| 55 |
A povre wydwe, somdel stape in age, |
| Was whilom dwellyng in a narwe cotage |
| Biside a greve, stondynge in a dale. |
| This wydwe, of which I telle yow my tale, |
| Syn thilke day that she was last a wyf, |
| 60 | In pacience ladde a ful symple lyf, |
| For litel was hir catel and hir rente. |
| By housbondrie, of swich as God hir sente, |
| She foond hirself and eek hire doghtren two. |
| Thre large sowes hadde she, and namo, |
| 65 | Three keen, and eek a sheep that highte Malle. |
| Ful sooty was hir bour and eek hire halle, |
| In which she eet ful many a sklendre meel- |
| Of poynaunt sauce hir neded never a deel. |
| No deyntee morsel passed thurgh hir throte, |
| 70 | Hir diete was accordant to hir cote. |
| Repleccioun ne made hire nevere sik, |
| Attempree diete was al hir phisik, |
| And exercise, and hertes suffisaunce. |
| The goute lette hir nothyng for to daunce, |
| 75 | N'apoplexie shente nat hir heed. |
| No wyn ne drank she, neither whit ne reed, |
| Hir bord was served moost with whit and blak, |
| Milk and broun breed, in which she foond no lak, |
| Seynd bacoun, and somtyme an ey or tweye, |
| 80 | For she was as it were a maner deye. |
|
| 55 |
A poor widow, somewhat advanced in age, |
| Lived, on a time, within a small cottage |
| Beside a grove and standing down a dale. |
| This widow, now, of whom I tell my tale, |
| Since that same day when she'd been last a wife |
| 60 | Had led, with patience, her strait simple life, |
| For she'd small goods and little income-rent; |
| By husbanding of such as God had sent |
| She kept herself and her young daughters two. |
| Three large sows had she, and no more, there to, |
| 65 | Three cows and a lone sheep that she called Moll. |
| Right neatly was her bedroom and her hall, |
| Wherein she'd eaten many a slender meal. |
| Of sharp sauce, why she needed no great deal, |
| For dainty morsel never passed her throat; |
| 70 | Her diet well accorded with her coat. |
| Repletion never made this woman sick; |
| A temperate diet was her whole physic, |
| And exercise, and her heart's sustenance. |
| The gout, it hindered her nowise to dance, |
| 75 | Nor apoplexy spun within her head; |
| And no wine drank she, either white or red; |
| Her board was mostly garnished, white and black, |
| With milk and brown bread, whereof she'd no lack, |
| Broiled bacon and sometimes an egg or two, |
| 80 | For a small dairy business did she do. |
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