Zima and Messer Francesco
Intro
- Storyteller: Elissa
- Boccaccio adds an interesting character note about Elissa when he transitions from Panfilo's story to hers: she speaks like a snob out of habit. Hmmm.
- But we digress. Sometimes, Elissa says, we assume that people are stupid just because we're smart. That usually leads to problems.
- It's always best not to open yourself up to backlash in this situation, but Elissa says she's going to tell us a story about a person who does just that.
Story
- There was a gentleman of Pistoia called Messer Francesco who was both wealthy and smart, but he was also a jerk, mean-spirited and full of himself.
- When he was appointed Governor of Milan, he wanted to make a good show of coming into town, but couldn't find a splendid enough horse to make an entrance.
- But a man named Ricciardo (a.k.a. "Zima") had an awesome horse. The problem? Zima's in love with Messer Francesco's beautiful wife.
- Everyone knows this, and tells Francesco that the horse will be his for the asking because of Zima's affection for his wife.
- So Francesco asks and Zima makes a proposal: let me talk to your lady for a while and you can have the horse.
- Francesco thinks that Zima's an idiot, so he tells his wife to go and listen to Zima but not to speak back to him.
- Zima speaks with her and claims that he'll do anything she asks, offers all his possessions (including himself) and promises that he'll die if she doesn't show him some compassion.
- And voila! The lady can't help but fall in love with him right then and there. But she can't speak to Zima, because she promised her husband she wouldn't.
- Zima has a clever remedy for this. He decides to answer his own plea for her and even puts on a female voice to do it.
- In doing this, he mentions an opportunity for the two of them to hook up: when Messer Francesco takes that good horse of Zima's and heads off to Milan to take up the office of governor.
- Zima even arranges a signal with the lady as he continues to answer for her.
- After switching back to his own voice and bidding her farewell, Zima confronts Francesco for not allowing the lady to speak.
- So Francesco leaves town and the lady decides not to waste her youth and beauty on an absent husband. She sets up the signal for Zima.
- The lovers manage to keep things going well beyond the six months of Francesco's absence. And so, Zima's well paid back for the loss of his good horse.