Anatole

ictufes

Eve Titus _ by Paul Galdone

ANATOLE

Also by Eve Titus with pictures by Paul Galdone

Anatole and the Cat Anatole and the Piano Anatole and the Thirty Thieves Anatole Over Paris Anatole and the

Toy Shop

.

?

•

"

ANAT

by Eve Titus Pictures

by Paul Galdone

A BANTAM

LITTLE

ROOSTER BOOK

NEWVOBK- TOSONTO-lONDON-SYDNEY-AUCICLANO

my

For

son Richard

ANATOLE

A Bantam

Little

the author

and

Rooster

Book

published by arrangement with

I

illustrator's estate

PRI\'TING HISTORY McGraw-Hill

edition published in

Special thanks

making Little

to the

1956

Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota for

original illustration materials available to us.

Rooster

a trademark of Bantam Books, a division of Bantam

is

Doubleday Dell Publishing Group,

Bantam

edition/July

Inc.

1990

All rights reserved. ^

Copyright

No part in

of

1956 by Eve Titus and Paul Galdone. book

this

may

be reproduced or transmitted

any form or by any mearu,

electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage

and

retrieval system, without permission in writing

from

the publisher.

For information

address:

Bantam Books.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Titus, Eve.

Anaiole

/

by Eve Titus;

illustrated

bv Paul Galdone.

— Bantam

ed.

cm.

p.

"A Bantam

rooster book." French mouse decides to earn an honest living by the cheese in a cheese factor^' and leaving notes about its

Summary: tasting

little

A

qualitv.

ISBN [1.

0-553-34870-1

Mice

—

Fiction. 2.

Cheese

—

Fiction.]

I.

Galdone. Paul,

ill.

II. Title.

PZ7.T543A1 1990

[E]—dc20

89-17591

GIF

AC Published simultaneously

in the

United States and Canada

Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words "Bantam Books" and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10103.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

098765432

l^ri

'M^

./

».

^••l^

n

all

there

France

was no happier, more contented mouse

than Anatole.

He

lived in a small

mouse

village

bitV.

^

*

''

with his dear wife

8

DOUCETTE

and

PAUL

and

their six

charming children-

PAULETTE

CLAUDE

GEORGES

and

and

GEORGETTE.

CLAUDETTE

^%>«|V

Every evening

as the sky

darkened

the husbands and fathers bicycled along the boulevard toward Paris to find

Once

food for their families.

arrived, they entered people's houses

through secret passageways, known only Anatole's partner was usually Gaston.

10

to themselves.

11

vx

One

night,

while they were looking for leftovers in someone's kitchen,

Anatole heard people in the next room talking about mice. Curious, he crept under the sofa and Hstened.

—

"Oh, those terrible mice!" complained "They sneak into my kitchen, they

rummage around

or pull themselves

up

in

my

to the table

Sometimes they even nibble This

I

(C

at

pail,

and take what

is

there.

untasted food!

They

how

dirty their

are a disgrace to

To be

a

mouse

is

to

all

paws are!"

France," said a

"Gaston

man

angrily.

be a villain!"

Deeply shocked, Anatole ran back

*

woman.

must throw away

heaven knows

((

garbage

a

—we must leave

at

once!"

to the kitchen.

On

the

way home,

told his friend

Anatole, greatly upset,

what had happened.

"BAH! A mere

trifle," scoffed

Gaston.

"People are people, and mice are mice.

Our loved ones must

eat,

and our only hunting-grounds are people's homes.

"But

I

never dreamed they regarded us this way,"

cried the "It

is

unhappy Anatole.

horrible to feel scorned and unwanted!

Where

is

my

self-respect?

My

pride?

MY HONOR?"

Gaston shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Resign yourself, Anatole. C'est

14

>)

la vieT'

sn^

—

Doucette comforted him.

"You

are so right, Anatole," she said sadly.

"If only

but

we could

alas, that is

give people something in return

impossible!"

Anatole jumped up and danced Doucette around the room.

"Impossible? Perhaps not,

You have

16

given

me

a

ma

petitel

wonderful idea."

He

sat

down

and typed

at

the typewriter

thirty or forty signs that said:

EXTRA- 'SPECIALLY GOOD •SPECIALLY GOOD GOOD NOT SO GOOD NO GOOD

Then he

stuck a long pin through each sign

and put them

all

away

carefully in his briefcase.

17

Riding

to Paris that evening,

"Gaston, will you I

feel insulted if

have an idea that

I

Gaston answered, "I

A

18

friend

is

Anatole said, I

must work on

am

go off alone

after this?

in secret."

your friend, n'est-ce-pas?

never insulted

—

a friend has faith.

Good

luck!"

When

they reached Paris, Anatole

left

the others

and headed toward the business part of town. He parked his bicycle in front of the Duval Cheese Factory.

19

—

He

—

squeezed his small mouse's body easily under the door,

not forgetting his briefcase.

How

heavenly

it

smelled inside!

His sensitive nose sniffed

many

CAMEMBERT, PORT SALUT, BLEU, Well, thought Anatole

There

He

is

work

hurried

until

to

all

night.

after

another

Room!

lit,

filled

of cheese, of

(^it^H^ •*.

'

with long, wooden tables.

mounds

stood great

*,

all

shapes and

m

Ij^ft'i

• #**

'•j

•

%

*.

^

r^-V,

%

y ,*

,

mustn't stand here sniffing

he found what he was looking for

On them

,:"

MARCELIN, ROQUEFORT, BRIE.

down one dark passageway

was dimly

•

I

ST.

be done!

the Cheese-Tasting

It

—

*

delicious cheeses

^

V

^ >

^'^-'V

^^^

•s

•

•*

^

*

'

^

'-.-1

Without further delay. Anatole cUmbed up on the nearest First he tasted a bit of

"Mmm!

Camembert.

Couldn't be better!"

He opened

his briefcase, took out

and pinned

The

table.

it

an extfl\-" specially

good

sign.

on the cheese.

much too sharp. not so good sign, and wrote something on

next one tasted

He

used

Up

and down the long rows of cheeses went Anatole,

a

for hours sniffing

and hours,

and

tasting

and pinning on

signs.

it

in pencil.

At

last his

"Voild!

Mice

work was

Now

are

the

finished.

Duval Factory

known everywhere

as for myself,

for

have honorably earned

I

I

as the

shall bring

And

will learn a thing or two.

World's Best Judges of Cheese!

some home proudly,

it!"

23

Next morning

the factory there was great excitement.

at

Everyone wondered who had written the strange In

marched M'sieu Duval

"We'll soon see

He

tasted

this

Anatole knows about cheese!

some Roquefort. is

Now

you

listen, all of

right

—

this does

need more orange

peel!

— business has been none too good

making cheese Anatole's way, what happens."

tr>'

and see

himself.

how much

''Touche! Anatole

We'll

24

just

httle signs.

lately.

»»

Every night Anatole

And

left

more of

his httle signs.

every day the cheese workers

Soon business began

The people

to

of France

made more

changes.

BOOM!

demanded Duval cheese

Orders poured in so

fast that

and gave everybody

a raise in salary.

or no cheese at

all!

M'sieu Duval enlarged his factory

But he couldn't discover who was leaving the

signs.

25

—

"Why

doesn't Anatole appear?" M'sieu Duval asked his secretan^

"He deserves to be rewarded we owe all our good fortune to him!"

He

wrote

a little note,

begging

But Anatole wrote back

to

meet Anatole.

that he preferred to

remain unknown.

M'sieu Duval even had every employee named Anatole

come

to his office for questioning.

But each one denied

It

was no use

Then one

—the

he had

that

secret

left

remained

the signs.

a secret!

afternoon M'sieu Duval rang for his secretary,

and dictated

a

very long

letter. •>>i

That night Anatole found the

ese

letter

^"^^^^ tot --r^--" ^"^^'L \\et^ Y\et V.

-.M

to cVv ^

^'W-^^^'

a^^ ^

^to^

1 co^^ „

at 6^^'

o-c^

^ovi'-

,A^,

aS

,tN^' Y^e vje

V^

cv^^^

itv^

x\e

Wa?9^

ev< VJ

te

\c o^^ sSy

When

Doucette saw the

"No more

letter,

she said,

for yousnooping around in strange people's houses

that's finished forever!

You

are the smartest

mouse

in the

world!"

29

Paul and Paulette,

Claude and Claudette, and Georges and Georgette climbed up on his chair and hugged him.

"We

are so proud!

Our beloved Papa

30

is

now

a respectable

business-mouse!"

—

The next day Anatole

The

older

mouse made

"Gladly will

Then he

invited Gaston to be his helper.

I

join

a very

you!"

kissed his friend on both cheeks, and cried:

"VIVE ANATOLE! Was to sit

is

a

mouse of

action

—

,;>•

he content

back and do nothing about our way of

NON! NON! He

deep bow.

a

mouse

life?

of honor

A MOUSE MAGNIFIQUE!" 31

And

so

it

came

to pass.

Anatole and his partner worked

by

The

secret stayed a secret, always.

if

side in perfect

you should ever meet

you

will

that

it

know

at

a

all

mouse looking

once

cannot possibly be Anatole,

the happiest, most contented in

the factory,

harmony.

side

So

32

at

France.

mouse

for leftovers.

Vive Anatole

— a chivalrous hero and loyal Parisian; mouse! The Anatole adventures

were among the most popular children's books published during the fifties, sixties, and seventies. And now, the Mouse Magnifique is back in a new paperback edition that's sure to entice and enchant a whole new generation of readers and read-aloud

—

parents as well.

Anatole appeared on the

New

York Times Best Seller

list

in

1956.

The Times

said

about the author:

"Eve Titus And,

later,

is

a master

storyteller

whose words

burst with fresh metaphors!'

about the books themselves:

"The Anatole books, each and all, exhibit professional treatment in both story and art. The fine quality of this series does not falter as new stories are added!' With seven books under his beret, Anatole was as celebrated and well-loved after ten years as he was at the time of his introduction as First Vice-President in Charge of Cheese-Tasting

at

the Duval Factory:

grand to be able to announce Anatole's return engagement.... We add our voice to those of the thousands of mice who roar... 'Vive le Mouse Magnifique!'" —Publishers Weekly, October 1966

"It's

In this

book, Anatole begins his career as

by working

at

the factory late

Watch

for

Cheese

Taster, establishing his secret identity

at night.

other Anatole books

Anatole and the Cat

•

in this

new paperback format

Anatole and the Piano

Anatole and the Thirty Thieves Anatole Over Paris Anatole and the Toy Shop

•I A BANTAM LITTLE

KOOSTEB

lOOK

0-553-16991-2

$4.95

in

U.S./$5.95

in

Canada