The Wife of Bath's Tale

What do women want most?

Most of the pilgrims on their way to Canterbury were men. There were only a few women. One of them was the Wife of Bath. She was a large woman with a red face. She wore a big hat, and she rode on a very fat horse. She was rich and all her five husbands were dead!

The Wife of Bath was a happy woman and she loved to talk. This is her story about a knight at the time of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Long ago, there was a young knight who did a very bad thing. He broke the law that all the knights had to live by. When King Arthur heard this, he was very angry.

' This knight must die!' he shouted.

But the queen and her ladies were sad because they liked the young knight very much.

' Please, please,' they cried to King Arthur, ' don't end this young man's life. He'll never make the same mistake again.'

The king turned to the queen and said, 'All right, do what you like with him, my dear. But we must punish him because he's broken the law.'

The queen thought for a short time, and then she said to the knight,' You can live if you tell me the answer to this question: What does a woman want most in all the world? I'll give you a year and a day to find the answer. If you can't find the answer, then you'll die.'

The knight thanked the queen, but he rode away very sadly.

' The queen has asked me a very difficult question. How can I find the answer?' he thought to himself.

As he rode through the country, the knight asked a lot of people the queen's question. He was given many different answers.

One man said, 'Ah, that's easy. Women like money more than anything.'

A woman answered, ' What do women want most in all the world? They want to be happy, of course.'

Another woman replied,' Fine clothes. That's what they want.'

Then the knight asked some children the same question.

A little girl said,' My mother's happy when she's cooking good food for us.'

And a little boy replied,' My mother likes having a new baby in the family.'

' Our mother's happy when she sees our father come home at night,' said two or three children.

Many of the answers seemed good, but they were all different. ' Nobody agrees,' thought the knight sadly.' How can I find the right answer to the queen's question?'

After a year, the knight had to return to the queen and give her the answer to her question.

'What can I say?' he thought. 'I've tried so hard to find the right answer! But I know I'm going to die.'

But then he came to a great wood. In the trees he saw twenty-four beautiful ladies! They were all laughing and singing and dancing on the green grass.

'I've got enough time to ask these ladies the question,' he said to himself.

He turned his horse towards the ladies... but where were they? He could only see one very ugly, old woman! When he came near her, she stood up. She smiled at him.

'Sir Knight, are you looking for something?' she asked. 'Tell me what it is. Perhaps I can help you. We old people are wise and we know many things.'

'You're right — perhaps you can help me,' answered the knight. 'I have to find the answer to a question or I'll die. The question is: What does a woman want most in all the world? If you can tell me, I'll give you a lot of money.'

' Give me your hand, sir,' replied the old woman.' I'll tell you the right answer if you promise me something. You have to do the first thing that I ask you.'

That sounded easy to the knight.' I promise,' he answered in an excited voice. Perhaps the old woman could really help him!

' Good, then your life's safe,' said the old woman.' Nobody — not even the queen — will say that your answer is wrong.'

Then she spoke very quietly into the knight's ear.' That's the answer to your question,' she said with a smile.

The knight smiled back at the old woman and thanked her with all his heart. Then they went together to meet the queen and all the lords and ladies.

Everyone heard that the young knight was coming. They were very excited, but a lot of people were worried about his answer.

' It was a very difficult question,' they said.' It will be terrible if he can't give the queen the right answer. He will die!'

The queen and her lords and ladies met the knight. The queen started to speak and everyone listened carefully.

' Now, Sir Knight, can you answer my question? What does a woman want most in all the world?' she asked in a clear voice.

The knight came up to the queen and fell on his knees in front of her. All the people around them heard his words.

'My lady, I know the right answer to your question. All women want to be the head of their house. They want their husbands to do what they say!'

When they heard this, everyone laughed and shouted, 'He must live! He must live! That's the right answer!'

The queen smiled at the knight. She was very pleased with his answer.

' You will be free, Sir Knight,' she said.' You can live!'

But suddenly the ugly old woman walked towards the queen and said,'Be good to me too, my lady. I said to this knight,"I'll tell you the right answer. But you must promise me something. You have to do the first thing that I ask you." And you agreed, didn't you?' she said, turning to the knight.

'Yes, madam,' said the young knight. 'That's what I promised.'

' Well, I want you to marry me!' said the old woman. Her face looked very ugly when she said these terrible words.

The knight replied unhappily,' I made a promise to you, it's true. But I can't marry you!'

' I'm old, ugly and poor but I want to be your wife,' cried the old woman.' I want to win your love.'

' My love!' laughed the knight.' You can't really hope for that!'

The queen and all the people around her were laughing.

' The knight wants to die now!' they shouted. ' He doesn't want to marry this ugly old woman!'

But the queen looked at the knight and said,' You must marry her, Sir Knight. You promised.'

'Yes, I know,' answered the knight unhappily. 'I can't break my promise.'

There was no dancing or singing at the wedding. There were no fine clothes or good food. At the end of the day, the knight sadly carried away his new wife.

That night, the ugly old woman turned to the knight and said, 'Come here, my dear husband. Why are you looking so unhappy? What have I done wrong? Tell me, and I'll try to do better. I'll make you happy.'

' Do better? You can't become a young woman and you can't make yourself beautiful!' answered the knight.

' Is that the only problem?' she asked with a smile on her face.

' That's enough!' he answered.

'I'm not beautiful,' said the old woman,'but that's only on the outside. Faces become old but hearts are always young. A person with a good heart is better than someone who does bad things.'

Then the woman talked quietly to her husband for a long time. He was very surprised when he heard her words.

'You're very wise and good,' he said at last. 'You've taught me a lot about men and women, and about good and bad.'

' Is it better to have a beautiful wife who makes you unhappy?' she asked.' Or an old and ugly wife who is kind to you?'

'My lady, my love, and my dear wife,' said the knight softly, 'you're right. I'll always do what you tell me.'

She laughed.' Remember the answer to the question! Can I be the head of our home?'

' Yes, my love, of course you can,' said the knight.

Then she kissed him and said, 'Don't be angry. I'll be a good wife to you. And I'll be as beautiful as a queen!'

The knight started to kiss his wife, but he suddenly jumped back in surprise! There, in front of him, stood the most beautiful girl in the world! His wife wasn't really an ugly old woman. She was a fairy!

' I wanted to be sure that you are a true knight,' she said.' Now I know that you're a good person. Now I don't have to be an ugly old woman!'

The knight kissed his beautiful young wife and then they went to see the queen. Everybody was very surprised when they saw the young woman. They all danced and sang when they heard the story.

The knight and his wife lived happily together all their lives. And they always remembered the answer to the queen's question.

' That's the end of my story,' said the Wife of Bath to the other pilgrims. 'Please God, send us husbands who are young and loving! Men, do what your wives tell you to do! And give them a lot of money to spend!'

The Pardoner's Tale

Three Men Look for Death

The pardoner told his story next. But first, he told the other pilgrims about his job.

' I speak to people in churches,' he said.' I always talk about the same thing. I tell people: " Love of money is a real problem. You do bad things, and bad things happen to you, because of it." And I sell pardons. I've got a lot of things that belonged to saints - bits of cloth and other old things. Well, they didn't really belong to saints, but people don't know that! If people buy these things, God will forgive them. And I make a lot of money. I don't like being poor. Oh no! I must have fine clothes and good food! The poor give me money and I have a good life. I sell them pardons and they're happy'

The pardoner was a very bad man but his story was very good. The pilgrims were surprised that a bad man could tell a good tale.

This is the story.

There were three young men who did many bad and stupid things.They drank too much and they did no work.

One morning, they were drinking when they heard a noise outside. People were carrying the body of a dead man.

They asked the boy who brought them more drink,' Whose body is that, boy?'

'He was your friend,' answered the boy. 'He was killed last night while he was drinking here. He was killed by that quiet thief, Death. Death kills all the people in this country. He killed your friend and then went away. He's killed thousands and thousands of people. You should get ready to meet Death.'

'I'm not afraid to meet him!' cried one young man, and he quickly jumped up.'I'm going to find him! I'll look for him in every field and wood and town. Listen! Let's hold up our hands and promise to be brothers. Let's find Death and kill him!'

' I'll come with you,' said the second man.

'And me,' said the third. 'We'll kill this dangerous man, Death, before night comes.'

So the three men went to find Death. They walked a little way and saw an old man with a long white beard. He was wearing a lot of old clothes and carrying a stick. When he saw the three men, he spoke to them kindly.

' God be with you, rny young friends.'

But the men shouted at him,' You stupid old man! Why are you wearing all those clothes?'

'Because I'm very old,' answered the man. 'I feel the cold and I can never get warm.'

'Well, why have you lived for so long then, you ugly old man? You should die more quickly!' they shouted.

The old man looked at them angrily.' I live like this because Death hasn't taken me. I travel up and down the country, looking for Death. I say to the ground under my feet: "Dear Mother Earth, let me in! Oh, Mother Earth, I want to lie down in you and sleep for ever!" But she isn't kind to me. That's why I'm old, young men.'

One of the men laughed loudly. The old man turned to him and said quietly,' You've spoken very unkindly to me and now you're laughing at me. But I've done nothing to hurt you. You should speak more kindly to an old man. Now, I've got nothing more to say to you. I'm going to continue on my journey to meet Death.'

'No, you can't do that!' they shouted. 'He's killed all our friends in this country. We're going to find him and kill him. Quickly, tell us where he is'.

'If you really want to find Death, I'll tell you,' answered the old man.' Can you see that little road? Go up there. Not long ago I saw him near a great tree in the wood. But you can't save men from Death. He won't be afraid of you. Go now. I hope God will help you to become better men.'

The three young men went up the road and ran towards the great tree, but there was nobody there. They sat down and looked around them. Then suddenly, on the ground, they saw a lot of money. They all got very excited and forgot about Death. But Death was very near and he was thinking about them.

Nobody said anything as they started to count the money. At last one of them spoke.

' Listen to me,' he said.' This money will bring us happiness for the rest of our lives but we must hide it. One of us must go back to the town for food and drink. The other two can hide in the wood. They must guard the money until night comes.'

This plan sounded sensible. So the youngest man went into town and his two friends waited in the wood with the money. 'I've got an idea,' said one of the men. 'We're like three brothers, but one of us has gone now. If you take half the money, I'll take the other half. Then we'll be really rich!' ' But how can we do that?' asked the other man.' Our young brother knows about the money.'

' I'll tell you how we can do it. There are two of us. Two men are stronger than one. When he comes back, we'll play a game with him. You can start a friendly fight with him. I'll wait and then kill him with my knife. After that, my dear brother, we can take all the money. Half for you and half for me!' And so they planned their young friend's death.

But the young friend was bad too. As he walked to the town, his mind was full of the beautiful money. He said to himself,' How can I get all that money? If I think of a good plan, I'll be the happiest, richest man in the world!'

At last he had an idea.

' I know what I'll do. I'll go to a shop and buy some poison. Then I'll kill the other two and take all the money'

So he went to a shop in the town and said to the shopkeeper, ' The cats on my farm are eating all my plants. Can you give me something to kill them?'

The shopkeeper showed him a small bottle of poison.

'This will kill your cats,' he said. 'Put it in their food or drinking water. It's very strong. It will kill a horse!'

Then the young man went to the next street and bought three bottles of wine. He put the poison into two of the bottles and he kept the third bottle.

'I'll need a drink after I've killed my two friends. I'll hide their bodies first and then hide the money. I'll need a good bottle of wine after all that!'

Then he bought some food and walked back to the wood. When the other two men saw him, they said, 'Ha! Here he comes! He's bringing us our supper but he'll never have another meal again!'

They were hungry and they ate the food immediately. Then the two men asked their young friend to play the fighting game. Their plan went well and they soon killed him.

' Let's eat again and drink some of this wine. Then we'll put his body in the ground,' they said.

One man got a bottle of wine and drank a lot of it. Then he gave the bottle to the other man.

Both men died slowly in a lot of pain.

They wanted to find Death and kill him. But when Death found them, they were all dead!

And Death laughed loudly for a long time!

'Well, that's the end of my story,' said the pardoner. 'Now, I've got some things here in my bag. They'll bring you forgiveness and save you all. Only a penny! Hurry! Hurry! Come and buy!'

 

The Franklin's Tale

Three Promises

The franklin was a rich farmer. He had a big house and a lot of land, and he liked good food and wine. His guests always had excellent things to eat and drink when they came to visit him. The franklin told the pilgrims a story about three promises.

Long ago, in France, there lived a knight called Arveragus. He was in love with a beautiful lady called Dorigen. She wanted to be sure that he was brave and good. So she asked him to do a lot of difficult things.

' Do these things for me. Then I'll know that you love me,' she said to him.

Arveragus went away and had many adventures. He did all the things that Dorigen asked him to do. Then he came back to his love, Dorigen.

' Now I know that you aren't afraid of anything,' Dorigen said to him.' I love you as much as you love me. I want to marry you.'

The knight loved his lady very much.' I want to marry you, too,' he said. ' I'll never ask you to do anything that you don't want to do,' he told her.

'And when we're married,' she said,' I'll be your loving wife. I'll never do anything that will make you unhappy.'

Arveragus and Dorigen got married and went to live in Arveragus's home in Brittany. They lived together happily for more than a year. But the knight was a man of war and he

wanted to fight in England. Even his love for his wife couldn't stop him.

So he sailed away for two' years.

poor Dorigen was left at home. She felt very sad without her husband, because she loved him very much. She couldn't sleep or eat when he was away.

Her friends tried hard to help her.

'You'll die if you don't sleep and eat more,' they said to her.

She listened to her friends and slowly got better. She was young and full of hope.

' My husband's going to come home soon,' she thought.

Arveragus sent her long, loving letters. 'All is well,' he wrote. ' I'll be home again very soon, my love.'

Her friends said to her, ' Now you're feeling better, so come outside with us. Don't sit alone in your house. Come and have fun.'

So she began to go out with them. One day, as she was walking with her friends, Dorigen saw great black rocks in the sea. She felt very frightened when she saw them. Sometimes, when she was far away from the sea, she thought about those terrible rocks.

' I don't like those rocks. If a ship hits them, the men on the ship will die. Will my dear Arveragus be safe? Oh, why did God make something which can kill men? He loves everyone!' Her friends saw that she was becoming ill again. They were worried. They were kind people and they wanted to help her. So they kept her away from the black rocks, and they took her out with them to other places. They danced and played games together.

One day in spring, they went to a beautiful garden. They sat down on the grass and sang and danced. Only Dorigen was unhappy. АД the men were dancing happily, but her dear husband, Arveragus, was not there.

One of the dancers in the garden was a man called Aurelius. He was a handsome young man and he loved Dorigen with all his heart. But he never spoke to her about his feelings. Some of his friends knew that he was in love. But they didn't know who the lady was.

When Aurelius saw Dorigen in the garden on that spring day, he couldn't hide his love.

' I know that your heart lies over the sea with Arveragus,' he said to her. 'You're his wife. I know that you can't love me. But I love you very much.'

'You must never speak to me like that again, Aurelius,' Dorigen answered. 'Arveragus is my husband and I love him with all my heart. I'll never leave him.'

Then she laughed and said,'Aurelius, I will love you if you take away all the rocks from the sea. Then Arveragus can come home safely in his ship.'

' Is there no other way?' he asked.

' No, there's no other way,' said Dorigen.

Aurelius went away sadly. First he spoke to the Sun God.

' Oh, Lord of the Sun, speak to your sister. Ask her to cover the rocks with the sea. Then my lady will love me. She won't break her promise, I'm sure.'

But nothing happened. The sea stayed the same and Aurelius could still see the black rocks. He got very ill and his brother looked after him. Aurelius told his brother everything.

' I must take those rocks away,' he said.' If I can do that, then Dorigen will love me. I'll be a happy man.'

Aurelius's brother loved him and wanted to help him. He started to read books. He had to find a way to move the rocks.

After two years, Arveragus came home from the war. Dorigen and all their friends were very happy. But Aurelius didn't know that he was back. He lay at home in bed, very ill. His brother stayed close to him. He read his books and thought about the rocks all the time.

' How can I help my dear brother?' he asked himself every day.

At last he remembered something. He sat down near Aurelius's bed and spoke to him quietly.

' One day in Orleans, I saw a book in a friend's house. It was a book about magic. Perhaps that book will help us with the rocks. If we can hide the rocks for a short time, Dorigen will love you.'

Aurelius listened to his brother and felt much better. He jumped out of his bed and in a day or two they went to Orleans together.

As they came near Orleans, they met a young man. He was a magician.

He said to them,' I know why you've come here.'

And to their great surprise he told them everything about Dorigen and the rocks.

That night, they went with the young man to his house. Before they ate, he showed them many strange things. They were all done by magic. Forests came in front of their eyes, full of animals. Next they saw a river in the room. Then they saw many knights, and they even saw Aurelius with his love, Dorigen. Aurelius was dancing with her.

Before they went to bed, Aurelius decided. He said to the young man,'If you hide those rocks, I'll pay you a thousand pounds.'

The young man agreed, and the next morning they all rode to Brittany. It was December and the weather was very cold. When they arrived, the young man started his magic immediately. The sea began to cover the rocks. At the end of the day, Aurelius and his brother couldn't see one single rock!

Aurelius was very excited. He found Dorigen and said to her, ' I still love you very much, dear lady. I know that you're married to Arveragus. But remember the promise that you made in the garden on that spring day. I've done what you told me to do. All the black rocks have disappeared!'

Then he went away and left her. Dorigen ran down to the sea and looked for the rocks.

' It's true!' she cried. 'All the rocks have gone - or the sea has hidden them. Aurelius has done what I asked. But what shall I do now?'

Arveragus was away from home for a few days, so she couldn't tell him about her problem. She lay on her bed and cried.

'What can I do? Shall I kill myself? Some women kill themselves because their husbands don't love them. But Arveragus loves me. Other women kill themselves because they love another man. I don't love Aurelius but I've made a promise. I must keep my promise. But I can't! Oh, what shall I do?'

She lay on her bed all day and night, and cried and cried.

After two days, Arveragus came home. He saw that his wife was unhappy. He asked her, 'My love, why are you crying? What's the matter?'

Dorigen told him the story.

' Is that all?' he said, and looked at her lovingly. ' Is there nothing more?'

' That's enough!' she cried.' Oh, Arveragus, what shall I do?'

'A promise is a promise, my dear. You must keep your promise — that's very important. I won't love you if you break your promise.'

' Then I must go to the garden where Aurelius told me about his love. I must wait for him there,' answered Dorigen sadly.

She kissed her husband goodbye and walked slowly towards the garden.

Aurelius met Dorigen in the street. He looked very happy but Dorigen's eyes were red with tears.

' Where are you going?' he asked her.

' I've spoken to my husband. He told me to keep my promise to you. So I'm going to the garden where I first met you,' she replied unhappily.

Aurelius looked at Dorigen. He saw her sad face and felt sorry for her.

'I'm doing a very bad thing,' he thought. 'She loves her husband, Arveragus, very much.'

' Tell your husband that he's a good man,' he said to Dorigen. 'I don't want to come between a man and his wife. You're the most loving wife I've ever met.'

When she heard these kind words, Dorigen fell on her knees. She thanked him. Then, with a heart full of happiness, she ran home to her husband.

For the rest of their long life together, Arveragus looked after her like a queen and she was always his true and loving wife.

 

 

But poor Aurelius didn't feel very happy. He was a worried man. ' How can I ever pay the magician all that money?' he thought.' I'll have to sell everything that I own. And, even then, I won't have enough. Perhaps I can pay him a little every year.'

 

He had five hundred pounds, and he went to see the magician with this money.

' Here's all my money,' he said.' I'll pay you the rest but, please, give me two or three years.'

' But I did what I promised to do. And you promised to pay me a thousand pounds,' shouted the magician angrily.

' Yes, I know. You kept your promise but I can't pay you,' Aurelius answered unhappily.

'Well, have you seen your lady? Does she love you now?' asked the magician when he saw Aurelius's sad face.

' No, she doesn't,' said Aurelius. ' Her husband loves her very much but he told her to keep her promise. He sent her to me but I sent her back to him. She loves her husband and she looked so unhappy. I didn't want to hurt her.'

The magician was pleased to hear this. He said, 'My dear brother, you've done the right thing. And now I'll do the right thing too. I won't take your money.'

And he said goodbye, got on his horse, and rode away.

The franklin finished his story and then asked the pilgrims a question.

'My friends, now you must tell me something. Which of those three men seemed the best to you? Aurelius? Arveragus? Or the magician?'