"The Merchant's Tale" (Middle English: The Marchantes Tale) is one of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

After a prologue where the Merchant laments the cruelty of his spouse, he begins the story in Pavia, where Januarie, a sixty year old knight, is enamoured by the idea of marriage. He asks his two friends for advice. The first, Placebo, flatters him and agrees with all that he says, whereas the second, Justinus, advises him to be cautious when selecting a bride. Januarie ignores Justinus' advice and marries a young girl of around twenty years named May.

During the marriage feast after the ceremony is conducted, Januarie's squire, Damyan, falls in love with May. He secretly gives her a love letter, the sentiment of which she reciprocates and the forbidden couple start to plot a plan to consummate their love without Januarie's knowledge. All of a sudden, Januarie is mysteriously struck blind, allowing May and Damyan's plan to come to fruition.

One day in June, when husband and wife are in the walled garden that Januarie built as a place to fulfil his sexual desires, May asks Januarie to pick a pear from one of the pair trees for her. Januarie, being blind, is incapable, so he lets her climb on his back to pick one herself. Damyan has been waiting in the tree for her, as he obtained a copy of the garden key from May, and when she climbs up, they begin to make love among the branches.

However, this affair has been witnessed by two gods: Pluto and Proserpina. Outraged by the behaviour of women, Pluto restores Januarie's sight, who begins to panic as he sees his wife cheating on him with his squire in the tree. However, Proserpina, reacting to Pluto's behaviour, sends May a false excuse to help her out of this situation. May declares to Januarie that she had learnt that his blindness would be cured if she 'wrestles' with a man in a tree, and that his eyes deceive him.

Januarie believes her, and the two go home together. The tale is followed by an epilogue where the Innkeeper complains about his wife.

In this tale, it has been argued by critics that Chaucer subtly mocks anti-feminist literature like that of Theophrastus ("Theofraste").

One question that splits critics is whether the Merchant's tale is a fabliau.^{[citation needed]} Typically a description for a tale of carnal lust and frivolous bed-hopping, some would argue that especially the latter half of the tale, where Damyan and May have sex in the tree with the blind Januarie at the foot of the tree, represents fabliau.^{[citation needed]} Derek Pearsall, for example, is in favour of this view.^{[citation needed]} Some critics, such as Maurice Hussey, feel that Chaucer offers a great deal more sophistication and philosophical insight to put this on a level above fabliau.^{[citation needed]}