So fares it by a riotous servant;
It is well lesse harm to let him pace*,
Than he shend* all the servants in the place.
Therefore his master gave him a quittance,
And bade him go, with sorrow and mischance.
And thus this jolly prentice had his leve*:
Now let him riot all the night, or leave*.
And, for there is no thief without a louke,
That helpeth him to wasten and to souk
Of that he bribe* can, or borrow may,
Anon he sent his bed and his array
Unto a compere* of his owen sort,
That loved dice, and riot, and disport;
And had a wife, that held *for countenance
A shop, and swived* for her sustenance.
Although many argue that this tale has been left unfinished, it is possible to find evidence to the contrary. For example, the master sending the apprentice to a group of companions that are similar to him can be seen as a type of ending. Theoretically, there would be no more plot in this story. He merely went off with people equally motivated by vice and lived out his life as such. Additionally, the rhyming couplet that concludes this tale seems to suggest some type of deliberate conclusion.
The Canterbury Tales The Cooks Tale