was "If this student put as much energy into work as he does into feeding, he would be the first in the class, because he could do better."

traîner les pieds walked with his feet

The one who looked the least bothered was Eudes. "He said, I'm not afraid. My dad, he doesn't tell me anything, I look him straight in the eye and then he, he signs the notebook and then voila! He has vein, Eudes. When we got to the corner, we separated. Clotaire left crying, Alceste eating and Rufus whistling low in his roller whistle.

Avoir de la veine had luck

I stayed alone with Eudes. "If you're afraid to go home, it's easy," Eudes told me. You come to my house and you stay at home to sleep. He's a friend Eudes.

We left together and Eudes explained to me how he looked his dad in the eye. But the closer one got to Eudes' house, the less Eudes spoke. When we found ourselves in front of the door of the house, Eudes didn't say anything anymore. We stayed there for a while and then I said to Eudes, "So, do we come in?" Eudes scratched his head and then he said, "Wait for me for a little while. I will pick you up again. And then Eudes came into his house. He had left the door ajar, so I heard a slap, a big voice saying, "In bed without dessert, little good for nothing" and Eudes crying. I think as for his dad's eyes, Eudes must not have looked well.

entrouvert adj. Half-open, slightly open

What was annoying was that now I had to go home. I started walking being careful not to set foot on the lines between the cobblestones, it was easy because I wasn't going fast. Dad, I knew what he would tell me. He would tell me that he was always the first in his class and that his dad was very proud of my dad and that he brought back from school loads of honor rolls and crosses and that he would like to show them to me, but that he lost them in the move when he got married. And then, Dad would tell me that I wouldn't get anywhere, that I would be poor and that people would say that's Nicolas, the one who had bad grades at school, and they would point at me and I would make them laugh.

Afterwards, Dad would tell me that he was bleeding from the four veins to give me a careful education and so that I would be armed for life and that I was an ungrateful person and that I did not even suffer from the pain I was doing to my poor parents and that I would not have dessert and as far as cinema is concerned, we will wait for the next notebook.

Ingrar n. Ungrateful people

He's going to tell me all this, dad, like last month and the month before, but I've had enough. I will tell him that I am very unhappy, and Since this is how it is, well I will leave the house and go very far and I will be regretted a lot and I will only come back in a lot of years and I will have a lot of money and dad will be ashamed to have told me that I will not get anywhere and people will not dare to point the finger at me to laugh and with my money I will take mom and dad to the Cinema and everyone will say: "Look, it's Nicolas who has a lot of money and the cinema is he who pays it to his dad and his mother, even if they were not very nice to him" and to the cinema, I will also take the teacher and the director of the school and I found myself in front of my house.

Thinking about all this and telling me great stories, I had forgotten my notebook and walked very quickly. I had a big lump in my throat and I thought maybe it was better to leave right away and only come back in a lot of years, but it was starting to get dark and mom doesn't like me to be outside when it's late. So, I walked in.

In the living room, Dad was talking with Mom. He had piles of papers on the table in front of him and he didn't look happy. "It's incredible," said Dad, "to see what we spend in this house, it seems like I'm a multimillionaire! Look at these bills! This bill from the butcher! That of the grocer! Oh, of course, the money is me who has to find it! Mom wasn't happy either and she told Dad that he had no idea of the cost of living and that one day he would have to go shopping with her and she would go back to her mother's house and that this should not be discussed in front of the child. I, then, gave the notebook to Dad. Dad, he opened the notebook, he signed and he gave it back to me saying, "The child has nothing to do with it. All I ask is that someone explain to me why the leg costs that price! "Go up and play in your room, Nicolas," Mom told me. "That's it, that's it," Dad said.

I went up to my room, lay on the bed and started crying.

That's right, if my mom and dad loved me, they'd take care of me a little!