A family of Parisian gypsies traveled all over the continent just to keep people entertained. Now,people would say gypsies are known for stealing and pick-pocketing. But these gypsies were different. They would never steal unless they felt like they really had to. If they did,it would have been to keep the family alive. Otherwise,they would just earn money by singing,dancing or doing whatever they could to entertain anyone who cared to watch. The head man of the family was named Cato. He was a loyal husband to his wife,Magalie,and a loving father to his three children. Cato and Magalie had two daughters named Jaqueline,who was the oldest,and Nadja,the youngest. Their middle child and only son was Clopin. This story is about that boy as a matter of fact and about how he grew up to be the leader of the gypsies of Paris.
"Clopin!" Magalie called to her son who was exploring a nearby forest. "Come on back,son! Your father should be back any minute now!"
Clopin was standing by a creek and putting a little frog he caught into his pocket. "Coming!" Clopin called back to his mother having heard her voice from the distance. He ran on back to where his family had parked their wagon. He had gotten rather dirty from playing at the creek but all he had on his mind was the surprise he was going to give to his sisters.
When Clopin made it back to the camping spot,his sisters both came over to meet him and looked him over,shocked.
"Oh,Clopin! Look how dirty you are!" Nadja cried.
"Mama will not be pleased." Jaqueline said,shaking her head.
Clopin reached into his pocket and held out cupped hands. "Look what I found!" He told the girls.
He opened his hands up and revealed the slippery,green creature he caught. The frog croaked and the girls shrieked and ran behind their mother. Clopin couldn't help laughing over their reaction but lost hold of the frog as it jumped out of his hands and hopped away.
"Now,Clopin,what have I told you about scaring your sisters like that?" his mother scolded.
"Sorry,Mama." Clopin giggled sheepishly.
Magalie came over to her son and looked him over.
"Mon dieu,cheri." She cried. "Look how filthy you are! You don't want your father coming home to see you like this,do you?"
The embarrassed boy shook his head.
"You best go wash up." said Magalie. "Dinner will be ready soon."
"Yes,Mama." Clopin replied and he went off to the wash tub and began to prepare a bath for himself.
"Whoa,boy!" A man's voice was soon heard. It was Cato,riding back to the camping spot on a beautiful gypsy vanner. The horse stopped,Cato dismounted and he reached into the saddle pouch pulling out a sack that surely had something good in it.
"Look! Papa's home!" cried Jaqueline.
"Papa!" Nadja cried happily,running up to her father with open arms.
"Hello,Nadja cheri." Cato said laughing as he and his daughter embraced each other.
Jaqueline and Magalie came to greet him as well.
"What's that in the bag,Papa?" Jaqueline asked.
"Ah,we're all in for a treat toni…" Cato cut off and his jolly expression suddenly changed to one of concern. "Wait a minute. Where is Clopin?"
"Oh,the boy got himself dirty,so he had to wash up." Magalie explained,gesturing to Clopin scrubbing the dirt off himself in the tub which he had filled up with water.
"Hmmm. Been catching bugs by the creek again,yes?" Cato light-heartedly commented.
"He caught a frog this time,Papa." Nadja told him.
"Is that so?" Cato chuckled.
"But Nadja and I are all clean and ready for dinner." Jaqueline said proudly.
Clopin stuck his tongue out at Jaqueline behind her back,for he felt like she was just saying that to make him feel bad.
"Well," Cato said with a laugh. "I am proud of you girls. But,we best wait for your brother until he's done bathing."
"See the trouble you caused,Clopin?" Jaqueline shouted to her brother. "Now,we all have to wait for you until we eat!"
"Now,Jaqueline,leave your brother alone." Magalie told her daughter.
"He is just a little boy after all." Cato added. "I remember when I was his age,I liked to explore the forest and got dirty while playing in a creek."
Then,Cato opened the little sack to reveal what he got. "Anyway,while I was entertaining people in the village today,I earned enough coins to buy a loaf of bread for us to eat with Mama's stew tonight and here it is." He pulled the bread out of the bag for the girls to look at.
"It looks so good." Nadja gasped.
"Oh,darling," Magalie cried happily. "What a delicious looking loaf you got there. You must have earned a good amount while entertaining those people."
Cato slipped the bread back into the bag,lay it aside and took a whiff at the stew Magalie was cooking.
"Ah,that smells wonderful,Magalie dear!" He cried.
"Why,thank you." She replied. "Cato cheri,could you go fetch our son some clean clothes and a towel while I finish making our dinner?"
"Of course." Cato said. He went inside the gypsy wagon and found a clean shirt and pants for the boy and a nice,cozy towel for him to dry off with.
Then,he came over to the tub to see if his son was done bathing. Clopin rinsed the last suds off his little body and looked up to see his father.
"Hello,Papa." He greeted him with a smile.
"Hello,son." Cato replied warmly. "Your mother wanted me to bring you these things for when you're done."
"Okay. Thank you." Clopin said cheerfully as he stepped out of the tub. "I'm done now."
"That's a good boy." Cato chuckled,wrapping the towel around the boy and giving him a playful rub on the head. "Now dry off and get dressed. Dinner is almost ready."
"Yes,Papa." Clopin giggled.
After drying off and getting dressed,Clopin went to join his family around the campfire for dinner.
As the family ate,they chatted away about exciting past,present or future events. One of them was that Clopin's eighth birthday was coming up.
"Is there anything special you would like for your birthday,son?" Cato asked Clopin.
Clopin thought for a moment and replied, "I've always wanted my very own hand puppet. I could talk to him whenever I feel lonely or sad and need a friend. And I can entertain children with him when I get older."
"You know what I hope for?" Jaqueline teased. "For you to grow up and act your age."
She and Nadja giggled but Clopin glared at Jaqueline.
"You're not very mature yourself!" Clopin cried.
"Alright! Alright!" cried Cato. "Children,no fighting! Jaqueline,be nice to your brother."
"Sorry,Papa." Jaqueline giggled. "I didn't mean any harm."
The family continued eating and excitedly chatting away,all except Clopin. Though his sister was just kidding with him,her comment still worried him. Hence,he remained quiet through the rest of dinnertime.
Later that night,as an every night routine,Magalie and Cato would tuck their children in,kiss them and whisper,"We love you." When Cato had come to Clopin's bed to do so however,he noticed there were tears in the boy's eyes.
"Clopin,my boy,what is wrong?" Cato asked gently. "We hardly ever see you like this. You're usually so happy."
"Jaqueline's right." Clopin whimpered. "I'll never grow up."
"I was just kidding,Clopin." Jaqueline said to him from her bed. "But I'm sorry I hurt your feelings."
"You are still very young,Clopin." Magalie said. "Why does this bother you so?"
"I don't think I'll ever be good at looking after our family. Like you are,Papa." Clopin replied sniffling.
"That's not true,son." Cato told him. "You'll grow up to be more responsible and mature. Yet,you could still stay young at heart if you want to. But for now,you're still just a child and you have a lot more of your life ahead of you."
"So,just be happy the way you are,cheri." Magalie added,drying the tears out of her son's eyes. "And remember,even when you do grow up,you'll always be our little boy. "
Clopin looked up at his parents with his big brown eyes,smiled and nodded in understanding. Then,Magalie and Cato both gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered,"We love you." And as Clopin lay down in his warm bed,his mother began to sing the children a lullaby as they drifted contently off to sleep. Once the children were asleep,Magalie and Cato would settle down into their own bed and go to sleep themselves.