EXCERPT FROM GAGARIN, FIFTH EDITION (ORIGINAL TEXT IN FRENCH)

I underwent a medical examination. I had to fill out a six-page questionnaire of nearly 300 questions. To all except one, I answered NO. Have you contracted rubella, variola, cholera, chickenpox, tetanus, tuberculosis, yellow fever, scarlet fever or typhoid? Do you suffer from a heart murmur, high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes? Are you prone to vertigo? Do you have headaches, stomachaches, palpitations, nausea, children, allergies, strokes, lower back pain, kidney stones, dizzy spells, epileptic seizures, gastro-intestinal disorders, inflamed gums, hearing troubles, blurred vision? And suddenly, out of nowhere, lost amidst this sea of questions, the following one: “Are you sad?”