Camille and Madeleine, "the exemplary girls", live with their mother in a castle in France. After numerous events, more children join the family: Sophie, an orphan who was abandoned by his adoptive mother, and Marguerite, whose father is missing on the high seas. She of all people, the youngest of the four girls, will prove her courage and maturity in this short story in which a mad dog attacks her.
 "What the grandmother knew tells from a child's point of view. Life wisdom that never goes out of style."