The Canterbury Tales
Geoffery Chaucer

She was courteous, discreet, generous and sociable, and bore herself so fairly since she was seven nights old that truly she held the heart of Chanticleer completely locked, and she bore the key. He loved her so that he was full of happiness. But such a joy as it was to hear them sing in sweet accord when the bright sun began to rise, "My love has gone to the country¹"--for at that time, as I have learned, beasts and birds could sing and speak. [2881]

Now it so came to pass, one day at dawn, as Chanticleer sat on his perch among his wives in the hall, and next to this fair Pertelote, that he began to groan in his throat as a man grievously troubled in his dream. When Pertelote heard him roar this way, she was aghast, and said: "Oh dear heart, what ails you to groan so? A fine sleeper you are; fie, for shame!" [2891]

And he answered, "Madame, don't take it the wrong way, I pray you. It is God's truth, I dreamed right now that I was in such trouble that my heart is still sorely frightened. Now may God" he said, "let my dream be interpreted favorably, and keep my body from foul prison! I dreamed how I roamed up and down within our yard, and saw there a beast like a hound, who wished to seize my body and kill me. He was between yellow and red in color, his tail and ears tipped with black, unlike the rest of his coat; his snout was slender and his two eyes glowing. For fear of his looks I almost die, even now. This caused my groaning, without a doubt." [2907]

"Shame!" she said. "Fie upon you, heartless coward! Alas! For by that God above you have now lost my heart and all my love. In faith, surely, I cannot love a coward. Regardless of what any woman will say, all of us desire to have husbands bold, wise, and noble, and trusty with secrets, not a miser nor a fool, nor afraid of every weapon, nor yet a boaster, by God above! How dare you, for shame, say to your love that anything could make you afraid? Have you not a man's heart, though you have a beard! Alas, can you be afraid of dreams? [2921]