The Cage
from "The Manciple's Tale"
Tak any brid, and put it in a cage,
And do al thyn entente, and thy corage
To fostre it tendrely with mete and drinke,
Of alle deyntees that thou canst bithinke,
And kepe it al so clenly as thou may;
Al-though his cage of gold be never so gay,
Yet hath this bird, by twenty thousand fold,
Lever in a forest, that is rude and cold,
Gon ete wormes and swich wretchednesse.
For ever this brid wol doon his businesse
To escape out of his cage, if he may:
His liberty this brid desireth ay.
Geoffrey Chaucer
