‘Now,’ quod the firste, ‘thou woost wel we be tweye,
And two of us shul strenger be than oon. 825
Look whan that he is set, and right anoon
Arys, as though thou woldest with him pleye;
And I shal ryve him thurgh the sydes tweye (500)
Whyl that thou strogelest with him as in game,
And with thy dagger look thou do the same; 830
And than shal al this gold departed be,
My dere freend, bitwixen me and thee;
Than may we bothe our lustes al fulfille,
And pleye at dees right at our owene wille.’
And thus acorded been thise shrewes tweye 835
To sleen the thridde, as ye han herd me seye.
826. E. Hn. Cm. that right; Cp. and thanne; Pt. Ln. Hl. and that. _I
take_ and _from_ Cp. Pt. Ln. Hl., _and_ right _from_ E. Hn. Cm.
This yongest, which that wente un-to the toun,
Ful ofte in herte he rolleth up and doun (510)
The beautee of thise florins newe and brighte.
‘O lord!’ quod he, ‘if so were that I mighte 840
Have al this tresor to my-self allone,
Ther is no man that liveth under the trone
Of god, that sholde live so mery as I!’
And atte laste the feend, our enemy,
Putte in his thought that he shold poyson beye, 845
With which he mighte sleen his felawes tweye;
For-why the feend fond him in swich lyvinge,
That he had leve him to sorwe bringe, (520)
For this was outrely his fulle entente
To sleen hem bothe, and never to repente. 850
And forth he gooth, no lenger wolde he tarie,
Into the toun, un-to a pothecarie,
And preyed him, that he him wolde selle
Som poyson, that he mighte his rattes quelle;
And eek ther was a polcat in his hawe, 855
That, as he seyde, his capouns hadde y-slawe,
[316: T. 12791-12826.]
And fayn he wolde wreke him, if he mighte,
On vermin, that destroyed him by nighte. (530)
847. E. Hn. foond. 848. E. Cm. hem; _rest_ hym _or_ him. 853. Hn.
preyed; Cm. preyede; _rest_ preyde.
The pothecarie answerde, ‘and thou shalt have
A thing that, al-so god my soule save, 860
In al this world ther nis no creature,
That ete or dronke hath of this confiture
Noght but the mountance of a corn of whete,
That he ne shal his lyf anon forlete;
Ye, sterve he shal, and that in lasse whyle 865
Than thou wolt goon a paas nat but a myle;
This poyson is so strong and violent.’