Page:The Canterbury tales of Geoffrey Chaucer.djvu/213

 blood, nature's friend," quoth he. By twos and threes, they thank him yawning, and every wight gan draw to his rest, as sleep bade them, and as seemed to them good. I shall not tell of their dreams ; full were their heads of fumosity, which causeth dreaming, but of that no matter. The more part of them slept till fully prime, unless it were Canacee. She was temperate as be most women. For she had liberty of her father to go to rest soon after it was eve. She list not to grow pale nor to appear unfestive on the morrow, and slept her first sleep and then awoke. For she took such a joy in her heart both of her wondrous ring and her mirror that twenty times she changed hue, and in her sleep, for the very remembrance of her mirror, she had a vision. Wherefore, ere the sun gan glide upward, she called on her mistress, who slept hard by, and said that she list to rise. These old women will aye be prudent ; wherefore her mistress answered her anon and said: "Madame, whither will ye go thus early? for all the folk be abed." "I will arise," quoth she, "for I list no longer to sleep; and walk about."

Her mistress calleth a great troop of women, and up they rise, full ten or twelve; and up riseth fresh Canacee as ruddy and bright as the young sun that is voyaged four degrees in the Ram. No higher was he when she was ready, and forth she walketh quietly in light array, for the sweet lusty season, to walk and take her pastime with but five or six of her train. And forth in the park she goeth in an alley. The vapour that streamed upward from the earth made the sun to seem ruddy and broad; but natheless it was so fair a sight that it made all their hearts to leap up, what with the season and the morning-time and the birds that she heard sing, for right anon by their song she wist what they meant, and knew all their thought.