... And I heard the terrible mewing of the beast, and the crunching of the bones in her jaw.

There was nothing to be done. We had arrived too late. I understood what had happened. The cornered tigress had bound upon Joan, and, sinking her claws deep into her breast, she must have bitten her on the lips, preventing her from calling for help... Tigresses are as cunning as they are cruel, you see...

Finally, my poor Joan was devoured. I missed her for a very long time, because she was an excellent hunting companion. I am neither tenderly nor cowardly, but I heard, to the very end of my life, that mewing at once furious and satisfied, and that crunching of the bones in that terrible jaw.

— Renée Vivien, ‘Trahison de la forêt’, from La Dame à la louve

Original:

“La tigresse! La tigresse! La tigresse!”

Et j’entendis l’horrible miaulement de la bête et le broiement des os sous sa mâchoire.

Il n’y avait rien à faire. Nous étions arrivés trop tard. Je compris ce qui s’était passé. La tigresse embusquée avait bondi sur Joan, et, lui enfonçant ses griffes dans la poitrine, elle avait dû la mordre aux lèvres, ce qui l’avait empêchée d’appeler au secours… Les tigresses sont aussi rusées que cruelles, voyez-vous…