with the horns or with the wool." So they drew up Giufa with the lamb on
his shoulder, and when the judge saw that it was a real lamb, they set
Giufa at liberty.

In a variant of the above story Giufa's mother, to get rid of him, one
day tells him to take his gun and go off and shoot a cardinal-bird.
Giufa asks what a cardinal is, and his mother tells him that it is one
that has a red head. Giufa, of course, shoots a cardinal and carries him
home. The remainder of the story is as above. In another variant Giufa's
mother has a cock which she cooks one day, and Giufa, who had never
eaten anything of the kind before, likes it greatly and asks what it
is. His mother tells him it is the night-singer. One evening Giufa saw a
poor man singing behind a door, and thinking he was a night-singer,
killed him and carried him home. The rest of the story is like the first
version.[16]

Giufa is not without an occasional gleam of wit, as is shown in the
following story (Pitre No. 190, Sec. 8), entitled:

CII. EAT, MY CLOTHES!

As Giufa was half a simpleton no one showed him any kindness, such as to
invite him to his house or give him anything to eat. Once Giufa went to
a farm-house for something, and the farmers, when they saw him looking
so ragged and poor, came near setting the dogs on him, and made him
leave in a hurry. When his mother heard it she procured for him a fine
coat, a pair of breeches, and a velvet vest. Giufa dressed up like an
overseer, went to the same farm-house, and then you should see what
great ceremonies they made! they invited him to dine with them. While at
the table all were very attentive to him. Giufa, on the one hand, filled
his stomach, and on the other, put into his pockets, coat, and hat
whatever was left over, saying: "Eat, my clothes, for you were invited!"

* * * * *

It is interesting to note that this story is told of no less a person
than Dante, about whom cluster more popular traditions than many are
aware of. It is the subject of one of Sercambi's novels, and will be
found with many other interesting traditions of the great poet in
Papanti's _Dante secondo la Tradizione e i Novellatori_, Leghorn,
1873.[17]

Giufa was not a very safe person to leave alone in the house. Once his
mother went to church and told him to make some porridge for his little
sister. Giufa made a great kettle of boiling porridge and fed it to the
poor child and burned her mouth so th