The Miller's Tale
Folio 46r
5 of 15 folios
Wylt thow thanne go thy wey / ther witħ qd she
Ȝa certis lēman / qd this Absolou
Than make the redy qd she / I come a non
535
This Absolou doun sette hī / on his knees
And seyde / I am a lord / at alle degrees
For after this / I hope there cometh more
Lēman thy grace / and swete brede thyn ore
The wyndowe she vn doth / and that in hast
540
Haue I don qd she / come of & spede the fast
Leste that oure neyghebores / the espie
This Alisou gan wype / his mouth ful drye
Derke was the nygħt / as pycħ or as the cole
And at the wyndowe / ouȝt she put hire hole
545
And Absolou hī fel / neither bet ne wers
But with his moutħ / he kiste hire naked ers
Ful sauerly / er he were war of this
A bak he stirte / and þouȝt it was a mys
For wele he wyst / a wōman had no berd
550
He felt a thyng al row / and longe I hered
And seide fy allas / what haue I do
¶ Te he qd she / and clapped the wyndowe to
And Absolou goth forth / a sory pace
A berd a berd / seide hende Nicholas
555
By goddes corpus / this gotħ fair & wele
This sely Absolou / herd euerydele
And on his lyppe / for anger he gan to byte
And to hī self he seide / I shal the quyte
¶ cWho rubbeth now / who froteth now hise lippes
560
With dust / wt sond / wt strawe / wt cloth / wt chippes
But Absolou that seith / ful ofte allas
My soule be take I / vn to Satanas
But me were leuere / than al this toun qd he
Of this dispyt / a wreken for to be
565
Allas qd he / allas I ne hadde I blent
His hote loue was cold / and al I queynt
For fro þt tyme / that he had kist hire ers
Of paramours / ne rougħt he nat a kers
For he was heled / of his maladye
570
Ful ofte paramours / he gan defye
And wepe / as doth a child / þt is I bete
A soft pas he went hī / ouer the strete
Vn to a Smytħ / men callen Daun Garueys
That in his forge / smethed plougħ harneys
575
He sharpeth shaare / and cultur besily
This Absolou / knokketh / al esily