Canterbury Tales: The Cock, the Hen, and the Fox (cont.)

This story is part of the Canterbury Tales unit. Story source: The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan (1908).

The Cock, the Hen, and the Fox (cont.)

"Madame," the cock replied, "I thank you for your learning. Cato was a wise man, but there has been many a man of greater wisdom than he who does not agree with him and who has learned by experience that dreams signify either joy or sorrow. One of the most famous authors that men read tells a story of two men . . .

~ ~ ~

There were two men who set off together on a pilgrimage. On the way they came to a little village so crowded that there was no room for them both in the same house. One chanced to find a comfortable lodging, but the other could do no better than to lie down in a stall with oxen all about him.

In the middle of the night, the man who was well lodged dreamed that his friend called to him and said, 'Help me, dear brother! Come to me quickly, or I shall be murdered here in an ox's stall.'

He woke with a start, and then he thought, 'How foolish to be troubled by a dream!' So he turned over and went to sleep again.

The same dream came to him a second time, and a second time he said, 'How foolish!' and went to sleep.

A third dream came, and this time the friend did not call for help, but said, 'I have been slain. Look at my gaping wounds. I was murdered for my money.'

Then point by point the man told in the dream how it had come about. At last he said, 'If you will get up early in the morning and go to the west gate of the town, you will see a cart full of rubbish. Don't be afraid to stop the cart, for my body will be hidden in the rubbish.'

This time the man did not say, 'How foolish!' and as soon as it was day, he went to the ox's stall and called for his friend.

The innkeeper said, 'Sir, your friend rose early and went out of town.'

Then the man went to the west gate, and there he saw a cart of rubbish, looking just as his friend had described it in the dream. At this he began to believe the dream must be true.

He cried aloud for vengeance. 'My murdered friend lies in this cart!' he declared fearlessly. 'You officers who ought to keep this town, I call upon you for vengeance and justice.'

Murder will out. It is such a loathsome thing that God will not suffer it to be concealed. The people gathered all around. They overturned the cart and, in the midst of the rubbish, they found the body of the murdered man. Then the officers of the town seized the carter and the innkeeper and tortured them till they confessed the crime, and straightway they were hanged.

~ ~ ~

"You can see by this that there is truth in dreams. And now in that same book, in the very next chapter beyond this, I read about two men . . .

~ ~ ~

There were two men who wanted to cross the sea to a distant country. They waited a long while, for the wind was contrary. At last it changed and blew just as they wished. They planned to start early in the morning and went to bed happy.

But while they were asleep, a wonderful thing happened, for one of them dreamed that a man stood by his bedside and said, 'If you sail to-morrow, you will be drowned.'

He started out of his sleep, called his friend, and told him of the dream. 'Let us put off the voyage for one day,' he said.

But his friend only laughed at him for being so foolish as to trust in dreams. 'No dream would ever frighten me,' he declared, 'so that I would give up my business for it. Dreams are only nonsense. People dream of all sorts of wild fancies that never were and never will be. I see, however, that you are bound to stay here and lose the wind. I pity you for your folly, and say farewell.'

He went on board the boat and started on his voyage, but before it was half done, something happened, I do not know what, save that the ship sprang a leak and went to the bottom, and the man was drowned.

~ ~ ~

"And now, dearest Partelote, you see that one ought not to be careless of dreams. But now let us not talk of this any more, for when I gaze into your lovely face and see the beautiful scarlet-red about your eyes, I forget all about my fears; I am so happy that I do not care a straw for any dreams or visions."

Next: The Cock, the Hen, and the Fox (cont. again)

(800 words)

Looking-Glass: Shaking and Waking

This story is part of the Looking-Glass unit. Story source: Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll (1871).

Shaking and Waking
(for audio, see previous page)

The White Queen laughed with delight and stroked Alice's cheek. Then she began:

"First, the fish must be caught."
That is easy: a baby, I think, could have caught it.

"Next, the fish must be bought."
That is easy: a penny, I think, would have bought it.

"Now cook me the fish!"
That is easy, and will not take more than a minute.

"Let it lie in a dish!"
That is easy, because it already is in it.

"Bring it here! Let me sup!"
It is easy to set such a dish on the table.

"Take the dish-cover up!"
Ah, THAT is so hard that I fear I'm unable!

For it holds it like glue —
Holds the lid to the dish, while it lies in the middle:

Which is easiest to do:
Un-dish-cover the fish, or dishcover the riddle?'

'Take a minute to think about it, and then guess,' said the Red Queen. 'Meanwhile, we'll drink your health — Queen Alice's health!' she screamed at the top of her voice, and all the guests began drinking it directly, and very queerly they managed it: some of them put their glasses upon their heads like extinguishers and drank all that trickled down their faces — others upset the decanters and drank the wine as it ran off the edges of the table — and three of them (who looked like kangaroos) scrambled into the dish of roast mutton and began eagerly lapping up the gravy, 'just like pigs in a trough!' thought Alice.

'You ought to return thanks in a neat speech,' the Red Queen said, frowning at Alice as she spoke.

'We must support you, you know,' the White Queen whispered as Alice got up to do it, very obediently, but a little frightened.

'Thank you very much,' she whispered in reply, 'but I can do quite well without.'

'That wouldn't be at all the thing,' the Red Queen said very decidedly, so Alice tried to submit to it with a good grace.

('And they DID push so!' she said afterwards, when she was telling her sister the history of the feast. 'You would have thought they wanted to squeeze me flat!')

In fact, it was rather difficult for her to keep in her place while she made her speech: the two Queens pushed her so, one on each side, that they nearly lifted her up into the air: 'I rise to return thanks — ' Alice began, and she really DID rise as she spoke, several inches, but she got hold of the edge of the table and managed to pull herself down again.

'Take care of yourself!' screamed the White Queen, seizing Alice's hair with both her hands. 'Something's going to happen!'

And then (as Alice afterwards described it) all sorts of things happened in a moment. The candles all grew up to the ceiling, looking something like a bed of rushes with fireworks at the top. As to the bottles, they each took a pair of plates which they hastily fitted on as wings and so, with forks for legs, went fluttering about in all directions: 'and very like birds they look,' Alice thought to herself, as well as she could in the dreadful confusion that was beginning.

At this moment she heard a hoarse laugh at her side and turned to see what was the matter with the White Queen, but, instead of the Queen, there was the leg of mutton sitting in the chair.

'Here I am!' cried a voice from the soup tureen, and Alice turned again, just in time to see the Queen's broad good-natured face grinning at her for a moment over the edge of the tureen before she disappeared into the soup.

There was not a moment to be lost. Already several of the guests were lying down in the dishes, and the soup ladle was walking up the table towards Alice's chair, and beckoning to her impatiently to get out of its way.

'I can't stand this any longer!' she cried as she jumped up and seized the table-cloth with both hands: one good pull, and plates, dishes, guests, and candles came crashing down together in a heap on the floor.

(illustration by John Tenniel)

'And as for YOU,' she went on, turning fiercely upon the Red Queen, whom she considered as the cause of all the mischief — but the Queen was no longer at her side — she had suddenly dwindled down to the size of a little doll and was now on the table, merrily running round and round after her own shawl, which was trailing behind her.

At any other time, Alice would have felt surprised at this, but she was far too much excited to be surprised at anything NOW. 'As for YOU,' she repeated, catching hold of the little creature in the very act of jumping over a bottle which had just lighted upon the table, 'I'll shake you into a kitten, that I will!'

CHAPTER X. Shaking
LIBRIVOX AUDIO: Chapter 10

She took her off the table as she spoke and shook her backwards and forwards with all her might.

(illustration by John Tenniel)

The Red Queen made no resistance whatever; only her face grew very small, and her eyes got large and green, and still, as Alice went on shaking her, she kept on growing shorter — and fatter — and softer — and rounder — and —

CHAPTER XI. Waking

[LIBRIVOX AUDIO]

— and it really WAS a kitten, after all.

(illustration by John Tenniel)

CHAPTER XII. Which Dreamed it?

'Your majesty shouldn't purr so loud,' Alice said, rubbing her eyes and addressing the kitten, respectfully, yet with some severity. 'You woke me out of oh! such a nice dream! And you've been along with me, Kitty — all through the Looking-Glass world. Did you know it, dear?'

[There is a bit more at the end of the novel; you can read the rest online if you are curious.]

(900 words)

King Arthur: The King's Pilgrimage

This story makes references to the Church of St. Paul in London, calling it "newly built" at that time. The original church was built around the year 600, but the Anglo-Saxon church that stands there now is a Baroque building that dates to the 17th century. You can find out more at Wikipedia.

[Notes by LKG]

---

This story is part of the King Arthur unit. Story source: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1902).

HOW THE KING WENT ON PILGRIMAGE

Now the King was minded to go on a pilgrimage, and he agreed with the Queen that he would set forth to seek the holy chapel of St. Augustine, which is in the White Forest and may only be found by adventure. Much he wished to undertake the quest alone, but this the Queen would not suffer, and to do her pleasure he consented that a youth, tall and strong of limb, should ride with him as his squire. Chaus was the youth's name, and he was son to Gwain li Aoutres.

"Lie within tonight," commanded the King, "and take heed that my horse be saddled at break of day, and my arms ready."

"At your pleasure, Sir," answered the youth, whose heart rejoiced because he was going alone with the King.

As night came on, all the Knights quitted the hall, but Chaus the squire stayed where he was and would not take off his clothes or his shoes, lest sleep should fall on him and he might not be ready when the King called him. So he sat himself down by the great fire, but in spite of his will sleep fell heavily on him, and he dreamed a strange dream.

In his dream it seemed that the King had ridden away to the quest and had left his squire behind him, which filled the young man with fear. And in his dream he set the saddle and bridle on his horse, and fastened his spurs, and girt on his sword, and galloped out of the castle after the King.

He rode on a long space till he entered a thick forest, and there before him lay traces of the King's horse, and he followed till the marks of the hoofs ceased suddenly at some open ground and he thought that the King had alighted there.

On the right stood a chapel, and about it was a graveyard, and in the graveyard many coffins, and in his dream it seemed as if the King had entered the chapel, so the young man entered also. But no man did he behold save a Knight that lay dead upon a bier in the midst of the chapel, covered with a pall of rich silk, and four tapers in golden candlesticks were burning round him.

The squire marvelled to see the body lying there so lonely, with no one near it, and likewise that the King was nowhere to be seen. Then he took out one of the tall tapers, and hid the candlestick under his cloak, and rode away until he should find the King.

On his journey through the forest he was stopped by a man black and ill-favoured, holding a large knife in his hand.

"Ho! you that stand there, have you seen King Arthur?" asked the squire.

"No, but I have met you, and I am glad thereof, for you have under your cloak one of the candlesticks of gold that was placed in honour of the Knight who lies dead in the chapel. Give it to me, and I will carry it back, and if you do not this of your own will, I will make you."

"By my faith!" cried the squire, "I will never yield it to you! Rather, will I carry it off and make a present of it to King Arthur."

"You will pay for it dearly," answered the man, "if you yield it not up forthwith."

To this the squire did not make answer but dashed forward, thinking to pass him by, but the man thrust at him with his knife, and it entered his body up to the hilt. And when the squire dreamed this, he cried, "Help! help! for I am a dead man!"

As soon as the King and the Queen heard that cry they awoke from their sleep, and the Chamberlain said, "Sir, you must be moving, for it is day," and the King rose and dressed himself, and put on his shoes.

Then the cry came again: "Fetch me a priest, for I die!" and the King ran at great speed into the hall, while the Queen and the Chamberlain followed him with torches and candles.

"What aileth you?" asked the King of his squire, and the squire told him of all that he had dreamed.

"Ha," said the King, "is it, then, a dream?"

"Yes, Sir," answered the squire, "but it is a right foul dream for me, for right foully it hath come true," and he lifted his left arm, and said, "Sir, look you here! Lo, here is the knife that was struck in my side up to the haft."

After that, he drew forth the candlestick, and showed it to the King. "Sir, for this candlestick that I present to you was I wounded to the death!"

The King took the candlestick in his hands and looked at it, and none so rich had he seen before, and he bade the Queen look also.

"Sir," said the squire again, "draw not forth the knife out of my body till I be shriven of the priest."

So the King commanded that a priest should be sent for, and when the squire had confessed his sins, the King drew the knife out of the body and the soul departed forthwith.

Then the King grieved that the young man had come to his death in such strange wise, and ordered him a fair burial, and desired that the golden candlestick should be sent to the Church of St. Paul in London, which at that time was newly built.

After this King Arthur would have none to go with him on his quest, and many strange adventures he achieved before he reached the chapel of St. Augustine which was in the midst of the White Forest. There he alighted from his horse, and sought to enter, but though there was neither door nor bar he might not pass the threshold. But from without he heard wondrous voices singing, and saw a light shining brighter than any that he had seen before, and visions such as he scarcely dared to look upon. And he resolved greatly to amend his sins, and to bring peace and order into his kingdom. So he set forth, strengthened and comforted, and after divers more adventures returned to his Court.

(King Arthur, by Howard Pyle)

Next: The Coming of the Holy Graal

(1000 words)