Adapted by Irina Kolesnik. One of the most famous French stories of the 20th century. The language is simple, but the content is serious literature. The text is adapted (without simplifying the original text) according to the method of Ilya Frank: the text is divided into small passages, each repeated twice: first there is a French text with “hints” - with literal Russian interspersed in it translation and lexico-grammatical commentary (that is, adapted), and then the same text, but not adapted, without tips. Beginners learning French can first read a passage of text with tips, and then the same passage without tips. It’s like you’re learning to swim: first you swim with a board, then without a board. Those who improve their French can do the opposite: read the text without prompts, peeking at the prompts as necessary. Memorization of words and expressions occurs due to their repetition, without cramming. In addition, the reader gets used to the logic of the French language and begins to “feel” it. This method relieves you of the stress of the first stage of language acquisition - from a mechanical search for each word in the dictionary and from fruitless guessing what the phrase means, all the words from which you have already found. The manual promotes effective language acquisition and can serve as a supplement to textbooks in grammar or for basic classes. Designed for students, for those studying French on their own, as well as for everyone interested in French culture. Multilingual project by Ilya Frank: www.franklang.ru