General Dourakine

Young Audience / Tales.

Can you imagine the incredible pleasure of realizing that there are already adaptations for the stage of all the greatest novels of your childhood?

Now I discover that all my childhood treasures – almost – are ready to be performed!

So today, one of my favorites: the breathtaking story of General Dourakine.

He is terrible, Dourakine.

He is huge. He has a huge beard that seems to have been in all the battles of Napoleon. He has a voice that shakes the windows and an accent – it seems that he always has a handful of stones in his throat! Of course, he is a Russian General living in France – so his accent is terrible for us –

But the worst part – the worst part yes – is that he throws homeric tantrums. If Achilles had been his ancestor, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Everyone hides when he has one of his incredible tantrums, the cat, the dog and the children under the table, pulling the tablecloth as much as possible so that he can’t see them.

Of course, of course, he has a weakness, the terrible general – and the sweet voice, the pretty, slightly amused smile of the lady of his heart melts him like snow in the sun… and there he is, laughing and getting the children, the dog and the cat out from under the table to start a game of croquet – which he must be allowed to win, it is understood.

All was fine in a wonderful world —— but – but – one day, the general decides to return to Russia – he brings with him his French friends and here begins a perfectly epic journey on the bad roads that connect France to Holy Russia – the general dates from the time of the Tsars, yes yes he is a little old.

And now, at home, the abominable Russian version of Cruella is waiting for him: his niece Papofski and her children, as horrible and evil as their mother.

She was …. something – yes, something, not someone – something like that :

enough ? no ! a misfortune after a misfortune, that is the rule – a Polish prince in exile asks the general for asylum – of course he accepts – but how to avoid that the abominable Papofski denounces everyone and gets the loot in the process?

At this point, the story, which was charming, becomes exciting.

Impossible to stop – we have to know what’s next –

And next ?

Ah ! come & see

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All this incredibly well written by the so famous & so lovely Countess of Segur :