[110] planted it against the roost.
+ _Of the husbande that sayd he was John Daw._ lxvi.
+ It _happened_ dyuers to be in communicacyon, amonge whome there was a
curate or a parysshe preest and one John Dawe, a parisshon of his;
whiche ii had communicacyon more busy than other in thys maner. This
preest thought that one myght nat by felynge knowe one from a nother in
the darke. John Dawe his parysshone, [being] of the contrary opinyon,
layde with his curate for a wager xl pence; whervpon the parysshe
preest, wyllynge to proue his wager, wente to this John Dawes house in
the euenynge, and sodenly gate hym to bedde with his wyfe; where, whan
he began to be somwhat busye, she felynge his crowne sayde shortely with
a loude voyce: by God! thou art nat John Dawe. That hearynge, her
husbande answered: thou sayest trouthe, wyfe, I John Dawe am here.[111]
Therfore, mayster persone, gyue me the money: for ye haue loste your xl.
pence.
By this tale ye may lerne to perceyue, that it is no wysedome for a man
to be couetous of wynnynge of any wager to put in ieopardye a thynge,
that maye turne him to greatter displeasure.
+ _Of the scoler of Oxforde that proued by souestry ii chykens iii._
lxvii.
+ A ryche Frankelyn in the contrey hauynge by his wyfe but one chylde
and no mo, for the great affeccyon that he had to his sayd chylde founde
hym at Oxforde to schole by the space of ii or iii yere. Thys yonge
scoler, in a vacacyon[112] tyme, for his disporte came home to his
father. It fortuned afterwarde on a nyght, the father, the mother and
the sayd yonge scoler
_5 lines wanting._
_I_ haue studyed souestry, and by that scyence I can proue, that these
ii chekyns in the dysshe be thre chekyns.[113] Mary, sayde the father,
that wolde I fayne se. The scoller toke one of the chekyns in his hande
and said: lo! here is one chekyn, and incontynente he toke bothe the
chekyns in his hande iointely and sayd: here is ii chekyns; and one and
ii maketh iii: ergo here is iii chekyns. Than the father toke one of the
chekyns to him selfe, and gaue another to his wyfe, and sayd thus: lo! I
wyll haue one of the chekyns to my parte, and thy mother shal haue a
nother, and because of thy good argumente thou shalte haue the thyrde to
thy supper: for thou gettyst no more meate here at this tyme; whyche
promyse the father kepte, and so the scoller wente without his supper.
By this tale men may se, that it is great foly to put one to scole to
lerne any subtyll scyence, whiche hathe no naturall wytte.