The knight sets forth sorrowfully through the countryside and asks the question of every woman he meets. Everyone answers differently. Some say riches; some say honor; some, jolliness; lust; clothes; etc. Some say that women want to be free. Some say that women’s greatest desire is to be able to deceive and keep secrets. As proof of this last point, the Wife of Bath tells Ovid’s story of King Midas, whose ears were turned into ass’s ears. Midas begged his wife not to tell, but the secret burned inside her so much that she couldn’t bear it and she whispered it to the marsh water.