What is Rue Broca described as in Paris?
A curved, narrow, winding street forming an almost independent village.
Why does Rue Broca form an almost independent village?
Because of a three-dimensional spatial anomaly.
What do the inhabitants of Rue Broca share?
A love of stories.
What is notable about the origins of Rue Broca's inhabitants?
They come from diverse origins.
What kind of stories does Pierre prefer?
Impossible stories that cannot have happened.
Why does Pierre prefer impossible stories?
He believes they contain deeper truth than plausible stories.
Who runs the grocery-bar at number 69 Rue Broca?
Papa Saïd, a Kabyle man.
What is the family composition of Papa Saïd at number 69 Rue Broca?
He is married to a Breton woman and has four children: Nadia, Malika, Rachida, and Bachir.
What does Monsieur Pierre first do with the children?
He tells them traditional tales.
What does Monsieur Pierre propose after telling traditional tales?
To meet every Thursday afternoon to invent new stories together.
What does Monsieur Pierre do with the invented stories?
He turns the results into a book.
What three sources does the collection draw on?
Children’s concrete ideas, poetic discoveries, and daring dramatic situations.
Who invented the opening idea of The Pair of Shoes?
Nicolas Riccardi.
What are the names of the married shoes in The Pair of Shoes?
Nicolas and Tina.
What inspired The Witch of the Broom Closet in 1965?
Bachir's suggestion that two fish in a jar at Papa Saïd’s bar could be magical.
How can the witch become young and beautiful?
By eating a little girl in tomato sauce whose name starts with N.
How does the witch try to capture Nadia?
Through a tomato-sauce errand and disguises as different vendors.
What final disguise does the witch use to capture Nadia?
She becomes all 267 Rue Mouffetard vendors at once.
How does Bachir find Nadia?
By singing “Nadia, où es-tu ?” and locating her voice in the vegetable stall.
How does Bachir strike the witch?
He strikes the shared witch with his guitar.
What is true about the 267 vendor forms?
They are all manifestations of the same witch.
What happens when one vendor form is knocked unconscious?
All the other vendor forms fall unconscious simultaneously.
How does the witch die?
A heavy cash drawer falls on her head, freeing Nadia inside it.
Where does the giant with red socks live?
Underground.
How tall is the giant with red socks?
As tall as three floors.
When does the giant emerge beneath Mireille’s house?
When her third tap cracks an egg.
What power do the giant’s red socks have?
They can rebuild Mireille’s destroyed house.
Who does the giant visit to become small enough to marry Mireille?
A Chinese sorcerer, a Breton sorcerer, and the pope of Rome in succession.
What does the Sainte Vierge instruct the giant to do with his socks?
Remove them, soak both feet in the sea while invoking her name, and use no more than three wishes.
What do the giant’s three wishes accomplish?
Make his socks fit, transport him to Mireille, and bring about the wedding day immediately.
Who is Lustucru in the story?
An immortal barbarian prince with a supernatural destiny.
What condition does the fairy set for Lustucru's immortality and warrior status?
His father must give him the name Lustucru.
Which historical figure does Lustucru recruit to help him?
Jules César.
What major battle does Lustucru defeat Vercingétorix at?
The battle of Alésia.
How does Jules César alter Lustucru's manuscript?
He replaces every form of Lustucru's name with Caesar's forms.
What year did Clovis capture Soissons and Lustucru break the vase?
486.
Who claims victory at Poitiers after Lustucru's secret attack?
Charles Martel.
Name one famous historical exploit attributed to Lustucru.
The battle of Poitiers.
Why did Charles Martel win the Battle of Poitiers in 732?
Because Lustucru secretly attacked the Arab camp at night.
Which historical exploits does Lustucru claim responsibility for?
Sounding the horn at Roncevaux, conquering England, expelling English from France, recognizing Louis XVI, composing the Marseillaise, and crossing Arcole bridge.
Why do historians avoid citing Lustucru's name?
Because his name prevents historians from citing him.
Why does Madame Michel reject Lustucru's marriage proposal?
She fears becoming Madame Lustucru due to his name.
How does Lustucru win Madame Michel's agreement to marry?
By hiding her cat and promising to return it if she agrees.
Who are Nicolas and Tina in the story?
A married pair of shoes with right-and-left positions.
What happens when Nicolas and Tina try to greet each other sideways?
The woman wearing them trips repeatedly and fears foot amputation.
What does the doctor threaten after the left shoe mimics the movement?
To cut off both feet.
How much does the doctor prescribe for medicines and consultation?
Twenty thousand francs for medicines and three thousand francs for consultation.
What does the woman do after understanding the shoes are in love?
She stops wearing them and orders them polished and never separated.
Who eventually receives Nicolas and Tina after the woman stops wearing them?
A lame girl.
Why do Nicolas and Tina remain mostly side by side with the lame girl?
Because she walks little and slowly.
What happens to Tina’s sole while worn by the lame girl?
It wears through.
What did a priest do after Gaul became Christian regarding the spring fairy?
He prohibited offerings, erected a stone cross, and performed a Latin procession to drive her away.
What do engineers do to bring the spring fairy to a kitchen faucet?
They remove the cross, capture the spring water, and carry it through pipes to the city.
What power does the fairy grant Martine related to pearls?
She can produce a pearl with every word she says.
How do the size of pearls Martine produces relate to her words?
Ordinary words produce small pearls and swear words produce large pearls.
What power does the fairy grant Marie related to snakes?
She can produce a snake with every word she says.
How do the types of snakes Marie produces relate to her words?
Swear words produce large snakes and malicious words produce venomous snakes.
What do Martine’s parents force her to do to produce pearls?
They force her to stop school and speak all day over a bowl to produce pearls.
Who does Marie marry and why are her snakes valued?
She marries a doctor at the Institut Pasteur who values her snakes for producing antivenom sera.
How many enchanters does the fairy draw and what colors are they?
Three enchanters in black, brown, and blue.
Which enchanter accepts the fairy's proposal and comes to life?
The blue enchanter.
How does the blue enchanter come to life?
After the fairy blows on him three times.
What effect does the blue enchanter have on Martine and Marie's magical gifts?
He removes their magical gifts.
What stops Martine from producing pearls?
The blue enchanter removing her magical gifts.
What stops Marie from producing snakes?
The blue enchanter removing her magical gifts.
What happens to Martine after losing her pearls?
She returns to her parents and becomes gentle and good.
What changes occur to Marie after losing her magical gifts?
She remains happily married and can speak normally again.
What magical abilities does Scoubidou have?
Scoubidou walks, speaks, sees past and future, and discovers hidden things when eyes are covered.
How does Scoubidou try to make Saïd buy Bachir a bicycle?
By singing a magical song all night causing Saïd to ask shopkeepers for a bicycle.
What does Saïd order Bachir to do about Scoubidou?
Saïd orders Bachir to get rid of Scoubidou.
What does Scoubidou receive before leaving?
Wooden-lens glasses made by Saïd.
What prediction does Scoubidou make about the ship?
The ship will be unable to leave because of a storm.
Did Scoubidou's storm prediction come true despite the weather forecast?
Yes, the prediction came true despite a fair weather forecast.
What does Scoubidou claim she can reveal after boarding the ship?
The captain’s past, future, and hidden matters.
What specific details does Scoubidou name about the captain?
Wives and children in Le Havre, Singapore, and Dakar.
Who is Scoubidou in the story?
A rubber doll who can see the past, future, and hidden things with her glasses.
What happens to Scoubidou after the captain throws her into the sea?
A shark swallows her and she finds her glasses in its stomach.
How does Scoubidou make the shark take her to Paris?
She makes the shark ill by rocking from one foot to the other and forces it to go.
Why does the captain hire Scoubidou for five francs per day?
So she can buy a bicycle for Bachir.
Which route does the shark take Scoubidou on to Paris?
From Le Havre up the Seine through Rouen to Paris.
What does Scoubidou do with the pearl she removes from the oyster?
She gives it to Papa Saïd, who sells it to buy a bicycle for Bachir.
What is Hell according to the text?
Hell is a place at Earth's center where moral values are reversed.
Why does the little devil's family send him to work in the Central Boiler House?
Because they want him to become wicked and remove him from school.
What actions does the little devil perform at the boiler?
He lowers the fire, comforts the damned, and encourages them to think of God.
What happens to some damned souls after the little devil encourages them?
Some are forgiven and disappear.
Why do people frighten at the little devil after he reaches the human world?
Because of his horns and bat wings.
Who does the little devil consult before reaching Heaven?
A priest, the Pope, Saint Peter, Little Jesus, God, and the Virgin Mary.
What is the divisibility rule for three mentioned in the text?
A number is divisible by three if the sum of its digits is divisible by three.
How does the Virgin Mary transform the little devil?
She washes away his sins, replaces bat wings with swan wings, and covers his horns with a white halo.
Test your knowledge with 38 questions on Contes de la rue Broca.
1. What makes Rue Broca function like an almost independent village beneath Paris?
2. Which characteristic best describes the inhabitants of Rue Broca?
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