Translating Hugo: Jardin Des Plantes III, Ce Que Dit le Public

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This is the third poem from Victor Hugo’s Le Poème du Jardin Des Plantes, (L’Art D’Être Grand-Père, 1877), in which it appears he is retelling a conversation between children in the Menagerie (see blog post at this link). These are, perhaps, his Grandson, Georges (six ans) and his granddaughter Jeanne (cinq ans) and some friends during a daily promenade in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris. I love Hugo’s unique typography in this poem as it seems that Hugo is making a Ménagerie of words here; he also uses this visual effect to show that there are several speakers of the same age and therefore, there are several scenarios possible here:

Could Georges and Jeanne have some friends with them? We do know that Georges is Hugo’s first grandchild and that he is one year older than his sister Jeanne;
Could this be a conversation of several children that Hugo heard at the zoo or
Perhaps this is a continuation of a political ranting (see Poems I & II) as most of the comments are negative: the beasts are “dishonest…dirty…will take your hat from you…has horns in his mouth”. The title of the poem, “What the public says” could also be in reference to the political criticism of Napoleon III, the Emperor of France at that time.

When Hugo wrote Le Poème du Jardin Des Plantes, he had just returned from a political exile to the island of Guernesey. I originally presumed that these poems were paternal conversations with his grandchildren, especially as he refers to them throughout and even entitled two poems for them. I am finding now, as I translate more poems, that there are many political references and comparisons of his political rivals to the animals in the Ménagerie . Perhaps this is a Ménagerie of both!

Ce Que Dit Le Public
par Victor Hugo

CINQ ANS

Les lions, c’est des loups.

SIX ANS

C’est très méchant, bêtes.

CINQ ANS

Oui.

Les petits oiseaux ce sont des malhonnêtes ; Ils sont des sales.

CINQ ANS
Oui.

SIX ANS, regardant les serpents.

CINQ ANS, les examinant.

C’est en peau.

SIX ANS

Prends garde au singe ; il va te prendre ton chapeau.

CINQ ANS, regardant le tigre,
Encore un loup !

SIX ANS

Viens voir l’ours avant qu’on le couche.

CINQ ANS, regardant l’ours.

Joli !

SIX ANS

Ça grimpe.

CINQ ANS, regardant l’éléphant

Il a des cornes dans la bouche.

SIX ANS

Moi, j’aime l’éléphant, c’est gros.

SEPT ANS, survenant et les arrachant

`a la contemplation de l’éléphant.

Allons ! venez

Vous voyez bien qu’il va vous battre avec son nez.

elephant — Jardin Des Plantes Menagerie, 1900

MY ENGLISH TRANSLATION

What the Public Says
by Victor Hugo (1877)

FIVE YEAR OLD

The lions, there are some wolves.

SIX YEAR OLD
They are very wicked, the beasts.

FIVE YEAR OLD
Yes.
The small birds are dishonest.
They are dirty.

FIVE YEAR OLD

Yes.

SIX YEAR OLD, looking at the snakes…
The snakes…

FIVE YEAR OLD, examining them.
They have skin.

SIX YEAR OLD

Watch out for the monkey; he will take your hat from you.

FIVE YEAR OLD, looking at the tiger,

Another wolf!

SIX YEAR OLD

Come and see the bears before they sleep.

FIVE YEAR OLD, looking at the bears.

Beautiful!

SIX YEAR OLD

It climbs.

FIVE YEAR OLD, looking at the elephant

He has horns in his mouth.

SIX YEAR OLD

Me, I like the elephant, he is huge.

SEVEN YEAR OLD, looking and stepping away
in contemplation of the elephant.

Come on! Let’s go!

Don’t you see that he is going to hit us with his nose.

**I found this little gem after I wrote this blog about the Jardin Des Plantes Poem V. It is a children’s book in French illustrated by D’Eric Battut (Petits Geants: rue Du Monde, 2002).

Battut is illustrating the 2nd scenario (see 1st paragraph of this blog) that I imagined where Hugo recounts the conversation of three children in the menagerie . In my translation of the poem, I picture Hugo walking with his grandchildren though the menagerie. Either way, I can’t wait to share this treasure my little George and Margot!

Work Cited

Fayard, Artheme, L’art d’être Grand-Père. L’œuvre de Victor Hugo. Volume 51. Les Meilleurs Livres : Paris. 1877.

Further Reading