- When they stop to eat, Bear gives Crispin the short version of his life.
- Bear was given to a Benedictine order when he was twelve and stayed there for seven years.
- Now he cannot be hanged because he knows how to read, so common law treats him as a priest.
- He ran away from the monks and became a traveling performer for ten years, and then he went to be a soldier.
- Now he travels alone, making his living by performing.
- He needs Crispin to join his act, though, so he starts teaching Crispin to juggle and then to sing.
- Crispin thinks Bear is off his rocker.