o
pass that Bagnai had to appear once more as accused before the Podesta.
One day he met a man whose donkey had fallen and could not rise. 'Twas
on the Ponte Vecchio.

"The owner seized the donkey by the head, Bagnai caught him by the tail,
and pulled so hard that the tail came off!

"Then the contadino or _asinaio_ had Bagnai brought before the Podesta,
and claimed damages for his injured animal. And Rubaconte decided that
Bagnai should keep the ass in his stable, and feed him well--until the
tail had grown again.

"As may be supposed, the _asinaio_ preferred to keep his ass himself, and
go no farther in the case."

* * * * *

This ancient tale recalls that of Zito, the German magician conjuror,
whose leg was pulled off. It is pretty evident that the donkey's tail
had been glued on for the occasion.

I may here add something relative to the folk-lore of bridges, which is
not without interest. I once asked a witch in Florence if such a being
as a spirit of the water or one of bridges and streams existed; and she
replied:

"Yes, there is a spirit of the water as there is of fire, and everything
else. They are rarely seen, but you can make them appear. _How_? Oh,
easily enough, but you must remember that they are capricious, and appear
in many delusive forms. {83}

"And this is the way to see them. You must go at twilight and look over
a bridge, or it will do if it be in the daytime in the woods at a smooth
stream or a dark pool--_che sia un poco oscuro_--and pronounce the
incantation, and throw a handful or a few drops of its water into the
water itself. And then you must look long and patiently, always thinking
of it for several days, when, _poco a poco_, you will see dim shapes
passing by in the water, at first one or two, then more and more, and if
you remain quiet they will come in great numbers, and show you what you
want to know. But if you tell any one what you have seen, they will
never appear again, and it will be well for you should nothing worse
happen.

"There was a young man at Civitella in the Romagna Toscana, and he was in
great need of money. He had lost an uncle who was believed to have left
a treasure buried somewhere, but no one knew where it was. Now this
nephew was a reserved, solitary youth, always by himself in lone places,
among ruins or in the woods--_un poco streghon_--a bit of a wizard, and
he learned this secret of looking into streams or