The Miller's Tale
Folio 47r
11 of 18 folios
And whan thow thus hast doon / as I haue seyd
And hast oure vitaille / faire in hem yleyd
And eek an Ax / to smyte the corde atwo
Whan þt the water cometh / þt we may go
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And breke an hole / an heigh vp on the gable
Vn to the gardynward / ouer the stable
That we may frely / passen forth oure wey
Whan þt the grete shour / is goon awey
Thanne shaltow swymme / as murye I vndertake
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As dooth the white doke / after his drake
Thanne woltow clepe / how Alison / how Ioħn
Be murye / for the flood wol passe anon
And thou wolt seyn / hail maister Nicholay
Good morwe / I see thee wel / for it is day
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And thanne shal we be lordes al oure lyf
Of al the world / as Noe and his wyf
But of o thyng / I warne thee ful right
Be wel auysed / on that ilke nyght
That we been entred / in to shippes bord
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That noon of vs / ne speke noght a word
Ne clepe ne crye / but been in his prayere
For it is / goddes owene heste deere
Thy wyf and thow / mote hange fer atwynne
For þt bitwix yow / shal be no synne
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Namoore in lookyng than ther shal in dede
This ordinaunce is seyd / go god thee spede
Tomorwe at nyght whan men been alle aslepe
In to oure knedyng tubbes / wol we crepe
And sitten there / abidyng goddes grace
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Go now thy wey / I haue no lenger space
To make of this / no lenger sermonyng
Men seyn thus / seend the wise and sey no thyng
Thow art so wys / it nedeth thee nat teche
Go saue oure lyf and that I thee biseche
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¶ This sely Carpenter / gooth forth his wey
Ful ofte he seyde / allas and weylawey
And to his wyf / he tolde his piuetee
And she was war / and knew it bet than he
What al this queynte cast was for to seye
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But nathelees / she ferde as she wolde deye