[lookme875]

My friend Peggy and I had both been to Paris before, but always as chaperones for youth groups or part of adult groups, seeing all the usual tourist sites and hearing the same tour guide recitations. This would be the first time on our own -- without responsibilities and free to go anywhere and try anything.
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On previous trips we had seen all the famous monuments and "tourist sights." The guidebooks claimed that locals were rude and indifferent to visitors but there had to be more to the people of Paris than that. This time we wanted to find the real Parisians.
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We spent some time exploring small shops and lesser-known museums and churches. We walked along canals and down narrow lanes, seeing a different Paris, but still not making any real contact with the people of this magnificent city.

One evening, with the help of the night clerk at our quaint hotel, we found a tiny cafe known only to locals. Nestled inside a dark passage, its unlit sign read, "Chez Maurice." We peeked in the small window on the door to see a small room with half a dozen tables, each with enough chairs for eight patrons. We opened the heavy door and went inside.
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We were greeted by a burly proprietor, whose smile faded when he discovered we were foreigners with a limited command of the French language. He turned his back and retreated to the kitchen, muttering under his breath and slowly shaking his head from side to side. Not a good start.

A moment passed and a young woman led us to our seats at the other end of a table already occupied by an elderly couple. She gave us two menus.

For a few minutes we struggled to recall a few French words, but discovered that the descriptions of each dish were too much for us.
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Our table mates noticed our dilemma. The old man leaned over and began explaining each dish, one at a time. Since he spoke very little English, his translations took the form of elaborate gestures and animal sounds. A fish entree was depicted as a fish swimming upstream, jumping and splashing in the water. For the beef dish, he pretended that his hands were horns on the side of his head, accompanied by a 'mooing' sound.

When the young waitress returned, we placed our order and our new 'friends' gave her explicit instructions on how to prepare the food and what side dishes we should have. Despite our limited ability to speak the other's language, we continued our lively conversation throughout the meal. We discovered that they were in their seventies and had been sweethearts for about ten years. She lived nearby in Paris, while he lived in the country. They met here once a week to share a pleasant dinner. Frankly, I have no idea how we understood each other, but we talked about the beauty of Paris, our lives and families, and of course, our other travels.
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Near the end of the evening, a flower vendor made her way through the cafe. We watched as the old gentleman purchased a bouquet. Artfully, he plucked two flowers from the bunch, presented the bouquet to his lady, and gave her a kiss. Then, bowing smartly in our direction, he held out a rose, one for each of us.

We had found our Paris.

[daifan]

The Frog Prince

Many, many years ago, there lived a king. He had many beautiful daughters. And the youngest one was very lovely, and even the sun was surprised to see her when he shone on her face.
Near the king's castle lay a dark, gloomy forest. In the middle of the forest there was a fountain.
One day, the king' s daughter went into the forest when it was very hot. She sat down on the side of the cool fountain. Then she began to toss a golden ball in the air, and catch it. It was a most interesting game to her.
Once, however, the king' s daughter failed to catch the golden ball. It fell on the ground, and rolled into the water.wow power leveling,
The princess followed it with her eyes, but soon it disappeared. The water was very deep and she could not see the bottom.
Then she cried aloud, and began to weep. Soon she heard a voice. It said, "Why are you weeping, princess? Your tears can melt even the stones!"
She looked around and saw a frog. He was stretching his thick ugly head out of the water.
"Oh, there you are, old waterpaddler," she said. "I am crying for the loss of my golden ball. It has fallen into into the fountain." wow gold,

"Then weep no more," said the frog. "I can get it for you. But what will you give me if I fetch your plaything?"
"Oh, I will give you anything, dear frog," she replied. "What will you want----my dresses, my pearls and jewels, or my golden crown?"
"I don't want any of them," answered the frog. "Your clothes, your pearls and your jewels, or even your golden crown, are nothing to me. I want you to love me, and let me be your companion. I'd like to sit at your table, eat from your golden plate, and drink out of your cup, and sleep in your nice bed. If you promise me all this, I will dive down into the water and bring up your pretty golden ball.",wedding dress,
“Oh, yes," she replied. "I will promise you anything if only you bring back my ball."
But she thought to herself that a silly frog like him could not be fit to associate with mankind.

The frog believed the king' s daughter. He dipped his head under the water and dived to the bottom. After a while he carried the ball to the surface, and threw it onto the grass.
When the king' s daughter saw the beautiful ball, she was full of joy. She took it and ran away as fast as she could.
"Wait, wait," cried the frog. "Take me with you! I can't run as fast as you. " But the young princess would not listen to the frog's croaking. She ran to the palace as fast as she could, and soon forgot the poor frog. So the frog returned to the fountain and remained there.
The next day, however, when the princess was sitting with the king and eating out of her own little golden plate, she heard a strange noise on the marble steps outside. Then came a knock on the door, and a voice cried, "Lovely princess, open the door for me. " So she rose and went to the door.
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But when she caught sight of the frog, she closed the door and seated herself again at the table. She looked quite pale. When the king saw that his daughter was frightened, he asked, "My child, what is at the door? Has a giant come to carry you away?"
“Oh, no, Father," she replied, "it is no giant, only a very ugly frog."
“A frog! What can he want with you, my daughter?"
"Ah, my dear father, I will tell you all about it. Yesterday when I was playing with my golden ball by the fountain in the forest, it rolled into the water, and because I cried, the frog fetched it for me, and 1 promised him that he could come to the castle and be my companion. I thought he could not get out of the water to come to me, and now here he is."
Just then came a second knock on the door, and a voice cried, "King's daughter, king's daughter, open the door for me. You promised that I could be your companion when you sat in the shade and 1 fetched your ball from the bottom of the fountain."
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"Then, my daughter," said the king, "you must keep your promise. Go and let him in at once." So she had to go and open the door, and the frog hopped in after her.
When she sat down, he cried, "Take me up by you." She didn't want to take him up at first, but her father told her to lift the frog onto the chair by her side.
When he was placed on the chair, he jumped upon the table and said, "Now, push your little golden plate nearer, and we will eat together." The princess did as he told her, but everyone could see that she disliked it.
At last he said, "I have eaten and drunk quite enough, and 1 feel very tired, so now carry me upstairs into your little bedroom. Let' s sleep together."
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When the princess heard this, she began to weep. She was really afraid of the cold frog. She could not even touch him, and now he wanted to sleep in her neat, beautiful little bed.

The Frog Prince