Step 2 of 4

Retelling the novella

The third novella of the ninth day: one day, Calandrino inherits a large sum of money from his aunt, which he wants to use to buy an estate. His friends Bruno, Buffalmacco and Nello try to convince him to spend money by partying with them. Calandrino refuses to, and as revenge for his stinginess, his friends come up with a trick. The next day they tell him, independently from each other, that he looks very ill. Calandrino gets worried, lies down in bed and calls a doctor.

The doctor, Simone, who is also in on the scam, examines Calandrino’s urine. Simone tells him he is pregnant and needs a very expensive medicine to cure him. Calandrino blames his wife, Monna Tessa, for his pregnancy: he believes it is all because she wanted to have sexual intercourse so frequently.