¶ Here beginneth the churl and the bird. Problems of old likeness & figures. Which ꝓu●●…n fructuous of sentence And auct●●…es grounded on scrypturis By resemblance of notable appearance with moralytes concluding on prudence Like as the nyble rehearseth by writing 〈◊〉 s chose them sometime a king first in their chose they named the olive To reign among them (judicium) doth express But he himself 'gan excuse believe He might not forsake his tatrenesse Ne the fig tree his amorous sweetness Ne the vine his wholesome tarage Which giveth comfort to all manner age And semblably poets laurente By dark parables full convenient Fain that birds and beasts of estate As rial eagles and lions by assent Sent out writs to hold a parlayment And made decrets briefly for to say Some to have lordship and some to obey Eagles in the air highest make their flight Power of lions on the ground is seen cedar among trees highest is of sight And the laurere of nature is aye green Of flowers all Flora aye goddess and queen Thus of all things there been diversities Some of estate and some of low degrees poets write wonderful likeness And under covert keep themself close They take beasts and fowls to witness Of whose feigning fables first arose And here I call to my purpose Out of french a tale to translate Which in a paunflete I red and saw late This tale which I make of mention In groos rehearsed plainly to declare Three proverbs paid for a ransom Of a bird which was take in a snare Wonder desirous to scape fro her care Of mine auctors following the process So as it befell in order I shall express Sometime there was a small village As mine author maketh rehercayle A churl which had lust and great courage Within himself by diligent travail To make a garden of rich entail Of length and breed like square and long Hedged and dytched to make it sure & strong All the alleys were made plain with sonde The bench covered with new turfs green Chorle. Sweet herbens with conduits at the hand That will it up again the son sheen Like silver streams as crystal clean The burbyll ways in their up boiling Round as beryl the beams out showing mid in the garden stood a fresh lauryre thereon a bird singing day and night With shining feathers brighter than gold wire Which with her song made heavy hearts light That to behold it was an heavenly sight How toward even and in the dawening She died her pain most amerously to sing Esperus enforced strongly her courage Toward even when Phoebus 'gan to west Among the branches to her advantage To sing her compline and than go to rest And at rising of queen Alceste To sing again as it was her dew early on morrow the day star to salue It was a very heavenly melody Even and morn to here the birds song And the sweet sugared harmony Of uncoute werblies and tewnes draw along That all the garden of the noise rung Till on morrow when Titan shone clear This bird was trapped & caught with a pantere The churl was glad when he this bird had take Merry of cheer of look and of visage And in all haste he purposed to make Within his house a little preaty cage And with her song to rejoice his courage Till at the last the silly bird abraid And soberly thus to the churl she said I am now take and stand under danger Holden straight that I may not flee A dieu my song and all my notes clear Now that I have lost my liberty Now am I thrall where sometime I was free And trust well while that I am in distress I can not sing nor make no gladness And though my cage forged were of gold And the pinnacles of berell and crystal I remember a proverb said of old Who loseth his freedom forsooth he loseth all For I had liefer upon a branch small Merely to sing among the woods green Than in a cage of silver bright and sheen Song in prison hath none accordance Trowest thou that I will sing in prison Song proceedeth of joy and pleasance. And prison causeth death and destruction ringing of feters is no merry sown Or how should he be glad or jocund Again his will that lieth in chains bound What availeth it a lion to be king Of beests all shut in a tour of stone Or an eagle under strait keeping Called also king of fowls everichone Fie on lordship when liberty is gone Answer hereto let it not a start Who singeth merrily the singeth not at heart And if thou wilt rejoice of my singing Let me go i'll far from all danger And every day in the morning I shall repair upon thy laurere And freshly sing with lusty notes clear Under thy chamber or afore thine hall Every season when thou list me call To be shit up and pinned under dread Nothing accordeth unto my nature Though I were fed with milk & wastel breed And with cruds brought to my pasture Yet had I liefer to do my busy cure early on morrow to scrape in the vale To find my dinner among the worms small The labourer is gladder at the plough early on morrow to feed him on bacon Than some man is that hath good enough And all daints plenty and foison And hath no freedom with his possession To go at large but as a bear at a stake To pass his bonds but if he leave take Take this answer for a full conclusion To sing in prison thou shalt not me constrain Till I have freedom in woods up and down To flee at large on bows rough and plain And of reason thou shouldest not disdain Of my desire but laugh and have game But who is a churl he would each man were the same Well quoth the churl sith it will not be That I desire as by thy talking, Maugre thy will thou shalt cheese of three Within a cage merely to sing Or to the kechyne I shall thy body bring Pull thy feathers that be bright and clear And after roast or bake the to my sopere Than said the bird to reason say I not nay touching my song a full answer thou hast And when my feathers plucked been away And my body roasted or baken in a past Thou shalt of me have a small repaast But and thou wilt work by my council Thou mayst by me have a great avail If thou wilt to my reason assent And suffer me go freely from prison Without ransom or any other rent I shall the rive a notable guerdon Three great wisdoms according to reason More of value take heed what I profre Than all the gold that shit is in thy coffer Trust me well I shall the not deceive Well said the churl tell anon let see Nay said the bird thou must afore conceive Who shall teach of reason must go free It sitteth a master to have his liberty And at large to teach his lesson Have me not suspect I mean no treason Well said the churl I hold me content I trust thy promise that thou hast made to me The bird flew forth the churl was of assent And took her flight upon the laurel tree Than thought she thus now stand I free With snares & panters I purpose not my live Ne with no limetwigs any more to strive He is a fool that scaped is fro danger And hath broke his feters & fled out of prison Again to resort/ brent child dreadeth fire Each man beware by wisdom and reason Sugar strawed that hideth false poison There is no venom so perilous of sharpness As when it hath of treacle the likeness Who dreadeth no peril in peril he shall fall Smooth waters been oft-time deep The quail pipe can most falsely call Till the quail under the net doth creep A blear eyed fowler trust not though he weep Eschew his thumb of weeping take none heed That small bird can nype by the heed And now that I such danger am escaped Ilwyll beware and for a provide That of no fowler I will no more be japed From their limetwigs I will flee far a side Where peril is peril is to abide Come near thou churl and hark to my speech Of three wisdom's that I shall the teach Neve not of wisdom to hastily credence To every tale ne to every tiding But conceive of reason and of prudence Among many tales in many a losing Hastily credence hath caused great hindering Report of tales and tidings told of new Maketh many a man to behold untrue For one part take this for my ransom Learn the second grounded on scripture Desire not thou by no condition Thing which is impossible to recure Worldly desires stand all in adventure And who desireth to climb high a loft By sudden turn falleth oft unsoft The third is this beware both eve and morrow forget it not but learn this of me For treasure lost make never to great sorrow Which in no wise may recovered be For who sorroweth for loss in that degree reckon first his loss and after his pain Of one sorrow he maketh sorrows twain After this lesson the bird began a song Of her escape greatly rejoicing And remembered her also of the wrong Done by the churl first at her taking Of her affray and of her prisoning Glad that she was at large and out of dread Said to him houynge above his heed Thou were said she a very natural fool To suffer me depart of thy lewdness Thou oughts of right complain & make dole And in thine heart to have great heaviness That thou hast lost so passing great riches Which might suffice by value in reckoning To pay the ransom of a mighty king There is a stone which called is a jagonce Of old engendered within mine entrayll Which of fine gold poiseth an ounce citrine of colour like garnettes of entayll Which maketh men victorious in battle And who so ever bear on him the stone Is full assured against his mortal fone Who hath this stone in his possession Shall suffer no poverty no none indigence But of all treasure have plenty and foison And every man shall do him reverence And enemy shall do him none offence But from thine hands now that I am gone Plain if thou wilt for thy part is none It causeth love it maketh men gracious And favourable in every man's sight It maketh accord between folks envious comforteth sorrowful maketh heavy hearts light Like to pasyon of colour sonnish bright I am a fool to tell all at ones Or teach a churl the prise of precious stones Men should not put a precious margaryte As rubies sapphires and other stones of India emeralds and other pearls white Afore rude swine that love drafe of kind For a sow delighteth as I find More in draff her pigs for to glade Than in all the perry that cometh out of garnade Each thing draweth to his semblable fishes in the see Bestes on the strand The air for fowls by nature is covenable And to the plough man for to till the land And to a churl a dongforke in his hand I lose my time any more to tarry For to tell a churl of lapydary That thou hadst thou gettest no more again Thy lime twigs and panters I defy To let me go thou were foul over seen To lose thy richesse only of folly I am now free to sing and to fly Where that me list and he is a fool at all That is at large and maketh himself thrall To here of wisdom thine eeres been half deaf Like an ass that lystneth on an harp Thou mayst go pipe on an ivy leaf Better is to me to sing on thorns sharp Than in a cage with a churl to carp For it was said of folks years agone A churl's churl is oft woebegone The churl felt his heart part on twain For very sorrow and a sunder rive Alas said he I may well weep and plain As a wratche never like to thrive But for to endure in poverty all my live For of folly and of wilfulness I have now lost all hole my riches I was a lord I cry out on fortune I had great trasoure late in my keeping Which might have made me long continue With that stone to have lived like a king if I had set it in a ring Borne it upon me. I had good enough I should than no more have gone to the plough When the bird saw the churl thus morn And how that he was heavy of his cheer She took her flight and 'gan again return Toward him and said as ye shall here O dull churl wisdom's for to lere That I the taught all is left behind raced away and clean out of thy mind Taught I the not this wisdom in sentence To every tale brought to the of new Not to hastily give thereto credence Unto time thou know that it were true All is not gold that showeth goldesshe hew● Nor stones all be nature as I find Be not sapphires that show colour ynde In this doctrine I lost my labour To teach the such proverbs of sustance Now may thou see thy blind error For all my body poised in balance Weyth not an ounce rude is thy remembrance I to have more poised cloysed in mine entrayll Than all my body set for the counteruayll All my body weyth not an ounce How might than I in me have a stone That poiseth more than a jagonce Thy brain is dull thy wit is almost gone Of three wisdom's thou hast forgotten one Thou shouldest not after my sentence To every tale to hastily give credence I bade also beware both even and morrow For a thing lost of sudden adventure Thou shouldest not make to much sorrow When thou seest thou mayst not it recure And here thou failest which dost thy curs In thy snare to catch me again Thou art a fool thy labour is in vain In the third thou dost crave I bade thou shouldest in no manner wise covet thing that thou mayst not have In which thou hast foregone mine enpryse Than may I say plainly to devise Thou hast of madness forgotten all three Notable wisdom's that I taught the The vyntener treateth of wholesome wines Of gentle fruit boasteth the gardener The fisher casteth out hooks and lines To catch fish in every fresh river Of tilth of land treateth the bover The gentleman talketh of gentery The churl delighteth to speak of ribaldry All one to the fawcone and a kite As good an owl as a popyngaye A duck of the donghylle as deynte as a snipe Who serveth a churl hath many a careful day A deu sir churl fair well I i'll my way I cast me never hens forth my living To fore a churl any more to sing Ye folk that shall this fable see or read New forged tales I counsel you to i'll For loss of good take never great heed Be not sorrowful for none adversity covet nothing that may not recovered be And remember where every ride or gone A churl's churl is alway woebegone Unto purpose this proverb is full ryf Red and reported by old remembrance A child's bird and a knaves wife Have oft sith great sorrow and mischance And who hath freedom hath all suffisance Better is freedom with little in gladness Than to be thrall with all worldly riches Go little quayer and recommend me Unto my master with humbly affection Beseech him lowly of mercy and pity Of thy rude making to have compassion And as touching thy translation Out of french/ how that it english be All things is said under correction With supportation of his benignity AMEN ¶ Here endeth the churl and the bird. imprinted at London in the Flete street in the sign of the son by Wynkyn de word. sign winkin: de: word