Final answer:
Harry Bailey suggests a storytelling contest where the best storyteller will receive a free meal.
Step-by-step explanation:
Harry Bailey, the host of the Tabard Inn in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, proposes a storytelling contest among the pilgrims. The contest consists of each pilgrim telling tales on the way to Canterbury, with the best storyteller, as judged by Harry Bailey, receiving a free meal at the Tabard Inn upon their return. This contest is meant to provide entertainment during the journey and is a clever narrative device that frames the sequence of tales that make up the rest of the work.