I said in churches," said the pardoner. "I always speak about the same thing. I say in Latin, Radix malorum est cupiditas. That means, ‘The love of money in the cause of all evil.’ It is the cause of all wrong-doing and of all the bad things which can happen to a man.
I sell pardons – things which make God forgive man. God will then pardon them for any evil which they have done.
“After I’ve spoken to the people, I bring out my thing. These are bones or bits of cloth or other things. I say that they have belonged to saints, but I don’t really know that. People believe me and so I got money from them. I tell the people that the love of money is the cause of all evil, but I do all this in order to get money. I don’t live like a poor man. Oh no! I must have good clothes and good food. The poor people give me the money to buy these things. I sell them pardons, and so they are happy.”
The pardoner’s story is a very good story. It is surprising for a bad man to tell such a good story.
This was the story.
There were three young men who did very many bad and foolish things. They drank too much, and they did no work. They tried to get money in evil ways.
While they were sitting drinking one morning, they heard a bell. It was ringing in front of the body of a dead man.
A boy had just brought them more to drink. They asked the boy, “Whose body in that?”
“He was a friend of yours,” said the boy. He was killed last night while he was drinking here. He was killed by that quiet thief called Death. Death kills all the people in this country. Death killed your friend and went away. He has killed thousands and thousands of people. You should get ready to meet Death.”
“I am not afraid to meet him!” cried one of the three young men. Then he jumped up. “I’ll find him! I’ll look for him in every field and wood and town. Listen!” he cried to the other two. “Let’s hold up our hands and promise to be brothers, and we’ll find and kill Death because Death has killed so many of our friends.”
“I’ll go with you,” said the second man.
“And so will I,” said the third man. They had both already drunk a great deal.
They said, “We will kill this dangerous person called Death, before night comes.”
So they went off at once to find him.
They walked a little way, and they saw an old man. The old man spoke to them kindly. He said, “God be with you, my young friends.”
But the young men were not at all kind. They said, “Old fool! What is your ugly body covered with all these clothes?”
He said, “I am very old. I feel the cold. I cannot get warm.”
They answered, “Why have you lived so long, you ugly old man? Why don’t you die?”
The old man looked at them angrily. He said, “I live like this because I cannot find any young man who will change with me. Not young man wants to become old. So I must become older and older. Death will not come and take me, so I go up and down the country. I am an unhappy traveller looking for Death. I say to the ground under my feet: ‘Dear Mother Earth, let me come in! Oh, Mother Earth, I want to lay myself down in you and rest for ever!’ But she will not be kind to me. That is why I am old – so very old.”
He had not finished. He drew his old body up and he said quietly to them, “But you speak very unkindly to me, and that is a very bad thing. I have done nothing to hurt you. You should speak more kindly to an old man. I have no more to say. I must go on with my long journey to meet Death.”
One of the young men laughed. “No, you can’t do that!” he shouted. “You have just spoken about Death. He has killed all our friends in this country. Now we are going to kill him. Tell us where he is.”
The old man said, “Don’t speak like that. If you really want to find Death, I can tell you which way to go. Turn up this little lane. Not long ago I saw him sitting by a tree in the wood. He will not be afraid of anything that you can do. He is there, by that great tree. You are foolish to think that you can save men from Death. May God help you to become better men.”
The three young men turned and ran towards the tree he had shown them. There was no one there. But on the ground they saw a great number of golden coins. They were very pleased to see all this money. They did not remember that they were trying to find Death.
But Death was very near, and he was thinking about them.
They sat down with all the gold; they put their hands into it and let the gold pieces run through their fingers. They sat there for some time and did not speak. At last one of them spoke. He was the young man with the most evil heart.
“Listen to me,” he said. “This money will give us happiness for the rest of our lives! We must not take it away in daylight because people will think that we’re thieves. One of us will go back to the town for food and drink. The two others will hide in this wood and watch the money until night comes.”
This plan seemed good to the others. They sent the youngest man to the town to buy food and drink.
As soon as he was out of sight, the first man said to the other, “We are like brothers – as we said. But one of us is gone now. The half of this gold for yourself, and I’ll take half for myself.”
The second man said, “How can we do that? Our young brother knows all about the gold! There are three of us.”
“I’ll tell you how we can do it. There are two of us. Two men are stronger than one. When the boy comes back, we’ll play a game with him, a game of fighting. You can start a playful fight with him. I’ll watch for a good opening and I’ll drive my knife into him. After that, my dear brother, there will be all this gold for only us two – half of is for you, and half for me.”
And so they planned death for their young friend.
But the young friend was bad too. As he walked to the town his mind was full of those beautiful pieces of gold. He said to himself, “I must make a plan to get all the gold for myself. Then I will be the happiest man in the world!”
As last he said, “I know what I’ll do!” He went to a shop and said, “The rats are eating the corn on my farm. I haven’t event got enough corn to make bread. Give me something to put in the rats’ food to kill them.”
The man in the shop gave him a small bottle of poison. He said, “This will kill you rats. Put it in their food or drinking-water. It is so strong that it will kill any living thing in the world.”
Then the young man went on to the next street and he bought three bottles of wine. He put the poison into two of the bottles. He kept the third bottle of wine after I have killed my two friends. I shall need to drink after I have worked all night carrying away the gold and hiding it.”
Then he bought some food and went back to the other two men. They said, “Ha! He’s bringing us our evening meal but he’ll never eat it! He doesn’t know what we will do to him!”
They sat down to eat the food. Then the two men killed the youngest man.
Then they said, “Let’s eat and drink before we put his body in the ground.”
One man took up a bottle of wine. He drank a lot of it and gave the bottle to the other man.
They both died in great pain.
They had come out to kill Death, but Death came and found them all dead.
And Death laughed
“That is the end of my story,” said the pardoner. “Now I have some things here in my bag. They will bring forgiveness to you and they will save you from evil. Only a penny! Come and buy!”
I said in churches," said the pardoner. "I always speak about the same thing. I say in Latin, Radix malorum est cupiditas. That means, ‘The love of money in the cause of all evil.’ It is the cause of all wrong-doing and of all the bad things which can happen to a man.
I sell pardons – things which make God forgive man. God will then pardon them for any evil which they have done.
“After I’ve spoken to the people, I bring out my thing. These are bones or bits of cloth or other things. I say that they have belonged to saints, but I don’t really know that. People believe me and so I got money from them. I tell the people that the love of money is the cause of all evil, but I do all this in order to get money. I don’t live like a poor man. Oh no! I must have good clothes and good food. The poor people give me the money to buy these things. I sell them pardons, and so they are happy.”
The pardoner’s story is a very good story. It is surprising for a bad man to tell such a good story.
This was the story.
There were three young men who did very many bad and foolish things. They drank too much, and they did no work. They tried to get money in evil ways.
While they were sitting drinking one morning, they heard a bell. It was ringing in front of the body of a dead man.
A boy had just brought them more to drink. They asked the boy, “Whose body in that?”
“He was a friend of yours,” said the boy. He was killed last night while he was drinking here. He was killed by that quiet thief called Death. Death kills all the people in this country. Death killed your friend and went away. He has killed thousands and thousands of people. You should get ready to meet Death.”
“I am not afraid to meet him!” cried one of the three young men. Then he jumped up. “I’ll find him! I’ll look for him in every field and wood and town. Listen!” he cried to the other two. “Let’s hold up our hands and promise to be brothers, and we’ll find and kill Death because Death has killed so many of our friends.”
“I’ll go with you,” said the second man.
“And so will I,” said the third man. They had both already drunk a great deal.
They said, “We will kill this dangerous person called Death, before night comes.”
So they went off at once to find him.
They walked a little way, and they saw an old man. The old man spoke to them kindly. He said, “God be with you, my young friends.”
But the young men were not at all kind. They said, “Old fool! What is your ugly body covered with all these clothes?”
He said, “I am very old. I feel the cold. I cannot get warm.”
They answered, “Why have you lived so long, you ugly old man? Why don’t you die?”
The old man looked at them angrily. He said, “I live like this because I cannot find any young man who will change with me. Not young man wants to become old. So I must become older and older. Death will not come and take me, so I go up and down the country. I am an unhappy traveller looking for Death. I say to the ground under my feet: ‘Dear Mother Earth, let me come in! Oh, Mother Earth, I want to lay myself down in you and rest for ever!’ But she will not be kind to me. That is why I am old – so very old.”
He had not finished. He drew his old body up and he said quietly to them, “But you speak very unkindly to me, and that is a very bad thing. I have done nothing to hurt you. You should speak more kindly to an old man. I have no more to say. I must go on with my long journey to meet Death.”
One of the young men laughed. “No, you can’t do that!” he shouted. “You have just spoken about Death. He has killed all our friends in this country. Now we are going to kill him. Tell us where he is.”
The old man said, “Don’t speak like that. If you really want to find Death, I can tell you which way to go. Turn up this little lane. Not long ago I saw him sitting by a tree in the wood. He will not be afraid of anything that you can do. He is there, by that great tree. You are foolish to think that you can save men from Death. May God help you to become better men.”
The three young men turned and ran towards the tree he had shown them. There was no one there. But on the ground they saw a great number of golden coins. They were very pleased to see all this money. They did not remember that they were trying to find Death.
But Death was very near, and he was thinking about them.
They sat down with all the gold; they put their hands into it and let the gold pieces run through their fingers. They sat there for some time and did not speak. At last one of them spoke. He was the young man with the most evil heart.
“Listen to me,” he said. “This money will give us happiness for the rest of our lives! We must not take it away in daylight because people will think that we’re thieves. One of us will go back to the town for food and drink. The two others will hide in this wood and watch the money until night comes.”
This plan seemed good to the others. They sent the youngest man to the town to buy food and drink.
As soon as he was out of sight, the first man said to the other, “We are like brothers – as we said. But one of us is gone now. The half of this gold for yourself, and I’ll take half for myself.”
The second man said, “How can we do that? Our young brother knows all about the gold! There are three of us.”
“I’ll tell you how we can do it. There are two of us. Two men are stronger than one. When the boy comes back, we’ll play a game with him, a game of fighting. You can start a playful fight with him. I’ll watch for a good opening and I’ll drive my knife into him. After that, my dear brother, there will be all this gold for only us two – half of is for you, and half for me.”
And so they planned death for their young friend.
But the young friend was bad too. As he walked to the town his mind was full of those beautiful pieces of gold. He said to himself, “I must make a plan to get all the gold for myself. Then I will be the happiest man in the world!”
As last he said, “I know what I’ll do!” He went to a shop and said, “The rats are eating the corn on my farm. I haven’t event got enough corn to make bread. Give me something to put in the rats’ food to kill them.”
The man in the shop gave him a small bottle of poison. He said, “This will kill you rats. Put it in their food or drinking-water. It is so strong that it will kill any living thing in the world.”
Then the young man went on to the next street and he bought three bottles of wine. He put the poison into two of the bottles. He kept the third bottle of wine after I have killed my two friends. I shall need to drink after I have worked all night carrying away the gold and hiding it.”
Then he bought some food and went back to the other two men. They said, “Ha! He’s bringing us our evening meal but he’ll never eat it! He doesn’t know what we will do to him!”
They sat down to eat the food. Then the two men killed the youngest man.
Then they said, “Let’s eat and drink before we put his body in the ground.”
One man took up a bottle of wine. He drank a lot of it and gave the bottle to the other man.
They both died in great pain.
They had come out to kill Death, but Death came and found them all dead.
And Death laughed
“That is the end of my story,” said the pardoner. “Now I have some things here in my bag. They will bring forgiveness to you and they will save you from evil. Only a penny! Come and buy!”
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