Thanks for the A2A! My favorite tale is actually two. Well, technically it's the contrast between the two: the Knight's Tale and the Miller's Tale. read more
This is a great question, especially since both of my favorites are prologues to tales rather than actual tales. The tie here is between the sublime Alys, Wife of Bath, and the sinister Pardoner. Both tell good-to-great tales as well, but their prologues are the showstoppers, and major mimetic flashpoints in English narrative verse. read more