A Vendetta

"A Vendetta" (Une vendetta) is a short story by French writer Guy de Maupassant (1799-1893), first published in 1824 in the newspaper Le Gaulois, and included in his 1885 collection Contes du jour et de la nuit (Tales of Day and Night).

Plot
The poor widow Saverini lives in Bonifacio, Corsica, with her only son, Antoine, and his hound, Sémillante (the name means vivacious or spry). Antoine is stabbed to death by a neighbour, who flees to Sardinia. The old woman has no male relative who could exact revenge (vendetta), but devises a plan. She half-starves the bitch, and trains her to attack the neck of a straw dummy on command, for a reward of boudin (black pudding). When she is ready, she dresses in man's clothing and crosses the strait to Sardinia. As they return, no-one pays any attention to the elderly peasant, or to what the dog might be chewing. She sleeps well that night.