La Petite Boutique [English translation]

I know, in a deserted neighbourhood

a place that has a flavour

of well-off small town.

Here I discovered a few months back,

stuck between two houses,

a tiny shop.

A nice black cat was sprawling

on the doorstep as I came in.

He raised his gaze toward me

and seemed to say as he saw me

"My oh my, a customer...

That is a fantastic event !"

This antique shop

was arousing my curiosity

due to its old-fashioned look.

A frail sounding small bell

started ringing.

In the quiet and warm silence,

all of a sudden, out of the blue,

a small old man with a gentle stare

saluted me extravagantly

and I had the strange feeling

to experience an ancient moment,

very far from our present time.

I haggled for an old book

whose leather binding

kept the smell of closed rooms.

Then1, for some reason,

I started after a while

to talk about something else.

Now the old man had no clue.

This really came as a surprise

to see the man

knew absolutely nothing

about the facts and events

other people were passionate about.

He knew nothing of this era,

be it the main figures

or the foremost matters,

and it might have been the reason

why this quiet place

had so peculiar a mood.

I bought the dusty book

and went away with a happy heart.

The ever so jaded black cat

with a small wink

seemed to say impishly

"You would not have thought that possible"

I went away, and that is all.

My story ends there.

For there is neither ending nor moral

to this story.

Still, when I get too depressed

by the gossips they spread,

by the sickening scandals,

by the revolting methods

of the political sharks,

in order to get away from all this

I go and spend a couple of hours

in this small shop.

1. "lorsque" sounds off here. I would rather have expected "puis" or something similar

• Artist:Édith Piaf