|
This yongeste, which that wente unto the toun, |
| Ful ofte in herte he rolleth up and doun |
| The beautee of thise floryns newe and brighte. |
| "O lorde," quod he, "if so were that I myghte |
| 555 | Have al this tresor to my-self allone, |
| Ther is no man that lyveth under the trone |
| Of God, that sholde lyve so murye as I." |
| And atte laste the feend, oure enemy, |
| Putte in his thought that he sholde poyson beye, |
| 560 | With which he myghte sleen hise felawes tweye; |
| For-why, the feend foond hym in swich lyvynge |
| That he hadde leve hem to sorwe brynge. |
| For this was outrely his fulle entente, |
| To sleen hem bothe, and nevere to repente. |
| 565 | And forth he gooth, no lenger wolde he tarie, |
| Into the toun unto a pothecarie |
| And preyde hym that he hym wolde selle |
| Som poysoun, that he myghte hise rattes quelle; |
| And eek ther was a polcat in his hawe, |
| 570 | That, as he seyde, hise capouns hadde yslawe; |
| And fayn he wolde wreke hym, if he myghte, |
| On vermyn that destroyed hym by nyghte. |
|
|
This youngest rogue who'd gone into the town, |
| Often in fancy rolled he up and down |
| The beauty of those florins new and bright. |
| "O Lord," thought he, "if so be that I might |
| 555 | Have all this treasure to myself alone, |
| There is no man who lives beneath the throne |
| Of God that should be then so merry as I." |
| And at the last the Fiend, our enemy, |
| Put in his thought that he should poison buy |
| 560 | With which he might kill both his fellows; aye, |
| The Devil found him in such wicked state, |
| He had full leave his grief to consummate; |
| For it was utterly the man's intent |
| To kill them both and never to repent. |
| 565 | And on he strode, no longer would he tarry, |
| Into the town, to an apothecary, |
| And prayed of him that he'd prepare and sell |
| Some poison for his rats, and some as well |
| For a polecat that in his yard had lain, |
| 570 | The which, he said, his capons there had slain, |
| And fain he was to rid him, if he might, |
| Of vermin that thus damaged him by night. |
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