Poisson

In our village we are fortunate enough to have one of those traditional iron fountains that are almost as emblematic of the Midi as plane trees. The water comes from a spring on the mountain behind the village and flows freely all the year round. The elaborate system for making it gush from the fishes' mouths no longer works however -- it uses rather more prosaic metal pipes.

The fountain is and always has been a focus for village social life. Mains water and sewage only arrived here in 1955, and many villagers still drink the water from the fountain in preference to tap water.