I had to purchase this for a class I was taking on Medieval Europe. I will confess, I usually never read any of the assigned texts for classes i take, preferring to take notes from lecture (I find textbooks boring but enjoy learning from the Professor's lecture). I thought I would give this short tale a try, since it was so short. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the story was. I was amazed at how old this story was and at how well it held my interest. Well worth the read - after all, it's a short book.