n. 短篇小说

Conte \Conte\, n.; pl. {Contes}. [F.]
A short narrative or tale, esp. one dealing with surprising
or marvelous events.

The conte (sic) is a tale something more than a sketch,
it may be, and something less than a short story. . . .
The ``Canterbury Tales'' are contes, most of them, if
not all, and so are some of the ``Tales of a Wayside
Inn.'' --Brander
Matthews.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]