And if it do, I dar wel leye a grote1,
That ye shul have a fevere terciane2,
Or an agu, that may be youre bane.
A day or two ye shul have digestyves
Of wormes, er ye take your laxatyves,
Of lauriol, centaure, and fumetere3,

Or elles of ellebor+, that groweth there,
Of catapuces, or of gaytress beryis,

This night I shal be mordred ther19 I lye.
Now help me, dere brother, or I dye;

140 In alle haste com to me,' he sayde.
This man out of his sleep for fere abrayde20;
But whan that he was wakned of his sleep,
He turned him, and took of this no keep21, 190
Him thoughte22 his dreem nas but a vanitee.
Thus twyes in his sleping dremed he.
And atte thridde tyme yet his felawe
Com, as him thoughte, and seide, 'I am now
slawe23;

Of erbe yve, growing in our yerd, that mery is;
Pekke hem up right as they growe, and ete

hem in.

Be mery, housbond, for your fader kyn!
Dredeth no dreem; I can say yow namore.'
'Madame,' quod he, 'graunt mercy of your
lore.

Bihold my bloody woundes, depe and wyde!
Arys up erly in the morwe-tyde24,

200

210

And at the west gate of the toun,' quod he,
'A carte ful of donge ther shaltow see,
151 In which my body is hid ful prively;
Do thilke carte arresten 25 boldely.
My gold caused my mordre, sooth to sayn;'
And tolde him every poynt how he was slayn,
With a ful pitous face, pale of hewe.
And truste wel, his dreem he fond ful trewe;
For on the morwe, as sone as it was day,
To his felawes in he took the way;
And whan that he cam to this oxes stalle,
160 After his felawe he bigan to calle.
The hostiler answerde him anon,
And seyde, 'sire, your felawe is agon,
As sone as day he wente out of the toun.'
This man gan fallen in suspecioun,
Remembring on his dremes that he mette,
And forth he goth, no lenger wolde he lette26,
Unto the west gate of the tour, and fond
A dong-carte, as it were to donge lond,
That was arrayed in that same wyse
As ye han herd the dede man devyse27;
And with an hardy herte he gan to crye
Vengeaunce and Iustice of this felonye:- 220
'My felawe mordred is this same night,
And in this carte he lyth gapinge upright.
I crye out on the ministres28,' quod he,
'That sholden kepe and reulen this citee;
Harrow! allas! her lyth my felawe slayn!'
What sholde I more un-to this tale sayn?
The peple out-sterte, and caste the cart to
grounde,

But natheles, as touching dauns Catoun,
That hath of wisdom such a gret renoun,
Though that he bad no dremes for to drede,
By God, men may in olde bokes rede
Of many a man, more of auctoritee
Than evere Catoun was, so moot I thee,
That al the revers10 seyn of this sentence11,
And han wel founden by experience,
That dremes ben significaciouns,
As wel of Ioye as tribulaciouns
That folk enduren in this lyf present.
Ther nedeth make of this noon argument;
The verray preve12 sheweth it in dede.
Oon of the gretteste auctours that men rede13
Seith thus, that whylom two felawes wente
On pilgrimage, in a ful good entente;
And happed so, thay come into a toun,
Wher as ther was swich congregacioun
Of peple, and eek so streit1 of herbergage15,
That they ne founde as muche as o cotage, 170
In which they bothe mighte y-logged be.
Wherfor thay mosten, of necessitee,
As for that night, departen compaignye;
And ech of hem goth to his hostelrye,
And took his logging as it wolde falle.
That oon of hem was logged in a stalle,
Fer16 in a yerd, with oxen of the plough;
That other man was logged wel y-nough,
As was his aventure17, or his fortune,
That us governeth alle as in commune18.
And so bifel, that, long er it were day,
This man mette in his bed, ther as he lay,
How that his felawe gan up-on him calle,
And seyde, 'allas! for in an oxes stalle

180

That he ne wol nat suffre it heled1 be;
Though it abyde a yeer, or two, or three,
Mordre wol out, this2 my conclusioun.
And right anoon, ministres of that toun
Han hent the carter, and so sore him pyned3,
And eek the hostiler so sore engyned+;
That thay biknewe5 hir wikkednesse anoon,
And were an-hanged by the nekke-boon.

'Here may men seen that dremes been
drede.

And certes, in the same book I rede,
Right in the nexte chapitre after this,
(I gabbes nat, so have I Ioye or blis,)
Two men that wolde han passed over see,
For certeyn cause, in-to a fer contree,
If that the wind ne hadde been contrarie,
That made hem in a citee for to tarie,
That stood ful mery upon an haven-syde.
But on a day, agayn? the even-tyde,

240

Noot 23 I nat why, ne what mischaunce it eyled24,

281

But casuelly25 the shippes botme rente,
And ship and man under the water wente
In sighte of othere shippes it byside,
That with hem seyled at the same tyde.
And therfor, faire Pertelote so dere,
By swiche ensamples olde maistow 26 lere27,
to That no man sholde been to recchelees28
Of dremes, for I sey thee, doutelees,
That many a dreem ful sore is for to drede.
'Lo, in the lyf of seint Kenelm, I rede, 290
That was Kenulphus sone, the noble king
Of Mercenrike29, how Kenelm mette a thing;
A lyte30 er he was mordred, on a day,
His mordre in his avisioun31 he say32.

250 His norice33 him expouned every del

270

That I wol lette13 for to do my thinges16.
I sette not a straw by thy dreminges,
For swevenes been but vanitees and Iapes17.
Men dreme al-day18 of owles or of apes,
And eek of many a mase19 therwithal;
Men dreme of thing that nevere was ne shal.
But sith20 I see that thou wolt heer abyde,
And thus for-sleuthen21 wilfully thy tyde,
God wot it reweth22 me; and have good day.'
And thus he took his leve, and wente his way.
But er that he hadde halfe his cours v-seyled,

Reed eek of Ioseph, and ther shul ye see 310
Wher40 dremes ben somtyme (I sey nat alle)
Warning of thinges that shul after falle.
Loke of Egipt the king, daun41 Pharao,
His bakere and his boteler+2 also,
Wher40 they ne felte noon effect in dremes.
Who so wol seken actes43 of sondry remes44
May rede of dremes many a wonder thing.
'Lo Cresus, which that was of Lyde45 king,
Mette he nat that he sat upon a tree,
Which signified he sholde anhanged be?
Lo heer Andromacha, Ectores wyf,
That day that Ector sholde lese46 his lyf,
She dremed on the same night biforn,
How that the lyf of Ector sholde be lorn47,

320

of

annotated

by the grammarian Macrobius.

40 whether

41 lord

42 butler

43 the history

44 realms

45 Lydia

Minor)

46 lose

47 lost

(in Asia

If thilke day he wente in-to bataille;

She warned him, but it mighte nat availle;
He wente for to fighte natheles,
But he was slayn anoon1 of2 Achilles.
But thilke tale is al to long to telle,
And eek it is ny3 day, I may nat dwelle.
Shortly I seye, as for conclusioun,
That I shal han of this avisioun
Adversitee; and I seye forther-more,
That I ne telle of laxatyves no store,
For they ben venimous5, I woot it wel;
I hem defye, I love hem nevere a del.

That it was pryme12, and crew with blisful stevene13.

'The sonne,' he sayde, 'is clomben up on
hevene

Fourty degrees and oon, and more, y-wis.
330 Madame Pertelote, my worldes blis, 380
Herkneth thise blisful briddes14 how they singe,
And see the fresshe floures how they springe;
Ful is myn hert of revel and solas.'
But sodeinly him fil a sorweful cas15;
For evere the latter ende of Ioye is wo.
God woot that worldly Ioye is sone ago16;

'Now let us speke of mirthe, and stinte al | And if a rethor17 coude faire endyte18,
this;

He in a chronique saufly19 mighte it write,
As for a sovereyn notabilitee20.
Now every wys man, lat him herkne me;
340 This storie is al-so trewe, I undertake21,
As is the book of Launcelot de Lake22,
That wommen holde in ful gret reverence.
Now wol I torne agayn to my sentence.
A col23-fox, ful of sly iniquitee,
That in the grove hadde woned yeres three,
By heigh imaginacioun forn-cast24,

350

389

The same night thurgh-out the hegges25 brast 26
Into the yerd, ther Chauntecleer the faire
Was wont, and eek his wyves, to repaire; 400
the And in a bed of wortes27 stille he lay,
Til it was passed undern28 of the day,
Wayting his tyme on Chauntecleer to falle
As gladly doon thise homicydes alle,
That in awayt liggen29 to mordre men.
O false mordrer, lurking in thy den!
O newe Scariot30, newe Genilon31!
False dissimilour32, O Greek Sinon33,
That broghtest Troye al-outrely34 to sorwe!
O Chauntecleer, acursed be that morwe,
That thou into that yerd flough fro the bemes!
Thou were ful wel y-warned by thy dremes,
That thilke day was perilous to thee.
But what that God forwot35 mot nedes be,
After the opinioun of certeyn clerkis.

He loketh as it were a grim leoun;
And on his toos he rometh up and doun, 360
Him deyned10 not to sette his foot to grounde.
He chukketh, whan he hath a corn y-founde,
And to him rennen11 thanne his wyves alle.
Thus roial, as a prince is in his halle,
Leve I this Chauntecleer in his pasture;
And after wol I telle his aventure.

Whan that the month in which the world Witnesse on36 him, that any perfit clerk is, bigan,

That in scole is gret altercacioun

That highte March, whan God first maked man, In this matere, and greet disputisoun,

410

28 about eleven a. m. 29 lie

30 Judas Iscariot

31 The traitor that caused the defeat of Charlemagne and the death of Roland.

32 deceiver

33 Designer of the wooden horse by which Troy was entered.

35 foreknows

34 entirely

36 by

He wolde han fled, but that the fox anon Seyde, 'Gentil sire, allas! wher wol ye gon? Be ye affrayed of me that am your freend? Now certes, I were worse than a feend, If I to yow wolde harm or vileinye. I am nat come your counseil for tespye; But trewely, the cause of my cominge Was only for to herkne how that ye singe. 470 For trewely ye have as mery a stevene1®, As eny aungel hath, that is in hevene; Therwith ye han in musik more felinge 430 Than hadde Boece, or any that can singe.