袋鼠小说

THE DOCTORS TALE（第1页）

theprologue

["yea，letthatpasse，"quothourhost，"asnow。

sirdoctorofphysik，iprayeyou，

tel露sataleofsomehonestmattere。"

"itshallbedone，ifthatyewillithear，"

saidthisdoctor;andhistalegananon。

"now，goodmen，"quothhe，"hearkeneveryone。"]

theauthenticityoftheprologueisquestionable。itisfoundinonemanuscriptonly;othermanuscriptsgiveotherprologues，replainlynotchaucersthanthis;andsomemanuscriptshavemerelyacolophontotheeffectthat"hereendeththefranklinstaleandbeginhthephysicianstalewithoutaprologue。"thetaleitselfisthewell-knownstoryofvirginia，withseveraldeparturesfromthetextoflivy。chaucerprobablyfollowedthe"romanceoftherose"andgowers"confessioamantis，"inbothofwhichthestoryisfound。