The Prologue

The Cook of London, while the Reeve thus spake,
For joy he laugh’d and clapp’d him on the back:
“Aha!” quoth he, “for Christë’s passión,
This Miller had a sharp conclusión,
Upon this argument of herbergage.1362
Well saidë Solomon in his languáge,
Bring thou not every man into thine house,
For harbouring by night is periloús.
Well ought a man avised for to be1363
Whom that he brought into his privity.
I pray to God to give me sorrow and care
If ever, since I hightë1364 Hodge of Ware,
Heard I a miller better set a-werk;1365
He had a jape1366 of malice in the derk.
But God forbid that we should stintë1367 here,
And therefore if ye will vouchsafe to hear
A tale of me, that am a poorë man,
I will you tell as well as e’er I can
A little jape that fell in our citý.”

Our Host answér’d and said; “I grant it thee.
Roger, tell on; and look that it be good,
For many a pasty hast thou letten blood,
And many a Jack of Dover1368 hast thou sold,
That had been twicë hot and twicë cold.
Of many a pilgrim hast thou Christë’s curse,
For of thy parsley yet fare they the worse.
That they have eaten in thy stubble goose:
For in thy shop doth many a fly go loose.
Now tell on, gentle Roger, by thy name,
But yet I pray thee be not wroth for game;1369
A man may say full sooth in game and play.”
“Thou sayst full sooth,” quoth Roger, “by my fay;
But sooth play quad play,1370 as the Fleming saith,
And therefore, Harry Bailly, by thy faith,
Be thou not wroth, else we departë1371 here,
Though that my tale be of an hostelére.1372
But natheless, I will not tell it yet,
But ere we part, y-wis1373 thou shalt be quit.”
And therewithal he laugh’d and madë cheer,1374
And told his tale, as ye shall after hear.

The Tale

A prentice whilom dwelt in our city,
And of a craft of victuallers was he:
Galliard1375 he was, as goldfinch in the shaw,1376
Brown as a berry, a proper short felláw:
With lockës black, combed full fetisly.1377
And dance he could so well and jollily,
That he was called Perkin Revellour.
He was as full of love and paramour,
As is the honeycomb of honey sweet;
Well was the wenchë that with him might meet.
At every bridal would he sing and hop;
He better lov’d the tavern than the shop.
For when there any riding was in Cheap,1378
Out of the shoppë thither would he leap,
And, till that he had all the sight y-seen,
And danced well, he would not come again;
And gather’d him a meinie of his sort,1379
To hop and sing, and makë such disport:
And there they settë steven1380 for to meet
To playen at the dice in such a street.
For in the townë was there no prentíce
That fairer couldë cast a pair of dice
Than Perkin could; and thereto he was free
Of his dispence, in place of privity.1381
That found his master well in his chaffare,1382
For oftentime he found his box full bare.
For, soothëly, a prentice revelloúr,
That haunteth dice, riot, and paramoúr,
His master shall it in his shop abie,1383
All1384 have he no part of the minstrelsy.
For theft and riot they be convertible,
All1385 can they play on gitern or ribible.1386
Revel and truth, as in a low degree,
They be full wroth1387 all day, as men may see.

This jolly prentice with his master bode,
Till he was nigh out of his prenticehood,
All1388 were he snubbed1389 both early and late,
And sometimes led with revel to Newgate.
But at the last his master him bethought,
Upon a day when he his paper1390 sought,
Of a proverb, that saith this samë word;
Better is rotten apple out of hoard,
Than that it should rot all the remenánt:
So fares it by a riotous servánt;
It is well lessë harm to let him pace,1391
Than he shend1392 all the servants in the place.
Therefore his master gave him a quittánce,
And bade him go, with sorrow and mischance.
And thus this jolly prentice had his leve:1393
Now let him riot all the night, or leave.1394

And, for there is no thief without a louke,1395
That helpeth him to wasten and to souk1396
Of that he bribë can, or borrow may,
Anon he sent his bed and his array
Unto a compere1397 of his owen sort,
That loved dice, and riot, and disport;
And had a wife, that held for countenance1398
A shop, and swived1399 for her sustenance.
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