The Reeve's Tale
Folio 50v
7 of 10 folios
A myle brod / of twenty fote of space
205
Late se now / if this place may suffice
Or make it roume / with speche / as is ȝoure gyse
¶ Now Symond seide this Ioħn / by Seynt Cutberd
Ay is thow mery / and þat is feir answerd
I haue herd sey / men sal ta / of twa thynges
210
Slike as he fyndes / or ta slike as he brynges
But specialy / I pray the Host dere
Gar vs haue mete and drynk / & make vs chere
And we sal paie trewely / at the fulle
With empty hand / men moun na haukes tulle
215
Lo here oure siluer / redy for to spende
¶ This Millere / to the toun / his dougħter sende
For ale and brede / and rosted hem a goos
And bond here hors / it shulde nomore go loos
And in his owen chaumbre / hem mad a bed
220
With shetes / and with chalons / faire I spred
Nat fro his owen bed / ten fote or twelue
His dougħter had a bed / al by hire selue
Right in þe same chaumbre / by and by
It mygħt be no bet / and cause why
225
There was no roumere herberwe / in the place
They soupen / and they speken of solace
And drynken euere strong ale / at the best
Aboute mydnygħt / went they to rest
¶ Wel hath this Millere / vernysshed his hede
230
Ful pale he was / for dronke / and nat rede
He ȝesketħ / and he speketh thorugħ the nose
As he were on the quak / or on the pose
To bedde he goth / & with hī goth his wyf
As ony Iay / she ligħt was and iolyf
235
So was hire ioly whistel / wel I wette
The cradel at hire beddes fete / is shette
To rokken / and to ȝeue the child souke
And whan þt dronken al was / in the crouke
To bedde went the dougħter / rigħt a non
240
To bedde goth Aleyn / and also Ioħn
There was nomore / hē nedetħ no dwale
This Millere hath so wysely / bybed ale
That as an hors / he snorteth in his slepe
Ne of his tayl behynde / he toke no kepe
245
His wyf bar hī a burdon / a ful strong
Men mygħt here routyng heren / a furlong
The wenche routed eke / par compaignye
¶ Aleyn the Clerk / that herd this melodye
He poked Ioħn / and seide slepes thow
250
Herd thow euere slike a sang / or now