From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.]