Page:Matteo Bandello - twelve stories (IA cu31924102029083).pdf/351



NTENDING to quit Naples and return here, I had to go to Reggio in Calabria, a very ancient city, from the sea-coast of which they say that Sicily was broken off by an earthquake, becoming an island, as now it is. About this time in Reggio there was a Calabrian servant to the right reverend the bishop of the place, whose name was Bigolino, the merriest, most amusing fellow in all the country round about. With his voice he could imitate the braying of an ass, the neighing of horses, and the cries of this or that animal, while there were few birds whose voice and song he could not copy. As hardly a week passed but he was up to some funny prank or other, everybody in Reggio had a great liking for him, and he furnished plenty