Now let me tell what happened at the inn.

At supper we made a merry party, for the wine was strong, and Harry
Bailey, our host, a jovial soul. Seeing us in good humour, he
addressed us thus "My friends, you are welcome here. Tomorrow you
depart; but surely it will be very dull if you ride silent and
morose. I have a plan to keep you merry all the way. What say you,
shall I tell it?" We held up our hands at once to vote that he should
tell on. "This is my plan, then. As you journey to Canterbury every
one of you shall tell a tale, and as you return every one shall tell
another tale. He who tells the best shall be given a supper at the
expense of the rest of us--here at this inn, when we come back. What
say you? And indeed, to make you the jollier, I myself will go with
you, to be your guide and governor!" We heartily agreed, begged him
to be the judge of the tales, and promised to obey him in all things.
So with laughter and jollity we went to bed betimes to rise early on
the morrow;

Our host was as good as his word, and at day-break he roused us all
and gathered us together. Off we rode at a gentle pace, with the
Miller playing his bagpipes and the Summoner singing a loud bass to
the Pardoner's tenor. At St. Thomas's watering-place our host stopped
and called out, "Let's see now if you agree to last night's plan!
Before we go further, come, draw lots who shall tell the first tale.
Come hither Sir Knight, my Lady-Prioress, and you, you modest Clerk."
He held out to them grasses of different lengths, hiding the ends in
his hands so that they could not see which was the longest; and the
Knight drew the longest grass, and so had to begin the game. He was a
worthy man, this Knight, and loved truth and honour, freedom and
courtesy. Although he had won great praise in many foreign wars, he