He leaves and the Grocer asks if they’re going to allow rhinoceroses to run down cats. The Logician leads the group in posing what he says is the correct question-how many rhinoceroses and horns-but agrees that this doesn’t answer for the rhinoceros’s violence. Others argue over how many horns the rhinoceros had as Berenger regrets his actions out loud. Jean angrily leaves and everyone blames Berenger. Jean insults Berenger by calling him an “Asiatic Mongoloid,” which sparks a discussion of the fact that Asian people are people just like any other. Berenger insists that this is ridiculous since the rhinoceroses were moving too fast to count their horns. People wonder if the second rhinoceros was the same as the first, but Jean declares that there were two different rhinoceroses: the first was an Asian rhinoceros with two horns, while the second was an African rhinoceros with one horn. The crowd cares for the Housewife while the Old Gentleman and the Logician insist that cats are mortal and the Housewife should’ve expected this. The Housewife cries and returns to the café with her cat’s body. Another rhinoceros stampedes through town. The Old Gentleman deduces that they could have cats with as many as six or as few as zero paws, but the Logician says that having no paws wouldn’t be just-and logic, he insists, is justice. As Jean lists changes for Berenger to make, the Logician asks the Old Gentleman to deduce what happens when they subtract two paws from the cats. The Logician agrees with this but cautions him against abusing logic. The Old Gentleman notes that his dog has four paws, so it’s a cat too. The Logician introduces the Old Gentleman to syllogisms by giving him the syllogism that if a cat has four paws, and if Isidore and Fricot both have four paws, then Isidore and Fricot are both cats. The Old Gentleman and the Logician return. Berenger explains that if he doesn’t drink, he feels terrified. Noticing that Berenger likes Daisy, Jean takes the opportunity to tell Berenger to stop drinking. Jean stops Berenger from drinking as Daisy arrives at the grocery store next door. In his anger, Jean accuses Berenger again of being an alcoholic who doesn’t think-and then accuses Berenger of insulting him when Berenger tries to defend himself. Berenger suggests that it might have come from a zoo or a circus, even though Jean points out that their town has neither. Meanwhile, Jean insists on talking about the rhinoceros, but Berenger isn’t interested. The rhinoceros sent the Housewife’s basket of groceries flying, so she asks the Logician to hold her cat while she repacks her basket. Berenger seems to not see it, but the Waitress, the Grocer, the Housewife, the Grocer’s Wife, and Jean all stand and point at it.Ī Logician, the Old Gentleman, and the Housewife arrive and remark on the rhinoceros. The two discuss where Berenger was last night as a rhinoceros races down the street. Jean insists that everyone has to get used to it.
Desperately, Berenger says that he can’t stand working a normal schedule and needs to drink to relax. Jean lists all the ways that Berenger needs to work on his appearance and declares that he’s ashamed to be Berenger’s friend. Taking issue with Berenger’s clothes, Jean gives him an extra tie, a comb, and a mirror. He makes fun of Berenger for wanting to drink so early in the day, especially when Berenger is hung over. Berenger is unkempt, while Jean wears a neat suit and chastises Berenger for being late. One sunny Sunday, Berenger and Jean meet at a café.
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