cause of all my dolour:  Thou art my comfort and onely health, for those thy comely eyes are so enfastned within my brest, that unlesse they succour me, I shall certainly die:  Have pitty therefore upon me, be not the occasion of my destruction, neither let my conscience reclaime to offend thy father, when as thou shalt save the life of thy mother.  Moreover since thou dost resemble thy fathers shape in every point, it giveth me cause the more to fancy thee:  Now is ministred unto thee time and place:  Now hast thou occasion to worke thy will, seeing that we are alone.  And it is a common saying: 

Never knowne, never done.

This young man troubled in mind at so suddaine an ill, although hee abhorred to commit so beastly a crime, yet hee would not cast her off with a present deniall, but warily pacified her mind with delay of promise.  Wherefore he promised to doe all according to her desire:  And in the meane season, he willed his mother to be of good cheere, and comfort her selfe till as he might find some convenient time to come unto her, when his father was ridden forth:  Wherewithall hee got him away from the pestilent sight of his stepdame.  And knowing that this matter touching the ruine of all the whole house needed the counsell of wise and grave persons, he went incontinently to a sage old man and declared the whole circumstance of the matter.  The old man after long deliberation, thought there was no better way to avoyd the storme of cruell fortune to come, then to run away.  In the meane season this wicked woman impatient of her love, and the long delay of her sonne, egged her husband to ride abroad into farre countreyes.  And then she asked the young-man the accomplishment of his promise, but he to rid himselfe entirely from her hands, would find alwayes excuses, till in the end she understood by the messengers that came in and out, that he nothing regarded her.  Then she by how much she loved him before, by so much and more she hated him now.  And by and by she called one of her servants, ready to all mischiefes:  To whom she declared all her secrets.  And there it was concluded betweene them two, that the surest way was to kill the young man:  Whereupon this varlet went incontinently to buy poyson, which he mingled with wine, to the intent he would give it to the young man to drinke, and thereby presently to kill him.  But while they were in deliberation how they might offer it unto him, behold here happened a strange adventure.  For the young sonne of the woman that came from schoole at noone (being very thirsty) tooke the pot wherein the poyson was mingled, and ignorant of the venim, dranke a good draught thereof, which was prepared to kill his brother:  whereby he presently fell downe to the ground dead.  His schoolemaster seeing his suddaine change, called his mother, and all the servants of the house with a lowd voyce.  Incontinently every man declared his opinion, touching the death of the child:  but the cruell woman the onely example