- Quasimodo's Brother
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It's a badly known fact that Quasimodo (you know - the Hunchback of Notredame) has an identical twin bother. The twin had left the city many years ago, to live in the countryside, where he made a good living as a bell-ringer for a small rural church.
One day, Quasimiodo decides that he wants to go on a holiday - he hasn't left the city in years - so he gives his brother a ring and asks if he'd like to come over to look after the bells at Notredame for a week.The brother decides that this is a great idea. Nice change of scenery, and all that, so he packs a couple of bags, and heads off to Paris.
When he arrives, the first thing to get to him is the size of everything. He's used to the little church bells, and the size of Notredame cathedral and it's bells are a little awe-inspiring.
Quasimodo leads him up to the belfry. "The bell-cords rotted through years ago," he says, " so I have to ring the bells from up here."
"How do you do that?" asks his brother (not really sure he wants to know the answer).
"Well," says Quasi, "I run at the bells, and hit them with my head like this...". So he bashes the nearest bell with his forehead, and it makes a beatiful (and loud) ring.
After a few demonstrations, the brother decides to have a go. He runs up towards a bell, smacks his head against it, and it makes a lovely ring, but unfortunately, it also gives him concussion, and he staggers around the belfry for a moment before falling out, down, down, down to the pavement below.
Quasimodo is understandably upset, and as he peers over the edge, he can see a crowd of people gathering around the scene.
"Who is it?" says one.
"I'm not sure, but the face rings a bell," says another.
"Yes - he's a dead ringer for Quasimodo," says a third.
"No. I think it's his brother," says the second person, "I had a hunch he was back."
- Submitted by: Eric Iverson
- Category: Shaggy dog stories