Project Gutenberg 2005-12-31 Public domain in the USA. 106 Couperus, Louis 1863 1923 Couperus, Louis Marie Anne Korte Arabesken: Bébert le Boucher en André le Pêcheur Wikipedia page about this book: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korte_arabesken Produced by Johan Boelaert "Korte Arabesken: Bébert le Boucher en André le Pêcheur" by Louis Couperus is a novella written in the early 20th century. This literary work presents a nuanced exploration of friendship, aging, and the human condition through the lens of two contrasting characters, Bébert le Boucher—a burly, somewhat brutish wrestler—and André le Pêcheur, a cheerful fisherman. The narrative unfolds in the coastal town of Nice, where these characters encounter the once-great wrestler, the Lion du Littoral, whose decline serves as the focal tragedy of the story. The plot centers around the interactions that occur one fateful evening as the unnamed narrator, identified as "monsieur le duc," grapples with the melancholic atmosphere ushered in by an approaching storm. The central themes emerge through the protagonist's concern for the aging Lion, a former champion who faces ridicule after being defeated by Bébert. Amidst camaraderie and humor, the novella delves into deeper reflections on mortality and societal neglect of the elderly, as the narrator attempts to reconcile his friends’ desire to mock the Lion’s plight with his own empathy towards the suffering of the past champion. Ultimately, the story brings forth a poignant commentary on strength, vulnerability, and the passage of time as the narrator observes both the beauty and the frailty of life unfolding around him. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 84.5 (6th grade). Easy to read. nl Dutch fiction PT Text Category: Novels 76298 2025-08-07T11:25:56.454795 text/html 76119 2025-01-16T01:11:39.823087 text/html 108670 2025-08-07T11:26:01.875784 application/epub+zip 107521 2025-08-07T11:25:59.386784 application/epub+zip 87309 2025-08-07T11:25:58.290796 application/epub+zip 262696 2025-08-07T11:26:03.474763 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 254171 2025-08-07T11:26:01.099792 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 180098 2022-09-08T11:02:12.092915 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 61690 2025-08-07T11:25:56.225800 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 61167 2005-12-31T09:27:32 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17367 2025-08-07T11:26:03.591779 application/rdf+xml 19267 2025-08-07T11:25:58.787787 image/jpeg 4300 2025-08-07T11:25:58.536786 image/jpeg 24027 2005-12-31T09:27:34 application/octet-stream application/zip 109002 2025-08-07T11:25:56.461804 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia nl.wikipedia