three o'clock
And oh , the wails and the sobs as the innocents would be stood up , one by one , in their places ! Even the pigtails at the backs of their little heads were convulsed with grief . Oh , how they hated Pupasse then ! When their _ bonnes _ came for them at three o'clock , -- washing their tear-stained faces at the cistern before daring to take them through the streets , -- how passionately they would cry out , the tears breaking afresh into the wet handkerchiefs : `` It 's that Pupasse ! It 's that _ vilaine _ Pupasse ! '' To Pupasse herself would be meted out that `` peine forte et dure , '' that acme of humiliation and disgrace , so intensely horrible that many a little girl in that room solemnly averred and believed she would kill herself before submitting to it . Pupasse 's voluminous calico skirt would be gathered up by the hem and tied up over her head !