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With a tale forsooth he cometh unto you, with a tale which
holdeth children from play, and old men read more
With a tale forsooth he cometh unto you, with a tale which
holdeth children from play, and old men from the chimney corner.
A schoolboy's tale, the wonder of an hour!
A schoolboy's tale, the wonder of an hour!
In vain would I seek to discover
Why sad and mournful am I,
My thoughts without ceasing read more
In vain would I seek to discover
Why sad and mournful am I,
My thoughts without ceasing brood over
A tale of the time gone by.
[Ger., Ich weiss nicht was soll es bedeuten,
Dass ich so traurig bin:
Ein marchen aus alten Zeiten
Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.]
I cannot tell how the truth may be;
I say the tale as 'twas said to me.
I cannot tell how the truth may be;
I say the tale as 'twas said to me.
When thou dost tell another's jest, therein
Omit the oaths, which true wit cannot need;
Pick out read more
When thou dost tell another's jest, therein
Omit the oaths, which true wit cannot need;
Pick out of tales the mirth, but not the sin.
At this point therefore let us begin our narrative, without
adding any more to what has already been said; read more
At this point therefore let us begin our narrative, without
adding any more to what has already been said; for it would be
foolish to lengthen the preface while cutting short the history
itself.
And what so tedious as a twice-told tale.
And what so tedious as a twice-told tale.
His eye begets occasion for his wit;
For every object that the one doth catch
The other read more
His eye begets occasion for his wit;
For every object that the one doth catch
The other turns to a mirth-moving jest,
Which his fair tongue, conceit's expositor,
Delivers in such apt and gracious words,
That aged ears play truant at his tales,
And younger hearings are quite ravished,
So sweet and voluble is his discourse.
