THE OWL AND THE NIGHTINGALE

I was in a valley in springtime; in a very secluded corner, I heard an owl and a nightingale
holding a great debate. [5] Their argument was fierce, passionate, and vehement, sometimes
sotto voce, sometimes loud; and each of them swelled with rage against the other and let out
all her anger, and said the very worst she could think of about the other's character, [10] and
especially they argued vehemently against each other's song.

The nightingale began the argument in the corner of a clearing, [15] and perched on a beautiful
branch---there was plenty of blossom around it---in an impenetrable thick hedge, with reeds
and green sedge growing through it. She was all the happier because of the branch, [20] and
sang in many different ways; the music sounded as if it came from a harp or a pipe rather than
from a living throat. [25] Nearby there stood an old stump where the owl sang her Hours, and
which was all overgrown with ivy; this was where the owl lived. The nightingale looked at her,
[30] and scrutinised her and despised her, and everything about the owl seemed unpleasant to
her, since she is regarded as ugly and dirty.

'You nasty creature!', she said, 'fly away! The sight of you makes me sick. [35] Certainly I often
have to stop singing because of your ugly face. My heart fails me, and so does my speech,
when you thrust yourself on me. I'd rather spit than sing [40] about your wretched howling.'

The owl waited until it was evening; she couldn't hold back any longer, because she was so
angry that she could hardly breathe, and finally she spoke:

[45] 'How does my song seem to you now? Do you think that I can't sing just because I can't
twitter? You often insult me [50] and say things to upset and embarrass me. If I held you in my
talons---if only I could!--and you were off your branch, you'd sing a very different tune!'

[55] The nightingale answered, 'As long as I keep out of the open, and protect myself against
being exposed, I'm not bothered about your threats; [60] as long as I stay put in my hedge, I
don't care at all what you say. I know that you're ruthless towards those who can't protect
themselves from you, and that where you can you bully small birds cruelly and harshly. [65]
That is why all kinds of birds hate you, and they all drive you away, and screech and scream
around you, and mob you at close quarters; and for the same reason even the titmouse [70]
would gladly rip you to pieces. You're ugly to look at, and hideous in all sorts of ways; your
body is squat, your neck is scrawny, your head is bigger than the rest of you put together; [75]
your eyes are black as coal, and as big as if they were painted with woad. You glare as if you
want to bite to death everything that you can strike with your talons. Your beak is hard and
sharp, and curved [80] like a bent hook. You often make a repeated clacking noise with it, and
that's one of your songs. But you're making threats against my person, and would like to crush
me with your talons; [85] a frog would suit you better, squatting under a mill-wheel; snails,
mice, and other vermin would be more natural and appropriate for you. You roost by day and
fly by night; [90] you show that you're an evil creature. You are loathsome and unclean---I'm
talking about your nest, and also about your dirty chicks; you're bringing them up with really
filthy habits. [95] You know very well what they do in their nest: they foul it up to the chin; they
sit there as if they're blind. There's a proverb about that: 'Shame on the creature [100] which
fouls its own nest'! The other year a falcon was breeding; she didn't guard her nest well. You
crept in there one day, and laid your filthy egg in it. [105] When the time came that she
hatched the eggs and the chicks emerged, she brought her chicks food, watched over the nest
and saw them eat; she saw that on one side [110] her nest was fouled on the outer edge. The
falcon was angry with her chicks, and screamed loudly, and scolded sternly: 'Tell me, who's
done this? It was never your nature to do this kind of thing. [115] This is a disgusting thing to
have happened to you. Tell me, if you know who did it!' Then they all said, 'It was actually our
brother, the one over there with the big head--- [120] it's a pity nobody's cut it off! Throw him
out as a reject, so that he breaks his neck!' The Falcon believed her chicks, and seized that dirty
chick by the middle, [125] and threw it off that wild branch, where magpies and crows tore it to
pieces. There's a fable told about this, though it's not entirely a fable: this is what happens to
the villain [130] who's come from a disreputable family and mixes with respectable people;
he's always letting his origins show, that he's come from a rotten egg even if he's turned up in a
respectable nest; [135] even if an apple rolls away from the tree where it was growing with the
others, although it's some distance from it it still reflects clearly where it's come from.' The
nightingale replied with these words, [140] and after that long speech she sang as loudly and as
shrilly as if a resonant harp were being played.

The owl listened to this, and kept her eyes lowered, [145] and sat puffed up and swollen with
rage, as if she had swallowed a frog, because she was fully aware that the nightingale was
singing to humiliate her. And nevertheless she answered:

[150] 'Why don't you fly into the open and show which of us two is brighter in colouring and
prettier to look at?'

'No! you have very sharp claws; I don't fancy being clawed by you. [155] You have very strong
talons; you grip with them like a pair of tongs. You were planning---that's what your sort do---
to trick me with flattery. I wouldn't do what you suggested to me; [160] I knew very well that
you were trying to mislead me. You ought to be ashamed of your bad advice! Your deviousness
has been exposed; hide your dishonesty from the light, and conceal that wickedness under
good behaviour! [165] When you want to practise your villainy, see that it's not obvious;
because dishonesty brings down contempt and hatred if it's open and recognized. You didn't
succeed with your cunning plans, [170] because I'm cautious and can easily dodge. It's no use
your pushing too hard; I would fight better with cunning than you with all your strength. [175] I
have a good castle, both in breadth and length, in my branch; the wise man says,

'He who fights and runs away,

Lives to fight another day.'

But let's stop this quarrelling, because speeches like this aren't getting us anywhere; and let's
begin with reasonable procedure, [180], and courteous and diplomatic language. Even if we
don't agree, we can plead better politely, without quarrelling and fighting, properly and
correctly; [185] and indeed each of us can say what she wants to fairly and reasonably.'

Then the owl said: 'Who is there to mediate between us; who is able and willing to give us a
fair judgement?'
'I know very well', said the nightingale, [190] 'there's no need for discussion about it: Master
Nicholas of Guildford. He is wise and weighs his words carefully; he has very sound judgement,
and detests all vices. [195] He has a good understanding of singing, who is singing well, who
badly; and he can distinguish wrong from right, darkness from light.'

The owl reflected for a while, [200], and and finally spoke as follows:

'I'm quite willing that he should judge us, because although he was wild once, and fond of
nightingales and other charming and dainty creatures, [205] I know that he's cooled down
considerably now; he's not so bewitched by you that he'll give you priority over me because of
his old love for you. You'll never charm him so much [210] that he'd give a false judgement in
your favour. He's mature, and his judgement is sound; he has no desire for indiscretion now;
he's no longer inclined to frivolity; he will take the right path.'

[215] The nightingale was quite ready; she had a wide range of experience.

'Owl', she said, 'tell me the truth; why do you do what evil creatures do? You sing by night and
not by day, [220] and your whole song is "Woe! Woe!". You could frighten all those who hear
your hooting with your song. You shriek and scream to your mate in a way that's horrible to
listen to. [225] It seems to everyone, clever or stupid, that you're wailing rather than singing.
You fly by night and not by day; I' wonder about that, and well I may, because every creature
that avoids doing right [230] loves darkness and hates light; and every creature attracted by
wrongdoing likes the cover of darkness for what it does. There's a wise, though coarse, proverb
which is used by a lot of people, [235] because King Alfred said and wrote it: "Someone who
knows he's fouled himself keeps out of the way." I think that's just what you're doing, because
you always fly at night. Another thing occurs to me: [240] at night you have very sharp
eyesight; during the day you're completely blind, so you can't see either branch or bark.
There's a proverb which is used about that: [245] just as is the case with the villain who is up to
no good, and is so full of malicious dishonesty that nobody can escape him, knows the dark
path well [250] and avoids the well-lit one, so it is with those of your kind: they don't care at all
for light.'

The owl listened for a very long time, and became really angry.

[255] She said, 'You're called a nightingale, but you could better be described as a chatterbox
because you talk too much. Give your tongue a rest! You think you've got the day to yourself.
[260] Now let me have my turn! Be quiet now, and let me speak; I'll get my revenge on you.
And listen to how I can defend myself by plain truth without verbiage. [265] You say that I hide
myself by day; I don't deny that. And listen, I'll tell you why, the whole reason for it. I have a
hard, strong beak [270] and good, long, sharp claws, as is proper for the hawk family. It is my
wish and my desire to take after my own kind; nobody can blame me for it. [275] It's obvious in
my case that I'm so fierce because of my proper nature. That's why I'm hated by the small birds
that fly along the ground and through thickets. They scream and squawk at me [280] and fly in
flocks against me. I prefer to have peace and quiet and sit still in my nest; because I would
never be any better off [285] if I attacked them with scolding, abuse, and insults, as shepherds
do, or with bad language. I don't want to quarrel with the wretched creatures, so I give them a
wide berth. It's the opinion of the wise--- [290] and so they often say---that one shouldn't
quarrel with fools, or compete with the oven in gaping widely. I've heard how Alfred once said
in his proverbs, [295] "Take care to avoid anywhere where there are arguments and quarrels;
let fools quarrel, and go on your way!" And I am wise, and do just that. And from another point
of view, Alfred had [300] a saying which has spread far and wide: "Anyone who has to do with
someone who is dirty will never come away from him with clean hands". Do you think that the
hawk is the worse for it if a crow caws at him beside the marsh, [305] and swoops at him
screaming as if she means to attack him? The hawk follows a sensible plan, and flies on his way
and lets her scream.

'And another thing: you raise another point against me, [310] and accuse me of not being able
to sing, saying that my only song is a dirge, and distressing to listen to. That isn't true---I sing
harmoniously, with full melody and a resonant voice. [315] You think that all songs sound
terrible if they're not like your piping. My voice is confident, not diffident; it's like a great horn,
and yours is like a whistle made from a spindly half-grown weed. [320] I sing better than you
do; you gabble like an Irish priest. I sing in the evening at the proper time, and afterwards when
it is time to go to bed, [325] the third time at midnight; and so I regulate my song. When I see
dawn coming far off, or the morning star, I do good with my throat [330] and call people to
their business. But you sing all night long, from evening till dawn, and your song lasts as long as
the night does, [335] and your wretched throat keeps on trilling without stopping, night or day.
You constantly assault the ears of those who live around you with your piping, and make your
song so cheap [340] that it loses all its value. Every pleasure can last so long that it ceases to
please; because harp and pipe and birdsong all grow tiresome if they last too long. [345]
However delightful a song may be, it will seem very tedious if it goes on longer than we would
like. In this way you can devalue your song; because it is true---Alfred said so, and it can be
read in books: [350] "Everything can lose its value through lack of moderation and restraint."
You can glut yourself with pleasure, and surfeit makes you sick; [355] and every enjoyment can
pall if it is pursued constantly---except for one. That is God's kingdom, which is always full of
delight and always the same; even if you drew constantly on that basket, [360] it would
constantly be full to overflowing. God's kingdom is something to marvel at, always giving and
always unchanged.

'And you reproach me with a further point, that I have poor eyesight, [365] and say that
because I fly by night I can't see in daylight. You're lying! It's obvious that I have good eyesight,
because there's no darkness so thick that my sight is obscured. [370] You think I can't see
because I don't fly by day; the hare lies low all day, but nevertheless he can see. [375] If hounds
run towards him, he dodges away at top speed, and turns sharply down very narrow paths, and
keeps his tricks ready, and hops and leaps very fast, [380] and looks for ways to the wood. His
eyesight wouldn't be up to this unless he could see really well. I can see as well as a hare, even
though I stay hidden all day. [385] Where brave men are at war, and travel everywhere, and
overrun many countries, and do good service at night, I follow those brave men, [390] and fly
at night in their company.'

The nightingale kept all this in her mind, and considered for a long time what she might say to
follow it; because she could not refute [395] what the owl had said to her, since what she said
was true and accurate. And she regretted that she had let the argument get so far, and was
afraid that her answer [400] would not be effectively delivered. But nevertheless she spoke out
boldly; because it is wise to put on a brave show in front of one's enemy rather than giving up
out of cowardice, [405] since someone who is bold if you take to flight will run away if you
don't lose your nerve; if he sees that you're not cowardly he'll turn from a boar into a barrow-
pig. And therefore, although the nightingale [410] was nervous, she made a bold speech.

'Owl,' she said, 'why do you behave like this? In winter you sing "Woe! Woe!' You sing like a hen
in snow---everything that you sing comes out of misery. [415] In winter you sing sullenly and
gloomily, and you are always dumb in summer. It's because of your wretched malice that you
can't be happy with us, since you practically burn up with resentment [420] when our good
times arrive. You behave like a mean-spirited man: every pleasure displeases him; complaining
and scowling come easily to him if he sees that people are happy; [425] he would like to see
tears in everyone's eyes; he wouldn't mind if whole troops of men were fighting each other
hand-to-hand. You do the same for your part; [430] because when deep snow is lying far and
wide, and every creature is miserable, you sing from evening to morning. But I bring every
delight with me; every creature is glad on my account, [435] and rejoices when I come, and
looks forward to my arrival. The flowers begin to open and bloom, both on the trees and in the
fields. The lily with her fair complexion welcomes me, I'll have you know, [440] and invites me
with her beautiful appearance to fly to her. The blushing rose, too, springing from the briar,
[445] tells me to sing a joyful song for love of her. And so I do, night and day---the more I sing,
the more I can---and serenade them with my singing, [450] but even so, not for too long. When
I see that people are happy I don't want them to feel overloaded; when what I've come for is
done, I go back, and it's sensible for me to do that. [455] When men's thoughts turn to their
sheaves, and the green leaves begin to fade, I travel home and take my leave. I don't care for
the deprivations of winter; when I see that harsh weather is coming, [460] I go home to my
own country, and am both loved and thanked for having come and done my task here. When
my work's finished, should I stay on? No! why should I? After all, anyone who stays on for a
long time when they're not needed [465] is neither clever nor sensible.'

The owl listened, and took in all this argument word for word, and then considered how she
might [470] best find a defensible answer; because anyone who is afraid of being tricked when
arguing a case must consider things very carefully.

'You ask me', said the owl, 'why I sing and cry out in winter. [475] It's customary---and has been
since the world began---for every good man to acknowledge his friends and entertain them for
a time in his house, at his table, [480], with friendly talk and kind words. And especially at
Christmas, when rich and poor, greater and lesser, sing carols night and day, I help them as far
as I can. [485] And also I'm concerned with other things than having fun and singing. I have a
good answer to this point, all ready and waiting. For summertime is far too heady, [490] and
makes a man's thoughts go astray; since he loses interest in chastity, he's entirely concerned
with lechery. For no animal waits any longer, but each one mounts the other; [495] even the
stallions in the stud go wild after the mares. And you are like them yourself, because your song
is all about lechery, and towards the time you breed [500] you're very arrogant and aggressive.
As soon as you've mated, you lose your voice, and instead chirp like a titmouse, squeaking
hoarsely. [505] What's more, you sing worse than the hedge-sparrow, which flies along the
ground among the stubble; when your desire has passed, so has your song. In summer the
peasants go wild, and contort themselves into strange postures; [510] it isn't because of love,
however, but the peasant's basic instinct. For as soon as he's done the deed, all his ardour
collapses; [515] once he's got under a woman's skirt and shot his bolt, his love doesn't last any
longer. That's what your character is like: as soon as you're sitting on your eggs, you lose your
song completely. [520] That's how you behave on your branch: when you've had your fun, your
voice is ruined. But when the nights draw in and bring sharp frosts, [525] only then is it clear
who's got what it takes; when the going is tough, you can see who presses forward and who
hangs back. It's obvious in hard times [530] when good service needs to be offered; then I'm
ready and entertain and sing, and am happy to offer my performance. Winter doesn't trouble
me, since I'm not a feeble wretch; [535] and also I give comfort to many creatures which have
no strength of their own. They are anxious and wretched, and search desperately for warmth; I
sing more often to them, [540] to lessen some of their misery. What do you think of that? Have
you been cornered yet? Have you been fairly beaten?'

'Not at all!' said the nightingale; 'You must listen to the other side. [545] This debate hasn't
been submitted to judgement yet. But keep quiet and listen to me now! I'll see to it that your
speech is refuted by a single statement.'

'That wouldn't be fair', the owl said. [550] 'You've brought a charge as you proposed to, and
I've given you an answer. But before we set off for our judgement, I want to argue against you
as you argued against me, [555] and you answer me if you can.

Tell me now, you miserable creature, do you have any use apart from having a musical voice?
You're no good for anything [560] apart from knowing how to warble, because you're small and
weak and your coat of feathers is scanty. What good do you do for humanity? No more than a
wretched wren does! [565] Nothing useful comes from you, except that you make as much
noise as if you were mad; and once your twittering is finished, you don't have any other skill.
Alfred the wise said ([570] quite rightly, since it's true), 'Nobody is loved or valued very long for
their singing alone', because someone who doesn't know how to do anything but sing is good
for nothing. You're just a useless creature; [575] there's nothing to you but twittering. Your
colouring is dark and dull; you look like a little sooty bundle. You aren't pretty, you aren't
strong, [580] you aren't broad, you aren't tall. You've missed out completely on good looks, and
you haven't done much good either.

I've another point to make about you: you're not clean or decent [585] when you visit human
enclosures, where thorns and branches are woven together alongside hedges and thick weeds,
where people often go to relieve themselves. You're attracted there, you hang around there,
[590] and you avoid other, clean places. When I fly out after mice at night, I can find you at the
privy; among the weeds and nettles, you sit and sing behind the seat. [595] You can most often
be found where people park their bottoms.

What's more, you criticize me for my diet, and say that I eat vermin; but what do you eat---
don't try to deny it!---[600] but spiders and filthy flies and worms, if you can find them in the
crevices of rough bark? But I cando very good service, because I can look after human
dwellings; [605] and my services are excellent, because I help with people's food supply. I can
catch mice in a barn, and also at church in the dark, [610] because I like to visit Christ's house
to clear it of filthy mice, and no vermin will enter it if I can catch them.

And if I don't feel like staying anywhere else, [615] I have huge trees in the wood, with thick
branches, not bare but all overgrown with green ivy, which always stays in leaf and never loses
its colour [620] when it snows or when it freezes. In it I have a good shelter, warm in winter,
cool in summer; when my house stands bright and green, [625] yours has disappeared.

But you also accuse me of other things. You slander my chicks, saying that their nest isn't clean.
That's also true of a lot of other creatures, since the horse in its stable and the ox in its stall
[630] do everything that they have to there; and little children in their cradles, not just
commoners but aristocrats, do everything in their youth that they give up when they're older.
[635] How can the young creature help it? If it offends, it's forced to. There's a proverb which
has been running for a long time, that "Need makes the old woman trot." What's more, I have
a second answer. [640] Do you want to visit my nest and see how it's laid out? If you have any
sense, you can learn from it. My nest is hollow and wide in the middle, so it's as soft as possible
for my chicks; [645] there's a woven lattice all round it, extending outwards from the nest itself.
That is where they go to relieve themselves; but I forbid them to do what you claim they do.
We pay attention to human living-quarters, [650] and model ours on theirs. Humans have,
among other arrangements, a privy at the far end of their bedchamber, because they don't
want to go too far; and my chicks do the same. Sit still now, you chattering female! [655] You
were never so tightly tied up; you'll never find an answer to this. Hang up your axe! It's time for
you to be on your way.'

At these words the nightingale [660] was almost entirely lost for inspiration, and searched
desperately for ideas, to see if there was anything else she could do, apart from singing, which
might be useful for other purposes. [665] She had to find an answer to this point, or fall behind
completely; and it is very hard to fight against truth and justice. [670] Someone who finds
himself in dire straits must tackle the problem by resorting to cunning, and is forced to
dissimulate; he has to embroider and wrap things up, if the mouth is to gloss things over so the
heart inside can't be seen. [675] And it is easy for a speech to go wrong where the mouth is
saying something inconsistent with the heart [the point is repeated in slightly different
wording]. But nevertheless, in spite of this, [680] there is a possible way out if anyone can
make use of it, because intelligence is never so sharp as when its best plan is in doubt; it
reaches its height of cunning when it feels most at risk. [685] For Alfred said in an old proverb,
which is still remembered, "When the disaster is greatest, the remedy is closest"; because
intelligence increases when it is in difficulties, [690] and becomes sharper as a result. So a man
is never at a loss as long as he keeps his wits about him, but if he loses them, his bag of tricks is
slit right open; [695] if he can't hold on to his wits, he won't find a plan in any corner of it. So it
was said by Alfred, who knew what he was about and always spoke the truth, "When the
disaster is greatest, the remedy is closest." [700] The nightingale had wisely made good use of
all her trouble; among the difficulties and the tensions, she had given the matter prudent and
careful thought, [705] and had found a good answer in her time of crisis.

'Owl,' she said, 'you ask me if I can do anything apart from singing in summertime, [710] and
bringing happiness far and wide. Why are you interrogating me about my skills? My one skill is
better than all of yours; one song from my mouth is better than everything your kind was ever
able to do. [715] And listen! I'll tell you why: do you know why man was born? For the bliss of
the kingdom of heaven, where there is always the same level of singing and rejoicing; [720]
everyone who has any idea of what is good aspires to that. That is why there is singing in Holy
Church, and clerics compose songs, to remind people of where they are destined to be, and to
remain eternally, so that so that they shouldn't forget the joy, [725] but think about it and
obtain it, and understand from the singing in church how delightful the bliss of heaven will be.
Clerics, monks, and canons [730] in good communities get up at midnight and sing about the
light of heaven, and country priests sing when the dawn breaks. [735] And I help them as far as
I can; I sing with them night and day, and they are in better spirits because of me, and more
willing to sing. I give people a preview of the future for their good, [740] to give them comfort,
and encourage them to pursue the song which is eternal. Now, Owl, you can sit there and
wither away; this isn't just warbling; [745] I'm prepared to agree that we should go to
judgement before the Pope of Rome himself.

But wait---you must listen to something else on this subject. You won't be able [750] to resist
me in this argument, not for the whole of England. Why do you criticise me for my weakness,
my small size and my short stature, and say that I'm not strong because I'm not broad or tall?
[755] You've got no idea what you're talking about, and are just telling me lies, because I'm
capable of deviousness and cunning, and that's why I am so confident. I know plenty of tricks
and songs, [760] and don't rely on any other strength, because it's true what Alfred said:
"Strength is useless against intelligence." Often a little cunning succeeds where great strength
would fail; [765] castles and citadels can be won with a minimum of force; walls can be
destroyed by cunning, and brave knights knocked off their horses. Brute force is of little value,
[770] but wisdom never loses its value. You can see in all kinds of things that wisdom has no
equal. A horse is stronger than a man, but because it has no intelligence [775] it carries heavy
loads on its back, and pulls in front of large teams, and endures both stick and spur, and stands
tethered at the door of the mill; and it does what it's told, [780] and because it has no
understanding its strength can't protect it from having to submit to a small child. Man brings it
about, by strength and intelligence, that nothing else is his equal; [785] even if all kinds of
strength were combined, human intelligence would still be greater, because human skill
dominates all earthly creatures. In the same way, I do better with my song [790] than you do
throughout the year; I'm loved because of my skill, you're shunned because of your strength.
Do you think less of me because I have only one skill? [795] If two men go to the wrestling and
each of them presses the other hard, and one knows a lot of throws, and can disguise his
tactics very well, and the other only knows a single throw, [800] but that works with everybody,
and with that one throw he brings down all his opponents, one after another, in a short space
of time, why need he bother about having a better throw than the one which is so effective for
him? [805] You say that you can do a lot of services. But I'm at a different level from you; even
if you combined all your skills, my single skill is still essentially better. Often, when hounds are
hunting down foxes, [810] the cat survives very well, even though he only knows one trick. The
fox doesn't know any trick as good as that, even though he knows so many that he thinks he
can escape all the hounds, [815] since he knows straight and crooked paths, and he can hang
from a branch, so the hound loses the trail and turns back to the moorland. The fox can creep
along the hedge, [820] and turn off from his earlier route, and shortly afterwards double back
on it. Then the hound is thrown off the scent; he doesn't know from the mingled scents
whether he should go onwards or back. [825] If the fox runs out of all these ruses, he finally
creeps back to his hole; but nevertheless, with all his tricks, he can't plan well enough---bold
and quick as he is--- [830] to avoid losing his red pelt. The cat knows only a single trick, by hill
or by dale---that he can climb very well; that's why he's still wearing his grey pelt. [835] I say
just the same about myself: my one skill is worth better than twelve of yours.'

'Hold on! Hold on!' said the owl, 'Your whole approach is dishonest. You manipulate all your
words [840] so that everything you say seems right; you gloss over everything, and what you
say is so plausible and charming that everyone who hears it thinks that you're telling the truth.
[845] Hold on! Hold on! you'll meet resistance; now it will become very clear that you've told a
pack of lies, when your dishonesty's exposed. You say that you sing to humankind, [850] and
teach them that they are headed out of this world, up to the song that lasts for ever. But it's
really astonishing that you dare to tell such an obvious lie. Do you expect to bring them so
easily [855] to God's kingdom, all singing? No, no, they'll surely realize that they must pray for a
remedy for their sins with copious weeping before they can ever get there. [860] So I advise
that those people who hope to reach the King of Heaven should be prepared, and weep more
than they sing, because no man is without sin; and so, before he departs, he must [865] make
amends with tears and weeping, so that what was once sweet to him becomes bitter. I help
with this, God knows. I don't sing to ensnare them, because all my song is about longing, [870]
and mingled to some extent with lamentation, so that a man should be moved by me to
realize that he should bewail his guilt. [875] If you take this as a starting-point for argument, I
weep better than you sing; if right goes ahead and wrong behind, my weeping is better than
your singing. Although some people are thoroughly good, [880] and thoroughly pure in heart,
nevertheless they long to leave this world; they regret that they are here because, although
they themselves are saved, they see nothing but misery here; [885] they weep bitterly for
other people, and pray for Christ's mercy on their behalf. I help both kinds of people; my
mouth offers two kinds of remedy. I help the good man in longing, [890] because when he feels
that desire I sing to him; and I help the sinful man as well, because I show him where misery
lies.

What's more, I'd argue against you from another point of view, because when you sit on your
branch, [895] you entice those people who are willing to listen to your songs to the joys of the
flesh; you're hopeless on the bliss of heaven, since you don't have the voice for it. Everything
you sing is about lechery, [900] as there is no holiness in you; nobody's reminded by your
chirping of a priest singing in church.

And I'll put a further point to you, to see if you can explain it away. [905] Why won't you sing to
other nations where it's needed much more? You never sing in Ireland, nor do you visit
Scotland. Why don't you travel to Norway, [910] and sing to the folk of Galloway, where there
are people who have little experience of any song under the sun? Why won't you sing to the
priests and teach them through your chirruping, [915] and show them with your voice how
angels sing in heaven? You behave like a useless spring, which comes up beside a swift stream,
and lets the slope dry out [920] and flows uselessly down it. But I travel both north and south; I
am known in every country; east and west, far and near, I do my job very well, [925] and warn
people with my cries, so that your beguiling song doesn't mislead them. I guide people with my
singing so that they don't sin for too long. I tell them that they should stop so that they don't
get themselves trapped; [930] because it's better that they should weep in this world than be
the companions of devils in the next.'

The nightingale was furious, and also rather embarrassed, [935], because the owl had criticized
her for the place she sat and sang in, behind the bedchamber, among the weeds, where people
go to relieve themselves; and she sat and thought for a time, [940] and was well aware in her
reflection that anger deprives a man of his wits, for King Alfred said so: "The man who is hated
rarely intercedes successfully, and the man who is angry rarely pleads successfully"--- [945]
because anger stirs up the blood in the heart so that it flows like a raging torrent and
overwhelms the heart completely, so that it can't do anything but feel, and so loses all its
insight, [950] so it cannot see what is true or right. The nightingale considered, and let her
anger subside; it would be better for her to speak calmly than to use angry words.

[955] 'Owl,' she said, 'now listen here! You'll fall, you're on a slippery slope. You say I fly around
behind the bedchamber; it's true, the bedchamber is our territory. Where a lord and lady are
lying, [960] I have to sing to them and perch near them. Do you think that sensible people
abandon the right road because of dirty mud, or that the sun is more reluctant to shine if it's
filthy in your nest? [965] Should I, because of a board with a hole in it, abandon my proper
place, so that I don't sing beside the bed where a lord has his lover as a bedfellow? It is my
duty, it is my rule, [970] that I should follow the highest.

Furthermore, you boast about your song, that you can screech angrily and harshly, and say that
you encourage humankind to weep for their sins. [975] If everybody howled and screamed as if
they were damned, if they screeched as you did, they might scare the wits out of their priest. A
man should keep quiet and not make an outcry; [980] he may weep for his sins, but the proper
place for praying aloud and loud singing is where Christ is worshipped; singing in church at the
right time can't be too loud or too long. [985] You screech and wail, and I sing; your song is
lamentation, and mine celebration. I hope you screech and weep till you drop dead, and I hope
you scream so loudly [990] that both your eyes pop out! Which is better of these two things,
that someone should be happy or sad? I hope that in our case you'll aways be sad, and I'll be
happy.

[995] And another thing: you ask why I don't travel into another country and sing there. No!
What could I do among people who have always been wretched? That country isn't agreeable
or pleasant; [1000] on the contrary, it's wilderness and wasteland, crags and rocky hills
reaching to the sky; snow and hail are what they're used to. That country is horrible and
depressing. The inhabitants are savage and miserable; [1005] they don't live in peace or
harmony. They don't care how they live. They eat raw fish and meat, ripping it apart like
wolves. They drink milk and whey with it--- [1010] they don't know what else to do. They don't
have either wine or beer, but live like wild animals; they go round dressed in shaggy animal
skins, as if they'd come out of hell. [1015] If any good man visited them---as one did recently
from Rome---to teach them to behave properly, and to give up their vices, he'd be better off
staying put, [1020] because he wouldn't be able to do anything he planned; he would have
more chance of teaching a bear to use a shield and spear than of persuading that savage nation
to listen to me singing. [1025] What use would I be there with my song? However long I sang to
them, my song would be completely wasted, since neither halter nor bridle could restrain them
from their savage behaviour, [1030] nor could a man armed with steel and iron. But where a
country is pleasant and agreeable, and where the natives are friendly, I exercise my throat
among them, because I can do them good service there [1035] and bring them news of love,
since my song includes hymns. It was said in an old proverb, and the same point is still true,
that a man must harrow and sow [1040] where he expects to gain some benefit from reaping,
as that man is mad who sows his seed where no grass or flowers ever grow.'

The owl was angry and ready for a fight when she heard this, her eyes bulging.

[1045] 'You say that you watch over people's bedchambers, among leaves and beautiful
flowers, where two lovers lie in one bed in each other's embrace, well protected. Once you
sang---I know well where--- [1050] beside a bedchamber, and wanted to encourage the lady
into an illicit affair, and sang both low and high, and taught her to prostitute her body to
shameful and disgraceful acts. [1055] The lord soon discovered that, and set and laid out lime
and snares and all kinds of things to catch you. Soon you came to the window; you were caught
in a snare--- [1060] your legs paid the penalty for it. Your only judgement and sentence was to
be torn apart by wild horses. See if you can mislead whichever you like, married women or
unmarried girls, after that; [1065] your song may be so effective that you end up flapping in a
snare!'

Hearing this, the nightingale would gladly have attacked with sword and spear-point if she had
been a man; [1070] but since she couldn't do anything better, she fought with her clever
tongue. "Whoever speaks well, fights well", it says in the song. She resorted to her tongue;
"Whoever speaks well, fights well", said Alfred.

[1075] 'What! Are you saying this to discredit me? The lord got into trouble for this. He was so
jealous of his wife that he couldn't, to save his life, bear any man speaking to her [1080]
without breaking his heart. He locked her in an inner chamber that imprisoned her strongly
and securely. I had sympathy for her, and felt sorry for her unhappiness, [1085] and entertained
her with my song as much as I could, early and late. Because of that the knight was angry with
me; out of sheer malice he detested me. He inflicted his own shame on me, [1090] but it got
him into trouble. King Henry discovered what had happened---may Jesus have mercy on his
soul! He ordered the banishment of the knight who had committed such a great crime [1095]
in such a good king's country: out of sheer malice and wretched envy he had arranged for the
little bird to be captured and condemned it to death. It was an honour to my whole family,
[1100] because the knight was deprived of his riches and gave a hundred pounds in
compensation for me; and my chicks stayed safe and sound, and enjoyed prosperity
afterwards, and were happy, as well they might be, [1105] since I was so well avenged. For ever
afterwards I've been bolder in speaking out; since this thing happened once, I've been the
happier for it ever since. Now I can sing when I want, [1110] and nobody will ever dare to
trouble me again.

But you, you wretch, you miserable creature, you've no idea where to find a hollow stump
where you could hide to avoid people, so nobody tweaks your hide; [1115] because children,
servant-boys, villagers, and workmen all want to make you suffer. If they can see where you're
sitting, they fill their pockets with stones, and throw them at you to injure you, [1120] and
break your filthy bones. It's only when you're hit or shot that you become useful, as you're
hung on a stick, and with your stinking carcase and your ugly neck, [1125] you guard people's
corn against birds. Your life and your character are good for nothing, but you make a fine
scarecrow. Now where seeds are sown, [1130] no hedge-sparrow, goldfinch, rook, or crow will
dare come close if your carcase is hanging at the end of the row; when trees are flowering in
Spring, and young seeds are sprouting and growing, [1135] no bird dares approach if you are
hung over them. Your life is always evil and wicked; you're good for nothing unless you're dead.
Now you can be sure [1140] that you look hideous while you're alive, because when you've
been killed and are hanging up, the birds that screamed at you previously are still terrified of
you. [1145] People are right to be hostile to you, because you're always singing about things
which they hate; everything you sing, early or late, is always about people's misfortune; when
you've been screeching during the night, [1150] people are really afraid of you. You sing where
somebody is about to die; you're always prophesying some kind of bad luck; your song
forecasts loss of property or some friend's ruin, [1155] or you predict a house fire, or an
advancing army, or a hue and cry after thieves; or you predict that there will be an epidemic
among cattle, or that the population will suffer, or that a wife will lose her husband; [1160] or
you predict quarrels and conflict. You're always singing about people's suffering; because of
you they're miserable and wretched. You never sing at all except about some disaster. [1165]
That's why people give you a wide berth, and throw things at you and beat you with sticks and
stones and turves and clods, so that you can't escape anywhere. A town-crier like you deserves
to be cursed, [1170] always announcing misfortune, and always bringing bad news, and always
talking about unpleasant things! May almighty God, and all those who wear linen, be his
enemy!'

[1175] The owl did not pause for long, but came back with a bold and robust answer.

'What!' she said, 'are you ordained, or are you cursing quite without priestly authority?
Because I'm sure that you're doing a priest's job. [1180] I don't know if you were ever a priest, I
don't know if you can sing Mass, but you do know a fair amount about cursing. But it's because
of your old envy that you cursed me once again. [1185] There's an easy answer to that, though:
"Keep to your own side!" said the carter. Why do you criticize me for my insight, my
intelligence, and my power? For I am wise, no doubt about it, [1190] and know everything that
is to come: I know about famine, about invasion, I know whether people will live a long time, I
know if a wife has lost her husband, I know where there is going to be conflict and revenge,
[1195] I know who is going to be hanged or otherwise suffer a shameful death. If men have
joined in battle, I know which side will be beaten. I know whether disease will infect the cattle,
[1200] and whether animals will die; I know whether trees will blossom, I know whether grain
will grow, I know whether houses will burn down, I know whether men will walk or ride, [1205]
I know whether the sea will overwhelm the ships, I know whether armourers will do their
riveting badly. And I know much more still: I have a fair amount of book-learning, and also
know more about the gospel [1210] than I'm prepared to tell you, because I often go to church
and learn a great deal of wisdom. I know all about prophecy, and about many other things.
[1215] If there is to be a hue and cry raised after anybody, I know all about it before it happens.
Often, because of my great wisdom, I feel very saddened and angry. When I see that something
bad [1220] is going to happen to someone, I cry out loudly; I ask people to be vigilant, and plan
sensibly ahead, for Alfred uttered a wise saying----everyone should treasure it: [1225] "If you
see a threat before it has arrived, it will lose almost all its strength." And heavy blows lose
their power if one is on the look-out for them; an arrow will miss its mark [1230] if you watch
how it flies from the string, since you can easily duck and run if if you see it coming towards
you. If any man runs into trouble, why should he blame his distress on me? [1235] Even if I see
his harm coming to him in advance, that doesn't mean that it comes from me. If you see a blind
man, who can't find his way, heading wrongly towards a ditch, [1240], and falling in and getting
muddy, do you think, even if I saw it all, that it was more likely to happen because because of
me? That's how it is with my knowledge. When I sit on my branch, [1245] I see and realize very
clearly that harm is about to come to someone. Should this man, who knows nothing about it,
blame me because I do know about it? Should he blame me for his misfortune [1250] because
I'm better-informed than he is? When I see that some disaster is approaching people, I cry out
loudly enough, and tell them often enough that they should protect themselves, since they are
threatened by serious harm. [1255] But whether I cry out loudly or softly, it all happens
through the will of God. Why do people want to complain about me if I worry them with the
truth? Even if I warn them for a full year, [1260] the disaster is no closer to them. But I sing to
them because I want them to understand clearly that something bad is hanging over them
when I hoot at them. [1265] Nobody has so much security that he can't expect and fear that
some disaster is approaching him, even though he can't see it coming. That is why Alfred said
very aptly--- [1270] and his word was gospel---that the better off a man is, the more he should
plan ahead; no-one should trust too much to his prosperity, however much he has. [1275]
"Nothing is so hot that it does not grow cold, and nothing is so white that it does not grow
dirty, and nothing is so much loved that it does not grow hateful, and nothing is so pleasant
that it does not grow irksome; but everything which is not eternal [1280] must always pass
away, and all the joy of the world".

Now you can see very well that your speeches have been consistently ill-judged, because
everything that you say to insult me has always rebounded on yourself. [1285] However it goes,
with every hold you're brought down by your own throw; everything you say to discredit me
ends up to my credit. Unless you want to make a fresh start, [1290] you won't get anything but
humiliation.'

The nightingale sat and sighed, and felt worried, and with reason, because the owl had
delivered and ordered her speech so well [1295] that she was anxious and uncertain about
what she should say to her next; but nevertheless, she gave it careful thought.

'What!' she said, 'Owl, are you mad? You boast of your amazing wisdom; [1300] you've no
understanding of where you got it from---unless it was from witchcraft. You'll have to clear
yourself from that charge, you miserable creature, if you want to live among men. Otherwise
you'll have to flee the country, [1305] because all those who knew about these things were put
under a curse by priests long ago; you're still doing this, you've never given up witchcraft. I was
speaking to you a short while back, [1310] and you asked, as an insult, whether I'd been
ordained as a priest; but the cursing is so widespread that even if there were no priests in the
country you would still be damned, [1315] because every child calls you filthy, and every man a
wretched owl. I've heard---and it's true---that man must be very skilled in astrology who knows
the inner causes from which events develop. [1320] You say this is what you normally do; you
miserable creature, what do you know about stars apart from looking at them from a distance?
So do plenty of animals and humans who know nothing about such things. [1325] A monkey
can look at a book, and turn over the leaves, and close it again, but he can't make head or tail
of it, or pick up any more scholarship as a result; if you look at the stars in that way, [1330]
you're none the wiser for it.

What's more, you filthy creature, you criticize me and reproach me harshly for singing close to
people's houses and teaching wives to commit adultery. [1335] That's a complete lie, you filthy
creature; I've never undermined marriage. But it's true that I sing and call where there are
ladies and beautiful girls, and it's true that I sing about love, [1340] because a good woman can
love her own husband within marriage better than her lover, and an unmarried girl can choose
a lover so as not to lose her honour, [1345] and love with virtuous love the man who will be
her master. I give teaching and instruction in that kind of love; all my song is about it. If a
woman has a yielding character--- [1350] since women are gentle by nature---so that, talked
into it by some foolish man who pleads eagerly with her and sighs deeply, she goes astray and
misbehaves for a time, should I be held responsible for that? [1355] If women have a tendency
to act foolishly, why do you blame their bad behaviour on me? Even if a woman is planning
some illicit lovemaking, I can't refrain from singing. A woman can have a good time in bed
[1360] in whichever way she chooses, licitly or illicitly, and she can act out my song in
whichever way she chooses, properly or improperly, since there's nothing in the world so good
that it can't do some harm [1365] if it's deliberately misused; for gold and silver are good, and
nevertheless you can buy adultery and injustice with them; weapons are good for keeping the
peace, [1370] but nevertheless people are killed by them illegally in many countries when
thieves carry them. So it is with my song: although it's good, it can be misused, [1375] and used
for indiscretion and other misbehaviour. But, you wretch, must you put the blame on love? All
love between man and woman, of whatever kind, is good; [1380] but if it is stolen, then it is
wicked and corrupt. May the wrath of the Holy Cross fall on those who corrupt their true
nature in this way! It's surprising that they don't go mad---and in a way they do, because it's
madness [1385] to start a brood without a nest. A woman's flesh is frail, and it's hard to control
the desires of the flesh; it's no wonder if she hesitates, [1390] because the desires of the flesh
make her slip. She isn't completely lost if she finds the flesh a stumbling-block, for many
women have misbehaved and climbed up out of the mud. [1395] Not all sins are equal, as they
are of two types: one arises from the desire of the flesh, the other from the disposition of the
spirit. Where the flesh entices people to drunkenness, [1400] and to sloth and to lechery, the
spirit sins through malice and envy, and then by pleasure in other people's misfortune, and
hungers for more and more, and cares little for pity and mercy, [1405] and rises high through
pride, and then lords it over inferiors. Tell me the truth, if you know what it is: which does the
worse, flesh or spirit? You might say, if you like, [1410] that the flesh is less culpable; many
people are chaste in the flesh, but companions of the devil in spirit. Nor should any man loudly
condemn a woman and reproach her for physical desires; [1415] he may blame such a woman
for lechery while sinning worse himself through pride.

Another point: if I should bring a lover to a married woman or an unmarried girl when I sing, I
would side with the girl. If you can consider it properly, [1420] listen now! I will tell you why,
from beginning to end: if a girl has a secret affair, she stumbles and falls in the course of nature;
for although she may run wild for a time, [1425] she hasn't gone very far astray; she can free
herself from her guilt in an approved way through the Church's marriage-bond, and afterwards
have [1430] her lover as her husband without being blamed, and go in daylight to the man she
crept to earlier in the dead of night. A young girl doesn't realize what's going on; her young
blood leads her astray, [1435] and some foolish man entices her into it by every means in his
power. He visits her frequently, and cajoles and presses, and stands and sits close to her, and
gives her lingering looks. [1440] What can the child do if she does go wrong? She didn't
understand what it was, and so she set out to try it, and discover the nature of the sport which
tames such wild men. [1445] I can't restrain myself for pity, when I see the drawn expression
that love brings to the young, from singing to them about pleasure. I teach them by my song
[1445] that love of this kind doesn't last long; because my song lasts only a little while, and love
does nothing but rest on such children, and soon passes, and its hot breath subsides. [1455] I
sing with them for a while; I start high and end low, and let my songs fade away quickly. The girl
realises, when I fall silent, [1460] that love is like my songs: for it is only a little breath, which
comes quickly and goes quickly. The child understands it through me, and turns from folly to
good sense, [1465] and sees clearly from my singing that foolish love doesn't last long.

But I really want you to be clear on this: I disapprove of married woman having affairs, and a
married woman can note [1470] that I don't sing when I'm breeding. A wife should ignore a
fool's proposals, even if her marriage-bond seems oppressive. It strikes me as a quite
extraordinary and shocking thing, how any man could go so far as to decide [1475] to make
love to another man's wife, because only one of two alternatives is possible, and no-one can
imagine a third: either her lord is a brave man, [1480] or he's inadequate and worthless. If he's
an honourable and brave man, no sensible man will want to dishonour him through his wife,
because he has reason to fear personal injury, [1485] and losing his tackle so he has nothing
left; and even if he's not afraid of this, it's wicked and very stupid to do wrong to a good man,
[1490] and seduce his wife away from him. If her lord is inadequate, and has little to offer in
bed and at the table, how could there be any love when such a churl's carcase was lying on top
of her? [1495] How can there be any love when a man like that is pawing her thigh? You can
understand from this that the first alternative is dangerous, the second disgraceful, when
stealing into another man's bed; [1500] because if her husband is a brave man, you can expect
to come to grief when you're lying beside her, and if her lord is a wretch, what pleasure can you
get from it? [1505] If you consider who's sleeping with her, you might pay for the pleasure with
disgust. I don't know how any respectable man can pursue her after that; if he considers who
she's sharing a bed with, [1510] his love may disappear completely.'

The owl was pleased at this speech; she thought that the nightingale, though she had spoken
well at first, had made an error at the end, [1515] and she said, 'Now I've found out about your
views on girls: you take their side, and defend them, and praise them a great deal too much.
The ladies turn to me, [1520], and tell me about their feelings. For it very often happens that a
wife and husband are out of sympathy with each other, and because of that the husband
strays, preferring to chase another woman, [1525] and spends all that he has on her, and
pursues her when he has no right to, and keeps his proper wife at home in an empty house
with bare walls, poorly dressed and badly fed, [1530] and leaves her without food and clothing.
When he comes back home to his wife, she doesn't dare say a word; he complains and shouts
like a madman, and brings nothing else worth having home with him. [1535] Everything she
does he objects to, everything that she says irritates him, and often, when she's not doing
anything wrong, she gets a punch in the mouth. There's no man who can't lead [1540] his wife
astray with this kind of behaviour; she can be ill-treated so often that she resolves to satisfy her
own needs. God knows, she can't help it if she makes him a cuckold. [1545] For it happens time
and time again that the wife is very refined and gentle, good-looking and well-dressed; so it's
all the more unfair that he gives his love to a woman [1550] who isn't worth one of her hairs.
And there are plenty of men like this, who can't treat a wife properly; no man is allowed to talk
to her; he thinks she'll instantly commit [1555] adultery if she looks at a man or speaks politely
to him. He keeps her under lock and key; adultery often happens as a result, because if she's
brought to that point, [1560] she does what would never have occurred to her before. A curse
on anyone who gossips too much about it, if such wives take their revenge! The ladies
complain about it to me, and distress me a great deal; [1565] my heart practically breaks when
I see their suffering. I weep bitterly with them, and pray for Christ's mercy on them, that he
may shortly rescue the lady [1570] and send her a better partner.

I can tell you another thing, for which you won't find an answer to save your skin; all your
arguments will fade away. [1575] Many merchants and many knights love their wives and treat
them properly, and so do many peasants. The good wife acts accordingly, and serves her
husband in bed and at table [1580] with docile behaviour and pleasant conversation, and tries
hard to make herself useful to him. Her lord travels out into the country on behalf of both of
them, [1585] and the good wife is distressed when her husband leaves, and sits and sighs,
missing him very much, and, grieving deeply on her lord's account, [1590] is sad by day and
sleepless by night, and the time seems to her to pass very slowly, and every step seems like a
mile. When other people around her are asleep, I alone listen to her outside, [1595] and know
about her unhappiness, and sing at night for her benefit; and for her sake I modify my excellent
song to some degree into a lament. I take on some of her misery, [1600] and so I am very
welcome to her; I help her as far as I can, because she wants to follow the right path.
But you've really made me angry, so I'm all choked up [1605] and can hardly speak; even so,
though, I want to go on. You say that people hate me, and they're all hostile to me, and
threaten me with stones and sticks, [1610] and hit me and beat me, and when they've killed
me, they hang me on their hedge, so I can scare off magpies and crows from what is sown
there. [1615] Although it's true, I am useful to them, and shed my blood for their sake. I am
useful to them through my death, which is difficult for you because if you're lying dead and
shrivelling up, [1620] your death serves no useful purpose. I don't know at all what you could
do, because you're just a miserable creature; but even if I've lost my life, I can still do good
service. [1625] People can set me up on a little stake in the depths of the wood, and so lure
and catch small birds; and so through me they can get [1630] good roast meat to eat. But
you've never been of good service to man, alive or dead. I don't know what you raise your
brood for; it does no good, alive or dead.'

[1635] The nightingale heard this, and hopped on to a flowering branch, and sat higher than
she did before.

'Owl,' she said, 'be careful now! I won't plead against you any longer, [1640] because here the
right line of argument is escaping you. You boast that people hate you, and every creature is
hostile to you, and you complain that you're miserable with hooting and wailing. [1645] You say
that boys catch you and hang you high on a pole, and pull you to pieces and shake you to bits,
and some make a scarecrow out of you. It seems to me that you're losing the game completely;
[1650] you're boasting of your own humilation. It seems to me that you're submitting to me;
you're boasting about your own shame.'

When she had said this, she perched in a beautiful spot, [1655], and then tuned her voice and
sang so piercingly and so clearly that it was heard far and near. And so thrushes and throstles
and woodpeckers [1660] and birds both large and small flew to her at once; because it seemed
to them that she had defeated the owl, they cried out and sang in all kinds of ways, and there
was rejoicing in the branches, [1665] just as people jeer at a man who plays at dice and loses
the game.

When the owl heard this, she said, 'Have you mobilized an army, and do you mean to fight with
me, you miserable creature? [1670] No, no! You haven't got the strength! What are these new
arrivals shouting? It seems to me that you're leading an army against me; you'll learn before
you take to flight what kind of strength my family have, [1675] since those birds which have a
hooked beak and sharp and curving talons are all related to me, and would come if I asked
them. Even the cock, which is good at fighting, [1680] could legitimately take my side, because
we both have clear voices and sit under the stars at night. If I call up a hue and cry against you,
I'll lead such a strong army against you [1685] that your pride will collapse. I don't give a turd
for the lot of you! And before darkness falls, there won't be a wretched feather remaining on
you. But it was our agreement [1690] when we came here that we should keep to the terms
which would give us a fair judgement. Do you want to break the agreement now? I suspect that
judgment seems too demanding to you; [1695] because you daren't submit to judgement, you
wretched creature, now you want to fight and quarrel. But I would advise you all, before I call
up a hue and cry against you, that you leave our quarrel alone [1700] and fly away quickly; for
by my talons, if you wait around for my army you'll sing a very different song and curse all
fighting, [1705] since none of you is so brave that you dare face me down.'

The owl spoke very aggressively, since although she hadn't resorted to her own army so
quickly, she nevertheless wanted to respond [1710] to the nightingale with what she said; for
many men are not very effective with a sharp spear and shield, but nevertheless on a
battlefield they make their enemies sweat with terror [1715] by bold speeches and behaviour.

The wren, because she could sing, had arrived there in the morning to support the nightingale,
[1720] since although she had a small voice, her throat could produce a good clear song, which
gave many people pleasure. The wren was considered very wise, as although she'd been bred
in the woods, [1725] she had been reared among humans, and brought her wisdom from
there. She could speak wherever she wanted, even if she were in the presence of the king.

'Listen!' she said, 'Let me speak! [1730] What, do you want to break this peace, and do the king
such dishonour? Yes, he's not either dead or crippled. You'll be ruined and disgraced if you case
a breach of the peace in his country. [1735] Let it be, and come to an agreement, and go
straight to your judgement, and let the sentence put an end to this argument, just as it was
previously agreed.'

'That's fine with me,' said the nightingale, [1740] 'but, wren, I'm not doing it because of your
speech, but because of my respect for the law; I wouldn't want injustice to defeat me in the
end. I'm not afraid of any judgement. [1745] I've promised, it's true, that the wise Master
Nicholas should judge between us, and I still think that he will. But where might we find him?'

[1750] The wren sat in a lime-tree; 'What!' she said, 'didn't you know his home? He lives at
Portesham, in a village in Dorset, near the sea on an inlet. [1755] There he makes a lot of sound
judgements, and composes and writes all kinds of ingenious works; and through his words and
his writing, things are better as far as Scotland. It's easy to find him; [1760] he has only one
residence. That's a great disgrace to the bishops, and all those who've heard of his reputation
and achievements. Why won't they make a decision [1765] to have him often in attendance, to
advise them from his wisdom, and give him income from numerous benefices so he could
often be with them?'

'To be sure.' said the owl, 'that's true; [1770] these powerful men act very wrongly when they
neglect that good man who knows about so many things, and distribute income very unfairly,
and don't take him seriously. [1775] They are more lenient to their families, and give out
incomes to small children; their reason tells them that they're wrong, since Master Nicholas is
still waiting. But still, let's go and visit him, [1780], because our judgement is ready and waiting
there.'

'Let's', said the nightingale; 'but who will read our pleas, and speak in the presence of our
judge?'
'I'll give you satisfaction in that,' [1785] said the owl, because I can repeat it all, beginning to
end, word for word. And if it seems to you that I'm going astray, you can object and make me
stop.'

With these words they set off, [1790] without any kind of army, till they came to Portesham;
but I can't tell you any more about how they succeeded with their judgement. That's all, folks!

The End

A TRANSLATION OF ST. ERKENWALD

In London, England, not very long after Christ suffered on the cross and established Christianity,
there was a blessed and consecrated bishop in the city;2 I believe that holy man was called St.
Erkenwald. [51 In his time, the greatest of all temples in that town was pulled down--one part
of it 3 --to be dedicated anew, for it had been a heathen temple in the days of Hengest whom
the warlike Saxons had sent here. They beat out the Britons and brought them into Wales and
perverted all the people who dwelt in that place. liD] It was then that this kingdom renounced
its religion for many rebellious years until St. Augustine was sent into Sandwich by the Pope.
Then he preached the pure faith here and planted the truth, and converted all the
communities to Christianity again. He changed the nature of temples that at that time
belonged to the devil IH] and cleansed them in Christ's name and called them churches; he
hurled out their idols and brought in saints, and he first changed their names and bound them
by oath for the better; what was Apollo before now was Saint Peter, Mahomet was changed to
St. Margaret or St. Mary Magdal ene. /20] The pagan temp 1e of the sun was assigned to Our
Lady, Jupiter and Juno to Jesus or James. So he rededicated all that had before been assigned
to Satan in Saxon 68 times to honored saints. What is now named London had been called the
New Troy, 1151 and it evermore has been the metropolis and the master town. A mighty devil
owned a great pagan temple therein, and the title assigned to the temple was his name, for he
was the most honorable lord of idols praised and his sacrifice was the most solemn in pagan
lands. 1301 His was the third temple reckoned to be in the Triapolitan.: only two others were
within all Britain's coasts. Now Erkenwald, who teaches law in beloved London-town, is the
bishop of this Augustinian province; he presides with fitting demeanor in the episcopal office of
the St. Paul cathedral 1351 that was the temple Triapolitan as I told previously. At that time, it
was demolished and beaten down and built new again, a noble business in this particular
instance, and it was called the New Work. Many merry masons were compelled to work there,
cutting hard stones with sharp edged tools. [401 Many diggers of the earth searched the
ground to find the firstlaid foundation still firm on its footing. 5 As they worked and mined,
they discovered a marvel of which the memory is still made known in the keenest of chronicles,
for as they created and dug so deeply into the earth, 1451 they found a wonderfully beautiful
tomb built on a floor; it was a coffin of thick stone excellently cut with gargoyles decorating all
of the gray marble. The bar of the tomb that locked it on top was properly made of the marble
and gracefully smoothed, 1501 and the border was decorated with bright gold letters, but the
rows of sentences that stood there 69 were mysterious. 6 The characters were very precise,
and many observed them and pondered out loud about what they could signify. Many priests
with very broad tonsures ISSJ in that cathedral busied themselves but were unable to bring the
letters to words.? When tidings of the tomb-wonder took to the town, many hundreds of
worthy men hurried to the tomb at once; craftsmen, heralds, and others followed as well as
many craft guild members of diverse trades; IUJ youths left their work and leaped in that
direction, running quickly in a disorderly crowd ringing with noise; many people of every kind
came there so quickly that it was as if the world were gathered there within an instant. When
the mayor with his retainers, who by assent of the sexton guarded the area around the alter,
caught sight of that marvel, 16S1 he requested that they unlock the lid and lay it beside the
coffin; they would look on that vessel to see what dwelt within. With that, strong workmen
went to it, applied 1evers to it, pinched one under, 1701 caught the corners wi th iron crowbars
and, although the lid was very large, they laid it by the coffin soon. Then the men who stood
about and could not understand such strange cleverness were bestowed with an abundance of
wonder. The bright spot within was so beautiful, all painted with gold, 1131 and a blissful body,
arrayed in a luxurious manner in royal clothing, lay upon the bottom. His gown was hemmed
with glistening gold, with many precious pearls set there, and a girdle of gold encircled his
waist; 1801 a large gown was trimmed on top with miniver fur, the cloth of very well 70 made
wool and silk with handsome borders; and a very ornate crown was placed on his close-fitting
headdress and a dignified scepter was placed in his hand. His clothes were without any flaw,
stain, or blemish; [851 neither were they moldy, spotted, or motheaten. And they were bright
with shining colors as if they had been closed in that casket just yesterday. And fresh was his
face and so was the naked flesh by his ears and hands that visibly showed with a proud red,
[90\ like that of the rose and his two red lips, as if he were in sound health and suddenly had
fallen asleep.8 There was a profitless interval of time in which men asked each other what
body it might be that was buried there. How long had he lain there, his face so unchanged, and
all his clothing unspoiled?1l [951 This every man asked. "But such a man as this should stand
long in the memory," said the on-lookers. "It seems obvious he has been king of this place, yet
he lies buried this deep; it is an astonishing wonder that a man can not say he has seen him."
(1101 But all this meant nothing, for none could claim from any inscription or symbol, or from
any tale that was ever written down in that city or noted in a book, that such a man, either
highborn or low, was remembered. 10 In a while, the message of that buried body and all its
1105] marvelous wonder was brought to the bishop. The primate, Sir Erkenwald, with his
prelacy, was away from home, visiting an abbey in Essex11 Men told him the tale of trouble
among the people and that such a cry about a corpse was spoken loudly again 70 silk with
handsome borders; and a very ornate crown placed on his close-fitting headdress and a
dignified scepter was placed in his hand. His clothes were without any flaw, stain, or blemish; \
851 neither were they moldy, spotted, or motheaten. And they were bright with shining colors
as if they had been closed in that casket just yesterday. And fresh was his face and so was the
naked flesh by his ears and hands that visibly showed with a proud red, 190] like that of the
rose and his two red lips, as if he were in sound health and suddenly had fallen asleep.8 There
was a profitless interval of time in which men asked each other what body it might be that was
buried there. How long had he lain there, his face so unchanged, and all his clothing unspoiled?
8 1951 This every man asked. "But such a man as this should stand long in the memory," said
the on-lookers. "It seems obvious he has been king of this place, yet he lies buried this deep; it
is an astonishing wonder that a man can not say he has seen him." \1001 But all this meant
nothing, for none could claim from any inscription or symbol, or from any tale that was ever
written down in that city or noted in a book, that such a man, either highborn or low, was
remembered. 1o In a while, the message of that buried body and all its 11051 marvelous
wonder was brought to the bishop. The primate, Sir Erkenwald, with his prelacy, was away
from home, visiting an abbey in Essex11 Men told him the tale of trouble among the people
and that such a cry about a corpse was spoken loudly again 71 and again; [11Oj the bishop sent
heralds and letters to put an end to the uproar and hastened to London soon afterward on his
horse. By the time that he came to the well-known church of St. Paul, on that landmark, he
met many people who, with a mighty clamor, told him of the marvel. 1Z He ordered silence,
and, staying away from the dead one, calmly passed into his bishop's palace and closed the
door after him. IllSI The dark night passed away and the day-bell rang, and Sir Erkenwald, who
had recited his prayers all night, was up in the pre-dawn before then to implore his Sover e ign
of Hi s sweet grace IUD] to vouchsaf e to revea I the identity of the corpse to him by a vision or
something else. "Though I am unworthy," he said weeping, "may my Lord grant this through His
noble humility: in confirmation of Your Christian faith help me to explain the mystery of this
marvel tha t men wonder open I y about." [12Sj And he begged for grace so long that he had a
favor granted, an answer from the Holy Ghost, and afterwards dawn came. Cathedral doors
were opened when the first of the canonical prayers were sung; the bishop solemnly prepared
himself to sing the high mass. The prelate in his bishop's vestments was dressed in priestlike
fashion. 1130[ With his ministers, he properly began the mass of the Holy Spirit, for his
assistance in a wise manner, 13 and the pleasant voices of the choir burst into song with very
beautiful notes. 14 Many great, richly dressed lords were gathered to hear it--the most elegant
of the realm went there often--I13Sj until the service was ended and the concluding part 72
was said; then all of the high company proceeded from the altar. The prelate passed on to the
open space, and there the lords bowed to him. Richly dressed in ecclesiastical garments, he
proceeded to the tomb. Men unlocked the enclosed area for him with clustered keys, IHOJ but
the throng that passed after him was troubled of mind. The bishop came to the tomb with his
barons beside him, the mayor with many mighty men and mace bearers before him. The dean
of the beloved place first described everything, pointing to the strange finding with his finger.
[lUI "Behold, lords," said the man, "such a corpse is here that has lain locked up below, how
long is unknown; and yet his color and his clothing have caught no damage, nor his flesh nor
the vessel he has lain in. There is no man alive who has lived so long ImJ that he can remember
in his mind that such a man reigned, or speak of either his name or his reputation; although
many poorer men are put into the grave in this place, they are recorded in our burial register
and remembered forever;15 and we have searched through our library these long seven days,
[USI but we could never find one chronicle of this king. To look at his nature, he has not lain
here long enough yet to have passed away so out of memory--unless something extraordinary
has occurred." "You speak the truth," said the man who was a consecrated bishop. "It is a
marvel to men that comes to a trifle [l61J in comparison with the providence of the Prince who
rules paradise when it is pleasing to Him to unlock the least of his powers. But when man's
might is rendered helpless and his mind surpassed, 73 and all his thinking faculties are
destroyed and he stands without resources of wisdom, then it hinders Him very little to loose
wi th a finger [US) what all the hands under heaven never might. Whereas when man's skill of
wisdom fails, he requires the attention and spiritual comfort of the Creator. 1S And so we
should now do our deed, and engage in speculation no further. As you see, we receive no
benefit seeking the truth by ourselves;[170] but we all openly rejoice in God and ask His grace,
who is generous to send counsel and comfort, and does that in confirmation of your faith and
true belief. I shall inform you so truly of His virtues that you may forever believe that He is Lord
almighty [In) and trust your desires will be fulfilled if you believe Him a friend." Then he turns
to the tomb and talks to the corpse; lifting up his eyelids, he set free such words: "Now corpse
that you are, lying there, lie you no longer! Since Jesus has determined to make manifest his
joy today, [180) be obedient to his commandment, I bid on his behalf; as He was bound on the
Cross when he shed his blood, as you [the dead] certainly know and we [the living] can only
believe, answer here to my command and conceal no truth! Since we know not who you are,
inform us [185] of what world you were and why you lie thus, how long have lain here and
what law you used, whether you are joined to joy or judged to damnation." When the man had
said this and thereafter sighed, the bright body in the tomb moved a little, [1901 and he forced
out words speaking mournfully through some spirit-life lent by Him 74 who governs all. 1 ?
"Bishop," said this same body, "I hold your command in high regard; I can only submit to your
command, even if I were to lose both my eyes as a result 18 All heaven and hell and earth
between hold to the name that you have mentioned and called me in the name of.[19S! First,
to tell the truth about who I was: one of the unluckiest men who ever on earth went, not a
king nor emperor nor even knight, but a man of the law that the land then used. ItOO! I was
put in charge and made a leader here to judge trials; I had charge of this city under a prince of
rank of pagan's law, and each man who followed him believed in the same faith. I have been
lying here for an incalculable period; [US! it is too much for any man to calculate. 18 After
Brutus first built this city, it was not but eighteen years lacking from five hundred [482] before
your Christ was conceived by Christian account: a thousand and thirty and threefold eight years
[1054] .20 ItlO! I was of eyre and of oyer in the New Troy in the reign of the noble king who
ruled us then!1, the bold Britain Sir Belinus--Sir Brennius was his brother!!. Many insults were
hurled between them in their ruinous warfare while their wrath lasted. [tIS[ It was then that I
was appointed judge here in noble pagan law." While he spoke from the tomb, there sprang
from the people no word for all the world, no sound arose, but all were as still as stone as they
stood and listened with much unsettled wonder, and very many wept. [UO] The bi shop bade
that body, "Reveal your reason, since you were not known as a king, why you wear the 75
crown. Why do you hold the scepter so high in your hand? You had no land or vassals or control
of life and limb?" "Dear sir," said the dead body, "I intend to tell you, [2251 as it was never my
will that brought about this as it were. 1 was deputy and principal judge under a noble duke
and this place was put altogether in my power. I governed this proud town in a noble manner,
and always in an attitude of good faith, for more than forty winters. IUD) The people were
wicked, deceitful, and perverse to rule--I suffered harms very often to hold them to what is
just; but for no danger or riches,23 for no anger or fear, for no power or reward or fear of any
man, did 1 ever depart from the right, according to my own reasoning. (235\ I never delivered
a wrong judgement on any day of my life, nor diverted my conscience for any kind of avarice on
earth, nor made any crafty judgements, nor committed any frauds for the sake of deference no
matter how noble a man may have been; neither man's threats nor mischief nor remorse IUD)
moved me from the high path to deviate from what is right in so far as my faith regulated my
conscience. Though it had been my father's murderer, 1 offered him no wrong, nor false favors
to my father, though it fell to him to be hanged. Because I was righteous, upright, and quick of
the law, (U5] when died sorrow filled all Troy with confused noise; all lamented my death, the
greater and the lesser ones, and thus to my honor they buried my body in gold, dressed me in
the most refined clothing that the court was able to hold, in a long gown for the most
compassionate and manliest one on the judicial bench; 1250) I 76 they girded me as the most
skilled and competent governor of Troy, furred me for the truest of faith that was within me.
They crowned me the most famous king of learned justices who ever was enthroned in Troy or
was be Ii eved ever shou ld be, [U51 to honor my honesty of highest virtue, and they handed
the scepter to me because I always rewarded right." The bishop, with anguish in his heart,
asked him still, though men honored him so, how it might come to pass that his clothes were
so clean: "To rags, I think, they must have rotted and been torn into tatters long ago. [HO\ Your
body may be embalmed; it does not disconcert me that no rot touched it, nor any loathsome
worms; but the color of your cloth--I know no manner by man's science that might allow it to
remain and last so long." "No, bishop," said that body, "I was never embalmed, [%651 nor has
man's learning kept my cloth unspoiled, but the noble King of Reason who always approves
justice and loves wholeheartedly all the laws that pertain to truth; and He honors men more
for bearing justice in mind than for all the reward-producing virtues that men on earth
acknowledge; [HOi and if men have thus arrayed me for justice, He who loves right best has
allowed me to last-" "Yes, but tell of your soul," then said the bishop. "Where is she placed and
situated if you so properly performed? He who rewards each man as he has served justice [n51
could scarcely ignore to give some branch of His grace. For as he says in his true psalm written:
'the righteous and the spiritually 77 pure come always to me. '24 Therefore, tell me of your
soul, where she resides in bliss, and of the noble restoration that our Lord handed to her." [UO!
Then he who lay there murmured, moved his head, gave a very great groan, and said to God:
"Mighty Maker of men, Your powers are great; how might Your mercy come to me anytime in
the future? Was I not an ignorant pagan who never knew Your covenant, IUS! the measure of
Your mercy, or the greatness of Your virtue, but always a man lacking in the true faith who
failed to know the laws in which You, Lord, were praised? Alas, the painful times! I was not of
the number for whom You were ransomed, suffering affliction with the blood of Your body
upon the sad Cross. [%90! When You harrowed the pit of Hell and took Your remnant out from
limbo, You left me, and there my soul remains that it may see no farther, languishing in the
dark death that was created for us by our father, Adam our ancestor, who ate of the apple
(2951 that has poisoned many blameless people forever. You all were poisoned along with his
teeth and taken into the moral corruption,25 but with a medicine you are cared for and made
to live--that is through baptism in the baptismal fountain and true belief, and both have we all
missed without mercy, myself and my soul included. 13001 What have we who always did right
won with our good-deeds, when we are sorrowfully damned into the pit of Hell, and so exiled
from that supper, that solemn feast, where those who hungered after righteousness are fully
refreshed? My soul may si t there in sorrow and sigh very coldly, (3051 dimly in that 78 dark
death where morning never dawns, hungry within the pit of Hell and desire meals for a long
time before she [the soul] can see either that supper or a man to invite her to it." Thus
mournfully this dead body described its sorrow, until all wept wi th woe for the words that they
heard, 1310) and wi th grief the bishop turned down his eyes; he had no opportunity to
speak,26 so he quickly sobbed until he took a pause and looked with cleansing tears to the
tomb, to the body where it lay. "Our Lord grant," said that man, "that you would have life by
God's leave,21 1315) long enough that I might get water, and cast it upon you, fair corpse, and
speak these words, 'I baptize you in the Father's name and his noble Child's and of the gracious
Holy Ghost, I and not a moment 10nger. 28 Then, even though you dropped down dead, it
would endanger me little."29 (3to] With that word he spoke, the wetness of his eyes and tears
streamed down and landed in the tomb, and one fell on the face, and the man sighed. Then he
said with a sad sound: "Our Saviour be praised! Now praised be You, exalted God, and Your
gracious Mother, 13!51 and blessed be that bl i ssful hour in which She gave birth to You! And
also be you, bishop, the relief of my sorrow and the alleviation of the loathsome mournful
places that my soul has lived in! Through the words that you spoke and the water that you
shed, the shining stream of your eyes, my baptism is attained. [3301 The first drop that fell on
me diminished all my grief to nothing; right now my soul is placed at the table to 79 supper. For
with the words and the water that cleansed us of pain, softly flashed in the abyss of Hell below
a ray of light which immediately caused my spirit to leap with unrestrained reIigious joy 13351
into the Upper Room where all the faithful ones eat supper solemnly; and there with honor
greatest of all a marshall greeted her [the soul], and with reverence he gave a room to her
forever. I therefore praise my high God, and also you, bishop, who have brought us from
anguish to bliss, blessed are you!" 13401 With this his sound ceased, he said no more, but
suddenly his sweet face diminished and vanished, and all the color of his body was as black as
the soil, as decayed as the musty substance that rises in dust powder. For as soon as the soul
was possessed by bliss, 13451 the craftwork that covered the bones was corrupted, for the
ever-lasting life that shall never cease rejects each vainglorious thing that avails so little. Then
was the praising of our Lord upheld with love; much mourning and joy were intermingled.
13501 They passed forth in procession, and all the people followed, and all the bells in the city
resounded simultaneously.