L’uomo balia

At Mr. and Mrs. Veauluisant’s house, the wetnurse was just fired for being too litigious and libertine. Balivet, the wetnurse’s lover and a notary public, is unaware of her dismissal and goes to the house of Mr. and Mrs. Veauluisant to meet her. Once inside, however, he is chased by the other servant and, having taken refuge in his lover’s room, reappears disguised as a woman. The owners mistake him for the new wetnurse who has come to take care of their baby and to breastfeed him. Balivet tries to escape but, as before, is blocked by the servant who has fallen in love with him disguised as a woman, so he is forced to do various housework and sew. In the end, a telegram announcing the delay of the real nanny will clarify the situation, and Balivet, to his great joy, will be kicked out of the house. The story of a man mistaken for the wetnurse had already been told in Mummy Sabouleux by Eugène Labiche.