Tartarin of Tarascon

Young Audience

Do you know the almost true story of Tartarin, the greatest man of the city of Tarascon?
Tarascon is in France.
Well, in France – no.
Tarascon is in Provence – for you, it is the South of France. For us, it is a whole country, a whole history, a whole culture.

Tartarin was, in his time, the glory of his village. He was: the adventurer. The one who is not afraid of anything. The one who collects all the weapons in the world. The one who did not have a single French plant in his garden – no: Tartarin’s plants came from all over the world – and his most famous plant was a Baobab.
He was the leader of the men – the leader of the city’s hunters – he was the one who was respected low and admired high.

Okay – his baobab tree was planted in a pot and it was very small. But still, it was a baobab.

As long as everyone worshipped him, everything was fine.
Unfortunately, one day, a gentleman offered the adventurer a wonderful job in Shanghai.
Where?
He hung around for a while – got too much information – talked a lot about China and forgot to go there.

Some people started to make fun of him – would he just be a big braggart, Tartarin of Tarascon?
What an idea!

So when it came to lion hunting in Africa… ah yes, something had to be done….

Poor Tartarin who liked so much to boast while staying at the corner of his fireplace while reading his books of adventures!
Here he is, forced by the crowd, to embark for Africa. He who at 40 years old had never even left for Marseille.

From then on, the life of the real-false adventurer became a real hell! and a real delight to laugh for all those who followed his story

That’s why this adventure still has a place in our lives: we all know boastful, couch potato types.
When confronted with their boasts, the song becomes very funny! And very topical nowadays !

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Featured Image : From Tartarin de Tarascon, by A Daudet