They set off on an April morning with the rain dripping from the branches. Even with the rain, they were glad to be on their way--priests, nuns, tradesmen, men from the city, all pilgrims on the road to Canterbury. To pass the long journey they told each other stories: of magic and trickery, of animals with blazing eyes, of people with their pants on fire, of two thousand men battling before smoking walls, stories of love and death and the devil. There were written down by Geoffrey Chaucer, and he called them The Canterbury Tales. Geraldine McCaughrean retells The Canterbury Tales for children in a lively and humorous style which captures the original flair of Chaucer himself. She introduces us to the characters who told these tales: the shy, battle-hardened Knight, the Summoner whose breath smells of onions, the angry Miller with his read beard, and the Widow of Bath who likes a happy ending. The stories and the characters are vividly brought to life by Victor Ambrus, with pictures of wild chases, exciting battles, and the April countryside through which the pilgrims travel.