One fine spring day, thirty pilgrims set off from Harry Bailey's inn in Southwark for the shrine of Thomas à Becket in Canterbury. The innkeeper makes an offer that none of the travelers can refuse: a free dinner at his inn, on their return, to the person who can tell the best story. So begins the assortment of tales from such varied characters as the Knight, the Wife of Bath, the Miller and many more.
Retold by Geraldine McCaughrean.