19th century French literature for children. Similar to Les Malheurs de Sophie in that these "memoirs" are comprised of a series of morally instructive lessons in the guise of amusing anecdotes. In this case, the protagonist whose character needs building is a donkey of unique abilities and personality named Cadichon. Memoires d'un Ane is constructed as a continuous story in contrast to the more or less unrelated episodes of Les Malheurs de Sophie. I found the book, despite the pedagogic intent of the author, to be quite delightful. Once again I am struck by the differences between the lives of privileged 19th century French children and those of most contemporary American children. The former seem to have had much more freedom of both physical movement & ethical decision-making as they functioned within both a society of their peers (numerous cousins and siblings gathered together at a benevolent grandmother's country estate) as well as a larger society that included parents, aunts & uncles and innumerable employees of the houses and fields. On the final page, Mme de Segur sums up the lessons that the reader should learn from her tale: If you want to be well served, you must treat those who serve you well; those whom you think are stupid or foolish are never so stupid or foolish as you think; and a donkey has, like everyone else, a heart that enables him to love as well as to suffer from mistreatment and a will with which to exact revenge or demonstrate affection. Even a poor donkey can be, depending on how he is treated, either happy or unhappy, friend or enemy. ( )

Cadichon, comme tous les ânes, n'en fait qu'à sa tête. Mieux, c'est ce qu'on peut appeler une forte tête. Lassé des mauvais traitements que lui infligent ses maîtres, il décide un beau jour de mener son existence à sa guise, quitte à rendre ici ou là un service ou deux

This book is really good, although sometimes really sad. I would recommend this book to children that are 10 and up. I also would recommend this book to adults. This is an inspiring story. Full of hopefulness and sorrow. ( )

Cet ouvrage figure parmi les classiques de la Comtesse de Ségur, et avec raison! Des petites vignettes racontant la vie d'un âne de son point de vue - petit malin qui a des moments de génie mais aussi des éclats de colère, de jalousie et de vengence. Voilà où se trouve le génie de Ségur : elle donne la morale mais sans en avoir l'air et surtout donne aux enfants la possibilité d'exprimer leurs mauvais sentiments tout en se rachetant. Touchant de tendresse et merveilleusement bien écrit. ( )