On a spring evening in 1818, in the village of Montfermeil, not far from Paris, two little girls were playing on a swing outside a small inn. Their mother - a big, red-haired woman with a plain face - sat on the doorstep of the inn, watching them.

'You have two very pretty children, Madame,' a voice said from close beside her.

The woman looked round and saw a young woman with a child sleeping peacefully in her arms. The mother was young and pretty, but she looked poor and unhappy. She did not smile, and lines of sadness ran down the side of her pale cheeks. Her clothes were old and dirty, and she wore a tight, plain cap over her beautiful blonde hair.

'Thank you,' said the woman. 'Why don't you sit down for a minute? You look tired. 'When the young woman had sat down next to her, the red-haired woman introduced herself. 'My name's Thenardier. My husband and I manage this inn.'

'My names Fantine,' the young woman said. 'I used to work in Paris, but my husband died and I lost my job.' She could not tell Mme Thenardier the truth, which was that she had been made pregnant by a young man who had then abandoned her. 'I left Paris this morning to look for work in Montreuil,' she continued. 'My little girl walked some of the way, but she's very small. I had to carry her and she's fallen asleep.' As she spoke these words, she gave her daughter a loving kiss, which woke her up. The child's eyes were as wide and blue as her mother's. With a little laugh, she jumped off her mother's lap and ran to play with the two girls on the swing.

'What's your little girl's name?' Mme Thenardier asked.

'Euphrasie - but I call her Cosette. She's nearly three.'

The two women watched the children playing together.

'Children make friends very easily, don't they?' Mme Thenardier smiled. 'Look at them. They could easily be sisters.'

At these words, Fantine did a very strange thing. She took Mme Thenardiers hand and said, 'Will you look after my daughter for me?'

Mme Thenardier looked at Fantine thoughtfully, but said nothing.

'I can't take her with me,' Fantine continued. 'I have to find work, and that's not easy with a child but no husband. As soon as I find a job, I'll come and fetch her. Will you do that for me? I could pay six francs a month.'

Mme Thenardier still said nothing, but a man's voice from inside the house called, 'We'll take seven francs a month, and six months in advance.'

Fantine agreed.

'And another fifteen francs for extras,' called the man.