TRANSLATED FROM CHAUCER

The Wife of Bath’s Tale, ll. 1225-1235

“Choose now just one of these two things,” she said:
“To have me foul and old until I’m dead,
Yet be to you a true and humble wife
And never to displease you all my life,
Or else young, fair and fitting for romance,
In which case then you’ll have to take your chance
For what befalls your house because of me
(Or in some other place, as it may be).
Now, choose the option toward which you’re more
      prone.”
The knight took thought and made a sorry moan.

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