The Canterbury Tales – The nun’s priest’s tale

A poor, elderly widow lives a simple life in a cottage with her two daughters. Her few possessions include three sows, three cows, a sheep, and some chickens. One chicken, her rooster, is named Chanticleer, which in French means “sings clearly.” He crows the hour more accurately than any church clock. His crest is redder than fine coral, his beak is black as jet, his nails whiter than lilies, and his feathers shine like gold. Understandably, such an attractive cock would have to have many hen-wives, but he loves most truly a hen named Pertelote. She is as lovely as Chanticleer is magnificent.

In order to convince her that his dream was important, he tells the stories of men who dreamed of murder and then discovered it. Chanticleer cites textual examples of famous dream interpretations to further support his thesis that dreams are portentous.

The fox reaches out and grabs Chanticleer by the throat, and then slinks away with him back toward the woods. No one is around to witness what has happened. Once Pertelote finds out what has happened, she burns her feathers with grief, and a great wail arises from the henhouse.

The fox tries to flatter the bird into coming down, but Chanticleer has learned his lesson. He tells the fox that flattery will work for him no more. The moral of the story, concludes the Nun’s Priest, is never to trust a flatterer.