ABSTRACT
A certain countryman was starting to drive his hay wagon from one side of this lake to the other (it is sixteen Italian miles broad, but sixty. long 1 ), when he heard a crash and saw thin cracks gradually appearing as the ice began to break up. Understanding the lake’s character and that as the tumultuous forces in its lower depths quickly built up pressure the ice would be rent apart, he realized he must worry about his own preservation and lose no time in escaping. He abandoned his hay cart and, urging on his horses, sped as fast as he could to gain the nearest shore. Seeing this, four armed knights, who had halted on the ice some distance behind him, gave chase at full tilt until they caught him on the banks, assuming that he was a thief or robber, and that he fled at their approach because he was so much afraid of them. After learning the reason, that it was no crime he had committed, but his experience, which prompted him to rush away when he heard the noise of the ice on the point of splitting, they were heartily glad to have been saved from drowning, though through no purpose or action of their own. From their situation on the shore the countryman pointed to where the wagon was no longer standing on the ice, but floating in completely open water, and told them they would have been exposed to the same danger if they had not raced off at top speed. 2
