The humor comes from the gap between what Nicolas thinks he understands (adult life, morality, consequences) and what is actually happening. His narration is innocent, boastful, and wonderfully oblivious. In the story "Rex" (sometimes titled "Le chien de Boum" or similar, but commonly known as "Rex"), Nicolas's classmate Geoffroy (known in English translations as "Geoffrey") – the wealthiest boy in the class – arrives at school with a new possession: a large, beautiful, and well-trained German Shepherd dog named Rex .
All the boys are immediately jealous and impressed. Geoffroy explains that Rex is the best-trained dog in the world and can perform tricks on command: sit, lie down, fetch, and even play dead. le petit nicolas rex english translation
The problem? Geoffroy, in his typical spoiled and slightly careless way, doesn't actually know all the commands. Or rather, he knows them, but Rex only obeys Geoffroy's father, who trained him. The humor comes from the gap between what
The story ends with Nicolas reflecting on how wonderful it must be to have a dog – but also realizing that maybe a dog you can't control isn't much fun at all. The final line, typical of Goscinny, is something like: "Me, I think I'd rather have a cat. Or maybe a goldfish. At least they don't have to learn commands." The official English translations of Le Petit Nicolas are published by Phaidon Press (the most recent and widely available edition) and were translated by Anthea Bell – a legendary translator known for her work on Asterix , Kafka , and W.G. Sebald . Her translations are masterful: they preserve the innocence, the slightly formal but childlike voice of Nicolas, and the French cultural flavor while making it perfectly natural in English. All the boys are immediately jealous and impressed
He points to a man passing by (or in some versions, to the school's gardener or a lamppost) and shouts, "Attack!" Rex does nothing. The other boys laugh. Finally, Geoffroy's father arrives to pick him up. The moment Geoffroy's father calls out, "Rex, sit!" – Rex immediately sits. "Lie down!" – Rex lies down. "Play dead!" – Rex rolls over, paws in the air.