"I do not mind the cold, Madame. I am used to that. One winter, when we were thrown from our room, and we had no money for a new one, we slept under the bridges. Sometimes under a bridge, sometimes in a ditch. I still do that sometimes. And it snowed - it snowed so much, Madame, I thought I would surely freeze to death, but no. No, I am still alive. But heat - yes, water. Where is there water in a desert?"

Eponine has no clue about deserts or predicting weather or anything much else. Fighting and stealing and clinging to life is about all she knows.

"Ah, but yes, there is a revolution. My - Marius - he is plotting with his friends. I hear him. He is plotting another fight. My papa fought at Waterloo though - you know it? We're real Bonapartists in my family. I do not know about cake though, Madame. There is no cake. There is no food at all unless you rob it or beg or look in the gutters and the bins."

She grins at Mona. It's probably quite disconcerting, given that she's just insinuated she's a starving beggar rather than a skinny Aladdin with nice teeth.

"Yes - have you seen in the Capitol? They show repeats of us here in the arena on the walls of their buildings."