On five poems by Jules RENARD , these melodies for Mezzo-soprano (the spider, squirrel, butterfly, cat), and baritone (goat) are a clear reference to the histoires naturelles put in music by Maurice Ravel, which they adopt irony, mordent, lightness. More than an exercise in style however, Bruno ROSSIGNOL has found the opportunity to work on a subtle report to the French language at a time of composition where he began to write his opera Madame ROLAND. Treatment of the piano part remains discreet, as a modern continuo covers the essentials of a recitative. The voice is narrative, slightly based on a text-induced figuralism.