The Wife of Bath's Tale
Folio 73r
3 of 9 folios
¶ And sōme seyn / that we louen best
For to be free / and do rigħt as vs lest
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And that no man / repreue vs of oure vice
But seye þt we be wise / and no thyng nyce
For trewely / ther is noon of vs alle
If any wigħt / wol clawe vs on the galle
That we nel kike / for he seith vs sooth
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Assay / and he shal fynde it þt so dooth
For be we / neuer so vicious with Inne
We wol been holden wise and clene of synne
¶ And sōme seyn / that greet delit han we
For to been holden stable / and eek secree
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And in o purpos / stedefastly to dwelle
And nat biwreye thyng that men vs telle
But that tale / is nat worth a rake stele
Pardee we wōmen / konne no thyng hele
Witnesse on Myda / wol ye heere the tale
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¶ Ouyde / amonges othere thynges smale
Seyde / Myda hadde vnder his longe heres
Growynge vp on his heed / two Asses eres
The which vice he hydde / as he best myghte
Ful subtilly / from euery mannes sighte
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That saue his wyf / ther wiste of it namo
He loued hir moost and triste hir also
He preyde hir / that to no creature
She sholde tellen / of his disfigure
¶ She swoor hym nay / for al this world to wynne
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She nolde do / that vileynye or synne
To make hir housbonde / han so foul a name
She nolde nat telle it for hir owene shame
But nathelees / hir thoughte þt she dyde
That she so longe / sholde a conseil hyde
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Hir thoughte / it swal so soore / aboute hir herte
That nedely / som word hir moste asterte
And sith she dorste / telle it to no man
Doun to a Mareys / faste by she ran
Til she cam there / hir herte was a fyre
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And as a Bitore / bombleth in the Myre
She leyde hir mouth / vn to the water doun
Biwreye me nat thou water wt thy soun
Quod she / to thee I telle it and namo
Myn housbonde / hath longe Asses erys two
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Now is myn herte al hool / now is it oute
I myghte no lenger / kepe it out of doute
Heere may ye se / thogħ we a tyme abyde
Yet out it moot we kan no conseil hyde
The remenant of the tale / if ye wol heere
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Redeth Ouyde / and ther ye may it leere