Mule

The Mule is the royal gift that turns Messer Ruggieri de' Figiovanni’s grievance against Alfonso, King of Spain, into a sharp and memorable judgment. On the journey home, its failure to urinate when expected—and its choice to do so in a river—gives Ruggieri the comparison through which he tells the king that his rewards go to the wrong people.

The King’s Gift

When Messer Ruggieri decides to leave Alfonso’s service, the king grants him leave and gives him one of the finest mules ever ridden. The animal is especially welcome for the long journey ahead. Yet the gift is also part of the king’s response to a departure prompted by Ruggieri’s belief that Alfonso bestows castles, cities, and baronies without sound discretion, while leaving a man of Ruggieri’s merit unrewarded.

The Journey and the Comparison

A discreet royal servant secretly accompanies Ruggieri to learn what he says about the king. Near tierce, Ruggieri suggests that they stop so their beasts can urinate. The others do so in the stable, but the mule does not. Later, as the animals drink at a river, the mule urinates in the stream. Ruggieri then likens the animal to the prince who gave it to him: the mule does not relieve itself where it should, but does so where it should not.

A Gift Recast as Criticism

The comparison makes the mule more than a useful mount. Its conspicuous behavior gives Ruggieri a concrete image for his complaint that Alfonso gives where he ought not and fails to give where he ought. When the king summons him back and asks about the comparison, Ruggieri explains the parallel plainly. The royal gift thus carries an unintended double meaning: it serves Ruggieri on the road while furnishing the precise example with which he challenges the judgment of the giver.