It is November. The leaves have changed color and now dance along the Paris streets with the breeze. People on the streets are all busy in someway or another. Merchants with their carts of food sell to the people walking by. A man in a horse and carriage rides by. People line up outside the theatre to see a play starting soon.
In the midst of all the people, two little girls walk along. They are sisters. The older sister is about 12. She has dark brown hair and brown eyes. In one hand she carries a letter and in her other hand she holds her broken shoes. Her dress has a rip in the side. Her sleeves are too short. She walks quickly, with a purpose.
The little sister trails behind her. She stops to pick up a leaf. She is about 10. Her hair is lighter than her sisters', but still brown. She wears a little bonnet on her head, and a pink dress that is also too small for her. She is tired. "Ponine," she whines.
The older sister stops and turns around. "What?" She asks.
"My feet hurt," The little sister says.
"So take off your shoes," the older sister says.
"I can't."
"Are your shoes stuck to your feet?"
"No."
"Then you can."
"I don't want to."
"Stop complaining."
"I'm tired Ponine. We've been walking all day. Can I sit?"
"Fine." The older sister walks over to a bench and sits. The little sister sits beside her. She twists the leaf she found around in her fingers. Then she blows on it and it flys away.
"Why does Papa make us deliver letters?" The little sister asks.
"Because he wants money," the older sister says.
"I hate money," the little sister says.
"All poor people do," the older sister says.
"Are we poor?" the little sister asks.
"Yes."
"Have we always been poor?"
"No."
"We can go now," the little sister says.
The older sister looks at the little sister. She feels sad for her. She thinks. "Okay, Azelma, we'll go," she says. "But we're not going to deliver this letter to the rich general."
"Then where are we going?"
"We are explorers. We have just landed on a deserted island full of evil green monkeys and killer birds. The only way to get off the island is to go into the magic cave and deliver the treasure to the witch that lives there. She can do a spell to send us home."
The little sister jumps up in delight. She loved her sisters' games. "We can make up new names for ourselves," the older sister continues. "I will be Captain Courageux."
The little sister smiles. "I will be Captain Genereux."
"The witch lives this way, Genereux. We have to go through the jungle." By the jungle, she meant the marketplace. "Look at all the green monkeys." By the monkeys she meant the merchants.
"They are evil," the little sister adds.
"That's right," the older sister says. "Don't look them straight in the eye or they can tell what your thinking and go warn witch. And whatever you do, don't take any food from them. It is poisonous. It will turn you green."
The little sister was fastinated that her sister could make up all of these stories. She had forgotten about her sore feet. She just wanted to play. They walked through the market holding hands and looking down at the ground.
A man at a fruit cart looked at the silly girls. "Hello, would you like to buy some berries?"
The older sister whispers "Run!" The little sister squeels in delight at this. They run away holding hands and laughing.
They make out of the marketplace. "Do you think he caught us?" the little sister asks.
"No," the older sister says. "Green Monkeys are very slow runners because they have long tails to trip on. But be careful. There could still be monkeys anywhere. But now we have to climb this big mountain." She pointed to a hill in the path.
"It is a high mountain," the little sister says. "How will we get over it?"
"We will need to go on our hands and knees," the older sister says. The little sister giggles. They started crawling over the hill, both realizing how silly they looked but not caring.
Once they made it over they got up. "See all these leaves," the older sister asks. The little sister nods. "The orange ones are made of gold. Try to collect as many as you can."
So they walked through the streets collecting orange leaves until their pockets were full of them and they had reached the front gate of the house whose letter they were delivering.
"This is it," the older sister says, putting her shoes on. "The cave. Be very careful. This witch has heard about two captains delivering her treasure, and she doesn't want to let us through. So instead we will pretend like we are two little girls from Paris delivering a letter. I will be called Eponine and you will be called Azelma."
The little girl laughed. They opened the gate and walked inside. The older sister knocked on the door. A woman in a maid' s outfit answered the door. "Hello," the older sister says. "Is this the home of General Lamarque?"
"Yes," the woman says. "What do you need?"
"We have a letter here," the older sister says.
"I will go get him," the maid says. She leaves and comes back with an old man.
"Hello, girls, how may I help you?" the old man says.
"This is a letter from our Father," the older sister says.
"We had to walk through a jungle and climb a mountain to get here," the little sister says. The older sister gives her a look.
"A jungle and a mountain?" General Lamarque asks.
"Yes, a meadow full of gold leaves, see?" The little sister pulls some leaves put of her pocket.
"Where are you now?" The old man asks.
"In a cave. There is a witch here that can make a magic spell to take us home," the little sister says. The older sister shrugs at the man, embarrassed.
"Well then I guess I will have to take you home," Lamarque says. "Come on." He takes them to his carriage. He lifts both girls into the back seat. Then he talks to his driver. "Take these young ladies home," he says. "They've come a long way to get here."
The driver nods. The older sister hands Lamarque the letter. "Treasure," she says.
The old man smiles as the carriage pulls away and the two sisters ride home.