craft of medicyne and charme that it come nat to the hool eye as
is comen to the hurt eye, forwhi thi hurt and damage is comune
to vs both,' settyng hir mowth to the hol eye til hir love from the
place wher he was hid went his way and departed, vnwityng the
husbond. Than quod she: 'Arise now, diere husbond, for I am sure
it shall nat come to the holl eye that is come to the hurt. Now
maistow, if it please the to go to thy bedde.' And so was the husbond
scorned and bijaped of his wif."[1]
Then the disciple said to his master: "Thou hast advised me well, and what thou hast told me about their guile and wiles I commend to the thirsty and yearning soul; and I would not exchange what I have learned about it for the riches of the Arabs. But if thou pleasest to proceed, instruct me how we may succeed in converting it into action for the future direction of the public." "I will do it," said the master.
VIII[2] The Husband Deceived by Means of a Sheet.
"It is saide that suche oon went on pilgremage and committed
his wif vnto his stepmoder.[3] Whiche wif loved another and
shewed it vnto hir moder, whiche even moeved for hir doughter
yaf a favour to the lover and cald hym and bigan to talke[4] apart
with hym and with the doughter to feede and to feeste. And in
their feestyng came the husbond to the dore and knocked. And the
wif arisyng hid the lover and after that opened the doore, whiche
after he was entred [he] bad array his bedde for he wold rest hym,
insomoche that he was wery. The wif Was troubled and in doubte
what she shuld do. The Moder seeyng that saide vnto the doughter:
'Ne haastow nat to arraie his bedde til we han shewed to thy husbond
the lynnen that we han made.' And thold wif drewe out the
lynnen as moche as she mgyht to a corner and toke hir doughter
another end to another corner. Whiche lynnen [was] so stretched
and lift vp in height. And so was the husbond mocked and bijaped
til the lovier that was hid went out at the doore. Than saide thold
wif vnto hir doughter: 'Stretche this lynnen vpon thi husbondes
bedde, forwhi myn handis and thyn han made (f. 123b) it and
woven it.' To whom the husbond saide: 'And thow, lady or dame,
canstow array suche lynnen?' 'O sone, moche have I made and
- ↑ There is nothing in the Latin (cf. I, 14, l. 26) corresponding to this sentence. And the following discussion which connects exempla IX and X in the Latin version is omitted from the English.
- ↑ No. X in the original, I, 15, l. 1.
- ↑ Ms. 'vnto his wif vnto his stepmoder' (Lat. socrui, 'mother-in-law.')
- ↑ Ms. 'take.'
