Averios was a wise emperour regnyng in the cite of Rome; and he let crye a grete feste, and who so ever wold come to that feste, and gete victory in the tournement, he shuld have his doughter to wyf, after his decesse. So there was a doughti knyght, and hardy in armys, and specially in tournement, the which hadde a wyf, and two yong children, of age of thre yere; and when this knyght had herd this crye, in a clere morowenyng[523] he entred in to a forest, and there he herd a nyghtingale syng upon a tre so swetly, that he herd never so swete a melody afore that tyme. The knyght sette him doun undre the tre, and seid to him self, “Now, Lord, if I myght knowe what this brid[524] shold bemene!”[525] There come an old man, and seid to him, “That thou shalt go within thes thre daies to the emperours feste, and thou shalt suffre grete persecution or thou come there; and if thou be constant, and pacient in all thi tribulacion, thy sorowe shal turne the[526] to grete joy; and, ser, this is the interpretacion of his song.” When this was seid, the old man vanysshed, and the brid fly away. Tho[527] the knyght had grete merveill; he yede[528] to his wif, and told her the cas.[529] “Ser,” quod she, “the will of God be fulfilled, but I counsell that we go to the feste of the emperour, and that ye thynk on the victory in the tournement, by the which we may be avaunced[530] and holpen.”[531] When the knyght had made all thing redy, there come a grete fire in the nyght; and brent[532] up all his hous, and all his goodis, for which he had grete sorowe in hert; nevertheles, notwithstondyng all this, he yede forthe toward the see, with his wife, and with his two childryn; and there he hired a ship, to passe over. When thei come to londe, the maister of the shippe asked of the knyght his hire for his passage, for him, and for his wif, and for his two childryn. “Dere frend,” said the knyght to him, “dere frend, suffre me, and thou shalt have all thyn, for I go now to the feste of the emperour, where I trust to have the victory in turnement, and then thou shalt be wele ypaied.” “Nay, by the feith that I owe to the emperour,” quod that other, “hit shal not be so, for but if[533] you pay now, I shal holde thi wif to wed,[534] tyll tyme that I be paied fully my salary.” And he seid that, for he desired the love of the lady. Tho the knyght profren his two childryn to wed, so that he myght have his wif; and the shipman seid, “Nay, such wordis beth[535] vayn, for,” quod he, “or[536] I wol have my mede, or els I wolle holde thi wif.” So the knyght lefte his wif with him, and kyst her with bitter teris; and toke the two childryn, scil. oon on his arme and that othir in his nek, and so he yede forth to the turnement. Aftir, the maister of the shippe wolde have layn by the lady, but she denyed hit, and seid, that she had lever dey[537] than consente therto. So within short tyme, the maister drew to a fer[538] lond, and there he deied; and