By Anthoine De La Sale.
_Of a father who tried to kill his son because the young man wanted to
lie with his grandmother, and the reply made by the said son._
Young men like to travel and to seek after adventures; and thus it was
with the son of a labourer, of Lannoys, who from the age of ten until
he was twenty-six, was away from home; and from his departure until
his return, his father and mother heard no news of him, so they often
thought that he was dead.
He returned at last, and God knows what joy there was in the house, and
how he was feasted to the best of such poor means as God had given them.
But the one who most rejoiced to see him was his grandmother, his
father’s mother. She was most joyful at his return, and kissed him more
than fifty times, and ceased not to praise God for having restored her
grandson in good health.
After the feasting was over, bed-time came. There were in the cottage
but two beds--the one for the father and mother, and the other for
the grandmother. So it was arranged that the son should sleep with
his grandmother, at which she was very glad, but he grumbled, and only
complied to oblige his parents, and as a makeshift for one night.
When he was in bed with his grandmother, it happened, I know not how,
that he began to get on the top of her.
“What are you doing?” she cried.
“Never you mind,” he replied, “and hold your tongue.” When she saw that
he really meant to ravish her, she began to cry out as loud as she could
for her son, who slept in the next room, and then jumped out of bed and
went and complained to him, weeping bitterly meanwhile.
When the other heard his mother’s complaint, and the unfilial conduct
of his son, he sprang out of bed in great wrath, and swore that he would
kill the young man.
The son heard this threat, so he rose quickly, slipped out of the house,
and made his escape. His father followed him, but not being so light of
foot, found the pursuit hopeless, so returned home, where his mother was
still grieving over the offence her grandson had committed.
“Never mind, mother!” he said. “I will avenge you.”
I know not how many days after that, the father saw his son playing
tennis in the town of Laon, and drawing his dagger, went towards him,
and would have stabbed him, but the young man slipped away and his
father was seized and disarmed.
There were many there who knew that the two were father and son; so one
said to the son,
“How does this come about? What have you done to your father that he
should seek to kill you?”
“Faith! nothing,” he replied. “He is quite in the wrong. He wants to do
me all the harm in the world, because, just for once, I would ride his
mother--whereas he has mounted mine more than five hundred times, and I
never said a word about it.”
All those who heard this reply began to haugh heartily, and swore that
he must be a good fellow. So they did their best to make peace for him
with his father, and at last they succeeded, and all was forgiven and
forgotten on both sides.
*****