Dodgy Donkey Dealings!

29th November
We are in shock!
Today, we were expecting the delivery of the latest edition to our smallholding – Ulotte the donkey. At about half past two we had a phone call from the farmer and his wife who had got as far as the nearest town and were waiting outside the insurance office hoping that James might come and show them the way to our house. James duly went to collect them, and in no time at all we were unloading Ulotte into her new stable which James and Francis had put so much time and love into making. Next came the cup of coffee and the offering of a mince pie, as I had made a fresh batch this afternoon, whilst the papers were filled out to give us ownership of Ulotte. Then came the crunch. “That’ll be 800 euros please, “ said the farmer nervously (and obviously what he actually said was “C’est huit cent euros s’il vous plait.”. We both stood in stunned silence.

Let me explain… We need to go back to the time we first saw Ulotte. We had headed off, one dismal morning in October, to a livestock market in a neighbouring village. We were hoping to pick up some sheep, but when we arrived, it soon became apparent that this was a horse fair as the village square was filled with horses of every size imaginable. We were very taken by the Breton heavy horses which are similar to the English shire horses and used to be used extensively on the farms in days gone by, but we had no intention of buying one. However, James suddenly espied something that he HAD always hankered after; a donkey. He was straight over to stroke ‘Ulotte’ (as it turned out to be) and began to talk with the owner. After a few minutes he asked the price. “Cent euros,” (one hundred euros) replied the farmer. James commented that she was not at all expensive and continued the conversation. “Cent euros? Is that all she is?” he asked again, sure he must have got it wrong. The man assured him that Ulotte was for sale at 100 euros. Beginning to get excited now, James sought me out. (I was over by the miniature ponies which were the only ones I was not scared to get up close to!) I duly followed him to visit Ulotte and her owner and I made him AGAIN check the price. The children were with us and were all witness to the exchange between James and the farmer. The price was again confirmed as 100 euros. Well, who could resist such a dear little creature at such a good price? We shook on the deal and paid the farmer 50 euros as a deposit until such a time as she should be ready to leave her mother (she wasn’t yet six months old). So, you can imagine our shock when the farmer, having deposited Ulotte, written out all the paperwork and just about to take his leave, demands 800 euros for her. After a quick glance at me, which I answered with a shake of my head, James explained that there had been a mistake and that we understood the price agreed to have been 100 euros. The old couple didn’t express as much surprise at hearing this as you might imagine. “Mais non! The price is 800 euros.” We are usually careful to speak only in French in front of French guests as it’s only polite, but I must admit that at this point, James and I had a rapid conversation in English in which we agreed we would not, could not afford Ulotte at that price. James relayed our decision to the farmer who exclaimed in French “But what about all the paperwork we’ve filled out?” His wife then took up the mantle and asked us to perhaps pay in installments, but we were firm in our decision that we shouldn’t have her at that price. James gave them money to cover their petrol, his apologies for having misunderstood (had we?) and suggested he give the old farmer a hand putting Ulotte back into the horse box. So….have we been scammed? Were they trying it on? Did we really misunderstand the price after having verified it three or even four times because it seemed so good? We just can’t say for sure. We have noticed that many of the locals think we (the English) are loaded. In fact, on one occasion a French neighbor was selling his house and was keen that we should know he was selling as he thought we might buy it for cash! I suppose there are people who will ‘try it on’ all over the world, but it didn’t make us feel any better. Still, onwards and upwards! We will put it behind us and who knows; maybe one day another donkey might present itself.