THE FOURTH FABLE. Marsilio Vercelese, being enamoured of Thia, the wife of Cechato Rabboso, is taken by her into her house during her husband’s absence. He having come back unexpected, is cozened by Thia, who feigns to work a spell, during which Marsilio silently takes to flight 259 THE FIFTH FABLE. Madonna Modesta, wife of Messer Tristano Zanchetto, in her young days gathers together a great number of shoes, offerings made by her various lovers. Having grown old, she disposes of the same to divers servants, varlets, and other folk of mean estate 269 [Illustration: [Fleuron]] ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. I. _To face page_ FRONTISPIECE. (THIRD NIGHT, FOURTH FABLE. THE SIREN.) PROEM. THE PALACE AT MURANO 1 FIRST NIGHT, FOURTH FABLE. DORALICE IN THE KING’S CHAMBER 39 SECOND NIGHT, FIRST FABLE. THE PIG PRINCE 63 SECOND NIGHT, SECOND FABLE. THE SCHOLAR’S VENGEANCE 72 THIRD NIGHT, THIRD FABLE. BIANCABELLA AND THE SERPENT 128 THIRD NIGHT, FIFTH FABLE. ISOTTA AND TRAVAGLINO 156 FOURTH NIGHT, SECOND FABLE. THE TRIAL OF THE SERPENT 184 FIFTH NIGHT, FIRST FABLE. GOLDEN HAIR 234 FIFTH NIGHT, FOURTH FABLE. THE CONJURATION OF THE KITE 266 [Illustration: [Fleuron]] Introduction. The name of Giovanni Francesco Straparola has been handed down to later ages as the author of the “Piacevoli Notti,” and on no other account, for the reason that he is one of those fortunate men of letters concerning whom next to nothing is known. He writes himself down as “da Caravaggio;” so it may be reasonably assumed that he first saw the light in that town, but no investigator has yet succeeded in indicating the year of his birth, or in bringing to light any circumstances of his life, other than certain facts connected with the authorship and publication of his works. The ground has been closely searched more than once, and in every case the seekers have come back compelled to admit that they have no story to tell or new fact to add to the scanty stock which has been already garnered. Straparola as a personage still remains the shadow he was when La Monnoie summed up the little that was known about him in the preface to the edition, published in 1725, of the French translation of the “Notti.”