After liberation, an ex-prisoner and his gambling-stricken friend pursue a black-market plan that is disrupted by the horse they steal.
Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases
Freedom After Imprisonment
Maurice leaves his cell on the day Paris is liberated. His release reveals that he served time for bicycle theft rather than resistance.
Key Events
Paris Liberation Begins — Paris is liberated on August 24, 1944, opening the story's historical moment. Characters: MauriceLocation: Paris
Cell Door Opens — Maurice sees the door of his cell open on the day Paris is liberated. Characters: MauriceLocation: Prison cell
Unexpected Prison Release — Maurice is released after spending the war in prison. Characters: MauriceLocation: Prison
Bicycle Theft Revealed — Maurice was imprisoned for bicycle theft rather than resistance activities. Characters: MauriceLocation: Prison
Return To Freedom — Maurice makes contact with the world outside prison after his release. Characters: MauriceLocation: Paris
Queues Inspire Opportunity
Maurice encounters the difficult world outside prison and notices queues at a butcher's shop. The sight gives him the idea for a meat-related black-market scheme.
Key Events
Freedom Feels Brutal — Maurice's first contact with the free world is described as sufficiently brutal. Characters: MauriceLocation: Paris
Butcher Queue Observed — Maurice notices the queues waiting outside a butcher's shop. Characters: MauriceLocation: Butcher's shop
A Scheme Takes Shape — The butcher's queue gives Maurice an idea connected to the meat shortage. Characters: MauriceLocation: Butcher's shop
Roland's Losses — Maurice's childhood friend Roland is introduced as someone who lost everything through gambling. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Friends Reunite — Maurice and Roland reconnect after Maurice's release from prison. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Friends Choose A Target
Maurice reunites with Roland, his gambling-stricken childhood friend. Together they decide to steal Berlingot, a delivery horse, and sell the horse as meat.
Key Events
Friends Reunite — Maurice and Roland reconnect after Maurice's release from prison. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Black Market Proposal — Maurice proposes selling meat through the black market. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Horse Target Identified — The friends choose Berlingot, a horse belonging to a delivery cart, as their target. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Theft Plan Formed — Maurice and Roland plan to steal Berlingot for their black-market scheme. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
The Horse Resists
Maurice and Roland steal Berlingot, but the horse does not cooperate with their intentions. Its resistance immediately complicates the planned black-market operation.
Key Events
Berlingot Taken — The friends steal Berlingot from the delivery vehicle. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Horse Resists — Berlingot does not accept the plan as easily as the friends expect. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Plan Meets Resistance — The horse's resistance disrupts Maurice and Roland's intended scheme. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Meat Sale Threatened — Berlingot's behavior threatens the intended sale of the horse as meat. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
A Scheme Unravels
Berlingot becomes the decisive obstacle to the friends' plan. The horse's refusal overturns their attempt to turn him into black-market meat.
Key Events
Black Market Stakes Rise — The friends face growing difficulty in turning their stolen horse into black-market profit. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Horse Dominates Scheme — Berlingot's refusal becomes the central obstacle to the friends' plan. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Scheme Collides With Reality — The planned black-market operation is overturned by the horse's independent resistance. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Berlingot's Final Defiance — Berlingot remains opposed to the friends' intended fate for him. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Comic Scheme Unravels — The horse's resistance defines the outcome of Maurice and Roland's attempted scheme. Characters: Maurice, RolandLocation: Paris
Story Breakdown
Liberation And Release — Maurice leaves prison as Paris is liberated, beginning an uncertain return to civilian life.
Paris Liberation — Paris is liberated on August 24, 1944.
Cell Door Opens — Maurice sees his prison cell open.
Maurice's Past — The story clarifies why Maurice spent the war in prison.
Bicycle Theft — Maurice was imprisoned for stealing a bicycle.
Not A Resistance Prisoner — His imprisonment was unrelated to resistance activities.
Hard Return Outside — Maurice experiences freedom as difficult and studies the immediate social conditions around him.
Brutal Freedom — His contact with the free world is described as brutal.
Butcher Queue — He observes long queues at a butcher's shop.
Friendship Reignited — Maurice turns to Roland, his childhood friend, whose gambling losses have left him with nothing.
Roland's Gambling Losses — Roland has lost everything through gambling.
Shared Scheme — Roland helps Maurice develop the horse-related plan.
Black Market Scheme — The friends plan to exploit the demand for meat by stealing and selling a delivery horse.
Meat Sale Idea — The butcher queue gives Maurice the idea of selling meat.
Berlingot Targeted — They choose Berlingot as the horse to steal.
Berlingot's Defiance — The stolen horse refuses to fit the purpose assigned to him, undermining the friends' intended profit.
Horse Is Stolen — Maurice and Roland take Berlingot from a delivery cart.
Plan Is Disrupted — Berlingot's resistance threatens the black-market operation.
On August 24, 1944, the day Paris was liberated, Maurice saw his cell door open. Although he had spent the whole war "in the shadows", it was not for acts of resistance, but for stealing a bicycle. His contact with the free world was quite brutal. The queues he observed at the butcher's gave him an idea. With the help of his childhood friend Roland, who has lost everything gambling-wise, he steals "Berlingot", the horse from a delivery car, and offers it for sale on the black market. But the "nag" is not of the same opinion.
