Page:Grimm's household tales, volume 2 (1884).djvu/492

478 Vienna, 1791, 8vo, two parts), in the preface to which is printed a dissertation on Straparola found among the MSS. left by the learned Mazzuchelli, for the continuation of his great work, and we likewise find in the same place what Quadrio (in his Storia d' Ogni Poesia) and others say of the author. With regard to editions and translations, Bartol. Gamba's Delle Novelle italiane in prosa Bibliografia (Florence, 1835), p. 160, and following, and Ebert's Bibliogr. Lexikon, 2. 847, should be consulted. There was probably a German translation of Straparola in the 16th century as Fischart mentions "the stories of Straparola" in Gargantua, p. 7. Bretschneider speaks of one of 1679, 8vo, in the announcement of a new edition of Gargantua. It is unnecessary to give an example of the stories as they have been made accessible by means of a good translation, with careful and valuable notes, by Friedr. Wilh. Val. Schmidt (Märchen-Saal, 1st vol. Berlin, 1817). It far excels the Viennese translation which only contains six stories. It is a pity that he has without knowing it used an expurgated edition (Venice, 1608). We will content ourselves therefore with adding a list of the stories in their original order which Schmidt disregarded, and with giving an epitome of those which are omitted in his work. We have the complete edition (Venice, 1573) before us, and a French translation of it (Lyons, 1611, and not known to Mazzuchelli) which exactly corresponds with it, but is more perfect as it contains the short preface to the second part.

I. 1. The Father's three Prohibitions. Schmidt, p. 70.

2. The Knave. He performs three hard tasks. First he steals from the provost the bed on which he is lying. Then he carries away the horse on which the stable-boy was sitting, without his observing it. Finally, he brings an ecclesiastical personage in a sack. This is in the Viennese translation p. 32, but it is imperfect. Improperly omitted in Schmidt, for it is in the expurgated edition, though abridged. Compare the German story of the Master-Thief, No. 192.

3. Master Scarpafico (Schmidt, p. 133) is cheated, and cheats in turn. This resembles the German story The Little Peasant, No. 61.

4. The Girl in the Press (Schmidt, p. 115). A peculiarly pretty story, which has only one or two features in common with other German or Italian stories. But compare Hagen's Gesammtabenteuer, 3. .

II. 1. King Swine (Schmidt, p. 249). German, Hans the Hedgehog, No. 108.

III. 1. Stupid Peter (Schmidt, 231. Peruonto, No. 1, 3, in the Pentamerone, has more of the characteristics of a story.

2. The Magic Horse (Schmidt, 1.) In German, The White Snake, No. 17, is allied to this.