"Sheep Fat Ball" is a novella written by French writer Maupassant, and it is also one of his masterpieces. Completed in 1879, it was first published in 1880.
Set against the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, the novel tells the story of a group of French nobles, politicians, nuns and other nobles, and a prostitute named Sheep Fat Ball, who fled from the Prussian occupation in a horse-drawn carriage and experienced various encounters at the checkpoint.
In the novel, the author compares the inferior with the superior and tests their moral standards. It exposes the hypocrisy of superior people and shows the richness and complexity of human nature.
Stills from the movie "Sheep Fat Ball".
Wonderful excerpt from "Sheep Fat Ball".
1.
Life can't be as good as you think, but it's not as bad as you think it is. Human beings are more fragile and strong than they can imagine.
2.
Whenever the old order of things is destroyed, when security is absent, when everything that is defended by man-made laws or laws of nature is destroyed by a savage violence, one cannot help but have a terrible feeling.
3.
The land has boundaries for a fisherman, but in the moonless night, the river is infinite, and the river is silent, flowing silently forever.
4.
Legitimate free love is often looked down upon by legitimate love.
5.
Among the upper class, eating, drinking, and having fun alone is not considered nonsense, and everyone jokingly calls him a playboy. In a poor family, if a person forces his parents to move the family, then he is a bastard.
6.
For 30 years Mr. Karawang had gone to work every morning, walking the same road, at the same time, in the same place, and seeing the same people rushing to work, and every evening he had followed the same route home, and met the same faces that he had seen as he grew old.
7.
For a person who cannot own real jewelry, grace and beauty are her treasures, and they are the most precious jewels in the world.
8. It is a barbaric act to attack a peace-loving neighbour, and a sacred duty to defend the fatherland.
9.
Everything was difficult at the beginning, and the Rubikong River had already crossed, so everyone let go of their bellies to eat and drink, and since they had eaten the things of the mutton fat balls, they could not help but talk to her, so they began to talk, and at first there were some reservations, but later they saw that she spoke very well and knew how to be measured, so they were more casual.
10. Mrs. Aurey was a frugal woman, she knew the value of a copper, and she had a great deal of strict principles for saving money, and she always said, "No one knows what will happen in the future, and it is better to have more money than less." ”
11.
She learned the value and importance of the little things in life, and she learned that people were also concerned about the price of eggs that fluctuated by a few minutes as the seasons changed.
12. The bed is the temple of life, we give it the tired naked body, let it comfort our body with white sheets and warm down. The best times were read in bed: love and sleep. The bed is sacred, it is the best thing in the world, and therefore it is loved.
13.
The calm in a storm is always temporary, and at some point, a strong wind will suddenly come, blow the trees to a rattle, and then disappear into the sky.
14.
You suddenly realize that you are alone in this world, at all times and in all places. It's just that when you are in a familiar place, you are interacting with some acquaintances, so you have an illusion of human friendship, as long as you are in a distant city, isolated from the world, in a gloomy loneliness, you will carry out extensive, clear, and deep thinking. Only now do you leave aside the waiting for hope. Putting aside your deceptive temperament and your yearning for fantasy happiness, you know life in its entirety.
15.
Once reputation is used as a laughing stock, it is difficult to silence others.
16.
Defensive caution must be taken when approaching a woman, and there must be the same apprehension as to avoid falling into a trap, and the woman, with her arms stretched out towards the man, and her mouth open, is indeed like a trap.
17.
These people themselves are on the run, but they sincerely admire the bravery of others.
18.
The terrible suffering of life, the loneliness of the world, the ethereal of all things, and the loneliness and emptiness of the heart all come and appear in front of your eyes, breaking the illusory state of mind that you have been intoxicated with dreams and self-deception until you die.