This question is based on THE NUN'S PRIEST'S TALE. The final escape of Chanticleer is due to—

Answer Details

In Chaucer's The Nun's Priest's Tale, Chanticleer the rooster is seized by the fox, Daun Russell, who had used flattery to trick Chanticleer into closing his eyes and stretching his neck. As the fox carries Chanticleer away, a noisy chase begins with the widow, her daughters, the dogs, and the entire farmyard in pursuit.

Chanticleer escapes by turning the fox's own weapon against him. He suggests that the fox should stop and boast to the pursuers, taunting them with words like "Turn back, you foolish folk! I have my prize." The fox, unable to resist the temptation to gloat, opens his mouth to speak - and the instant he does, Chanticleer breaks free and flies up into a tree, safely out of reach.

The escape is therefore due to Chanticleer's clever use of flattery. Just as the fox had flattered Chanticleer into lowering his guard, Chanticleer flatters the fox's pride into opening his mouth. The tale's moral is that one should not trust flatterers - and, ironically, it is flattery itself that both creates the danger and provides the escape. The widow's pursuit and the hens' distress create the backdrop, but Chanticleer's own cunning words are what secure his freedom.