"She''d do it, too," said Thenardier in a low tone to Brujon and the ventriloquist.
She shook her head and added:--
"Beginning with my father!"
Thenardier stepped nearer.
"Not so close, my good man!" said she.
He retreated, growling between his teeth:--
"Why, what''s the matter with her?"
And he added:--
"Bitch!"
She began to laugh in a terrible way:--
"As you like, but you shall not enter here.
I''m not the daughter of a dog, since I''m the daughter of a wolf.
There are six of you, what matters that to me?
You are men.
Well, I''m a woman. You don''t frighten me.
I tell you that you shan''t enter this house, because it doesn''t suit me.
If you approach, I''ll bark.
I told you, I''m the dog, and I don''t care a straw for you.
Go your way, you bore me!
Go where you please, but don''t come here, I forbid it! You can use your knives.
I''ll use kicks; it''s all the same to me, come on!"
She advanced a pace nearer the ruffians, she was terrible, she burst out laughing:--
"Pardine!
I''m not afraid.
I shall be hungry this summer, and I shall be cold this winter.