goes on a hunting excursion, and, fatigued with the chase, stops at a country house to ask refreshment.  The lady of the mansion receives him kindly, and admits him as her lover.  In the midst of their dalliance the husband comes home, and the young man had no recourse to escape discovery but to jump into a basin which was in the court of the house, and stand with head in a hollow gourd that happened to be in the water.  The husband, surprised to see the gourd stationary in the water, which was itself agitated by the wind, throws a stone at it, when the lover slips from beneath it and holds his breath till almost suffocated.  Fortunately, the husband presently retires with his wife into an inner room of the house, and thus the young man was enabled to make good his escape.

The next day he relates his adventure before a large company at a coffee-house.  The husband happens to be one of the audience, and, meditating revenge, pretends to admire the gallantry of the young man and invites him to his home.  The lover accompanies him, and on seeing his residence is overwhelmed with confusion; but, recovering himself, resolves to abide all hazards, in hopes of escaping by some lucky stratagem.  His host introduces him to his wife, and begs him to relate his merry adventure before her, having resolved, when he should finish, to put them both to death.  The young man complies, but with an artful presence of mind exclaims at the conclusion, “Glad was I when I awoke from so alarming a dream.”  The husband upon this, after some questions, is satisfied that he had only told his dream, and, having entertained him nobly, dismisses him kindly.

This story is told in an elaborate form by Ser Giovanni Fiorentino, in “Il Pecorone” (The Big Sheep, or, as Dunlop has it, The Dunce), which was begun in 1378 but not published till 1554 (at Milan).  It is the second novel of the First Day and has been thus translated by Roscoe: 

Ser Giovanni’s version

There were once two very intimate friends, both of the family of Saveli, in Rome; the name of one of whom was Bucciolo; that of the other Pietro Paolo, both of good birth and easy circumstances.  Expressing a mutual wish to study for a while together at Bologna they took leave of their relatives and set out.  One of them attached himself to the study of the civil law, the other to that of the canon law, and thus they continued to apply themselves for some length of time.  But the subject of Decretals takes a much narrower range than is embraced by the common law, so Bucciolo, who pursued the former, made greater progress than did Pietro Paolo, and, having taken a licentiate’s degree, he began to think of returning to Rome.  “You see, my dear fellow student,” he observed to his friend Paolo, “I am now a licentiate, and it is time for me to think of moving homewards.”  “Nay, not so,” replied his companion; “I have to entreat you will not think of leaving me here this winter.  Stay for me till spring, and we can return together.  In the meantime you may pursue some other study, so that you need not lose any time;” and to this Bucciolo at length consented, promising to await his relative’s own good time.