Le Porte-Bonheur

A young man has a few minutes to spare before meeting his girlfriend (sa petite amie) so he goes into a shop to buy her a present (un cadeau).   At first he looks at watches (des montres) in gold and silver (en or et en argent), but they are too dear (trop cher).   Next he considers some nice pens (les stylos) in all sorts of colours and then he changes his attention to hats (les chapeaux).  Nothing pleases him until the shop assistant tells him that there is a very special present but it is a big secret (un grand secret). After much persuasion the shop assistant produces a lucky charm (un porte-bonheur) which he claims is magic (magique).  If you make a wish (faire un souhait) your wish will come true.  At first he wants a huge price, but the young man bargains him down and leaves with the  lucky charm “le porte-bonheur”.

Now it is exactly time to meet his girlfriend but he knows she will be late (en retard).  She is always late.  He wishes that just once she would turn up on time (à l’heure), and surprisingly enough she does just that.   She is obviously a very selfish girl because immediately she begins to demand a present, a little piece of jewellery perhaps, or a nice watch.  Our friend was so busy buying the “porte-bonheur” that he forgot all about buying a present for his girlfriend and now he is in trouble.  He wishes he had remembered to buy her a watch!

Just at that moment a student arrives selling scratch cards (les tickets à gratter), he buys one, and guess what – he wins (il gagne) a watch, a lady’s gold watch ! But he has to go to a special shop to collect it and there he meets a very strange shop assistant, who tells him that to get his prize (un prix) he will have to perform a special song and dance.  The assistant absolutely refuses to hand over the prize until (with the help of a few others) he performs the dance.

Now, pleased with himself, he returns to his girlfriend only to find out that she is in a hurry to be somewhere else.  She has another date (un rendez-vous)!  It is with an army general who turns up and starts to boss him around.  Disgusted and annoyed, our friend wishes that the general would fall flat on his face – “je souhaite qu’il se casse la tête” Immediately, yes, it happens! His now EX-girlfriend rushes off to the hospital with her new boyfriend and he is left alone.

He begins to wonder if it could be possible that “le porte-bonheur” really is “magique”.  Everything he has wished for so far has come true.  He will give it a test. He wishes to meet some entertaining people. “Je souhaite rencontrer des personnes intéressantes et amusantes.”  In come  – “Les Trois Etoiles”, a group of actors who guarantee that they will entertain him with drama, music and puzzles. It is great fun and he has a wonderful time.  He is sad when they leave, especially as he has fallen in love with one of them. He wishes that she would come back.  She does come back. At first he is delighted- then suspicious. Could it be that she only came back because he wished it with his lucky charm?  Or does she really like him?  How can he be sure?