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NOw leue we hym here sayd the good man / and goo we to oure herberowe tyl to morowe we wille come here ageyne to doo hym seruyse / Sir sayde Bors be ye a preest / ye forsothe sayd he / thenne I pray yow telle me a dreme that befalle to me þe last nyȝt / Say on sayd he / thenne he began soo moche to telle hym of the grete byrd in the forest / And after told hym of his byrdes one whyte / another black / and of
[leaf 340r] the rotten tree and of the whyte floures / syre I shalle telle yow a parte now and the other dele to morowe / The whyte foule betokeneth a gentylwoman fayre and ryche whiche loued the peramours / and hath loued the longe
¶ And yf thou warne her loue she shalle goo dye anone yf thou haue no pyte on her / that sygnefyeth the grete byrd / the whiche shalle make the to warne her /
¶ Now for noo fere that thou hast ne for no drede that thow haste of god / thow shalte not warne her but thou woldest not do hit for to be holden chast for to conquere the loos of the veyne glory of the world / for that shalle befalle the now and thou warne her that Launcelot the good knyghte thy cosyn shalle dye / And therfore men shalle now saye þt thow art a man sleer / both of thy broder syre Lyonel and of thy cosyn syre launcelot du lake / the whiche thow myghtest haue saued and rescowed easyly / But thow wenest to rescowe a mayde whiche perteyneth no thynge to the
¶ Now loke thow whether hit had ben gretter harme of thy broders deth or els to haue suffred her to haue lost her maydenhode /
¶ Thenne asked he hym haste thow herd the tokens of thy dreme the whiche I haue told to yow / Ye forsothe sayd syre Bors / alle youre exposycyon and declarynge of my dreme I haue wel vnderstande and herd / Thenne said the man in this black clothynge / thenne is hit in thy defaute yf sire Launcelot thy cosyn dye /
¶ Syre said bors that were me lothe / for wete ye wel there is no thynge in the world but I had leuer doo hit than to see my lord sire launcelot du lake to dye in my defaute Chese ye now the one or the other said the good man / And thenne he led syre Bors in to an hyghe Toure / and there he fonde knyghtes and ladyes tho ladyes sayde he was wel come / and soo they vnarmed hym /
¶ And whanne he was in his dobblet / men broughte hym a mantel furred with ermyn and putte hit aboute hym / and thenne they made hym suche chere that he hadde forgeten alle his sorowe and anguysshe / and only sette his herte in these delytes and deyntees / & tooke noo thoughte more for this broder syre Lyonel neyther of syre Launcelot du lake his cosyn / And anone came oute of a chamber to hym the fayrest lady that euer he sawe & more rycher
[leaf 340v] bysene than euer he sawe Quene Gueneuer or ony other estat Lo sayd they syre Bors here is the lady vnto whome we owe alle oure seruyse / and I trowe she be the rychest lady and the fayrest of alle the world / and the whiche loueth yow best aboue alle other knyghtes / for she wille haue no knyght but yow And whanne he vnderstood that langage he was abasshed / Not for thenne she salewed hym / and he her / and thenne they satte doune to gyders and spak of many thynges / in soo moche that she besoughte hym to be her loue / for she had loued hym abone alle erthely men / and she shold make hym rycher than euer was man of his age /
¶ Whanne Bors vnderstood her wordes / he was ryght euyll at ease / whiche in no maner wold not breke chastyte / soo wyst not he how to ansuer her /