Week Two (Tuesday, 1/26/21 – Monday, 2/1/21)
The first story of the third day of the Decameron is one of its raunchiest and most hilarious. Recently adapted into film as The Little Hours, the story follows a lucky peasant, Masetto of Lamporecchio, who poses as deaf and mute to endear himself as laborer to a convent of secluded nuns. The nuns soon take advantage of what they assume to be an unintelligent plaything, leading him, one by one, to a nearby hut to break their vows of chastity. Only when the nuns have grown used to his company (and have begun to exhaust him, in fact) does Masetto break his silence to the abbess, assuring her that God has recovered his powers of speech so he may negotiate his terms of service. In the end, he’s appointed steward of the convent, where he spends many years dividing his erotic labor among the delighted sisters.
This week’s challenge is to indulge in a bit of fantasy, and to take it seriously. When we mere mortals find ourselves in scenes taken right from our dreams, how do we behave ourselves? Can we count on our ingenuity to work everything out towards a desirable end? How might we wriggle out of our qualms and constraints to achieve a life that becomes more delicious and divine each day?
Remember: this site is dedicated to storytelling, but you needn’t limit yourself to the traditional prose narrative. We welcome photo series, videos, music and other audio work, visual stories, poetry, and anything else in standard shareable formats. The target length for a narrative submission is 200-1000 words. For other formats, consider what it means to present a bite-sized portion of your art, something that takes only a few minutes of your audience’s precious time. Head over to the Submit page when you’re ready to upload your contribution.