The Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath's Tale Lines 989-1014 Summary

When the knight realizes that he can't figure out what women love the most, he heads back to Arthur's court with a heavy heart.
On his way back to the court, he happens to come across 24 ladies or more dancing in a circle in the forest.
He rides toward the dancers, hoping to learn some wisdom from them.
Before he gets there, the women vanish.
The knight sees no creature except a very ugly old woman sitting on the green.
The old woman comes toward the knight, telling him that the way he's riding leads nowhere.
She asks him what he's looking for and tells him it will be to his advantage to tell her, since old people know many things.
The knight replies that he will die unless he is able to say what women most desire. If the hag can tell him, he promises, he'll reward her.