William Shakespeare: The Life of King Henry V

ACT FIFTH. 1. SCENE I. France. The English camp. (continued)

FLUELLEN.
You say very true, scald knave, when God's will is. I will
desire you to live in the mean time, and eat your victuals.
Come, there is sauce for it. [Strikes him.] You call'd me
yesterday mountain-squire; but I will make you to-day a
squire of low degree. I pray you, fall to; if you can mock
a leek, you can eat a leek.

GOWER.
Enough, captain; you have astonish'd him.

FLUELLEN.
I say, I will make him eat some part of my leek, or I will
peat his pate four days. Bite, I pray you; it is good for
your green wound and your ploody coxcomb.

PISTOL.
Must I bite?

FLUELLEN.
Yes, certainly, and out of doubt and out of question
too, and ambiguities.

PISTOL.
By this leek, I will most horribly revenge. I eat and
eat, I swear--

FLUELLEN.
Eat, I pray you. Will you have some more sauce to
your leek? There is not enough leek to swear by.

PISTOL.
Quiet thy cudgel; thou dost see I eat.

FLUELLEN.
Much good do you, scald knave, heartily. Nay, pray you,
throw none away; the skin is good for your broken coxcomb.
When you take occasions to see leeks herefter, I pray you,
mock at 'em; that is all.

PISTOL.
Good.

FLUELLEN.
Ay, leeks is good. Hold you, there is a groat to heal
your pate.

PISTOL.
Me a groat!

FLUELLEN.
Yes, verily and in truth you shall take it; or I have
another leek in my pocket, which you shall eat.

PISTOL.
I take thy groat in earnest of revenge.

FLUELLEN.
If I owe you anything I will pay you in cudgels. You
shall be a woodmonger, and buy nothing of me but cudgels.
God be wi' you, and keep you, and heal your pate.

[Exit.]