to him and sayd thus: Syrra, I vnderstande that thou doste lye
euery nyght with my wyfe, whan I am from home. Thys carter beynge no
thynge afrayde of hym answered, ye, marry, what than? What than, quod
the yeman of garde! By Goddys harte! hadst thou nat tolde me truth, I
wolde haue broke thy hede. And so the yeman of garde retourned, and no
hurte done, no stroke stryken nor proferyed.

By this ye may se, that the greatyst crakers somtyme, whan it commeth to
the profe, be moste cowardes.

+ _Of the fole that saide he had leuer go to hell than to heuen._ xlii.

+ A fole there was, that dwelled with a gentylman in the countrey,
whiche was called a great tyraunte and an extorcyoner. But this fole
loued his mayster meruaylously, because he cherysshed hym so well. It
happened * *

_3 lines wanting._

to heuen; for I had leuer go to hell. Than the other asked hym why he
had leuer go to hell. By my trouthe, quod the fole: for I wyll go with
my master; and I am sure my master shall go to hell. For euery man seyth
he shall go to the deuyll in hell; and therfore I wyll go thyder with
hym.

+ _Of the plowmannys sonne that sayde he sawe one make a gose to creke
sweetly._ xliii.

+ There was a certayn plowmans son of the contrey of the age of xvi
yeres, that neuer coming moche amonge company but alway went to plough
and husbandry. On a tyme this yonge lad went to a weddyng with his
fader, where he se one lute[78] vpon a lute; and whan he came home at
nyght his moder asked hym, what sporte he had at weddynge. This lad
answeryd and sayd: by my trouth, moder, quod he, there was one that
brought a gose in his armes and tykled her so vpon the neck, that she
crekyd the sweetlyest that I hard gose creke in my lyfe.

+ _Of the maydes answere that was with chylde._ xliv.

+ At a merchauntes house in London there was a mayde whiche was great
with chylde, to whom the maystres of the house cam, and comaunded[79]
her to tell her who was the fader of the chylde. To whom the mayde
answered: forsooth, nobody. Why, quod the maystres, it is not possyble
but som man is the fader thereof? To whom the mayd answered: why,
maystres, why may I not haue a chyld without a man as well as hennys lay
eggys withhout a cocke?

By this ye may se it is harde to fynde a woman wythout an excuse.

FOOTNOTES:

[78] _Lute_, as a verb, appears to be obsolete. We still say _to
fiddle_, and no doubt _to lute_ was formerly just as mu