"La zampa del gatto" by Giuseppe Giacosa is a comedy first performed in 1883. Two men unwittingly pursue the same woman: Fabrizio, a crude diplomat who borrows his cultured friend Marcello's refined home to impress her, and the timid Marcello, who lacks courage to confess his feelings directly. When both their plans converge on the same day in Marcello's house, a series of misunderstandings unfolds. The title refers to a Italian proverb about doing someone else's work—like a cat's paw pulling chestnuts from the fire.