Calandrino, now perceiving that he would not be believed, and being unwilling to have them add to his troubles by bringing his wife upon his back, was forced to give them the fowls, which they joyfully carried off along with the pork.
—The Decameron.
Rather earlier than Boccaccio lived Rustico di Filippo, who gives us the following satirical bit.
THE MAKING OF MASTER MESSERIN
When God had finished Master Messerin,
He really thought it something to have done:
Bird, man, and beast had got a chance in one,
And each felt flattered, it was hoped, therein.
For he is like a goose i’ the windpipe thin,
And like a camelopard high i’ the loins,