comfortable as could be.

She had, as I said before, a most excellent heart, the good Mother
Etienne. You shall see that presently.

This good woman then lived on her big farm, very spacious and
admirably situated. A slate roof covered the large house; the
granaries, stables and outhouses were sheltered by old thatching
upon which grew moss and lichen.

Let me tell you now, dear children, who were the chief occupants
of the farm. First there was big "Coco"--a fine Normandy
horse--bay-coloured and very fat, whose silky coat had a purple sheen;
he had a star on his forehead and a pink mark between his eyes. He
was very gentle and answered to the voice of his mistress. If
Mother Etienne passed by his stable he never failed to scent her
and whinnied at once. That was his way of showing his friendliness
and saying,

"Good morning."

His good mistress spoiled him with all sorts of dainties.
Sometimes a crust of bread, sometimes a handful of carrots, but
what he loved best of all was sugar. If you had given him a whole
loaf he would soon have eaten it up.

Coco had for stable companions three fine Swiss cows. Their names
were La Blonde, Blanchotte, and Nera. You know what the colours
were for the names, don't you?