ly besought him to give her a thigh thereof. He answered
her, singing, and said, 'Thou shalt not have it from me, Mistress
Brunetta, thou shalt not have it from me.' Whereat she, being vexed,
said to him, 'By God His faith, an thou give it me not, thou shalt
never have of me aught that shall pleasure thee.' In brief, many were
the words between them and at last, Chichibio, not to anger his
mistress, cut off one of the thighs of the crane and gave it her.

The bird being after set before Messer Currado and certain stranger
guests of his, lacking a thigh, and the former marvelling thereat, he
let call Chichibio and asked him what was come of the other thigh;
whereto the liar of a Venetian answered without hesitation, 'Sir,
cranes have but one thigh and one leg.' 'What a devil?' cried Currado
in a rage. 'They have but one thigh and one leg? Have I never seen a
crane before?' 'Sir,' replied Chichibio, 'it is as I tell you, and
whenas it pleaseth you, I will cause you see it in the quick.'
Currado, out of regard for the strangers he had with him, chose not to
make more words of the matter, but said, 'Since thou sayst thou wilt
cause me see it in the quick, a thing I never yet saw or heard tell
of, I desire to see it to-morrow morning, in which case I shall be
content; but I swear to thee, by Christ His body, that, an it be
otherwise, I will have thee served on such wise that thou shalt still
have cause to remember my name to thy sorrow so long as thou livest.'
There was an end of the talk for that night; but, next morning, as
soon as it was day, Currado, whose anger was nothing abated for sleep,
arose, still full of wrath, and bade bring the horses; then, mounting
Chichibio upon a rouncey, he carried him off towards a watercourse, on
whose banks cranes were still to be seen at break of day, saying, 'We
shall soon see who lied yestereve, thou or I.'

Chichibio, seeing that his master's wrath yet endured and that needs
must be made good his lie and knowing not how he should avail
thereunto, rode after Currado in the greatest fright that might be,
and fain would he have fled, so but he might. But, seeing no way of
escape, he looked now before him and now behind and now on either side
and took all he saw for cranes standing on two feet. Presently, coming
near to the river, he chanced to catch sight, before any other, of a
round dozen of cranes on the bank, all perched on one leg, as they use
to do, when they sleep; whereupon he