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About the brinkes of thise welles,
And by the stremes over-al elles
Sprang up the gras, as thikke y-set
And softe as any veluet, 1420
On which men mighte his lemman leye,
As on a fetherbed, to pleye,
For therthe was ful softe and swete.
Through moisture of the welle wete

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Ou vergier ot daims et chevrions,
Et moult grant plente d'escoirions,
Qui par ces arbres gravissoient;
Connins i avoit qui issoient
Toute jor hors de lor tesnieres,
Et en plus de trente manieres
Aloient entr'eus tornoiant
Sor l'erbe fresche verdoiant. 1390
Il ot par leus cleres fontaines,
Sans barbelotes et sans raines,
Cui li arbres fesoient umbre;
Mes n'en sai pas dire le numbre.
Par petis tuiaus que Deduis
Y ot fet fere, et par conduis
S'en aloit l'iaue aval, fesant
Une noise douce et plesant.
Entor les ruissiaus et les rives
Des fontaines cleres et vives, 1400
Poignoit l'erbe freschete et drue;
Ausinc y poist-l'en sa drue
Couchier comme sur une coite,
Car la terre estoit douce et moite
Por la fontaine, et i venoit
Tant d'erbe cum il convenoit.

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Sprang up the sote grene gras, 1425
As fair, as thikke, as mister was.
But muche amended it the place,
That therthe was of swich a grace
That it of floures had plente,
That both in somer and winter be. 1430
Ther sprang the violete al newe,
And fresshe pervinke, riche of hewe,
And floures yelowe, whyte, and rede;
Swich plentee grew ther never in mede.
Ful gay was al the ground, and queynt, 1435
And poudred, as men had it peynt,
With many a fresh and sondry flour,
That casten up ful good savour.
I wol not longe holde you in fable
Of al this gardin delitable. 1440
I moot my tonge stinten nede,
For I ne may, withouten drede,
Naught tellen you the beautee al,
Ne half the bountee therewithal.
I wente on right honde and on left 1445
Aboute the place; it was not left,
Til I hadde al the [yerde in] been,
In the estres that men mighte seen.

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Mes moult embelissoit l'afaire
Li leus qui ere de tel aire,
Qu'il i avoit tous jours plente
De flors et yver et este. 1410
Violete y avoit trop bele,
Et parvenche fresche et novele;
Flors y ot blanches et vermeilles,
De jaunes en i ot merveilles.
Trop par estoit la terre cointe,
Qu'ele ere piolee et pointe
De flors de diverses colors,
Dont moult sunt bonnes les odors.
Ne vous tenrai ja longue fable
Du leu plesant et delitable; 1420
Orendroit m'en convenra taire,
Que ge ne porroie retraire
Du vergier toute la biaute,
Ne la grant delitablete.
Tant fui a destre et a senestre,
Que j'oi tout l'afere et tout l'estre
Du vergier cerchie et veu;
Et li Diex d'Amors m'a seu

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And thus whyle I wente in my pley,
The God of Love me folowed ay, 1450
Right as an hunter can abyde
The beste, til he seeth his tyde
To shete, at good mes, to the dere,
Whan that him nedeth go no nere.
And so befil, I rested me 1455
Besyde a welle, under a tree,
Which tree in Fraunce men calle a pyn.
But, sith the tyme of king Pepyn,
Ne grew ther tree in mannes sighte
So fair, ne so wel woxe in highte; 1460
In al that yerde so high was noon.
And springing in a marble-stoon
Had nature set, the sothe to telle,
Under that pyn-tree a welle.
And on the border, al withoute, 1465
Was writen, in the stone aboute,
Lettres smale, that seyden thus,
Here starf the faire Narcisus. '
NARCISUS was a bachelere, NARCISUS.
That Love had caught in his daungere, 1470
And in his net gan him so streyne,
And dide him so to wepe and pleyne,
That nede him muste his lyf forgo.
For a fair lady, hight Echo,

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Endementiers en agaitant,
Cum li venieres qui atant 1430
Que la beste en bel leu se mete
Por lessier aler la sajete.
En ung trop biau leu arrive,
Au darrenier, ou je trouve
Une fontaine sous ung pin;
Mais puis Karles le fils Pepin,
Ne fu ausinc biau pin veus,
Et si estoit si haut creus,
Qu'ou vergier n'ot nul si bel arbre.
Dedens une pierre de marbre 1440
Ot nature par grant mestrise
Sous le pin la fontaine assise:
Si ot dedens la pierre escrites
Ou bort amont letres petites
Qui disoient: 'ici desus
Se mori li biaus Narcisus. '
Narcisus fu uns damoisiaus
Que Amors tint en ses roisiaus,
Et tant le sot Amors destraindre,
Et tant le fist plorer et plaindre, 1450
Que li estuet a rendre l'ame:
Car Equo, une haute dame,

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Him loved over any creature, 1475
And gan for him swich peyne endure,
That on a tyme she him tolde,
That, if he hir loven nolde,
That hir behoved nedes dye,
Ther lay non other remedye. 1480
But natheles, for his beautee,
So fiers and daungerous was he,
That he nolde graunten hir asking,
For weping, ne for fair praying.
And whan she herde him werne hir so, 1485
She hadde in herte so gret wo,
And took it in so gret dispyt,
That she, withoute more respyt,
Was deed anoon. But, er she deyde,
Ful pitously to god she preyde, 1490
That proude-herted Narcisus,
That was in love so daungerous,
Mighte on a day ben hampred so
For love, and been so hoot for wo,
That never he mighte Ioye atteyne; 1495
Than shulde he fele in every veyne
What sorowe trewe lovers maken,
That been so vilaynsly forsaken.

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L'avoit ame plus que riens nee.