10 Cuccu, cuccu, well singes thu, cuccu:

Ne swike thu naver nu;

Sing cuccu, nu, sing cuccu,

Sing cuccu, sing cuccu, nu!

6. Awe, ewe. 7. Lhouth, loweth. II. swike, cease.

The wordes mote be cosin to the dede. A. 742.

Ther nis no newe gyse, that it nas old. A. 2125.

Men

may the olde at-renne, and noght at-rede. A. 2449.

To maken vertu of necessitee. A. 3042.

Wel bet is roten appel out of hord

Than that it rotie al the remenaunt.

A. 4406-4407.

whyl that iren is hoot, men sholden smyte. . . . B. 2226.

he hasteth wel that wysely can abyde.

Love is noght old as whan that it is newe. bet than never is late. G. 1410,

B. 2244.

E. 857.

The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne. . .

The Parlement of Foules.

THE PRIORESSES TALE

Here biginneth the Prioresses Tale

Ther was in Asie, in a greet citee,
Amonges Cristen folk, a Jewerye,
Sustened by a lord of that contree
For foule usure and lucre of vilanye,
5 Hateful to Crist and to his companye;

And thurgh the strete men mighte ryde or wende,
For it was free, and open at either ende.

A litel scole of Cristen folk ther stood

Doun at the ferther ende, in which ther were
10 Children an heep, y-comen of Cristen blood,
That lerned in that scole yeer by yere
Swich maner doctrine as men used there,
This is to seyn, to singen and to rede,
As smale children doon in hir childhede.

15 Among thise children was a widwes sone,
A litel clergeon, seven yeer of age,
That day by day to scole was his wone,
And eek also, wher-as he saugh th' image
Of Cristes moder, hadde he in usage,

20 As him was taught, to knele adoun and seye
His Ave Marie, as he goth by the weye.

Thus hath this widwe hir litel sone y-taught
Our blisful lady, Cristes moder dere,
To worshipe ay, and he forgat it naught,
25 For sely child wol alday sone lere;

But ay, whan I remembre on this matere,

Seint Nicholas stant ever in my presence,
For he so yong to Crist did reverence.

This litel child, his litel book lerninge,
30 As he sat in the scole at his prymer,
He Alma redemptoris herde singe,
As children lerned hir antiphoner;

And, as he dorste, he drough him ner and ner,
And herkned ay the wordes and the note,
35 Til he the firste vers coude al by rote.

Noght wiste he what this Latin was to seye,
For he so yong and tendre was of age;
But on a day his felaw gan he preye
T'expounden him this song in his langage,
40 Or telle him why this song was in usage;
This preyde he him to construe and declare
Ful ofte tyme upon his knowes bare.

His felaw, which that elder was than he,
Answerde him thus: 'this song, I have herd seye,

45 Was maked of our blisful lady free,

Hir to salue, and eek hir for to preye

To been our help and socour whan we deye.

I can no more expounde in this matere;

I lerne song, I can but smal grammere.'

50 'And is this song maked in reverence
Of Cristes moder?' seyde this innocent;
Now certes, I wol do my diligence
To conne it al, er Cristemasse is went;
Though that I for my prymer shal be shent,
55 And shal be beten thryës in an houre,
I wol it conne, our lady for to honoure.'

His felaw taughte him homward prively,
Fro day to day, til he coude it by rote,
And than he song it wel and boldely
60 Fro word to word, acording with the note;
Twyës a day it passed thurgh his throte,
To scoleward and homward whan he wente;
On Cristes moder set was his entente.

As I have seyd, thurgh-out the Jewerye
65 This litel child, as he cam to and fro,
Ful merily than wolde he singe, and crye
O Alma redemptoris ever-mo.

The swetnes hath his herte perced so

Of Cristes moder, that, to hir to preye, 70 He can nat stinte of singing by the weye.

Our firste fo, the serpent Sathanas, That hath in Jewes herte his waspes nest, Up swal, and seide, 'O Hebraik peple, allas! Is this to yow a thing that is honest, 75 That swich a boy shal walken as him lest In your despyt, and singe of swich sentence, Which is agayn your lawes reverence?'

Fro thennes forth the Jewes han conspyred This innocent out of this world to chace; 80 An homicyde ther-to han they hyred,

85

That in an aley hadde a privee place;
And as the child gan for-by for to pace,

This cursed Jew him hente and heeld him faste,
And kitte his throte, and in a pit him caste.

I seye that in a wardrobe they him threwe
Wher-as these Jewes purgen hir entraille.