Castor

Simone de Beauvoir and Belle et Bonne are riding together at a leisurely pace behind the main peloton in Stage Five of the Tour De France. Since yesterday they have become the best of friends.

Belle et Bonne: Isn't it funny how their heads are at different heights and yet their bottoms are all on the same level!

Simone de Beauvoir: Yes, is is amusing. The reason is that the handlebars are all on the same level. Have you ever watched the Tour de France from the front?

Belle et Bonne: Yes, I like to watch the handlebars approaching. It's good to know that everyone is equal.

Simone de Beauvoir: And yet some of them have much longer legs than others. Take mon petit homme Jean Paul. He's only five feet tall you know. It is difficult for him.

Belle et Bonne: Oh, but he has a giant intellect of course.

Simone de Beauvoir: That does not help much on a bicycle.

Belle et Bonne: Simone, may I ask you something?

Simone de Beauvoir: Fire away!

Belle et Bonne: Well....I'm a modern girl, but I would never let my partner call me Beaver.

Simone de Beauvoir: Why? It's just a nickname, which I got for working hard. In fact it is a double joke, because in French he calls me Castor, which is the same as Beaver in English. And then of course, Beaver sounds like Beauvoir. It is quite clever, no?

Belle et Bonne: But Simone, do you not know that Beaver has a ribald meaning these days? It is used quite frequently in low class American films.

Simone de Beauvoir: No? Oh no ! I can guess! Oh! That is too funny! I cannot wait to tell it to mon petit Jean Paul!