Calico Illustrated Classics: Hunchback of Notre Dame
1 Pierre Gringoire On the morning of January 6 1482 the church bells clanged awakening the citizens of Paris on this joyous day Not only was it a religious holiday known as Epiphany but it was also the Festival of Fools a celebration for the people They celebrated with fi reworks bonfi res and the planting of a May Tree But their favorite event was electing the Pope of Fools People gathered early that morning outside the Palace of Justice A mystery play would be performed at noon and everyone wanted to sit close The Bishop and other important guests were expected to arrive 4
But the crowd grew tired of waiting and began to stir They shouted broke windows and climbed the church pillars They taunted the actors calling them names and making fun of their clothes Then they joined together chanting The play The play The play Pierre Gringoire the author of the play grew nervous Should he start early If he began now the crowd would calm down and he could avoid a riot But what about the Bishop and other offi cials arriving at noon They would be offended that he had not waited On the other hand there would be no play if the rowdy townspeople destroyed the stage So Pierre made his decision Begin The crowd whistled and cheered as the play began Things went well for a bit but then the offi cials came in one by one Each time they were announced by name When the Duke of Austria arrived he brought dozens of men with him each called individually Every time the 5
play had to be stopped the crowd grew loud and unruly Pierre tried to keep the momentum but it was no use So he made a brave decision Start the play again he announced The actors took their places and started from the beginning This didn’t sit well with the audience members who’d arrived early You idiots We’ve already seen this You can’t start over An offi cial from Belgium stood What sort of a play is this They’re not even fi ghting They barely move and their costumes are ridiculous I’d rather elect a Pope of Fools than be bothered with this awful performance This brought a thunderous huzzah from the crowd Pope of Fools Let’s elect the Pope of Fools In the twinkling of an eye everything was ready A little chapel inside the majestic hall was chosen for the Scene of Grimaces The crowd broke the glass out of a little round 6
