"See!" Isabella cried. "It even prays in the ancient tongue! It is a sign you must leave a coin for the poor-box and go home at once, before its silence breaks and it marks you as a sinner."

: The story usually ends with the character escaping through wit, though often with a subtle lesson about hypocrisy or "paying attention to the here and now".

: Introduce a character like Frate Cipolla who uses their religious status to gain trust or favors.

Anselmo, realizing his life depended on it, let out a soft, rhythmic "cluck-cluck" from inside the bag.

Isabella didn't blink. "That? Oh, that is the . It was sent to me from a monastery in the north. It is a miraculous bird that only crows when a man of ill-intent enters the house. It has been silent all evening, which proves you are a good man, Bartolo—though it does have a bit of a chest cold from the mountain air."

Terrified of being cursed by a Latin-speaking chicken, Bartolo dropped a silver coin and bolted out the door. Once he was gone, Anselmo emerged from the bag, dusty and gasping.