Guy de Maupassant

“ The mother had begun to spin again, but she threw terrified glances at the invading soldiers. There was no sound except the slight purring of the wheel, the crackle of the fire, and the bubbling of the water as it grew hot.
"They came in, powdered with snow."
But all at once a strange noise made them all start—something like a hoarse breathing at the door, the breathing of an animal, deep and snorting.
One of the Germans had sprung towards the guns. The woman with a movement and a smile stopped him.
"It is the wolves," said she. "They are like you; they are wandering about, hungry." ”

“ Finally, the main body appeared, two hundred men in all, each with two hundred cartridges.
M. Lavigne, trembling with excitement, posted them so as to surround the house on all sides, leaving, however, a wide, free space round the little black hole, level with the earth, which admitted air to the cellar.
Then he entered the dwelling and inquired into the strength and position of the enemy, now so silent that it might be thought to have disappeared, flown away or evaporated through the grating. M. Lavigne stamped his foot on the trap-door and called: "Mr. Prussian officer!" ”

“ The soldiers sat up instantly. There were two more shots, and then three more.
The door of the staircase opened hastily, and the keeper's wife appeared, barefooted, a short petticoat over her nightdress, a candle in her hand, and a face of terror. She whispered: "Here are the French—two hundred of them at least. If they find you here, they will burn the house. Go down, quick, into the cellar, and don't make a noise. If you make a noise, we are lost." The officer, scared, murmured: "I will, will. Which way do we go down?" ”

“ The stout men now walked the streets at the pace of professional pedestrians, in order to bring down their fat, and to lengthen their breath; the weak ones carried burdens, in order to strengthen their muscles.
The Prussians were expected. But the Prussians did not appear. Yet they were not far off; for their scouts had already twice pushed across the forest as far as Nicholas Pichou's lodge.
The old keeper, who could run like a fox, had gone to warn the town. The guns had been pointed, but the enemy had not shown.
The keeper's lodge served as a kind of outpost in the forest of Aveline. ”

“ Every minute, a man ran out, passing from one troop to the other as children at play do, and raising showers of snow behind him with the quick movement of his feet. They had lighted fires of dead branches to keep themselves warm, and the flying profile of each Garde-National showed in a bright illumination as he passed over to the camp on the left. ”

“ Then she too had her supper, with her mother, at the other end of the kitchen.
The soldiers had finished eating and were falling asleep, all six, around the table. From time to time, a head would fall heavily on the board, then the man, starting awake, would sit up. ”