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“What do you mean? You brought it back.”

“I brought you back another exactly like it. And it has taken
What you Think?ou Think?
us ten years to pay for it. It wasn’t easy for us, we had very What y
little. But at last it is over, and I am very glad.”
What advice did Mr.
Madame Forestier was stunned. Loisel give to his wife?

“You say that you bought a diamond necklace to replace mine?”

“Yes; you didn’t notice then? They were very similar.”

And she smiled with proud and innocent pleasure.

Madame Forestier, deeply moved, took both her hands.

“Oh, my poor Mathilde! Mine was an imitation! It was worth five hundred francs at
most! ...”

–Guy de Maupassant

Word Meanings

delicacies finely prepared or luxurious foods
instinctive done without conscious thought; natural and inherent

elegance refinement and gracefulness in appearance, manner, or style

antechambers small rooms leading to a main room; waiting rooms

tapestries elaborate textiles used as wall decorations, often depicting
scenes
gallantries polite and attentive behaviors, often with a romantic or flirtatious
intent

lark-shooting hunting small birds, like larks, for sport or food

rapturously with intense pleasure, enthusiasm, or joy

usurers moneylenders who charge excessively high interest rates
compound interest interest calculated on both the initial principal and the

accumulated interest from previous periods
fickle likely to change one’s mind or loyalties; unpredictable

imitation a copy or replica of something, often meant to resemble the
original

99
The English Carnival-7