Perestroika In Paris

Though none of the humans noticed Paras, a local raven, Raoul, did. Raoul is an old bird who prefers living in the city to the countryside. He and his partner amicably separated after having many children, and now he spends his days away from the gossip and chatter of the other ravens. Sitting in his tree, Raoul sees Frida begging at an outdoor restaurant while Paras sleeps behind the bushes.

When Paras wakes up, she is unsure where she is or how long she has been asleep. Frida informs her that it is dusk, and Raoul introduces himself. He realizes Paras is hungry and guides her and Frida to a field where Paras can eat. While Paras grazes, Raoul talks to Frida as he is curious about the purse she carries. She worries that he will fly away with the purse, so he assures her that birds are above material possessions since they build their homes from scraps of trash. When she tells him there’s a lot of money in the purse, he expresses knowledge of cash because he uses it regularly in his nest building. Meanwhile, Paras roams down the hill and finds a carousel; the false horses confuse her. After Frida and Raoul catch up with her and explain, she roams away from the carousel and ventures further into Paris. She is now far from the racetrack.

Delphine, Paras’s owner, spends the night and the next day searching for Paras. She comes close several times but does not see her because she is not looking for her in the right places—she assumes Paras is still in the park and would not wander farther.

Paras jumps a fence to drink from a pond near the Eiffel Tower with Frida and Raoul. The resident male duck, Sid, screams as they have invaded the territory he lives in with his wife Nancy. He eventually settles down and lets them sleep.

During the day, while Paras naps and Raoul ventures elsewhere, Frida catches a plastic bag and puts money in it from the purse, which she uses to buy food from the market. The vegetable stall owner treats her respectfully and allows her to make the purchases. She shares her purchases with the other animals and returns to the market the next day to buy more. This time, the grocer helps her buy some chicken and fruits which were requested by the others. She returns, and they each take the fruits and foods they prefer.

Pierre, a gardener, watches Paras and wonders whether he should call the authorities to report her. He decides against it because she adds to the atmosphere, and nobody seems to notice or care that she is there.

Paras spends much of her time talking to Nancy, who has opinions about many things. She mainly complains about Sid, who prefers to travel while she prefers to stay in Paris. One morning, Paras goes out for a run before too many humans appear. When she returns, Frida has also returned with groceries. Raoul notices a boy following Frida back to the pond as the gathered animals prepare to dig in. The boy tries to reach out to them, so Paras, Frida, and Raoul flee in one direction while Sid and Nancy go elsewhere.

Paras dreams about eating oats. When she wakes from the dream, she decides to explore the town while everything is quiet. She pokes her head into a bakery, where she meets Anais, who gives her oats and pets her. When Paras leaves, Anais wonders if she really saw a horse.

While wandering the Paris streets, Frida sees an older woman stumble. She walks up to the lady and presses against her to comfort her. Frida proceeds to follow the woman, Madame de Mornay, as she grocery shops with a young boy whom Frida recognizes as the one who previously approached the animals at the pond. He is called Etienne; he notices Frida and pets her. Frida refuses to enter Madame’s house because she does not want to be trapped behind the gate.

Madame de Mornay is almost 100 years old and has watched her family grow and die before her. Madame has lost her sight and hearing in her old age. Now, she lives alone with her great-grandchild, Etienne. Etienne rarely interacts with people. He learned to read, write, and do math alone in his great-grandmother’s house. 

While Raoul keeps an eye on Frida, he chooses to stay distant from them for a while after the Etienne incident. He spends time convincing Sid to build a nest while supplementing his own for winter. He also observes the de Mornay residence and sees a grand room meant for many people. Curious, he taps on Etienne’s window to get the boy’s attention. The boy opens the window, and Raoul explores the boy’s room, investigating a book before he taps on the window again, a signal for Etienne to let him leave.

As the weather turns colder, Paras reflects on her previous life as a racehorse. She recognizes that she was not unhappy racing but prefers the freedom she finds in her new home by the pond with her friends. Because the weather gets colder, her coat gets longer naturally, and she stays warm without the blankets she would need standing in the stalls. While Paras sleeps one day, Frida follows her snowy footprints to see where she roams. She tracks these to the bakery Paras visits but gets no answers because it seems empty. She returns, and Paras stretches her legs to keep them from seizing up. She wants to run but recognizes that she should not.

Meanwhile, back at the stable, Paras’s owner and trainers have given up hope of finding her and presume that she has died. Her stable is now rented to another horse and the other horses now only vaguely remember her.