And to the king ayein he goth
And tolde him how this man ansuerde.
The king, whan he this tale herde,
Bad that thei scholden alle abyde,
For he himself wol thider ryde.[958]
And whan he cam tofore the tonne,
He hath his tale thus begonne: 1260
‘Alheil,’ he seith, ‘what man art thou?’
Quod he, ‘Such on as thou sest now.’
P. i. 322