There was a poor gardener amongst the rest, which bought me for the sum of fifty pence, which seemed to him a great price, but he thought to gain it again by the continual travel of my body. The matter requireth to tell likewise, how I was handled in his service. This gardener accustomed to drive me, every morning laded with herbs to the next village, and when he had sold his herbs, he would mount upon my back and return to the garden, and while he digged the ground and watered the herbs, and went about other business, I did nothing but repose myself with great ease, but when winter approached with sharp hail, rain and frosts, and I standing under a hedge side, was well-nigh killed up with cold, and my master was so poor that he had no lodging for himself, much less had he any litter or place to cover me withal, for he himself always lay under a little roof shadowed with boughs. In the morning when I arose, I found my hoofs shriveled together with cold, and unable to pass upon the sharp ice, and frosty mire, neither could I fill my belly with meat, as I accustomed to do, for my master and I supped together, and had both one fare: howbeit it was very slender since as we had nothing else saving old and unsavoury sallets which were suffered to grow for seed, like long brooms, and that had lost all their sweet sap and juice.

It fortuned on a day that an honest man of the next village was benighted and constrained by reason of the rain to lodge (very lagged and weary) in our garden, where although he was but meanly received, yet it served well enough considering time and necessity. This honest man to recompence our entertainment, promised to give my master some corn, oil, and two bottles of wine: wherefore my master not delaying the matter, laded me with sacks and bottles, and rode to the town which was seven miles off.

When we came to the honest man’s house, he entertained and feasted my master exceedingly. And it fortuned while they eat and drank together as sign of great amity there chanced a strange and dreadful case: for there was a hen which ran cackling about the yard, as though she would have layed an egg. The good man of the house perceiving her, said: oh good and profitable pullet that feedest us every day with thy fruit, thou seemest as though thou wouldest give us some pittance for our dinner: ho boy put the pannier in the corner that the hen may lay. Then the boy did as his master commanded, but the hen forsaking the pannier, came toward her master and laid at his feet not an egg, which every man knoweth, but a chicken with feathers, claws, and eyes, which incontinently ran peeping after his dame. By and by happened a more strange thing, which would cause any man to abhor: under the table where they sat, the ground opened, and there appeared a great well and fountain of blood, insomuch that the drops thereof sparkled about the table. At the same time while they wondered at this dreadful sight one of the servants came running out of the cellar, and told that all the wine was boiled out of the vessels, as though there had been some great fire under. By and by a weasel was seen that drew into the house a dead serpent, and out of the mouth of a shepherd’s dog leaped a live frog, and immediately after one brought word that a ram had strangled the same dog at one bit. All these things that happened, astonied the good man of the house, and the residue that were present, insomuch that they could not tell what to do, or with what sacrifice to appease the anger of the gods. While every man was thus stricken in fear, behold, one brought word to the good man of the house, that his three sons who had been brought up in good literature, and endued with good manners were dead, for they three had great acquaintance and ancient amity with a poor man which was their neighbour, and dwelled hard by them: and next unto him dwelled another young man very rich both in lands and goods, but bending from the race of his progenies’ dissensions, and ruling himself in the town according to his own will. This young roister did mortally hate this poor man, insomuch that he would kill his sheep, steal his oxen, and spoil his corn and other fruits before the time of ripeness, yet was he not contented with this, but he would encroach upon the poor man’s ground, and claim all the heritage as his own. The poor man which was very simple and fearful, seeing all his goods taken away by the avarice of the rich man, called together and assembled many of his friends to show them all his land, to the end he might have but so much ground of his father’s heritage, as might bury him. Amongst whom, he found these three brethren, as friends to help and aid him in his adversity and tribulation.

Howbeit, the presence of these honest citizens, could in nowise persuade him to leave his extort power, no nor yet to cause any temperance of his tongue, but the more they went about with gentle words to tell him his faults, the more would he fret and likewise fume, swearing all the oaths under God, that he little regarded the presence of the whole city, whereupon incontinently he commanded his servants to take the poor man by the ears, and carry him out of his ground, which greatly offended all the standers-by. Then one of the brethren spake unto him somewhat boldly, saying: It is but a folly to have such affiance in your riches, whereby you should use your tyranny against the poor, when as the law is common for all men, and a redress may be had to suppress your insolency. These words chafed him more then the burning oil, or flaming brimstone, or scourge of whips, saying: that they should be hanged and their law too, before he would be subject unto any person: and therewithal he called out his bandogs and great mastiffs, which accustomed to eat the carrion and carcass of dead beasts in the fields, and to set upon such as passed by the way: then he commanded they should be put upon all the assistance to tear them in pieces: who as soon as they heard the hiss of their master, ran fiercely upon them invading them on every side, insomuch that the more they flied to escape away, the more cruel and terrible were the dogs. It fortuned amongst all this fearful company, that in running, the youngest of the three brethren stumbled at a stone, and fell down to the ground: Then the dogs came upon him and tore him in pieces with their teeth, whereby he was compelled to cry for succor: His other two brethren hearing his lamentable voice ran towards him to help him, casting their cloaks about their left arms, took up stones to chase away the dogs, but all was in vain, for they might see their brother dismembered in every part of his body: who lying at the very point of death, desired his brethren to revenge his death against that cruel tyrant: and therewithal he gave up the ghost. The other two brethren perceiving so great a murder, and neglecting their own lives, like desperate persons dressed themselves against the tyrant, and threw a great number of stones at him, but the bloody thief exercised in such and like mischiefs, took a spear and thrust it clean through the body: howbeit he fell not down to the ground. For the spear that came out at his back ran into the earth, and sustained him up. By and by came one of these tyrants servants the most sturdiest of the rest to help his master, who at the first coming took up a stone and threw at the third brother, but by reason the stone ran along his arm it did not hurt him, which chanced otherwise than all men’s expectation was: by and by the young man feigning that his arm was greatly wounded, spake these words unto the cruel bloodsucker: Now mayest thou, thou wretch, triumph upon the destruction of all our family, now hast thou fed thy insatiable cruelty with the blood of three brethren, now mayest thou rejoice at the fall of us citizens, yet think not but that how far thou dost remove and extend the bounds of thy land, thou shalt have some neighbor, but how greatly am I sorry in that I have lost mine arm wherewithal I minded to cut off thy head. When he had spoken these words, the furious thief drew out his dagger, and running upon the young man thought verily to have slain him, but it chanced otherwise: for the young man resisted him stoutly, and in buckling together by violence wrested the dagger out of his hand: which done, he killed the rich thief with his own weapon, and to the intent the young man would escape the hands of the servants which came running to assist their master, with the same dagger he cut his own throat. These things were signified by the strange and dreadful wonders which fortuned in the house of the good man, who after he had heard these sorrowful tidings could in nowise weep, so far was he stricken with dolour, but presently taking his knife wherewith he cut his cheese and other meat before, he cut his own throat likewise, in such sort that he fell upon the board and embraced the table with the streams of his blood, in most miserable manner. Hereby was my master the gardener deprived of his hope, and paying for his dinner the watery tears of his eyes, mounted upon my back and so we went homeward the same way as we came.