Who Calandrino, Bruno and Buffalmacco were, I need not explain; you know them well enough from the former story; and therefore I will tarry no longer than to say that Calandrino had a little estate not far from Florence, which his wife had brought him by way of dowry, and which yielded them yearly, among other matters, a pig; and ’twas his custom every year in the month of December to resort to the farm with his wife, there to see to the killing and salting of the said pig.  Now, one of these years it so happened that his wife being unwell, Calandrino went thither alone to kill the pig.  And Bruno and Buffalmacco learning that he was gone to the farm, and that his wife was not with him, betook them to the house of a priest that was their especial friend and a neighbour of Calandrino, there to tarry a while.  Upon their arrival Calandrino, who had that very morning killed the pig, met them with the priest, and accosted them, saying:—­“A hearty welcome to you.  I should like you to see what an excellent manager I am;” and so he took them into his house, and shewed them the pig.  They observed that ’twas a very fine pig; and learned from Calandrino that he was minded to salt it for household consumption.  “Then thou art but a fool,” quoth Bruno.  “Sell it, man, and let us have a jolly time with the money; and tell thy wife that ’twas stolen.”  “Not I,” replied Calandrino:  “she would never believe me, and would drive me out of the house.  Urge me no further, for I will never do it.”  The others said a great deal more, but to no purpose; and Calandrino bade them to supper, but so coldly that they declined, and left him.

Presently:—­“Should we not steal this pig from him to-night?” quoth Bruno to Buffalmacco.  “Could we so?” returned Buffalmacco.  “How?” “Why, as to that,” rejoined Bruno, “I have already marked how it may be done, if he bestow not the pig elsewhere.”  “So be it, then,” said Buffalmacco:  “we will steal it; and then, perchance, our good host, Master Priest, will join us in doing honour to such good cheer?” “That right gladly will I,” quoth the priest.  Whereupon:—­“Some address, though,” quoth Bruno, “will be needful:  thou knowest, Buffalmacco, what a niggardly fellow Calandrino is, and how greedily he drinks at other folk’s expense.  Go we, therefore, and take him to the tavern, and there let the priest make as if, to do us honour, he would pay the whole score, and suffer Calandrino to pay never a soldo, and he will grow tipsy, and then we shall speed excellent well, because he is alone in the house.”

As Bruno proposed, so they did:  and Calandrino, finding that the priest would not suffer him to pay, drank amain, and took a great deal more aboard than he had need of; and the night being far spent when he left the tavern, he dispensed with supper, and went home, and thinking to have shut the door, got him to bed, leaving it open.  Buffalmacco and Bruno went to sup with the priest; and after supper, taking with them certain implements with which to enter Calandrino’s