The Canterbury Tales
THE COOK'S PROLOGUE
The cook from London, while the reeve yet spoke,
Patted his back with pleasure at the joke.
"Ha, ha!" laughed he, "by Christ's great suffering,
This miller had a mighty sharp ending
Upon his argument of harbourage!
For well says Solomon, in his language,
'Bring thou not every man into thine house;'
For harbouring by night is dangerous.
Well ought a man to know the man that he
Has brought into his own security.
I pray God give me sorrow and much care
If ever, since I have been Hodge of Ware,
Heard I of miller better brought to mark.
A wicked jest was played him in the dark.
But God forbid that we should leave off here;
And therefore, if you'll lend me now an ear,
From what I know, who am but a poor man,
I will relate, as well as ever I can,
A little trick was played in our city."
Our host replied: "I grant it readily.
Now tell on, Roger; see that it be good;
For many a pasty have you robbed of blood,
And many a Jack of Dover have you sold
That has been heated twice and twice grown cold.
From many a pilgrim have you had Christ's curse,
For of your parsley they yet fare the worse,
Which they have eaten with your stubble goose;
For in your shop full many a fly is loose.
Now tell on, gentle Roger, by your name.
But yet, I pray, don't mind if I make game,
A man may tell the truth when it's in play."
"You say the truth," quoth Roger, "by my fay!
But 'true jest, bad jest' as the Fleming saith.
And therefore, Harry Bailey, on your faith,
Be you not angry ere we finish here,
If my tale should concern an inn-keeper.
Nevertheless, I'll tell not that one yet,
But ere we part your jokes will I upset."
And thereon did he laugh, in great good cheer,
And told his tale, as you shall straightway hear.
The cook from London, while the reeve yet spoke,
Patted his back with pleasure at the joke.
"Ha, ha!" laughed he, "by Christ's great suffering,
This miller had a mighty sharp ending
Upon his argument of harbourage!
For well says Solomon, in his language,
'Bring thou not every man into thine house;'
For harbouring by night is dangerous.
Well ought a man to know the man that he
Has brought into his own security.
I pray God give me sorrow and much care
If ever, since I have been Hodge of Ware,
Heard I of miller better brought to mark.
A wicked jest was played him in the dark.
But God forbid that we should leave off here;
And therefore, if you'll lend me now an ear,
From what I know, who am but a poor man,
I will relate, as well as ever I can,
A little trick was played in our city."
Our host replied: "I grant it readily.
Now tell on, Roger; see that it be good;
For many a pasty have you robbed of blood,
And many a Jack of Dover have you sold
That has been heated twice and twice grown cold.
From many a pilgrim have you had Christ's curse,
For of your parsley they yet fare the worse,
Which they have eaten with your stubble goose;
For in your shop full many a fly is loose.
Now tell on, gentle Roger, by your name.
But yet, I pray, don't mind if I make game,
A man may tell the truth when it's in play."
"You say the truth," quoth Roger, "by my fay!
But 'true jest, bad jest' as the Fleming saith.
And therefore, Harry Bailey, on your faith,
Be you not angry ere we finish here,
If my tale should concern an inn-keeper.
Nevertheless, I'll tell not that one yet,
But ere we part your jokes will I upset."
And thereon did he laugh, in great good cheer,
And told his tale, as you shall straightway hear.
THE COOK'S TALE
There lived a 'prentice, once, in our city,
And of the craft of victuallers was he;
Happy he was as goldfinch in the glade,
Brown as a berry, short, and thickly made,
With black hair that he combed right prettily.
He could dance well, and that so jollily,
That he was nicknamed Perkin Reveller.
He was as full of love, I may aver,
As is a beehive full of honey sweet;
Well for the wench that with him chanced to meet.
At every bridal would he sing and hop,
Loving the tavern better than the shop.
When there was any festival in Cheap,
Out of the shop and thither would he leap,
And, till the whole procession he had seen,
And danced his fill, he'd not return again.
He gathered many fellows of his sort
To dance and sing and make all kinds of sport.
And they would have appointments for to meet
And play at dice in such, or such, a street.
For in the whole town was no apprentice
Who better knew the way to throw the dice
Than Perkin; and therefore he was right free
With money, when in chosen company.
His master found this out in business there;
For often-times he found the till was bare.
For certainly a revelling bond-boy
Who loves dice, wine, dancing, and girls of joy-
His master, in his shop, shall feel the effect,
Though no part have he in this said respect;
For theft and riot always comrades are,
And each alike he played on gay guitar.
Revels and truth, in one of low degree,
Do battle always, as all men may see.
This 'prentice shared his master's fair abode
Till he was nigh out of his 'prenticehood,
Though he was checked and scolded early and late,
And sometimes led, for drinking, to Newgate;
But at the last his master did take thought,
Upon a day, when he his ledger sought,
On an old proverb wherein is found this word:
"Better take rotten apple from the hoard
Than let it lie to spoil the good ones there."
So with a drunken servant should it fare;
It is less ill to let him go, apace,
Than ruin all the others in the place.
Therefore he freed and cast him loose to go
His own road unto future care and woe;
And thus this jolly 'prentice had his leave.
Now let him riot all night long, or thieve.
But since there's never thief without a buck
To help him waste his money and to suck
All he can steal or borrow by the way,
Anon he sent his bed and his array
To one he knew, a fellow of his sort,
Who loved the dice and revels and all sport,
And had a wife that kept, for countenance,
A shop, and whored to gain her sustenance.
There lived a 'prentice, once, in our city,
And of the craft of victuallers was he;
Happy he was as goldfinch in the glade,
Brown as a berry, short, and thickly made,
With black hair that he combed right prettily.
He could dance well, and that so jollily,
That he was nicknamed Perkin Reveller.
He was as full of love, I may aver,
As is a beehive full of honey sweet;
Well for the wench that with him chanced to meet.
At every bridal would he sing and hop,
Loving the tavern better than the shop.
When there was any festival in Cheap,
Out of the shop and thither would he leap,
And, till the whole procession he had seen,
And danced his fill, he'd not return again.
He gathered many fellows of his sort
To dance and sing and make all kinds of sport.
And they would have appointments for to meet
And play at dice in such, or such, a street.
For in the whole town was no apprentice
Who better knew the way to throw the dice
Than Perkin; and therefore he was right free
With money, when in chosen company.
His master found this out in business there;
For often-times he found the till was bare.
For certainly a revelling bond-boy
Who loves dice, wine, dancing, and girls of joy-
His master, in his shop, shall feel the effect,
Though no part have he in this said respect;
For theft and riot always comrades are,
And each alike he played on gay guitar.
Revels and truth, in one of low degree,
Do battle always, as all men may see.
This 'prentice shared his master's fair abode
Till he was nigh out of his 'prenticehood,
Though he was checked and scolded early and late,
And sometimes led, for drinking, to Newgate;
But at the last his master did take thought,
Upon a day, when he his ledger sought,
On an old proverb wherein is found this word:
"Better take rotten apple from the hoard
Than let it lie to spoil the good ones there."
So with a drunken servant should it fare;
It is less ill to let him go, apace,
Than ruin all the others in the place.
Therefore he freed and cast him loose to go
His own road unto future care and woe;
And thus this jolly 'prentice had his leave.
Now let him riot all night long, or thieve.
But since there's never thief without a buck
To help him waste his money and to suck
All he can steal or borrow by the way,
Anon he sent his bed and his array
To one he knew, a fellow of his sort,
Who loved the dice and revels and all sport,
And had a wife that kept, for countenance,
A shop, and whored to gain her sustenance.
The Cook’s Prologue and Tale adalah salah satu dari dua puluh
enam cerita yang ada di dalam The Canterbury Tales yang merupakan
kumpulan cerita yang ditulis oleh Geoffrey
Chaucer pada masa Middle
English, yaitu pada abad ke-14. The
Canterbury Tales ditulis dalam dua bentuk, yaitu
prosa dan syair. Dua cerita ditulis dalam bentuk prosa dan sisanya ditulis
dalam bentuk syair. Sedangkan The
Cook’s Prologue and Tale ditulis dalam bentuk syair. Hal ini terlihat dari
susunan irama yang terkandung di setiap akhir pada baris.
Cerita ini terdiri dari dua bagian, yaitu Prologue dan Tale. Ada dua
tokoh didalam pologue, yaitu The Cook
dan The Host. The Cook bercerita kepada The Host tentang seseorang yang bernama
Perkin Reveler, dan inilah yang menjadi isi dari The Cook’s Tale. Ada beberapa
tokoh didalam cerita, yaitu Perkin Reveler, Perkin’ Master, Perkin’ Friend, dan
Perkin’s Friend’ Prostitute Wife. The Cook menceritakan bahwa Perkin Reveler
adalah seorang pemuda yang tinggal dikota yang sama dengan dia, hal ini
terlihat dari kalimat There
lived a 'prentice, once, in our city. Berdasarkan
cerita dari The Cook, Perkin adalah seorang pemuda yang bekerja sebagai penjaga
toko, namun dia lebih suka ke pub
untuk bersenang-senang dari pada bekerja. Hal ini diperoleh dari kalimat At every bridal would he sing and hop, Loving
the tavern better than the shop. Selain itu, Perkin juga suka mencuri uang
atasannya untuk berjudi. Sehingga, suatu hari atasannya memutuskan untuk
memecat dia. Perkin marah dan berkelahi dengan atasannya. Akhirnya, Perkin
tinggal bersama temannya dan orang-orang yang suka bersenang-senang.
Menurut pendapat saya, cerita ini sangat menarik, karena bercerita
tentang kehidupan manusia yang dapat ditemukan dalam keseharian kita. Seperti
halnya Perkin, banyak sekali orang-orang yang mengisi kehidupan mereka hanya
dengan melakukan hal-hal yang tidak berguna. Ada beberapa pelajaran yang dapat
diperoleh dari cerita tersebut. Pertama, baik atau buruknya kehidupan seseorang
ditentukan oleh niat dan kemauannya sendiri, orang lain tidak bisa mengatur
kecuali mempengaruhi. Hal ini diperoleh dari cerita ketika Perkin mencuri uang
dan tidak meminta maaf kepada atasannya, sehingga dia dipecat dari
pekerjaannya. Kedua, orang yang mengikuti hawa nafsunya akan terus terjebak
dalam bundaran itu dan susah keluar darinya. Hal ini terlihat jelas dari
kebiasaan Perkin yang selalu lebih memilih pergi ke pub daripada menjaga toko, sehingga dia sulit untuk keluar dari
kebiasaannya tersebut. Ketiga, seseorang akan lebih tenang dan nyaman apabila
hidup bersama orang-orang yang mempunyai tujuan dan pemikiran yang sama. Hal
ini terlihat dari akhir cerita yang menyebutkan bahwa Perkin akhirnya tinggal
bersama temannya dan menghabiskan hidupnya dengan bersenang-senang.
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