Classic Poem

Me thought I was in wildernesse walking al one,
There bestes were and briddes and no barne elles,
In a cumbe cressing on a crest-wise,
Al gras-grene, that gladed my herte,
By a cliffe un-y-knowe, of Cristes owen making.
I lepte forth lightly along by the hegges,
And moved forth merily to maistrie the hilles;
For til I came to the coppe couthe I not stinte
Of the highest hille by halfe of alle other.
I tourned me twyes and toted aboute,
Beholding hegges and holts so grene,
The mansions and medwes mowen al newe,
For such was the saison of the same yere.
I lifte up my eye-lides and looked ferther
And saw many swete sights, so me God helpe:
The wodes and the waters and the welle-springes,
And trees y-trailed fro toppe to th'erthe,
Curiously y-covred with curtelle of grene;
The flowrs on feeldes flavring swete,
The corn on the croftes y-cropped ful faire,
The renning riviere rushing faste,
Ful of fish and of frie of felefold kinde;
The breres with their beries bent over the wayes,
As honysoucles hanging upon eche half;
Chesteines and cheries that children desiren
Were logged under leves ful lusty to seen.
The hawthorn so holsum I beheld eeke,
And how the benes blowed and the brome-flowres;
Peres and plummes and pesecoddes grene,
That ladies lusty looken muche after,
Were gadred for gomes ere they gunne ripe;
The grapes growed agrete in gardens aboute,
And other fruits felefold in feeldes and closes;
To nempne alle the names it nedeth not here.
The conings fro covert covred the bankes,
And raughte out a raundon and retourned againes,
Played forth on the plaine, and to the pitte after,
But any hound hente them or the hay-nettes.
The hare hied him faste, and the houndes after;
For kissing of his croupe acaunt-wise he wente;
For n'ad he tourned twyes, his tail had be licked,
So ernestly Ector iched him after.
The sheepe fro the sunne shadwed themself,
While the lambes laiked along by the hegges.
The cow with hire calfe and coltes ful faire
And high hors in haras hurteled togedre,
And praised the pasture that prime-saute them made.
The deere on the dale drowe to their dennes,
Ferked forth to the ferne and felle down amiddes.
Herts and hindes, a hundred togedre,
With reindeer and robuc runne to the wodes
For the kenets on the cleere were un-y-coupled;
And buckes ful burnished that baren good grece,
Four hundred on a herd y-heeded ful faire,
Layen lowe in a launde along by the pale,
A swete sight for souvrains, so me God helpe.
I moved down fro the mote to the midwards,
And so adown to the dale, dwelled I no longer;
But such a noise of nestlings ne so swete notes
I herde not this halfe yere, ne so hevenly sounes
As I dide on that dale adown among the hegges;
For in every bush was a brid that in his best wise
Babled with his bille, that blisse was to here,
So cheerly they chirmed and chaunged their notes,
That what for flavour of the fruits and of the somer flowres,
The smelling smote as spices, me thought,
That of my travail trewly took I no kepe,
For al was vanished me fro through the freshe sightes.