{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_43059/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_43059","id":"gutenberg_43059","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43059","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folklore -- Romania"],"text":"RUMANIAN BIRD AND BEAST STORIES\n                         RENDERED INTO ENGLISH\n\n                                   BY\n\n                            M. GASTER, Ph.D.\n\n     VICE-PRESIDENT AND SOMETIME PRESIDENT OF THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY\n              VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY\n VICE-PRESIDENT AND SOMETIME PRESIDENT OF THE JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY\n                               ETC., ETC.\n\n\n\n                 \"But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;\n                And the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee.\"\n\n                                                             Job xii. 7.\n\n\n                                 LONDON\n                 Published for the Folk-Lore Society by\n          SIDGWICK & JACKSON, LTD., 3 ADAM ST., ADELPHI, W.C.\n                                  1915\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                                   To\n                 HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELISABETH OF RUMANIA\n                             \"Carmen Sylva\"\n       To Whom the Soul of the Rumanian People is as an Open Book\n                          A Page of that Book\n                                   Is\n                         By Gracious Permission\n                               Dedicated\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\n\"Neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the\nheavens and the beast are fled, they are gone.\" The forests are silent,\nover hill and dale hangs a black pall; beast and bird are in hiding;\nthe voices are hushed. But before they have disappeared, following\nin the track of others, I have endeavoured to catch the hum of the\nbee, the twitter of the bird, the chirp of the cricket, the song of\nthe dying swan, and all the tales which beasts and birds and little\nbeetles tell their young before they go to sleep ere the flash of\nthe glow-worm flits across the darkness of the forest.\n\nI have followed up to their lairs the ferocious wolf, the cantankerous\ndog, the sly fox and the wise hedgehog, have listened to the lark and\nto the nightingale, and paid homage to little king wren. Who knows how\nmuch longer they will disport themselves in the fields and forests of\nRumania, where the hoofs of the horses, the feet of the marching men,\nthe shout of battle and the thunder of the guns have silenced--let\nus hope only for a while--the voice of the dumb creatures, who still\nspeak so eloquently to him who knows their language and understands\nthe cunning spell of their hidden wisdom. It is as if I had gathered\nflowers from the field of the Rumanian popular imagination. They are\nfresh from the field, and the dew still hangs upon them like so many\ndiamonds, flashing in the light of popular poetry; nay, sometimes a\nfew specks of the original soil are still clinging to the roots. I\nhave not pressed them between the leaves of this book. I have handled\nthem tenderly. It has been a work of love, the dreamy fancies of youth,\nthe solace of maturer age. Peradventure one or the other may be taken\nout and planted anew in the nurseries of the West, where they may\nblossom and grow afresh. They might bring with them the breath of the\nopen field, the perfume of the forest. They might conjure up the time\nwhen the nations were still young and lived in the great Nursery of\nNature. If one could only bring to the nations of the West for awhile\na glimpse of the time of their youth! In my wanderings through these\nenchanted fields I have tried to find whence the seeds have come,\nwhose hands have sown them, and what spiritual wind and weather have\nfostered their growth, whether the rain of heaven or the fountains\nof the deep have watered the roots, what sun has shone upon them,\nwhat fiery blast has made these flowers wither and die.\n\nSuch as they are, then, they are offered in love to the English people.\n\nI have to thank Mr. S. L. Bensusan, who in true friendship, with\nadmirable skill and with untiring zeal has helped me to remove the\nboulders, to level the ground, to plan the beds and to trim the edges;\nMiss C. S. Burne, whose keen sympathy, unerring eye and deft hand have\nhelped to weed the tares and group the flowers; my son Vivian, who\nwith loving care and gentle touch has brushed away the dead leaves that\nhad fallen on the green sward, and last, but not least, the Folk-Lore\nSociety, which has granted me a niche in its great Pantheon. It is\nindeed no small honour to be in the company of the gods.\n\n\nM. G.\n\n        In the month when\n            \"smale fowles maken melodie.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\nIntroduction\n\n    I.\n\n    Why is the Bee black, and why is it making Honey? How did the Bee\n    outwit the Devil?\n\n    I. B.\n\n    How did the Bee outwit the Mole?\n\n    II.\n\n    Why is the Bee busy and the Spider sullen?\n\n    III.\n\n    Why is the Bee black, and why has it a Narrow Waist?\n\n    IV.\n\n    Why does the Little Worm glow?\n\n    V.\n\n    Why does the Little Worm glow?\n\n    VI.\n\n    Why does the Little Worm glow?\n\n    VII.\n\n    Why is the Wolf ferocious?\n\n    VIII.\n\n    Why do the Eyes of the Wolf glow and his Hair bristle?\n\n    IX.\n\n    Why does the Wolf run after the Devil?\n\n    X.\n\n    Why the Goat's Knees are bare\n\n    XI.\n\n    Why did Noah get drunk?\n\n    XII.\n\n    God and the Lamb\n\n    XIII.\n\n    The Hart and the making of the World\n\n    XIV.\n\n    Why is the Fly called the Devil's Horse?\n\n    XV.\n\n    The Devil stealing the Sun\n\n    XVI.\n\n    Why is it called the Bull-Fly?\n\n    XVII.\n\n    Why is the Saw-Fly red?\n\n    XVIII.\n\n    Why does the Saw-Fly live in Stables?\n\n    XIX.\n\n    Why is the Lady-Bird dainty?\n\n    XX.\n\n    Why does the Gad-Fly sting the Cattle?\n\n    XXI.\n\n    Why does the Fly of Kolumbatsh poison the Cattle?\n\n    XXII.\n\n    Why is there a Worm in the Apple?\n\n    XXIII.\n\n    Why are the Locusts voracious?\n\n    XXIV.\n\n    Why does the Grasshopper run to and fro?\n\n    XXV.\n\n    Another Story of the Grasshopper\n\n    XXVI.\n\n    Why does the Nun Beetle cover its Face?\n\n    XXVII.\n\n    Why is the Beetle called the Nun?\n\n    XXVIII.\n\n    Why is the Wasp the Gipsies' Bee?\n\n    XXVIII. A.\n\n    Another Version of the Wasp Legend\n\n    XXIX.\n\n    Why does the Hornet live in Smoky Places?\n\n    XXX.\n\n    Why is the Hornet so spiteful?\n\n    XXX. A.\n\n    Hornet Charm\n\n    XXXI.\n\n    Why has the Woodpecker such a Long Beak and why does it peck at\n    the Trees?\n\n    XXXII.\n\n    Why has the Pelican a Big Pouch under its Beak?\n\n    XXXIII.\n\n    Why does the Titmouse get into the Pumpkin?\n\n    XXXIV.\n\n    Why has the Nightingale a Drab Colour?\n\n    XXXV.\n\n    Why has the Nightingale Twelve Tunes and why does the Turtle-Dove coo?\n\n\n    XXXVI.\n\n    Why is the Nightingale the Songster of the King?\n\n    XXXVII.\n\n    Why does the Thrush hide in the Tree?\n\n    XXXVIII.\n\n    Why has the Partridge a Mottled Colour?\n\n    XXIX.\n\n    Why has the Thistle-Finch Ruffled Feathers?\n\n    XL.\n\n    Why has the Bullfinch a Red Breast and a Big Mouth?\n\n    XLI.\n\n    Why does the Hoopoe feed on Droppings?\n\n    XLII.\n\n    Why is the Wagtail called the Gipsies' Bird?\n\n    XLIII.\n\n    Why is the Hoopoe such a Dirty Bird?\n\n    XLIV.\n\n    Why does the Cuckoo lead a Restless Life?\n\n    XLV.\n\n    Why is the Cuckoo silent in the Winter?\n\n    XLVI.\n\n    The Story of the Crow and its Ugly Fledglings\n\n    XLVII.\n\n    Why is there enmity between the Crow and the Hawk?\n\n    XLVII. A.\n\n    Crow Charms\n\n    XLVIII.\n\n    Why does the Heron drink only Rain-Water?\n\n    XLIX.\n\n    Why does the Kite cry in Dry Weather?\n\n    L.\n\n    Why can the Mole not come out on the High Road?\n\n    LI.\n\n    Why has the Tortoise a Round Back?\n\n    LII.\n\n    Why have the Fish no Feet?\n\n    LIII.\n\n    Why do the Plover fly singly?\n\n    LIV.\n\n    Why does the Spider hang on a Thread?\n\n    LIV. A.\n\n    Why are the Spider and the Mouse accursed?\n\n    LV.\n\n    Why has the Swallow a Forked Tail and a Red Spot on its Breast?\n\n\n    LVI.\n\n    Why does the Frog shrivel up at Death?\n\n    LVII.\n\n    Why does the Silkworm spin a Thin Thread?\n\n    LVIII.\n\n    Why is it right to kill a Sparrow?\n\n    LIX.\n\n    Why should the Oak Tree not boast?\n\n    LX.\n\n    Why does the Mosquito live in the Well?\n\n    LXI.\n\n    Why does the Mosquito feed on Blood?\n\n    LXII.\n\n    Why does the Fly eat the Cherry?\n\n    LXIII.\n\n    Why has the Butterfly Rings on its Wings?\n\n    LXIV.\n\n    Why does the Cricket chirp?\n\n    LXV.\n\n    Why do the Ants feed the Cricket?\n\n    LXVI.\n\n    Why do Cats and Dogs fight?\n\n    LXVII.\n\n    Why do Cats eat Mice?\n\n    LXVII. A.\n\n    Another Version\n\n    LXVIII.\n\n    Why does a Cat sit on the Doorstep in the Sun?\n\n    LXIX.\n\n    Why does the Fly settle on the Dead?\n\n    LXX.\n\n    Why is the Foot of Man arched?\n\n    LXXI.\n\n    Why has a Snake no Tail? and why do Fleas suck Human Blood?\n\n    LXXII.\n\n    Charms against Fleas and other House Vermin\n\n    LXXIII.\n\n    Charms against Bugs\n\n    LXXIV.\n\n    Why does the Cuckoo call \"Cuckoo\"?\n\n    LXXV.\n\n    Why does a Wagtail wag its Tail?\n\n    LXXVI.\n\n    Why has the Hoopoe a Tuft?\n\n    LXXVII.\n\n    Why does the Eagle live on Raw Meat?\n\n    LXXVIII.\n\n    Why has the Lark a Tuft?\n\n    LXXIX.\n\n    Why is the Tuft of the Lark dishevelled?\n\n    LXXX.\n\n    Why do Larks fly towards the Sun?\n\n    LXXX. A.\n\n    The Story of the Lark\n\n    LXXXI.\n\n    The Wooing of the Sister of the Sun\n\n    LXXXII.\n\n    The Wooing of a Fairy\n\n    LXXXIII.\n\n    Where did the Swan come from?\n\n    LXXXIV.\n\n    The Swan Maiden, the Bird of Heaven and the Crown of Paradise\n\n    LXXXV.\n\n    Why does the Duck feed on Refuse?\n\n    LXXXVI.\n\n    Why has the Stork no Tail?\n\n    LXXXVII.\n\n    Why has the Swallow a Forked Tail and a Red Spot on its Breast?\n\n\n    LXXXVIII.\n\n    Why does the Swallow live in Hot Places?\n\n    LXXXIX.\n\n    Why is the Dove a Homing Bird?\n\n    XC.\n\n    Why does the Raven feed on Carcases?\n\n    XCI.\n\n    Why is the Ant cut in the Middle?\n\n    XCII.\n\n    Why does the Cuckoo call \"Cuckoo\"?\n\n    XCIII.\n\n    Why does the Armenian love the Dirty Hoopoe?\n\n    XCIV.\n\n    The Story of the Partridge, the Fox and the Hound\n\n    XCV.\n\n    The Story of the Partridge and her Young\n\n    XCVI.\n\n    The Story of the Lark and the taming of Women\n\n    XCVII.\n\n    The Story of the Turtle Dove and its love for its Mate\n\n    XCVIII.\n\n    Why does the Wren hide himself?\n\n    XCIX.\n\n    Why is there no King over the Birds?\n\n    C.\n\n    The Story of King Log and King Stork\n\n    CI.\n\n    The Story of the Stork and Little Tomtit\n\n    CII.\n\n    The Story of the Flea and the Gnat\n\n    CIII.\n\n    The Story of the Gnat, the Lion, and the Man\n\n    CIV.\n\n    The Story of the Gnat and the Buffalo\n\n    CV.\n\n    The Story of the Town Mouse and the Field Mouse\n\n    CVI.\n\n    The Story of the Hare and the Frogs\n\n    CVII.\n\n    Why does the Buffalo walk slowly and tread gently?\n\n    CVIII.\n\n    The Story of the Pointer and the Setter\n\n    CIX.\n\n    The Story of the Rat and his Journey to God\n\n    CX.\n\n    The Story of the Seven-Witted Fox and the One-Witted Owl\n\n    CXI.\n\n    The Story of the Fox and his Bagful of Wits and the One-Witted\n    Hedgehog\n\n    CXII.\n\n    The Story of the Peasant, the Snake, and King Solomon\n\n    CXIII.\n\n    The Story of the Dog and the Snake and the cure of Headache\n\n    CXIV.\n\n    The Story of the Horse, the Lion, and the Wolf\n\n    CXV.\n\n    The Marriage of Tom and the Vixen\n\n    CXVI.\n\n    The Story of Man and his Years\n\n    CXVII.\n\n    The Judgment of the Soul of Man, accused and defended by Beast\n    and Birds\n\n    CXVIII.\n\n    The Pilgrimage of the Soul after Death\n\n    CXIX.\n\n    The Reward of the Good Man\n\n\nAPPENDIX I.\n\nRUMANIAN INCANTATIONS AGAINST THE ILLNESSES OF ANIMALS.\n\n    I.\n\n    Against the Illness of Poultry\n\n    II.\n\n    Charm for a Cow against the Evil Eye\n\n    III.\n\n    Charm for a Suckling Calf\n\n    IV.\n\n    Charm for a Cow against Snake-Bite\n\n    V.\n\n    Charm against Evil Eye\n\n    VI.\n\n    Charm against Evil Eye\n\n    VII.\n\n    Charm against Worms in Beasts\n\n    VIII.\n\n    Against Worms\n\n    IX.\n\n    Charm against Snake-Bite\n\n    X.\n\n    Charm if bitten by a Weasel\n\n\nAPPENDIX II.\n\nTHREE STORIES FROM ARKIR.\n\n    The Rumanian Version of the Story of Ahikar\n\n\nAPPENDIX III.\n\nANIMAL STORIES FROM THE HEBREW ALPHABET OF BEN SIRA.\n\n    I.\n\n    Why were Flies created which live only One Day?\n\n    II.\n\n    Why did God create Wasps and Spiders which are of no use?\n\n    III.\n\n    Why has the Ox no Hair on his Nose?\n\n    IV.\n\n    Why does the Cat eat Mice more than any other Creeping Thing?\n\n    V.\n\n    Why does the Ass mix his Water with that of other Asses, and smell\n    the Dung?\n\n    VI.\n\n    Why does the Dog fight the Cat?\n\n    VII.\n\n    Why is it that the Dog recognises his Master and the Cat does not?\n\n\n    VIII.\n\n    Why is there a Seam in the Mouth of the Mouse?\n\n    IX.\n\n    Why does the Raven hop in its Walk?\n\n    X.\n\n    Why does the Raven mate differently from any other Bird?\n\n    XI.\n\n    Why are there no Counterpart to the Fox and the Weasel among the\n    Creatures of the Sea? and the Story of the Fox's Heart and the\n    Fishes\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nThe Rumanian animal tales, which appear here for the first time\noutside Rumania, are so weird, so different from any known to the\nfolk-lore of the West, that they arrest our attention and invite\nclose examination. They are, for the most part, not only beautiful\nin themselves, but by reason of a peculiar flight of fancy and a\npowerful imagination are so unlike anything known in other collections\nof folk-lore that they raise problems far reaching, and, I venture to\nthink, of the highest importance to the study of popular literature. We\nare moving in a religious atmosphere. Many of the tales start, as\nit were, from the beginning of creation. God, the Apostles, the Evil\nOne seem to take a hand in the work and to rejoice more or less in the\nlabour of their hands. We have, besides, animal fables pure and simple,\ntales designed for enjoyment, tales of fancy in which the nimble and\nsmall creatures outwit the burly and heavy ones. We have also fairy\ntales like those known to us in the West and made familiar to us\nby numerous collections. A prominent characteristic is the childlike\nsimplicity of all the stories, the absence of any dualistic element. No\n\"moral\" has been tacked on to these tales, and probably they were not\neven intended to teach one. The questions which the study of folk-lore\nhas raised, whether anthropological, psychological, or historical will\nbe raised with a renewed force. I shall endeavour, however briefly,\nto deal with some of the problems in the light which this collection\nof Rumanian tales is able to shed upon the study of folk-lore.\n\nThe anthropological, historical and psychological problems underlying\nour studies must be attacked--I venture to think--from a fresh point of\nview. The view I hold is that the European nations form one spiritual\nunit, and that within that unit the various degrees of development\nthrough which one or the other has passed are still preserved. I\nbelieve that we must study the manifestations of the human spirit\nfrom a geographical angle of vision, that this development has spread\ndirectly from one group of men to another, and that, before going\nto the extreme ends of the earth for doubtful clues, we must first\ntry to find them, and perhaps we shall succeed in finding them more\neasily and satisfactorily, among some of the European nations whose\nfolk-lore has not yet been sufficiently investigated. We can find\nin Europe various stages of \"culture,\" and these we must trace by\nslow descent to the lowest rung of the ladder. At a certain stage of\nour descent we may strike the stratum of Asiatic folk-lore which may\nlead us further in our comparative study. Let me give some practical\nexamples of my meaning. The relation between man and animal has been\nthe subject of numerous highly speculative but none the less extremely\ninteresting and acute investigations. We have had Totemism, we have\nhad Animism and many other explanations, which by their number became\nsimply bewildering. Students have gone to the Bushmen of Australia,\nand to the Red Indians of America for parallels and explanations,\nor for proofs of their highly ingenious theories. But are there no\nanimal and bird stories in Europe which would show us how, to this\nday, the people understand the relations between man and other living\ncreatures, what views they hold of birds and beasts and insects? Are\nthe animals humanised--using the word in the sense of impersonating\na human being? Do the people see any fundamental difference between\nthe created things? In the fairy tale, at any rate, no such definite\nclear-cut distinction between man and animal can be discerned.\n\nBut at the root of many anthropological myths the animal is only a\ndisguised human being. The worth of these Rumanian stories--culled\nas they are from the mouth of the people--is their ability to show\nhow to this very day the people look upon the animal world. Perhaps\nanother view will ultimately find its way among the students of\nfolk-lore. What I am anxious to emphasise is the fact that there are,\nfor the investigation of folk-lore students, mines of untold wealth\nthat have hitherto not been sufficiently worked.\n\nThese tales represent one or more of the earlier stages of European\nfolk-lore. The elements, not yet quite closely moulded together,\nallow us at times to lay bare the sources and thus trace the inner\nhistory of this part of folk-lore. The people are confronted by\na world filled with weird and mysterious animals, birds, insects,\neach with their own peculiarities to invite question.\n\nAlmost everything that is not of daily occurrence excites the people's\ncuriosity, and they ask for an explanation of it; where does this\nor that animal come from, and why has it this or that peculiarity\nin its habits, colours, form and other matters? They are very\ngrateful for instruction. But it must be of a kind adapted to their\nunderstanding. It must be plausible, even if it puts some strain on\ntheir imagination. The more wonderful and weird that explanation,\nthe more easily it is accepted by the people, and the more firmly\nis it believed. This question of \"belief\" has often been raised in\nconnection with fairy tales. It is asked whether the people believe\nin the existence of fairies, monsters, marvellous and wonder-working\nanimals, in short, in all the mechanism of the fairy tale.\n\nTo this an unhesitating answer can be given in so far as these Rumanian\ntales and legends are concerned. They are believed in implicitly. They\nform an integral part--I feel almost inclined to say they form an\nexclusive part--of the popular religious beliefs of the folk. The\npeople are neither too squeamish, nor too sophistical in their faith,\nnor do they enquire too closely into the dogmatic character of such\nbeliefs or into the sources from which they have come.\n\nIn the East too the people, as a rule, are good-natured, and a good\nstory remains a good story, whether told by a believer or an infidel.\n\nThe study of these tales promises to exceed by far in interest the\nstudy of mere \"fairy tales.\" We are moving in a spiritual world,\nwhich appears to be much more primitive in the animal tale than in\nthe fairy tale. We are getting much nearer to the very soul of the\npeople, to its power of imagination and abstraction. We can see more\nclearly the manner of its working.\n\nThe comparative study of fairy lore has led to the surprising\nrecognition of the world-wide range of these tales. In spite of\ninvestigations carried on for close upon a century, no satisfactory\nsolution has yet been found which would explain the appearance of one\nand the same fairy tale at such widely separate parts of the world\nas India and England. Various answers have been advanced in order\nto explain this surprising similarity. And the same problem arises\nhere. This collection of tales, as already mentioned, contains two\ngroups. The larger group consists of the legend or creation stories--in\nwhich, however, one section contains fairy tales though used also\nas creation stories--and the other group consists of fables pure\nand simple. It would be unscientific, I hold, to treat these groups\non one plane as if they were all contemporary in their origin. They\nmay represent various degrees either of local evolution, and if so,\nthat may be found to be the best solution, or they may have come\nin various stages of transmission. The theory of migration has been\napplied hitherto to the fairy tale. I am not aware that the history of\nthe popular fable has been attempted, still less that of the creation\nlegends, which have remained almost unknown until quite recently. I\nwill deal with each of these groups as far as possible separately,\nand the conclusions drawn from each group will afterwards be merged\ninto one final conclusion established by the fact of their actual\npresence in Rumanian popular lore.\n\nMigration, no doubt, offers the best solution of the riddle set by\nthe fairy tale. No one, unless he solves the riddle of the heroine\nin the fairy tale, can win her. But still the opinion of scholars is\ndivided. The mistake, I venture to think, has been that all the tales\ncalled by this title, and even culled from the mouth of the people,\nhave been treated on one general principle, without recognising\nthe possibility that there may be divers layers, some older, some\nof a more recent date. This probability seems to have been entirely\noverlooked. That which holds good for one cycle need not hold equally\ngood for all the rest. But the question of the central origin of tales\nmust not be confused with that of their transmission. Thus a tale may\noriginate in India or Egypt, but once it has started on a journey of\nits own it will be carried, chiefly by word of mouth, from country\nto country. And as its structure is loose, a mere framework with\na very simple plot, it will assimilate other elements and undergo\nthose manifold changes, the investigation of which is the delight\nand despair of the folk-lorist.\n\nWe are now faced by a new set of stories, some of which are mere tales,\nwhile others are of a more legendary character. I class under the\nlatter heading all those in which the religious element stands out\nprominently. They have assumed their actual form no doubt probably\nunder the powerful sway of some religious influence. The peculiar\nshade of religious teaching which has moulded the actual form of\nthese legendary stories, and which is of decisive importance in our\ninvestigation, will be discussed more fully later on, after we have\nbeen able to dispose of other solutions offered by the explanation\nof the origin of these tales. It will then be possible to approach\nthe question of the fairy tales from the coign of vantage gained.\n\nWithin this class of tales there are some in which the legendary\ncharacter is not so pronounced, where the tale is intended to\nexplain certain peculiarities of animals. These seem to be of so\nprimitive a character that the closest parallels can only be found\namong primitive nations. Here a new problem sets in--the problem of\norigins. For curiously enough a striking similarity cannot be denied\nto the Rumanian, Indian, African and possibly American tales. But\nthe similarity is only in the aim. The other nations ask precisely\nthe same questions about the animals with which they are familiar,\nand they endeavour to give an answer to their query. The parallelism\nis in the question. Are we, then, to treat these tales in the same\nmanner as the \"fairy tales\" and account for that similarity in the\nsame manner as that of fairy tales gathered from distant regions? Or,\nin other words, have we here another set of tales which have been\ncarried chiefly by word of mouth from one country to another? Are these\nstories also new witnesses to the process of \"migration\"? And are we,\nthen, to assume that this theory of migration should be applied to\nthese animal tales, as it has been to the fairy tale? Or, are we to\nassume that the unity of the human soul works on parallel lines in\ndivers countries among divers nations not otherwise connected with\none another? If not, how is this similarity to be explained? True,\nthe parallelism between Rumanian and Indian tales is not so close as\nit is between the \"fairy tales.\" For the animals are often not the\nsame. They are everywhere local beasts. This change in the animals\nchosen may be due to different circumstances and local assimilation. It\nis quite natural that for a tiger and jackal, a wolf and a fox might\nhave been substituted when the animal tale reached Europe, for the\ntale had to be localised in order to preserve its interest in a new\natmosphere. One need not go very far to find the same change taking\nplace even in written literature. The jackals in the frame story of\nthe Panchatantra become \"foxes\" in Kalila Wa Dimna in the European\nversions. Or, to take another example, in the famous parable of the\n\"man in the pit\" in the Barlaam Josaphat legend the furious elephant\nbecomes a camel, however incongruous the substitution may appear. If\nsuch changes could take place in the written literature in which the\nincidents are fixed, how much more easily could it take place when\na story is carried only by word of mouth? Then the substitution of\na familiar animal for one unknown would be quite natural. The people\nwant to know the reason for the peculiarities of those animals that\nthey know. They are not likely to care much for unknown fauna. Unless\nthose other animals are of a purely mythical and fantastical character,\nand as such appeal to the universal imagination, there is no room in\nthe popular mythology for animals of foreign countries.\n\nIf, then, we admit that these animal fables have been brought to Europe\nin the same manner as the fairy tales, by means of oral transmission,\nthen they have preserved their original character and their primitive\nform less modified than has happened in the case of the fairy tale,\nfor reasons which would have to be explained. The only other suggestion\nis that these legends and animal tales are of a local origin, the\nproduct of the poetical imagination of the Rumanian peasant, and as\nsuch quite independent of any other source. If this is not acceptable\nwe must admit a continuous stream of popular tradition, setting in\nat a time not yet determined and spreading from East to West or from\nSouth to North, the direction of the stream having been determined\nby the presumable centre of origin in Asia, before or contemporary\nwith the spread of the real fairy tales.\n\nBut, it might be argued, as has been also done in the case of the fairy\ntales, that these stories are the product of individual efforts of\nlocal myth-makers and popular poets, that they are purely indigenous in\norigin. One cannot deny that the people could invent such stories. Some\none must have invented them, and why could they not have been invented\nby the Rumanian peasant independently of the Indian story teller?\n\nThe cosmogonic setting invalidates this suggestion. Such a setting\npresupposes a definite set of ideas about the beginnings of things\nwhich are neither spontaneous nor indigenous. All that can be said is\nthat, once the impulse had been given, the imagination of the people\nfollowed the lead and worked in its own way on the given lines. This is\nthe general trend of real popular lore. Each nation mints in its own\nfashion the gold brought from elsewhere, and places its own imprint\nupon it.\n\nThis view I find myself unable to accept. It could be entertained\nonly and solely if no parallels whatsoever could be found anywhere to\nsome at least of the more important and characteristic creation tales,\nfairy tales and fables.\n\nThe question then remains, Where do these tales come from? Are they\nindeed the expression of the primitive mind, and if so, have we to\nrecognise these specific Rumanian beast tales as so many indigenous\nproducts of the primitive Rumanian mind?\n\nTylor, in his Primitive Culture (i. 3 ed. 410 ff.), discusses at\nsome length the beast tales found among primitive peoples, tales\nthat as yet are not the excuse for a moral and have not been reduced\nto the background of an allegory. He takes his examples from the\nNorth Indians of America, from the Kamtchadals of Kamtchatka and\nfrom the inhabitants of Guinea. These stories are thus, as it were,\nthe primitive expression of the myth-making imagination of peoples in\nwhich the animal stands in as close a relation as any human being. Be\nthis as it may, the conclusions drawn by Tylor rest on this evidence\ngathered only from so-called dark ages. He is not aware of any such\ntales among the nations of Europe, who certainly cannot be classed\namong the primitive peoples. And on the other hand he is fully alive to\nthe fact that a number of such beast tales have been worked up in the\neleventh and twelfth centuries in the famous epic of Reynard the Fox.\n\nThe question arises, Whence came some of the incidents believed\nto be more ancient? They lead us straight to the supposition that\nsuch animal tales in a primitive form must have existed among the\npeoples of Europe, even as far west as Flanders and France. They\nwere afterwards woven into one consecutive narrative, conceived\nin a spirit of satire on existing social and clerical conditions. A\n\"moral\" has thus been introduced into a set of more ancient tales. But\nof this anon. In view of these Rumanian tales we can no longer be\ncontent to leave the question of the compilation of Reynard where\nTylor has left it. The new materials now at our disposal allow us to\nfollow it much further and to arrive at conclusions differing from\nthose of Tylor. From the moment that we find in Europe similar beast\ntales to those found among primitive peoples in other parts of the\nworld, we are confronted by a new problem. We may recognise the same\nspiritual agency at work: we may see the same action of the mind,\nasking everywhere for an explanation of the phenomena from beast and\nbird, from sky and sea. Thus far the minds of all the nations run on\nparallel lines. The differentiation begins with the answer, and here,\nthen, the problem sets in. How many nations give the same answer, and\nin so doing form, as it were, a group by themselves? How old is this\nor that answer or the tale that contains it? And what is the form in\nwhich it is given? Is it a fable or has it a religious colouring? In\nendeavouring to reply to these queries we find ourselves face to\nface with the problems of indigenous character, primitive origin,\nindependent evolution and question of survival. We are thus brought\nface to face with yet another theory--the theory of survivals--the\nmost important of all, which sways the trend of the study of modern\nfolk-lore. I must deal with it here at some greater length. I mean,\nof course, the theory that sees in every manifestation of the popular\nspirit, in every story, in every ballad or song, a survival from\nhoary antiquity, a remnant of prehistoric times, to which the people\nhave clung with a marvellous tenacity, although they have entirely\nforgotten its meaning. Out of an unconscious antiquarian weakness\nthey are supposed to have preserved every fossil even if and when it\nhad become burdensome to them. But it must not be forgotten that the\npeople retain only those practices and beliefs by means of which they\nhope to obtain health, wealth and power, and they will take care not\nto jeopardise such benefits by any neglect. So long as these results\nare expected, the people will cling tenaciously to the beliefs which\npromise them the greater gifts. It is not impossible that such beliefs,\nbeing too deeply rooted, might survive local political changes.\n\nBut in order to survive, two conditions are essential, continuity of\nplace and continuity of ethnical unity. The religious continuity is\nalso an important condition, though not by any means so essential. The\nclash of two or more religious doctrines causes on the one hand\nthe destruction of the official system of religious ceremonies\nand practices, and on the other drives to the bottom that mass of\nceremonies from the observance of which benefits to health and wealth\nare expected. In the moment when the belief in their efficacy has gone\nthey disappear without leaving a trace. Very little, if anything,\nsurvives. It is a fallacy to believe, as is now the fashion, that\nwithout such continuity any real survival can take place. This\ntheory has been carried to extreme lengths, without the slightest\njustification. It all rests on finely spun hypotheses in which time\nand space have entirely disappeared.\n\nNo connecting link has been brought forward to bind the present to\nthe past. However plausible some aspects of the \"vegetation god\"\nmay appear, one must remember the essential fact, that there is now\nnot a single nation in Europe living on the soil where such practices\nas the slaying of an annual king god has been practised, if, indeed,\nthey have ever been practised, beyond a very strictly limited area\nin Asia Minor and possibly in Sicily or Italy. With whom could such\npractices survive, for example, in Bulgaria or even in Thrace? It is\nknown that the population there has changed its character many times,\neven within the last eight hundred years. There is such a medley of\nraces, some old, some new, that it would be impossible to expect\nsurvivals from the Pelasgian or Dacian past. Nor would they have\nanything in common. The Rumanians of Latin origin are certainly not\nthe oldest inhabitants of Rumania. If, then, each of these ethnical\nunities had separate practices or, to come nearer to our subject,\nseparate tales and stories marked with its own individuality, it\nmight perhaps be argued that these stories and popular beliefs are\nsurvivals from prehistoric times, remnants of a past long forgotten,\nembodying a folk-lore and popular psychology which date back to remote\nantiquity. None of these nations, and, in fact, none of the modern\nnations of Europe, reach back to any extreme antiquity, nor are they\nhomogeneous in their ethnical character nor the descendants of the\nautochthonous inhabitants. There may be a few rare strains of other\nblood in the modern admixture, but not of any decisive character,\ncertainly it is not strong enough to have preserved any survivals.\n\nTrue, many of the modern practices are no more of yesterday than\nthese tales and stories are, but again, they are certainly not so old\nas a modern school of thought endeavours to make out. Comparatively\nmodern nations, often alien to the soil which they inhabit, none of\nthem of a pure unmixed origin, cannot have retained beliefs, tales,\netc., of which their forefathers knew nothing. They could not have\nlaid stress on things which had disappeared with the nations whom\ntheir successors or victors had destroyed. If, then, we find that\nthese nations of diverse origins and of diverse times possess a\ncertain stock of folk-lore in common, it follows naturally that\nthey must have obtained it in common at a certain definite period,\nwhen in spite of their ethnical and possibly political differences\nthey were all subjected together to one pervading influence. A great\nspiritual force moulded them at one and the same time, and this\nproduced one common result, which, in spite of its genetic unity,\nwould have allowed a certain latitude for individual development. If,\nas I assume, it was the all-pervading influence of religious sects\nwhich stretched from far East to extreme West and embraced all the\ncultured nations of Europe, impressing them with the same seal--a\ncertain popularly modified Christianity embellished with legends and\ntales appealing to the imagination, containing a strong didactic and\nethical strain, propounding a new solution of the world's problem\nsuited to the understanding of the people, accounting satisfactorily\nfor the evil in the world, warding off the effects of these spirits\nof evil--then it is small wonder that their teaching sunk deeper into\nthe heart of the people and brought about that surprising spiritual\nunification in the religion of the masses which survives in folk-lore.\n\nThey would thus date from more or less the same period, when the\nwhole of Europe felt the influence of teachings which lasted two to\nthree centuries at least, quite long enough to leave indelible traces.\n\nIt is not to be denied that among these tales some may belong to an\nanterior period. The newer facts had in some cases been grafted on\nolder ones. Some remnants of ancient myths had survived the first\nprocess of forcible Christianisation. But only there where ancient\npaganism can be shown to have flourished when this new wave of\nproselytism set in, only there might one be able to discover such\ntraces. These are the local incidents, the local colouring, which\ngive to each tale its own popular character without changing its\nsubstance. Such process of assimilation is akin to the other before\nmentioned, viz. the substitution of the European fauna for Asiatic or\nIndian animals. Though references to ancient Greek myths occur in these\nstories, yet in spite of that the Rumanian versions approximate more\nclosely to the later Byzantine than the ancient classical forms. The\ntransformation sets in practically where the Middle Ages part from\nantiquity. Here is yet another proof for the more recent phase of\nthis popular literature.\n\nA grave danger threatens the scientific character of folk-lore, if\na wrong method of investigation be persisted in much longer. I refer\nto the system of haphazard comparisons arising out of the view that\neverything done and every rite kept by the folk must of necessity be a\nsurvival from extreme antiquity and belong to a period anterior to our\nmodern civilization--a fossil from the age of man's childhood embedded\nin layers of more recent date. For proof of this theory parallels are\nsought and found among primitive nations, or those who we believe have\nnot yet left the rude stage of primitive culture. If, then, something\nis found among them which resembles closely or remotely any of the\ncustoms, tales, and beliefs, in our own midst, we are convinced that\nthese customs, tales or beliefs are really remnants of an older stage,\nthrough which the modern nations have passed before they reached the\npresent stage of development, and which they have cherished and kept\nunchanged throughout the ages. The history of comparative philology\noffers the best analogy for the demonstration of the futility of\nsuch reasoning. Nothing contributed so much to make the study of\ncomparative philology a laughing-stock as this endeavour to build up\ntheories of the origin of the language on such arbitrary foundations.\n\nHow deceptive such haphazard similarities can be is best demonstrated\nby the endeavours to derive all the European languages from the\nHebrew. This was believed to have been the original language which\nAdam spoke. Nothing more natural, then, than to trace all the languages\nback to the Hebrew, which moreover was a holy language. Much ingenuity\nand immense learning were spent--nay wasted--for centuries in this\nundertaking. The most trifling incident, the most superficial identity\nin sound or meaning was looked upon as complete evidence. It has taken\nclose upon half a century to demolish this fabric of philological\nfallacy, and to place comparative philology on a sound basis. We\nknow now that similarities in different languages may be the result\nof independent evolution.\n\nThe similarities are often quite superficial. No one would, for\nexample, compare a modern English word with an old Latin or Greek stem\nor with any archaic dialect of these languages, without showing the\ngradual development of our modern word. He would take it back step by\nstep, and then compare the oldest English form with a contemporary\nform. Most of the European languages, as we now see, are derived\nfrom one common stock, more archaic than any of them. No one would\nnow trace a French word directly to that old Indo-European root,\nwithout going first to the Latin; and so with every other language\nbelonging to the same group. Each nation has put the seal of its\nown individuality on its language, which it has moulded and shaped\naccording to its own physiological and psychical faculties. The\none will have retained more primitive forms; for example, local and\nhistorical as well as ethnical continuity have kept the Italian much\ncloser to the Latin than Spanish or Portuguese. No one dreams to-day\nof reducing a French word to a Hebrew root, despite any similarity\nof form which they might have in common.\n\nWe can go now one step further and suggest a common origin for the\nIndo-European and Semitic groups of languages, a unity which lies\nbeyond the time of their separation, and it is the dream and aim of\ncomparative philology to attain this goal.\n\nReturning now to our science of folk-lore, we have a perfect analogy\nin the study of comparative philology briefly sketched above. The\nanalogy is so complete that it is almost unnecessary to elaborate\nit in detail. It is obvious that safety and scholarship lie in the\nfollowing line of investigation. A European group of folk-lore must\nfirst be established, and the dependence on an earlier common stock\ndemonstrated. But the historical connection stands foremost, and the\nfixing, more or less definitely, of the time of its appearance in the\nform in which it now exists. In adopting this line of investigation,\nit will then become unscientific to postulate early survivals\nfor elements that may date from a comparatively recent period,\nand for which an explanation can be found by this historical and\ncomparative study. And just as it has happened in the case of the\nstudy of comparative philology, so it will happen that we shall be in\na much better position to separate and to appreciate the individual\ncharacter of the folk-lore of each nation, the form which the common\nstock assumes under the psychical and cultural conditions which\ncharacterise its spiritual life. This method will give us also the\nkey to the ethno-psychology, the ultimate aim and goal of folk-lore\nstudies. No doubt some higher unity may possibly emerge out of this\nhistorical investigation, for which again the study of comparative\nphilology offers us the best parallel. Separate groups may be formed of\nEuropean and Asiatic folk-lore. The artificial geographical division\nneed not form the separating barrier either in folk-lore, or, as has\nbeen proved, in the study of language. But to continue the method of\nhaphazard parallelism and indiscriminate comparison between old and\nnew will be indefensible. It will be found that even in the so-called\nimmutable East continual changes have taken place which do not allow us\nto assume favourable conditions of continuity and \"survivals.\" Still\nless is this the case with the peoples who concern us more directly,\nthe inhabitants of the south-eastern part of Europe. One has only to\ncast a glance at the medley of nationalities inhabiting the Balkan\nPeninsula and the neighbourhood to realise the profound differences\nof faith, origin and language of Greeks and Albanians, Slavs and\nRumanians, Hungarians and Saxons, and one is forced to the conclusion\nthat whatever these may possess in common is not a survival from olden\ntimes, but must have come to them at a time when they were all living\ntogether in that part of Europe, subject to one common influence\nstrong enough to leave an indelible impression on their imagination.\n\nThis result is unavoidable if we remember also the past history of\nthese countries. They have been swept over by nations, one more\nbarbarous than another, one more ruthless than another, and none\nremaining there long enough to become a decisive factor in the\nformation of the existing nationalities. Dacians and Pelasgians,\nRomans and Goths, Petchenegs and Cumans, Alans and Huns, Tartars and\nHungarians, Bulgars, Slavs and Turks have succeeded one another with\ngreat rapidity, not to mention the numerous colonies of Armenians,\nSyrians and Gipsies planted in the heart of the Byzantine Empire by\nthe foreign rulers on the throne of Byzantium. It would be a sheer\nmiracle if anything of ancient times could have survived. Assuming\neven the theoretical possibility of such a miracle--and those who\nhold strongly to such a theory of unqualified survivals evidently\ndo believe in such miracles--even then it will remain to be shown,\nwith whom these ancient beliefs and tales originated and survived. The\nromantic legend may have, and practically has, been forgotten in its\nentirety. Out of one of the episodes have grown the popular Rumanian\npoems of the Wanderer.\n\nIf folk-lore is to become an exact science I venture to think that the\nproblem of survivals will have to undergo a serious re-examination. We\nshall have to revise our views and try to define more precisely\nthe method according to which we ought to label certain practices,\ncustoms and tales as survivals, and also to determine the period to\nwhich such survivals may be ascribed. A primary condition consists\nin establishing historical continuity and ethnical unity.\n\nIf nations of diverse origin and of different ages possess the same\ntales and practices, it follows that this common property cannot be a\nsurvival, but each must have received all these at a certain fixed date\nsimultaneously, quite independent of their own ethnical or historical\nand local past. All of them must have been standing under one and\nthe same levelling influence. This new influence may have brought\nwith it some older elements belonging to different traditions and\nto a different past, and introduced them among these nations, as in\nthe case of the Barlaam legend or that of the legend of St. George\nand the Dragon; but though locally accepted and assimilated they are\nnot original constituent elements of the local folk-lore of these\nnations. These were only adopted and assimilated materials brought\nfrom elsewhere. They are not local survivals.\n\nThe analogy between the study of folk-lore and that of comparative\nphilology can be pursued profitably much further. It may prove of\ndecisive importance. It is not an indifferent question as to whether\nlanguage and ethnic character are interchangeable terms. Russified\nTartars, Magyarised Rumanians, Anglicised Hindoos will speak Russian,\nHungarian or English as the case may be, but this will not change\ntheir ethnical character. They will remain what they were: Tartars,\nRumanians or Hindoos. Thus also nothing can be proved for the specific\norigins of folk-lore if found among any one of these nations; it\nmay be just as much Tartar as Russian, Rumanian or Hungarian, etc.,\nfor it can easily have been taken over with the language.\n\nThe fact that these tales are found in Rumania and are told by\nRumanian peasants is in itself not yet sufficient proof of their\nindigenous origin. We are taken out of the region of hypothetical\nspeculation into that of concrete facts by modern philology. In the\nfirst place, it is put on record, on the irrefutable evidence of the\nmodern languages themselves, that there is no nation in Europe which\nspeaks a language of its own so pure as to be free from admixture with\nforeign elements. All owe their very origin, in fact, to this clash\nof languages, which was the determining factor in their creation and\nform. English is typical in that respect in the west, and Rumanian\nin the east of Europe. Both languages have been born through the\ncombined forces of at least two different languages. In England,\nthrough the violent Norman conquest, French was superimposed upon\nAnglo-Saxon. In Rumania, through peaceful penetration and religious\ninfluence, Slavonic became part of the Rumanian language.\n\nIf, then, we should examine each of the European languages to find\nthe various elements of which they are composed, we should be able\nto trace the origin of much that is also the spiritual property of\nthese nations. Every word borrowed from another language represents\na new idea, a fresh notion taken from elsewhere and embodied. We\ncan study the history of nations from their vocabulary. We can\ntrace the migrations of the Gipsies by the foreign words now in\ntheir language. The proportion of these alien elements helps us to\ndetermine the period which elapsed since they went from one nation\nto another. The large number of Rumanian words in the Gipsy language\nshows that the Gipsies must have lived a long time peaceably among the\nRumanians, and the Rumanian words in all the dialects of the Gipsy,\nfrom Spain to Siberia, are conclusive evidence for the fact that\nRumania was a centre of diffusion for the European Gipsy. And yet\nstep by step one can follow up a modification; small at the confines\nof the Balkans, it grows greater the further it is carried westwards.\n\nThe conclusion is obvious. In Rumanian, the language is preponderantly\nof a Latin origin, but other tongues come in to make up its\npresent character. A comparatively large proportion of the popular\nlanguage--which alone is of importance--is Slavonic; then follow in\ndecreasing proportions Hungarian, modern Greek, Turkish and Albanian\nelements, but scarcely any trace of a more ancient local language. In\nthe Hungarian language there is a large proportion of Slavonic,\nthen of Rumanian and German elements. The other languages of the\nBalkans show a similar mixture of heterogeneous influences. So\nthorough has been this process of assimilation that the original\nTartarian language of the Bulgars, who hailed from the Volga--hence\ntheir name--has entirely disappeared. The same has happened with the\nCumans in Hungary. If there is anything tenacious it is undoubtedly\nthe human language, the means of satisfying one's daily wants. And\nyet there is constant change and assimilation going on all the time,\none nation borrows freely from its neighbour and enriches its own\ntreasury with the possessions of the others. How easily, then, could\na philologist of the eighteenth century, who wanted to compare these\nlanguages among themselves, by collecting similar words haphazard\nprove that Rumanian was Turkish, that Hungarian was Slavonic and\nthat Bulgarian was Greek, or on finding some Albanian words in\nRumanian and Bulgarian how easily could he declare these languages\nto be survivals of the ancient mythical Pelasgians with whom the\nAlbanians were connected. Thanks to our modern comparative science\nthese languages are placed on their proper basis, and the words and\nelements are sifted and separated from one another. Each one by the\nform in which it appears in the other languages yields to the scholar\nthe secret of the time when it was adopted. Having got thus far,\nwe may now apply these results to the question which is before us,\nviz. the origin of these tales and apologues.\n\nIt is obvious that where new words went, stories could also go, and\nvery likely did go. It is clear that the presence of a large number of\nforeign elements in the language denotes a peaceful intercourse between\nthese nations, long enough and intimate enough to make them borrow\nfreely from one another and to become fixed into one spiritual unity.\n\nIf a language contains a large number of foreign elements, no one\ncan deny the direct influence which the latter has exercised upon the\nformer. Words, then, are not a mere combination of sounds, they are\nthe outward expression of the mind. They are the materialised spirit\nof the nation, and whither they go that spirit also goes. Spirit\ncommunes thus with spirit. There is and there has always been such\na give and take. And it is for us to follow up this constant barter,\nin which the richer unhesitatingly parted with their treasures to the\npoor, for the more they gave the more was left with them, as is meet\nin the charmed realm of folk-lore.\n\nThese nations learn from one another not only words, but the thoughts\nand ideas expressed in words. The proportion of these linguistic\nelements in the vocabulary connotes the proportion of influence upon\nthe other people. It must not be forgotten that we are dealing with\nilliterate nations, and with \"oral\" literature. It takes less time and\nit requires less influence to disseminate a tale than to disseminate\na language and cause it to be acquired. The difficulty of borrowing\nis thus obviously eliminated. We have the fact that even the language\nhad been borrowed and thoroughly assimilated. No archaic linguistic\nelement has been found in these languages. And it is therefore not\npossible to postulate for the tales and apologues survivals of such\nantiquity as is now so often assumed.\n\nTwo more points stand out clearly from this investigation into the\nhistory of the language: First, the existence of numerous layers in the\nmodern languages, some elements being older, others of a more recent\norigin. There is no uniformity either in language or in literature,\nno contemporary unity of all the elements, but as far as can be seen\nnone are very old, except a few stray elements of an older period which\nmay have survived, always subject to the two fundamental conditions,\nethnical and geographical continuity.\n\nThe second point is the principle of concentric investigation. If tales\nand apologues are borrowed, then those nearest the centre will preserve\nthe original form less changed; and the further a tale travels--always\nby word of mouth--the more it will lose of its original character and\nthe more it will become mixed up and contaminated with other tales\nwhich have undergone a similar emaciating and attenuating process.\n\nFollowing up, then, this line of investigation, our first endeavour\nis to find out whether there are parallels to these Rumanian animal\ntales among the nations round about, and if so, how far they agree\nwith the Rumanian, and how far they differ. The fact itself that\nparallels exist would be an additional proof that we are dealing\nhere with matter introduced from elsewhere, matter that has been\ntransmitted from nation to nation and possibly may have also reached\nthe west of Europe, although very few traces have been preserved to\nthis day. This is not yet a question of origin, but the next step\ntowards the solution of the problem. For obviously, if these tales\nhad been imported, their origin must be sought elsewhere. If we then\ncompare Rumanian tales with those of the ancient Byzantine Empire\nand especially with those of the modern Greeks, then, in our case,\nit might be argued that the Greeks were the repositories of ancient\nfolk-lore. The logical conclusion would be that these tales must be\nfound most profusely and in a more archaic form in the folk-lore\nof modern Greece, and that the variants and parallels among the\nother nations must show a distinct falling away from the original\ntypes. Literary tradition or written folk-lore is, of course, excluded\nfrom this investigation, for once folk-lore becomes fixed by being\nwritten in a book it is no longer subject to any appreciable change.\n\nWe are dealing here exclusively with the oral folk-lore of illiterate\npeoples. The relation between written and oral folk-lore and the\nmutual influence of one upon another will be incidentally touched\nupon in connection with the tales themselves. But, curiously enough,\na comparison of these stories with the known and published tales\nof modern Greece is thoroughly disappointing. Only very few bird\ntales--no insect or beast tales--seem to have been preserved, and\nthese mostly in Macedonia, the population of which is overwhelmingly\nSlavonic, but scarcely any from among the Greeks proper inhabiting\nEuropean Greece. On the other hand, those few tales, which have been\nmentioned by Abbott and Hahn, are very significant. They show the\nprofound difference which separates these modern bird tales from the\n\"Metamorphoses\" known in ancient Greek mythology. A goodly number of\nchanges into animals are recorded in ancient Greek literature.--The\nstory of Philomela and Halcyon is sufficiently well known.--All these\nare, with perhaps a few exceptions, the results of the wrath of an\noffended god, rewards for acts of personal kindness or for steps\ntaken to assuage physical pain. They are all strictly individual in\ncharacter, and while none of them is intended to explain the origin\nof bird, beast or insect, still less are they of the \"creation\" type,\nin which each animal stands as the beginning of its species. And even\nin those few tales in which supernatural beings are mentioned, very\nlittle of the \"Moirai\" or goddesses of fate appears in the Greek form,\nthough the belief in them is now very strong among modern Greeks. Even\nthen these \"Moirai\" differ considerably from those of ancient Greek\nmythology. Their attributes differ and their appearance and shape have\nnothing in common with those of classical antiquity. The name also\nhas assumed a peculiar significance, different from that of ancient\ntimes. This, then, is all which the modern Greeks have retained of\nthe ancient goddesses of fate; none of the other neighbouring nations\nknows the \"Moirai\" by name. They have other goddesses of fate, Vilas or\nZanas, etc. Charon, who is now the angel of death among modern Greeks,\nis remembered by them also as the boatman who carries the souls over\nthe waters of forgetfulness. The boatman alone may still be found in\none tale or another retaining something of the Greek local colour. But\nno other direct parallels are found among the animal tales of modern\nGreece. Much greater, on the contrary, is the approximation with the\nSlavonic nations south and north of Rumania.\n\nTurning, then, from the Greek to the Slavonic tales, we shall find\na much larger number of parallels between them and the Rumanian. In\nthe collection of South Slavonic tales and fables published by Krauss\nonly one or two real \"creation\" tales are found, and others are pure\nand simple animal tales of the type of the \"Gnat and the Lion,\"\n\"The Wedding Feast of Tom,\" etc., agreeing more or less with the\nRumanian versions. They prove thereby the popular character of the\nRumanian tales; yet they differ sufficiently from them--as is shown\nlater on,--when they are quoted in connection with the above. One\nof the creation stories is that of the sheep which, according to the\nSouth Slavonic tale, was made by the Evil One, when he boasted that\nhe could improve on God's creation.\n\nIncidentally I may mention the collection of tales from the Saxon\ncolony in Transylvania, collected by Haltrich. There is not one single\n\"creation\" tale among them. Only two of the Rumanian animal fables\nfind their parallels in that collection. Turning to the Russian\ntales, notably the great collection of Afanasiev, we shall find a\nlarge number of animal tales, including also a number of \"creation\"\ntales. In the former the central figures are, as in the South\nSlavonic, Rumanian, Saxon, etc., the fox, the bear, the wolf, the\nhedgehog and sometimes domestic animals, the dog, the cock, the hen,\nthe duck, etc. The same can be said also of tales collected from the\nLithuanians, Letts and Ruthenians, and to a smaller degree of those\nfrom the Poles and Czechs. All, however, have retained definite\ntraces of such animal tales and legends. The animal character has\nbeen thoroughly preserved. The fox is generally the \"clever\" animal,\nbut is, as often as not, outwitted by smaller animals or by man. The\ngeneral trend of these animal tales is to pit the cunning of the\nsmaller and weaker against that of the more powerful animal and to\nsecure the victory for the former. It is so natural for the people,\nwho live under the despotism of the mighty and powerful, to rejoice\nin seeing the discomfiture of the great and stupid brought about by\nthe wit and cunning of the small and despised, and answers so aptly\nto their feelings.\n\nIn these tales, which belong to the group of animal fables, we are\nin a different atmosphere, far removed from that of the creation\nlegend. We are approaching that phase in the evolution in which the\nanimal stands for a disguised human being, which, in spite of its\nappellation, speaks and acts entirely in accordance with human ways\nand notions. These have not yet been found among the Rumanians and\nthose nations whose folk-lore shows close affinity with theirs.\n\nHaving thus far established that these animal tales, fables and\ncreation legends are neither of a local nor an indigenous origin,\nnor survivals from a remote past, and also that the Rumanian tales\ndo not stand isolated, but form part of a group of tales and legends\ncommon to most of the nations surrounding Rumania in a more or less\ncomplete degree, it behoves us to endeavour to trace these tales to\ntheir probable origin, and also to account for the shape which they\nhave assumed, as shown in the course of this investigation. These tales\namong the Eastern nations of Europe are so much akin to one another\nthat they must have reached these nations almost simultaneously. All\nmust have stood under the same influence, which must have been powerful\nand lasting enough to leave such indelible traces in the belief and\nin the imagination of the people.\n\nA great difficulty arises, when we attempt to define the influence\nwhich brought these stories and fables to the nations of the near\nEast and thence to the West. Some have connected them with the\ninvasion of the Mongols. If similar tales could be found among them,\nsuch a date might fit also the introduction of the animal tales\ninto Eastern Europe, especially if they had originally a Buddhist\nbackground. Nothing, in fact, could apparently harmonise better with\nthe Buddhist teaching of Metempsychosis and the principle of man's\ntransformation into beast in order to expiate for sins committed\nthan some of these tales.--Of course, Egyptian influences cannot be\noverlooked in this connection. I may refer to them later on.--The\nburden of the majority is indeed that the birds and insects are,\nin fact, nothing else than human beings transformed into ungainly\nshapes for some wrong which they have done.\n\nMany theories have been put forward on the mediation, among them also\nthe theory of transmission by the Gipsies. These came first to Thrace,\nand lived long enough among the nations of the Balkans, in Rumania\nand Russia, to have exercised a possible influence upon them. But this\ntheory can be dismissed briefly. The Gipsies are not likely carriers\nof folk-tales. They came too late, and their march through Europe is\nnothing if not a long-drawn agony of suspicion, hatred, persecution.\n\nSome occult practices may have been taken over by some adepts of\nthe lower forms of magic, and possibly Playing Cards, originally an\noracle of divining the future, may have been brought by the Gipsies\nto Europe, but popular tales, though they possess a good number, have\ncertainly not been communicated to Europe by them. They never had the\nfavourable occasion for meeting the people on a footing of equality,\nor of entering with them into any intimate intercourse.\n\nThe Gipsy of the Rumanian fairy tale is mostly a villain, and is\nmerely the local substitute for the Arab or Negro of the Eastern\nparallels. In the Rumanian popular jests the Gipsy is always the\nfool. From such as these the people would have nothing to learn.\n\nNext the Mongolian theory has long been put forward as a plausible\nexplanation, for it has been believed that Russia formed one of the\nchannels of transmission. This latter assumption, however, rests\non a geographical misconception, and also on a want of historical\nknowledge. Up to comparatively modern times, the whole of the South\nof Russia was inhabited by Tartars, and the Mongolian influence upon\nRussia could not pass the border of the so-called White Russia. Nor\ncan a temporary invasion of Europe by the Mongolians, who left ruin\nand desolation behind them, have been the means by which such tales\ncould be introduced. They are told at the peaceful fireside or in the\nspinning-rooms, and are not carried by the wings of the arrow sped\nfrom the enemy's bow, nor are they accepted if presented on the point\nof the sword. They are frightened away by the din of battle. Years\nmust pass ere the blood is staunched, the wounds healed, and only\nafter peaceable concord and social harmony have been established,\ncan a spiritual interchange take place; this was impossible between\nRussians or Mongols. We must look elsewhere, then, for a possible\nchannel of transmission, always subject to the theory of \"migration.\"\n\nBesides, to Kieff, the centre of Russian inspiration, the place\nhallowed by the minstrels and poets, the Mongols never came. The only\ninfluence which prevailed there was that of Byzance, and to that we\nshall have to look as the channel of transmission and the centre of\ndissemination of these tales and legends. These had come from Asia,\ncarried on the crest of the wave of that religious movement known\nas Manichaeism and Bogomilism, and from there they started their\ntriumphant course throughout Europe. They came along with other\nreligious legends, carried by the current of thought which also taught\nthe doctrine of Dualism and Metempsychosis. This is the only possible\nsource for most of the legends and tales found among the Rumanians\nand Slavs, and, as will be seen, it must have been the primary source\nfor such tales in the West of Europe.\n\nA dualistic heterodox teaching with such a background reached from\nthe confines of India far into the South of France across central\nEurope. It was probably the same agency which transformed the life\nof Buddha into the legends of the saints Barlaam and Josaphat.\n\nNor is this the only legend invented, manipulated and circulated by\nthe numerous Gnostic sects. Those who have studied the history of the\napocryphal literature are fully aware of the apocryphal Gospels, Acts\nof the Apostles and of the rest of the apocryphal tales which were\nalready put on the \"Index,\" in the first centuries of the common era.\n\nSome of the cosmogonic tales of the dualistic origin of the world,\nof the influence of the Evil Spirit, of the origin of the Bee, the\nGlow-worm, the Wolf and others show unmistakably such a Gnostic origin.\n\nIt is therefore not too much to assume that they have been brought to\nEurope and disseminated by the same agency. These sectaries alone came\ninto direct contact with the masses of the people. They preached their\ndoctrines to the lowly and the poor. They were known themselves as\nthe pure (Cathars) and the poor (Pobres). They alone reached the heart\nof the people, and were able to influence them to a far higher degree\nthan the murderous Mongols, or other nations that ravaged the country.\n\nThe dualistic tales connected with the story of the Creation are found\nalso among other nations, especially among those in Russia and in the\ncountries which belonged to the ancient Persian Empire. D\u00e4hnhardt,\nwho has made the investigation of such legends and tales the object\nof special study (Natursagen, i.; Berlin 1907), comes to the same\nconclusion that they rest ultimately on the Iranian dualism of the\nAvesta. He believes that Zoroastrian teaching has penetrated far\ninto the North and West, and has produced these peculiar dualistic\ncosmogonic legends.\n\nThe point to bear in mind in this investigation of the origin of the\nRumanian tales and legends is not so much to trace the remote possible\nsource of dualism, but the immediate influences which have been\nbrought to bear upon the shape which these legends have taken. This\nis the salient problem. D\u00e4hnhardt, of course, discusses the further\ndevelopment of the dualistic conception, through Manichaeism and\nBogomilism, and thus far is helpful in establishing the connection\nbetween Iran and Thrace, and in strengthening the argument that we\nmust trace a number of these \"creation\" legends to the propaganda of\nthese sects.\n\nIt must be remembered that these tales in the European versions have\na thoroughly Christian aspect. They presuppose the existence of God\nand His saints; nay, they show a close acquaintance with apocryphal\nnarratives, which have gathered round the canonical biblical stories\nand episodes. The Evil Spirit is a clearly-defined personality, and\nhis antagonism to God is not of the pronounced acute controversial\ntype as is the Angromainya who, in the teaching of the Avesta, is\nthe direct opponent and almost negative of God.\n\nA complete transformation had taken place ere these tales became\nthe property of the Rumanian peasants, and for that, also, of the\nRussian and other North-Eastern peoples, who also have similar\ntales akin to certain of the cosmogonic legends--to which reference\nwill be made at the proper place in the short notes to the stories\nthemselves. It will not be disputed that some of them are imported,\ni.e. belong to the circulating stock of popular literature. Mongolian\ninfluence--as already remarked above--is entirely excluded, in spite\nof D\u00e4hnhardt. The Mongols never came in direct contact either with\nthe Rumanians or with the nations of the Balkans, who also possess\na number of similar tales, and must have derived them from another\nsource, more direct and, as will be seen, more complete than the\nversions published by D\u00e4hnhardt from Russia, Lithuania, Finland and\nEsthonia, not to speak of Northern Asiatic nations. Of real animal\ntales there are only a few among those studied by D\u00e4hnhardt, such as\na peculiar version of \"the Bee and Creation,\" very much shorter than\nthe Rumanian version; then a version of the creation of the Wolf and\nthe Lamb, and of the Goat's knees. These are all taken by D\u00e4hnhardt\nfrom South-Slavonic and Albanian collections, again corroborating the\nview that we have to look to the Balkans as the immediate centre of\nthis class of \"creation\" tales, and then further back to Asia Minor.\n\nThe appearance of the \"Creation\" legends in a compilation of the\nseventh or eighth century is not to be taken as the date of their\norigin. They may be very much older, and no doubt are, and may\nhave formed part of a primitive Physiologus in which the origin\nas well as the peculiarities of the various birds and beasts were\ndescribed. This is not the place to discuss the remarkable history of\nthe Physiologus. The only point to be noted is that the symbolical and\nallegorical interpretation of the tales contained in the Physiologus\nis of a strictly religious Christian character.\n\nThe absence from the popular literature of such bird and beast tales\nas are found in the Physiologus--the Bestiaires of the West--is not\nsurprising, for the Physiologus deals mostly with animals and birds\nwhich are of an outlandish character. Very few have any reference to\nthe animals with which the people are familiar, and in which alone\nthey take an interest.\n\nThough the book was known also among the Rumanians, only a faint\ntrace of it could be detected among the popular tales in the\npresent collection. The oldest Fathers of the Church made use of this\nPhysiologus in their homilies, and the other sects have no doubt done\nthe same. Some of the creation legends may have found their way into\nthe old legendary homiletical interpretation of the creation, like\nthe Hexameron of Basil, and other kindred compilations. All these\ntales form part of a wider cycle of allegorised animal fables. In\nJewish literature a collection of Fox fables is mentioned as early\nas the second or third century.\n\nIndian literature is full of such animal tales, approximating often\nto some of the Rumanian fables. The collections of Frere, Temple,\nSteele, Skeat, and Parker abound in such animal tales, in which\nthe more nimble and quick-witted, though small and weak, animal\nregularly gets the best of the bigger and stronger, yet duller and\nslower rival. No moral lesson is squeezed out of the tales, and the\nanimal is not a thinly-disguised human being. Yet there can be no\ngreater fallacy than, guided by this similarity, to assume a direct\nIndian origin for the Rumanian fables.\n\nNone of these animal tales finish with the usual \"moral,\" known to\nus from Aesop onward. Nor do the people seem to be influenced by\nthese artificial fables. In the literary European fable the animal\nis merely a disguised human being. The animals are performing acts\nwhich have nothing of the animal in them. The Indian and Oriental\nfable differs in this respect from the European, inasmuch as in a\ngood number of them the animal character of the performing beasts\nis faithfully preserved. Exactly the same happens with the Rumanian\nanimal fables. The cat does not play the r\u00f4le of the queen, and the\nfox is not a sly courtier. Cat is cat, and fox is fox. And yet they\nwere not unaware of the fables of Aesop. I have found these fables in\nmany old Rumanian manuscripts, and one of the first printed popular\nbooks of the country was the Collection of Aesop.\n\nUnquestionably a good many proverbs are intimately connected with\ntales. The \"moral\" in Aesop has often dwindled down to a simple\nproverb, or has expanded out of it. These proverbs are, as it were,\nsuccinct conclusions drawn out by the people. Anton Pann (in the\nmiddle of the last century)--to whom the Rumanian popular literature\nwill for ever remain indebted--therefore calls his Collection of\nProverbs and Tales \"Povestea vorbii,\" i.e. \"The tale which hangs by\nthe Proverb.\" One and all of the hundred tales found in the second and\nlast edition of this book are mostly of a purely popular origin. The\nprocess throughout is not to invent a story for the moral, but the\n\"moral,\" such as it is, is to flow naturally from the story.\n\nThis is not the place to discuss the origin of the animal fable\nin general. But one cannot overlook the fact that all the Indian\nfables--with the exception of some embodied in the Panchatantra--are\nfound in modern collections. All that we know of them is that they\nlive actually in the mouth of the modern people. They may be old,\nthey may be of more recent date.\n\nAgainst these modern collections must be set now the story of Ahikar,\nwhich carries us back at least to the fifth century B.C., and is\nthus far the oldest record of animal tales. It has become one of the\npopular stories which circulated in a written form, and became the\nsource of many a quaint proverb, as probably also of some animal tales.\n\nThe recent discovery among the Papyri of Elephantine in Southern Egypt\nof the Story of Ahikar has carried back the knowledge of allegorical\nbeast fables to at least the fifth century B.C. For not only do we find\nin that story the prototype of the life of Aesop, but also a number\nof maxims and saws, and not a few beast tales, which are mentioned by\nAhikar in order to teach his ungrateful nephew Nadan. We find there,\ne.g. the prototype of \"pious\" wolf, who appears in the Ahikar story as\nan innocent student, but who cannot take in the lesson given to him,\nhis mind wandering to the sheep. There are other wolf, fox, rat and\nbird fables in the Rumanian and, still more so, in the Oriental and\nother versions. Ahikar himself relates the beast tales, allowing Nadan\nto draw the lesson. By the manner in which these tales are referred\nto, it is obvious that they must have been well known tales current\namong the people.\n\nThe real importance of this discovery lies in the fact that we have\nhere a number of cleverly-used popular animal tales, more than two\nthousand years old, whose home was in all probability Syria or Egypt,\nembedded in a collection which has deeply influenced the apocryphal\nBook of Tobit, and to a certain degree even the writers of the New\nTestament, as shown by Professors Rendel Harris and Conybeare in\nthe Introduction to their edition of the Story of Ahikar (second\nedition). The claim for an Indian origin of these fables will\nhave to be abandoned, unless someone could show older writings\nfrom India, and the possible road by which these fables could have\nreached the Western shore of Asia Minor and been taken up by the\npeoples of Syria and Egypt at such an early date. It is not at all\nunlikely that some of the fables, just as they travelled westwards,\nalso travelled eastwards and found a home in India as they found a\nhome in Rumania and Russia. If one remembers now that the fabulous\n\"Life\" of Aesop ascribed to Planudes is almost identical with part of\nthat of Ahikar, as I have shown, as far back as 1883 in my History\nof the Rumanian Popular Literature (Bucharest 1883, p. 104 ff.),\nit will not be difficult to account for the West-Asiatic origin of\nthe fables themselves.\n\nFrom a Rumanian MS. of the eighteenth century, I have since published\nthe fuller narrative of that version in an English translation\n(the Journal of the Royal As. Soc., 1900, pp. 301-319). The two\ntales contained therein have also been reprinted here at the end\nof the collection, especially as they vary somewhat from the other\nancient and medi\u00e6val recensions of the Story of Ahikar. This story\nhas become one of the Rumanian popular chap-books in the shortened\nversion of Anton Pann. The practical application of the fable, the\n\"moralisation,\" is a second stage, limited, as it seems, to the purely\nliterary composition. The people put their own interpretations upon\nthe fables and often dispensed with any such interpretations.\n\nWe are brought back again to the same centre, Syria and Byzance,\nfor the dissemination of these fables. Such tales were then within\nthe reach of the teaching of the various sects, such as Manichaeans,\nBogomils, Cathars, etc., and travelled with them from East to West,\nwhere they met the other current of the Aesopian fables transmitted to\nthe West through Latin and Arabic sources. According to this theory\nthe religious sectarians made deft use also of animal tales, for the\npurpose of inculcating a moral, of drawing a lesson, of holding up the\nChurch and State to the ridicule and contempt of the masses, and thus\ncreating the animal satire, the best type of which is the cycle of\nReynard the Fox. I am not oblivious of the fact that an allegorical\nuse has been made of animal tales in the Arabic literature, such as\nthe \"Judgment of the Animals,\" under the title of Hai ben Yokdhan,\nwritten in Arabic by Ibn Tophail, translated into English by Simon\nOckley in 1711, in which the lion holds a court, and animal after\nanimal appears to accuse man; or the collection of Sahula (thirteenth\ncent.) in his ancient apologue Mashal ha-kadmoni. But there is no\nreal connection between this cycle and that of Reynard the Fox.\n\nAny reference to the epic of Reynard the Fox must be incidental. It can\nonly be alluded to here, and not followed up in detail. A real Western\norigin for these tales, taking them separately or as \"branches,\"\nas they appear in the old French versions, has not been found,\nnor any explanation for their sudden appearance in the eleventh or\ntwelfth century.\n\nThere are two or three points in connection with this cycle which have\nto be kept steadily in view. In the first place its almost complete\nindependence of the purely Aesopian fable with its polished form,\nwith its thinly-disguised human attributes, and with its stilted\nand stiff \"moral.\" Though modified somehow in Babrius, Avianus, even\nMarie de France and Berachya, this latter cycle belongs more to the\nliterary class. The \"clerks\" could not take umbrage at them. Not so the\ntales in the Reynard cycle. They are thoroughly popular. The animals\nretain their natural attributes, they act as they are expected to do,\nand they are utilised in the same manner as \"political broadsides\"\nwere in later times. The human beings represented in these \"satirical\nsheets\" are disguised as animals, and not the animals disguised as\nhuman beings. There lies the profound difference between these two\nsets of beast tales.\n\nAnd because of their animal propensity, the human beings are ridiculed\nand lampooned in the form of animals and held up to the scorn and\nlaughter of the reader. The bad man, as in the old story of Ahikar, is\nlikened to the beast, and chastised accordingly. The popular origin\nand character of this kind of satire is self-evident. Courtiers\nand clerks would not attempt such persiflage of their superiors,\nand certainly not in so sustained a manner.\n\nOf the men thus ridiculed none are so virulently assailed as the\nClergy. People do not mind occasionally a slight skit on priests and\nother privileged classes, and there are abundant fabliaux which leave\nvery little to be desired from the point of view of ridicule. But to\nhave singled out the Clergy for such unmeasured vituperation shows a\ndeliberate attempt to lower and destroy the influence and authority\nof the Church in general and of its ministers in particular. Only\npartisans of heterodox teaching could find pleasure and profit in\napplying the beast tales to break down the walls of the Church. Only\nmen in contact with the masses could throw that leaven of critical\nexamination into the hearts of the people and open their eyes by\nmeans of animal tales to the weaknesses and vices of their official\nclergy. Such outspoken criticism seldom comes from within. It is\noften imported wholesale from without, or at least comes from an\nopposing quarter. In their polemical propaganda these heterodox\nteachers brought and used also some of those fox tales for which,\nsignificantly enough, parallels are to be found mostly in Slavonic\ntales from Russia and the Balkans.\n\nIf such be the partial origin of these Reynard tales, one can easily\nunderstand why they appeared in the eleventh or twelfth century,\nand notably in the countries then the very centres of such heterodox\nteaching: South of France, Flanders and elsewhere. A very remarkable\nfact seems to corroborate this hypothesis. One of the presumed authors\nof a \"branch\" of the French Reynard cycle, Pierre Cloot, was burnt in\nParis in 1208 for heresy. Here we have a man who paid with his life\nfor his heretic faith, actually working on these tales. It may be a\nmere coincidence, still some connection between the Reynard poem and\n\"heretics\" cannot be denied.\n\nWith the victory of the Church, Reynard nearly disappeared, yet that\nsatirical leaven has continued to work in those political animal\nbroadsides, which stretch from the \"Who killed Cock Robin?\" in England\nto \"Who killed the Cat?\" in Russia among the Russian broadsides.\n\nThere remains now still one section of these Rumanian tales to be\nconsidered, that in which the origin of the animal is closely connected\nwith what is commonly known as the fairy tale. It is just in this fact\nthat the pre-eminence of these tales can be found. It is like a window\nthrough which the East is looking westwards. It is noteworthy that the\n\"fairy tales\" found here connected with the origin of the birds and\nbeasts do not stand so isolated as the legends. To more than one of\nthem parallels may be adduced from other than Eastern collections. In\nspite of similarity, they differ, however, in many points so profoundly\nthat they lead to a very serious question. It cannot be passed over,\nthough it cannot be treated here at such length as the problem raised\nwould demand. To put it briefly, the difference between these fairy\ntales and those of the West, is that in these versions of the former\na \"moral\" or perhaps a plausible reason is given to the fairy tale\nwhich is often missing in the general form of the fairy tales.\n\nThe question has been asked repeatedly, \"What is the meaning of such\nand such a tale,\" e.g. the \"Cinderella\" tales or \"Bluebeard\"? To\nMiss Cox's indefatigable labour we owe a monumental investigation of\nthe first-mentioned tale, and yet for all that the main question has\nremained unanswered. This is but one example out of many.\n\nEvery collection of fairy tales teems with them. Of course, the\n\u00e6sthetic pleasure of seeing innocence triumphant and virtue rewarded\nmight be a sufficient motive, and no doubt often is. The people\nlike to see, in the imaginary tale, a vindication of the justice\nwhich they often miss in real life. The adventurous hero will also\nappeal to the chivalrous instincts of the people, and especially to\nthe young. Such tales as the epic romances of old require no further\nexplanation. Still there are a good many fairy tales the reason and\nmeaning of which are anything but clear. If it can now be shown that\nthere is a cosmogonic background, or one which gives the clue to\nit, inasmuch as it tells the \"origin\" of certain creatures, such a\ntale is at once its own explanation and justification: if e.g. the\nfinal development of \"Cinderella\" is not that she becomes the wife\nof a prince, but that she becomes the \"dove\" or the \"sparrow,\" then\n\"Cinderella\" assumes a definite meaning. Under other influences,\nwhen such heterodox teachings cannot be tolerated by the powers that\nbe, obviously the creation tales, with this specific character, had\nto lose their \"tail,\" as the stork does in the story, and hence the\nfairy tale became partly meaningless. Thus, if the \"Bluebeard\" could\nno longer be \"a cannibal,\" as in the tale No. 83, such a person not\nbeing tolerated in a modern state, except as a wizard, lycanthropos,\nor werwolf, he had to be changed into what he is now. The modern\n\"Bluebeard\" is a mere pale reflex of the original monster. He does\nnot even make the flesh creep sufficiently. This watering down may\nhave taken place also in other tales which appear to us without any\nsense. They have lost that decisive part which gave point to the story.\n\nI am fully aware of the objection which could be raised against this\nview of the original character of some of our fairy tales. It might\nbe urged with some show of plausibility that the process might have\nbeen an inverse one, that the popular story-teller used a fairy tale\nto tack on his moral, that the question of the origin of the bird or\ninsect was an \"after-thought,\" and did not belong originally to the\ntale. Theoretically, such an objection could be urged, and it might\neven gain in force if applied to the fairy tales of the West. Andersen,\nnot to speak of minor poets, would supply a proof of it. But we must\nbear in mind that we are dealing with the unsophisticated people,\nwho would not use the folk-lore material in the manner of the\nliterary artist. They have no preconceived idea to which a tale\nor legend is made artificially to fit. Moreover, these tales and\nlegends are believed in implicitly. They bear the stamp of their\nprimitiveness. They do not represent a later degree of development,\nsuch as the parallels from the West often show. The existence side by\nside with them of other creation tales of animals is an additional\nsupport of the view that the fairy tales have not been \"edited\" or\nadapted to cosmogonic purposes to explain the origin of beast and bird.\n\nFairy tales are, as a rule, taken out of the range of the survival\ntheory. The similarity of fairy tales, so striking among a large\nnumber of nations, precludes the possibility of seeing in them local\nsurvivals, and yet it appears unscientific to separate one section\nof oral literature from the other. The line of demarcation between\ncreation legend and creation fairy tale is so thin that it is often\nindistinguishable. Both spring from the same root, and the theory that\nendeavours to explain the origin of the one must also be applicable\nto the other.\n\nIn the theory of survivals, however, no attempt is made to deal at\nthe same time with the question of origins. It has not yet been made\nclear, by any of the more prominent representatives of the theory\nof survivals, how the similarity in customs and ceremonies is to\nbe explained, in tales and fables, between the most diverse nations\nliving separated from one another. If these survivals represent local\ntradition, which has persisted throughout the ages, how, then, does it\ncome to pass that they should resemble so closely other ceremonies and\ncustoms observed by different nations also as local traditions? Is it\nto be inferred that at some distant time, far back in the prehistoric\nages, some such ceremonies were used, that, in spite of evolution\nand separation, they have survived everywhere almost unchanged, in\nspite of the profound modifications of the nations in their ethnical,\npolitical and religious status? Either they are local inventions,\nin which case they could not resemble any other, or they all go back\nto one common stock, and have survived in such a miraculous manner\ncontrary to every law of human nature. The only explanation feasible\nand satisfactory is, I believe, the theory of transmission from nation\nto nation; those resembling one another closely in modern Europe are\nnot of so early an age as has hitherto been assumed, but have come at\na certain time from one definite centre, and were propagated among the\nnations, and disseminated by means of a great religious movement at\na time when the political and national consolidation of the peoples\nof Europe had already assumed a definite shape.\n\nTo this conclusion we are forced by the examination of these Rumanian\nanimal tales in their manifold aspect, \"creation\" tales, fables, fairy\ntales. They are all more or less of comparatively recent origin. They\nowe their actual shape to the dualistic teaching of the Manichaeans\nand Bogomils. They have come by these intermediaries of the religious\nsects from Syria and the Balkans. These tales stopped first among the\nnations in the Near East, and then by the same agency were carried to\nthe extreme West. Only in such wise can we explain the appearance of\nthese tales--whatever their archaic character may be--among nations\nof comparatively recent origin like those now under consideration,\nRumanians, Bulgars, Russians and even Saxons and Hungarians. This\nis the only possible explanation of the very remarkable dualistic\ncharacter, and of the peculiar teachings embodied in these tales. For,\nwhatever these nations have in common, there cannot be any question\nof survivals, for the reasons advanced above. All the nations are\ncomparatively modern. It is impossible to assume that what might be\na Latin survival among the Rumanians could be so closely connected\nwith what might be a Turanian survival among the Bulgars or a\nPelasgian survival among the Albanians. There might be found among\nthese tales traces of more ancient beliefs, myths and customs, just\nas it is possible to find similar traces among the folk-lore of the\nnations of the West. But what I contend is that these are not local\nsurvivals--that, whatever their primitive character may be, they\nneed not originally belong to the nations among whom they are found\nnow. They were brought by the same movement that brought the tales\nand legends, customs and ceremonies. The new and the old were carried\nalong by the same stream of tradition and religious influence. An\nadjustment and readjustment of materials, the placing of layer upon\nlayer, localisation and assimilation then took place. But these are\nrocks swept along by the stream and deposited far away from the place\nof origin, or, to take another simile, that of the insect and the\namber. The amber has been carried from the North Sea many centuries\nago, nay, thousands of years ago, along the trade routes from North\nto South, and has found its way also to ancient Egypt. Embedded in the\namber we have here and there a North European insect which was caught\nat the time when the amber was still a liquid, and, imprisoned in it,\nbecame fossilised, and was carried a long distance. If found, then,\namong the beads in the tombs of the ancient Pharaohs, no one could\nsay that that insect was of Egyptian origin, or that fly a remnant\nof the local fauna. It had come thither together with the amber that\ncarried it, and may have remained there if the amber had decayed.\n\nIn the same manner ancient customs, ancient beliefs and ancient\ntradition have been caught in the liquid tales, apologues and legends,\nlike the fly in the amber, and carried along with them from East\nto West. In this manner they may perhaps be termed survivals, but\nsurvivals of a different kind than has been assumed hitherto. They have\nsurvived only as long as they were tolerated in the lore of the people.\n\nHand in hand with dissemination go the assimilation and localisation of\nthese diverse elements. It is impossible to do more within the compass\nof this introduction than merely touch the fringe of a far-reaching\nproblem which arises from the examination of these peculiar beast and\nbird tales. One of the most instructive examples of this religious\nsyncretism, of the manner in which it has influenced the people, and\nthe form in which it has been preserved, localised, and assimilated,\namong them, is shown to advantage in the stories of the origin of\nthe Glow-worm and in the stories of the Bee. Some of the cosmogonic\nlegends of the Rumanians are also found among the Balkan people. They\nare a fragmentary reflex of a great conception of the world. If I\nmay use the mystical and symbolical language of the legends, they are\nalso sparks from a great light that had fallen down from heaven. The\ncreation of man, the fall of the angels, are here curiously blended\ntogether. They represent part of the teaching that went under many\nnames but, in essence, was one. That is, of course, the belief in\nthe dualism of the creative powers, the good God and the wicked one,\nstyled Satan.\n\nFrom these tales and legends, which are derived from well-known\napocryphal writings, we can see how deeply the latter have entered the\nlife of nations which have not yet fallen under the unifying sway of\nstrict dogmatism, and how unable the people are to grasp the higher\nspiritual interpretations of the dogmas and practices of the Church.\n\nFrom a purely dogmatic point of view, all these tales are rank heresy;\nbut who among the simple folk knows the distinction between orthodox\nand heretical teaching? The people are more easily disposed towards\na simple philosophy which explains satisfactorily the phenomena of\nlife. They listen with pleasure to tales of imagination. One of the\nfundamental theories of Gnosticism or, rather later, of dualism,\nis this peculiar conception of the creation. The world is divided\nbetween the power of light and the power of darkness. The latter is\nanxious to participate in the possession of light, and for that reason\nsteals some, which it breaks up into sparks and covers over with\nthick matter so that it may not escape. These sparks are the human\nsoul deeply embedded in human clay, anxious always to be reunited\nwith the ancient glory.\n\nIn this Gnostic teaching we have the very source of the legend of these\nangelic sparks now relegated to glow-worms, originally placed in other\n\"earthly worms\"--the human race. We hear, moreover, the faint echo of\nthe fall of the angels and of the angels of a lower rank inhabiting\n(and ruling) the planets and the stars. We even have the legend, found\nin the Book of Enoch, of the angels who fell in love with a woman and\nremain upon earth as evil spirits, whilst she is translated to heaven\nand becomes a star. The interest lies not only in the fact that these\nancient religious conceptions have been so faithfully preserved among\nthe people, but also in the manner of their preservation. They have\nbeen adapted to the understanding of the folk, and, from dogmatic\nteachings, they have become beautiful popular legends. But the inner\nmeaning has been entirely lost. The old sparks have been embedded in\nvery thick clay indeed, as can be seen in the treatment meted out to\nGod, Christ, the Virgin, the Apostles and Saints. They are greeted\nwith an apparent lack of reverence and respect that must disturb the\nequanimity of people of a Puritanic mind. The gods could not have been\nput on a footing of greater familiarity; it almost borders on the\nburlesque. Primitive nations show the same apparent want of respect\nto their gods, idols or fetishes, and we are inclined to put them on\na lower scale of faith and reverence than the peoples of Europe.\n\nA better knowledge of the life and religion of the peoples in the East\nand of the Eastern part of Europe would soon change such a view. In\nfact, I believe, that if we could descend to the lower depths of\nthe masses of Western Europe, and especially of those in Catholic\ncountries, and get a peep into their innermost soul, we should not find\nit very different from that of the Slav and the Rumanian. The Saints\nare not treated differently in Spain and in Italy on the one hand, or\nin Rumania and in Bulgaria, or even Russia, on the other. They have all\nthe same essential conditions in common, viz. all have a Pantheon of\nSaints of various degrees and of both sexes. In Protestant countries\nthe people have been impoverished. All the saints have been driven\naway; a cold abstract spirituality has taken their place, and yet depth\nof fervour and strength of belief cannot be denied to these Eastern\npeoples. There is, moreover, a sufficient fund of humour and innate\nrectitude to keep them at a certain level of morality and albeit free\nfrom the hypocrisy of the so-called higher civilization. So that, if\nthe Rumanians take liberties with God and the Church and the Saints,\nand pay homage to the Devil by mocking and laughing at the jokes\nwhich God performs for his confusion, it is all done more in the\nspirit of good-natured banter, not in that of polemical or fanatical\nintolerance. Why should the poor Devil not also occasionally have a\ngood time? He is always sure to be outwitted in the long run.\n\nI am fully aware of the objection that may be raised against\nattributing so much influence to the activity and propaganda of the\nheretical sects. It may be argued, that their influence was not in\nany way commensurate with the results ascribed to them, that they\ndid not carry the masses with them to such an extent as to leave\nindelible traces on their religious life and popular imagery. Some\nmay go so far as to look upon their activity as similar to that\nof some of the mendicant friars during the Middle Ages. Yet the\nmendicant friars were able to exercise a tremendous influence upon\nthe people and, helped by other political powers, they were able to\ncreate a movement which led up to the Crusades. It seized upon the\nmasses of Europe with an irresistible force. In a minor, yet no less\neffective manner, the same agencies were able to arm the Kings of\nFrance against the Albigenses in Provence. Church history, however,\nshows very clearly that the power of the Manichaeans was so great\nthat it has taken the Church many centuries to bring the fight to a\nsatisfactory close.--The Cathars (pure) have given the name Ketzer to\nthe German heretics, and every language in Europe shows traces of this\nheretic nomenclature.--The struggle was a terrible and a long one,\nand if it had not been for the secular arm which placed itself at\nthe service of the Church for political reasons, who knows whether\nthe Romish Church would have come out victorious in the struggle?\n\nThe question may be asked, How did it come about, that the teaching\nof an obscure sect could be propagated from the Black Sea to the\nAtlantic and could win the support of so many peoples? The answer lies\nin a fact which has hitherto been entirely ignored. The connection\nbetween Arianism and Manichaeism in Europe has to my mind not yet been\neven hinted at; yet there must have been a very close and intimate\none. Arianism, in fact, prepared the ground for the new wave of\nheretical teaching which, a few centuries after the former's official\nextinction, followed in its wake. No one has, as yet, endeavoured to\ntrace the effect which the Arian teaching has had in Europe when it\nbecame the national faith of the Goths. In them we have a nation which,\nfrom the third century to the end of the sixth, practically dominated\ncentral Europe. It established more than one kingdom between the Black\nSea and the Atlantic, in Illyricum, in Northern Italy, one of might and\nstrength in the South of France in Provence, with its headquarters in\nToulouse. It had overflowed into Spain, and broke down only after the\ninvasion of the Arabs. These Goths are described as rude barbarians,\nbecause they differed in their life, and probably in their original\nforms of faith, from the Greeks and the Romans. The modern idea is\nthat their original home was somewhere in the North-West of Europe,\nthat they came along the Vistula, and then migrated to the country\nbetween the Don and the Ural.\n\nThis is not the place to discuss the question of their original home,\nyet the whole history of the migration of the nations shows that\nthe movement came also from the same direction as that of the other\nnations which followed upon one another from east to west, and that\nthese migrations were prompted by tremendous political changes among\nthe nations of Central Asia. It is therefore probable that the Goths\nmigrated from the western shore of the Caspian Sea, somewhere near\nLake Ascanius--hence the confusion--then to the countries between the\nUral and Don, and thence by slow degrees southwards and westwards. This\nwould explain many obscure points in the migration of the Goths. Be it\nas it may, we find them in the second century settled in those very\ncountries in which we now find the Ruthenians and the Rumanians, and\nstretching further into Pannonia. The Goths are said to have adopted\nChristianity towards the end of the third century, as it is alleged,\nby priests and lay Christians brought as captives from Cappadocia\nand other parts of Asia Minor. As early as the Council of Nic\u00e6a, 325,\na Gothic bishop is mentioned among the signatories to the decrees. An\noutstanding figure of the Gothic Christians was Ulfilas, who, owing\nto pressure from the non-converted section of the Goths, crossed the\nDanube and settled at the foot of Mount Haemus (the Balkans) in the\nmiddle of the fourth century. He had become converted to the Arian\ndoctrine, and took part in the Council under the Emperor Valens,\nwhich was held in Constantinople in 358.\n\nTheodosius, who became the Great after his recantation of Arianism,\ntowards the end of the fourth century, promulgated decree after decree,\none more drastic than the other, for the persecution and extirpation of\nthis heresy; in fact, he was the very first to establish an inquisition\nof faith. The example set by Theodosius was followed afterwards by the\nCatholic Emperors and Kings of the West, even down to the Holy Office,\nas the Inquisition was afterwards called. But, in spite of this,\nArianism spread among the Goths, and, whatever were their political\nvicissitudes, they kept staunch to this peculiar form of Christianity,\nthe greatest and most powerful enemy of the orthodox and Catholic\nChurch. They spread eastwards and westwards, partly as vassals of the\nHuns and partly acting quite independently under their own kings and\nrulers. They overran the Balkan peninsula, destroying every heathen\ntemple, and not sparing Catholic churches. They then sacked Rome,\nentered Gaul, and occupied the South of France, with Toulouse as\nthe capital. They spread into Burgundy and conquered Spain. It\ntook many battles and many centuries to break the political power\nof the Goths. It was rather the subtle influences of the Catholic\nwomen than religious conviction that brought about the conversion\nto Catholicism of the Gothic rulers in Spain and Italy. The Catholic\nChurch, in the year 507, armed the Frankish King Clovis--who adopted\nCatholicism--against the Gothic Arian King Alaric, and thus brought\nabout the first \"crusade\" between Catholics and heretics in the country\nnorth of the Pyrenees. A crusade was to be renewed hereafter for a\nsecond time against the Albigenses in the very same country and against\nthe very same cities. Unfortunately very little is known of the beliefs\nand practices of the half-heathen, half-Christian Goths. The fact,\nhowever, remains that they held on to their faith for many centuries\nin spite of the official conversion of the leaders. In Burgundy,\nArianism persisted down to the sixth century, and among the Lombards\n(merely another tribal name for Goths) in Northern Italy, it persisted\nto the eighth century.\n\nMeanwhile, other nations poured into the Balkans. Whether they\nentirely annihilated the Goths, or whether they assimilated with\nthem, will remain a problem unsolved. Very few Gothic words can,\nhowever, be traced among the nations of the Balkans. The Slavs,\nprobably coming from Pannonia, are first noticed in large numbers in\nthe fifth and the sixth centuries. The Bulgars from the old haunts\nof the Goths near the Volga came in the seventh century. The last\nheathen king was Boris, who was converted to Christianity in the\nmiddle of the ninth century. No sooner has Christianity an official\nstatus among the Bulgars than we hear of the heresy of the Bogomils\nand Cathars spreading among them to such an extent that they almost\noverthrew the orthodox Church. The break between the eastern and\nwestern Churches--between Constantinople and Rome--at the end of the\nninth century also contributed, in a way, to weaken the allegiance\nof the faithful to the orthodox Church, and the manner in which the\nOrthodox vilified the Catholics must have been quite sufficient to\nreconcile the people to heterodox doctrines. Manichaeans and Bogomils\ntook advantage of the schism and the violence of the two parties to win\nthe people over to their tenets. Bogomilism in a slightly varied form,\nas Cathars and Albigenses, etc., spread henceforth from east to west,\nfollowing exactly the same course as that taken by the Goths in their\nmigration from east to west. The ground had been prepared for them,\nthe seed had been sown, and the work was made easy for them by the\npreceding Arians.\n\nThere is one feature in this schismatic movement, the importance\nof which cannot be appraised too highly. The Word of God was\ntaught in the vernacular, the Bible and, along with it, uncanonical\nwritings, were translated into the vernacular. While the Orthodox and\nCatholic Churches kept strictly to Greek and Latin as the language\nof Scripture and Service, the Arians no doubt, on the contrary,\nallowed the people to pray and to learn in their own language. It\nwas the outstanding merit of Ulfilas that he translated the Bible\ninto Gothic. This practice of translating the word of God into the\nvernacular remained a distinctive characteristic of the schismatic\nArians and other sectaries. They were thus able to reach the heart\nof the people much more easily than the Catholic and Greek clergy,\nand to exercise a lasting influence upon the masses, far deeper\nthan that of the representatives of a creed taught in a foreign\ntongue. This also continued to keep the Arian-Goths away from the\nCatholic Church for many centuries. The change, which came later on,\nwas due to two causes--the conversion of the kings and rulers, and,\nto a far larger degree than has hitherto been recognised, the loss of\nthe Teutonic language. The Goths slowly forgot their own language and\nadopted that of the nations in whose midst they lived as a minority.\n\nThis explains much more satisfactorily than has hitherto been attempted\nthe mysterious disappearance of the Goths after the official conversion\nof Recared in Spain, and the overthrow of Alaric by Clovis in the\nbeginning of the sixth century in the South of France. In Italy\nthey kept to their Arianism under the name of Lombards, down to\nthe eighth century. It must not, however, be assumed that with the\npublic disappearance of Arianism and that of the Goths as a ruling\nnation, the Arian heresy and all that it brought to the people had\nalso disappeared. That teaching could not easily be uprooted. It was\nmerely driven underground. The Catholic Church was satisfied with\nhaving obtained an official public victory. Then followed a slow\nprocess of extirpation. The writings of the schismatics were hunted\nup and destroyed, and thus the wells of heresy were dried up. The\npeople were weaned from their errors by the convincing power of sword\nand faggot. But so long as these sinners did not belong to the higher\nclasses, the Church winked at their aberrations, especially when they\nkept quiet and were not aggressive in their action.\n\nThus the fire of heresy smouldered on under the ashes of the\nautos-da-f\u00e9 until it was fanned again into a mighty blaze through the\nCathars and Albigenses. The ground was prepared for their reception by\nthe Arianism of the Goths, and by the Manichaean propaganda, which had\npenetrated into Europe from the West as early as the fourth century.\n\nIt is important in this connection to refer, however briefly, to\nthe Priscillianites in Spain, who flourished from the middle of\nthe fourth to the second half of the sixth century, close upon two\nhundred years. The founder was Priscillianus (d. 385) a man of noble\nbirth and great achievement. He was a great scholar, and had become\nacquainted with Gnostic and Manichaean doctrines. He was accused of\nheresy, and was the first Christian who was executed by Christians for\npreaching a different form of creed. The accusations made against him\nand his followers were precisely the same which were raised centuries\nafterwards against the Cathars and Albigenses, and no doubt just\nas false. From them we learn, however, that he had apocryphal books\nand mystical oriental legends, which he used for his teaching, and\nwhich were believed by his followers. It took two, or close upon three\ncenturies, before the public traces of Priscillianism disappeared from\nSpain and Gaul. The followers, probably, shared the fate of the Gothic\nArians settled in these countries. Then the conquest of Spain by the\nArabs or Moors prevented the Catholic Church from further sifting the\nchaff from the grain. No doubt a good number of so-called heretics,\nwho could not enter the bosom of the Catholic Church, embraced Islam,\njust as a good number of prominent Cathars in Dalmatia and Bosnia\npreferred to become Mohammedans after the conquest of the country by\nthe Turks rather than become united with the Orthodox Church. When\nthe Cathars started their propaganda, they followed, as it were,\nin the track of the Goths. They occupy exactly the same tracts of\nland as those held for so many centuries by the former, and without\na doubt they found there remnants of the old heresy, popular legends\nand beliefs, even tales and mystical as well as mythical songs, all\nso many welcome pegs on which to hang their own teaching. It may in a\nway have been a kind of revival, in which what had been preserved by\nthe descendants from the Goths of old was blended with the new matter\nbrought afresh from the East. Unfortunately--as already remarked--too\nlittle is known of the beliefs and practices of the Goths in their\npagan state and afterwards as Arian Christians. That they, in spite\nof being \"rude barbarians,\" had also some theological treatises is\nevident from Anathema No. 16 of the Council of Toledo (589), when\nRecared forswore his Arianism and became a fervent Catholic. The\nanathema runs against \"the abominable treatises which we composed to\nseduce the provincials into the Arian heresy.\" Many such compositions,\nespecially in the vernacular, must be meant here; they all fell under\nthe ban.\n\nThe Cathars followed the same practice and were zealous propagators and\ntranslators of the Bible and Apocrypha into the vernacular. They knew\nthe Bible so well that in disputations with the Catholic clergy the\nlatter were easily beaten. Almost every one of the \"forbidden\" books,\ni.e. forbidden by the Orthodox and Catholic Church, was preserved in\nold Slavonian (and Rumanian) translations, and some are to be found\nthis very day among the holy books of the Russian schismatics. Nay,\neven the oldest French translation of the Bible was the work of\nAlbigenses. So much did this affect the Catholic Church that she\nexcommunicated it, and forbade the people to read the Bible at the\nCouncil of Toulouse in 1229; the Bible in the vernacular having before\nbeen ordered to be burned publicly by the decree of the Church.\n\nNo wonder, therefore, at the popularity of these sectaries and\nthe immense influence they wielded upon the popular mind and\nimagination. And if it be true that Arius set forth his religious\nviews in doggerel rhymes to be sung to popular tunes by the sailors\nand labourers, then he initiated a movement which has continued ever\nsince in religious minstrelsy, and is practised amongst others, by the\nRussian blind beggar-minstrels and other popular ballad singers on\nfestive occasions among the Rumanians and southern Slavs. Nothing,\nin fact, could better serve the purpose of propaganda than such\nsongs. They would appeal at once to the primitive, unlettered nations,\nspecially amongst those who had such mythological epics of their\nown. The rude barbarians would be deeply impressed, and they would very\neasily adopt such songs and the teaching they contained. We can then\neasily understand a Volsunga Saga or a similar saga originating under\nsuch influences, or moulded in accordance with such new models. Neither\nthe Orthodox nor the Catholic Church knows of such popular religious\nsongs of an epic character, filled with the mysteries of the Holy\nWrit, much less of any filled with mysteries from the apocryphal and\nlegendary writings. They have no more than Church hymns sung in the\nChurch, only on special occasions, together with a certain psalmody\nchanted by the officiating clergy. And when these Greek (or Syriac)\nhymns were translated into Slavonic or Rumanian, they practically\nlost their tune and their inspiration, and they were recited with a\npeculiar monotonous cantilation. Quite otherwise were the popular\ncarols, and the popular epic ballads with a distinctive religious\nbackground and full of wonderful incidents from the life of the\nsaints. Unlike the former, they are not congregational litanies, but\npurely popular songs and ballads, devoid of any official or liturgical\ncharacter. This may also explain the origin of the so-called Ambrosian\nchant as an attempt on the part of St. Ambrose of Milan to counteract\nthe other popular chants by introducing, as it were, congregational\nsinging into the Church. But there it remained, whilst the other\nspread and has retained its original popular character. Thus, through\nGothic Arianism, a certain continuity of the dualistic and peculiar\nschismatic form of religious teaching has been established.\n\nMoreover, an historic explanation has been found for the origin and\nspread of these doctrines, tales and fables. Put to the test, these\nbeast tales yield a dogmatic system which approximates in many points\nto such heterodox teaching. The old Ebionite conception of Jesus,\ntaken up by Arius and afterwards adopted by the Manichaeans, sees in\nhim only a deified human being, and very little more can be found in\nthese tales. Jesus is seldom mentioned, and even then is more like\na deified all-powerful human being. God Himself is often treated as\na simple human being, almost like the Ialdabaoth of the Gnostics or\nthe inferior God of the Manichaean doctrine. With this, agrees also\nthe notion of the dualism in the creation of the world, i.e. that the\nevil creatures, wolves, poisonous snakes, etc., are the work of the\nEvil One. This was also the view held by the Priscillianites. There\nseem to be, also, reminiscences of such myths as \"the world tree,\"\nthe wolf, etc., which are found in Teutonic mythology and which\nmay also be of an Oriental origin. The Rumanian tales are almost a\nrunning commentary on Grimm's German Mythology (Germ. 4th ed. 1876,\nch. xxiii. pp. 539-581), which ought to be read in conjunction with\nthe present volume. The legend of the Cuckoo, the hoopoe referred to\nby Grimm, can be read here under No. 43.\n\nIt is significant that there is not a trace of Mariolatry in these\ntales and fables. If anything, St. Mary appears in a character far\nfrom loveable. She is easily offended, she does not spare her curses,\nshe takes umbrage easily at the slightest mishap. She is altogether\nvery disagreeable, just as in the apocryphal literature, where there\nis not much room for her. Her intercession is invoked only in some\nRumanian charms and spells in a peculiar stereotyped form. But of real\nworship there is scarcely any trace. Quite different is the position\nwhich the Catholic Church assigned afterwards to St. Mary. She has\nbecome there second to none outside the Trinity.\n\nMore prominently almost than any of these points, stands out the fact\nthat, underlying these creation and other tales, is the belief in the\ntransmigration of the human soul into an animal body--the well-known\nbelief in Metempsychosis, or change of human beings into animals,\nso important a feature of Manichaean teaching, in which all the\nheretical sects seem to have shared.\n\nIt is impossible now to follow this question further. I am satisfied\nto have indicated the r\u00f4le which the Goths may have played in the\npreparation for the dissemination of special myths and legends,\nbranded as heretical, which other sectaries had brought from the East\nand propagated in the West of Europe.\n\nAs to possible ethnical and geographical continuity, it may be\nremarked that the places where these tales are found were also the\nhomesteads of the Goths, in which they dwelt for at least two or\nthree hundred years. They were then after a short interval almost\nsupplanted by the Slavs. It is a moot point how long the Rumanians\nhave dwelt there, and when they were converted to Christianity. Not\na single old Teutonic word has hitherto been found in the Rumanian\nlanguage. Any direct contact or convivium of any length of time is\nthus excluded. The tales may have been remnants carried along from\nIllyricum across the Danube by the new missionaries of the dualistic\ndoctrine. The problem would be less intricate if we only knew anything\ndefinite about Gothic heathen and Christian mythology.\n\nWith the Cathars and Bogomils we are on more solid ground. This\nnew stream of similar traditions was brought by a similar religious\nmovement and was propagated by identical means--viz. writings and\nsongs in the language of the people, legends and tales and a simple\ncreed understood by all.\n\nIt may be asked, if this theory is correct, if these tales and legends\nwere brought first into Thrace and then spread from that country to\nthe other nations, how does it come to pass that so few traces of\nthem can be found in Greek folk-lore? Paradoxical as it may sound,\nthe absence of such creation and other legends and tales from the\nGreek folk-lore is, if anything, a further proof of the accuracy of the\ntheory advanced. It must be remembered that there was no more ruthless\npersecution of ancient paganism, idolatry, ceremonies and legends than\nthat carried out by the Greek Church against anything that reminded\nthem of the Hellenic or pagan past. Nothing was spared, neither\nshrines nor books. The Greek's subtle mind devised the first thorough\nsystem of heresy-hunting and persecution. It ranged from polemical\nand harmless dialogues to the handing over of the so-called heretics\nto fire and sword. The secular power was there more than anywhere\nelse the representative of the religious power, and justified its\nexistence, as it were, only as the executor of the Church's mandate.\n\nOne has only to read about the innumerable decrees of councils and\nsynods, to see the way in which Manichaeism, Arianism and Gnosticism\nin every shape and form were mercilessly uprooted, and to understand\nthat this fight did not stop at Bogomilism. The polemics were carried\nout even down to the time of Eutemios Zygabenos and even the Emperors\non the throne of Byzance did not consider it below their dignity\nto combat heretical teaching, the followers of which were given no\npardon. There was also another factor which militated against the\nsuccess of the Gnostic teaching--the literary past of the Greeks. To\nthe circulation of apocryphal books and legendary tales, the Greeks\nwere able to oppose a vast literary array. In Greece the Bogomils did\nnot deal with simple-minded, illiterate folk at the beginning of whose\nliterature they stood; on the contrary, they had to fight against\nan ancient influential literature, and against minds trained in the\nsubtlest dialectics. They could not, therefore, succeed so easily,\nif at all.\n\nQuite different were the conditions of the other nations with which\nthey came in contact. None of these had yet more than the very\nbeginnings of a literature. They were rude, simple-minded folk,\nand wherever the Greek Church or Greek Emperors did not wield any\ninfluence at all, as it happened in the Bulgaro-Vallachian kingdom\nestablished by Peter and Asan (1185 to 1257), the Bogomils had an easy\ntask. For centuries, then, the Rumanians formed with the Bulgarians not\nonly a religious, but also a political unity. The Bulgaro-Vallachian\nkingdom stretched from the Haemus to the Carpathians, and down to the\nend of the seventeenth century Slavonic was the official language of\nState and Church in Rumania. There could not have been a more close\nintimacy than between these two nations, despite the difference of the\nlanguage which each of them spoke. They had their literature in common,\nand no doubt shared the same traditions. Bogomilism was just as rife\nin Vallachia as it was in Bulgaria. Even the written literature of\nRumania shows how profound its influence has been: still more so does\nthe oral literature of tales and legends, of fables and beliefs. Though\nthe Bogomils did not bring Christianity to these peoples, for they were\nChristians, they brought at any rate a kind of religion to the mass of\nthe folk. It was one of their own making and in their own image. It\nwas clothed in beautiful tales, and answered the expectations of the\nrank and file, satisfied their curiosity, and gave them a glimpse of\nthe moral beauty underlying the work of creation. In a way, it tended\nto purify the heart and to elevate the soul by allegories, parables\nand apologues, and thus it found ready acceptance, and struck deep\nroot in the heart of the people, unaffected by decrees of Councils\nand by the fanatical intolerance of the established Church.\n\nNot so successful, therefore, if successful at all, was the fight\nof the Greek Church against the heretical sects even in the Balkan\nPeninsula, where they were so numerous and so powerful. They persisted\ndown to the time of the capture of Constantinople and the Turkish\nrule. A large number of the aristocracy in Bosnia and Dalmatia\nstill adhered to the teaching of the Cathars, and when the Turks\noccupied the country in the sixteenth century, the majority of them\nembraced Islam, instead of entering either the Catholic or the Greek\nChurch. A whole mass of apocryphal and spurious literature placed\non the Index, has been preserved in Slavonic and Rumanian texts\nwith outspoken dualistic views. Many of them have found their way\ninto the Lucidaria, or \"Questions and Answers,\" a kind of catechism,\nvery popular among the nations of the Balkans, the Rumanians and the\nRussians. Similar Lucidaria were known in the West, but there they have\nbeen thoroughly expurgated, whilst, in the above-mentioned \"questions,\"\nmany an answer is found to which no orthodox Church would subscribe,\nbut which form now a popular living belief among these nations. The\npolitical lethargy which settled upon most of these nations after\nthe Turkish conquest created a happy brooding-place for such tales,\nand thus it can easily be understood why they have lived to this very\nday practically undisturbed and little changed.\n\nTo those who have followed the history of the religious development\nof the Russians, it will therefore not be surprising to find among\ntheir popular tales a number of variants closely allied to the\nRumanian animal tales, and, what is of the utmost importance in\nthis connection, not a few of the \"creation\" tales. No country\nperhaps has been so much torn by religious discussions and sects\nas Russia. The number of sects is legion. The most extraordinary\nnotions, extreme views on dogma and practice, heterodox principles\nexpressed in worship, belief and popular song or tale are all found\nin Russia: unadulterated Dualism, Bogomilism, Manichaean teaching are\nopenly professed by a number of the sects persecuted and condemned\nby the Orthodox Church. Almost all the books condemned as heretical\nin the early Indices Expurgatoria put forth by Councils and Church\nAssemblies, have been preserved almost intact in the old Slavonic\nand Russian language, and the religious and epic songs of the \"blind\"\nminstrels of Russia are full of the legendary lore of those heterodox\nsects. This fact has been established beyond doubt by the researches\nof Russian scholars, and notably by Wesselofsky. Among the Russians,\nthen, we find the nearest parallels to the Rumanian \"creation\"\nstories; a clear evidence of common origin, both drawing upon the\nsame source of information; the religious in the form of apologues,\nlegends and tales, so prominent a feature of heterodox propaganda.\n\nThe weapons used by the Catholic Church in its persecution of\nheretical sects are, almost every one of them, borrowed from the\nGreek armoury. One learns to know this fact more and more from a\ncloser enquiry into the inner history of Byzance, its laws, decrees,\nadministration and practice. And, precisely the same influence\ndestroyed later the heretical teaching in the West as it destroyed it\namong the Greeks. The power of the Church and the secular arm were\nboth used ruthlessly for exterminating any idea or any belief that\nran counter to the doctrines taught by the established Church. The\nCathars had also a much more difficult task in converting the East of\nEurope, inasmuch as they were also confronted there by some amount of\nliterary tradition. Illiterate as were the masses, there were still\namong them and among their clerics, men of ability, men of learning,\nmen trained in the scholastic schools, able, if not to refute, at\nany rate to confuse, the strange doctrine.\n\nAll these forces combined, produced in the East the same result\nas they have produced among the Greeks. We are thus on the track\nof one of the most important sources of Western European folk-lore,\nalways remembering that the medium in which this propaganda flourished\ndiffered considerably in the West from that in the East. In the former\nsuch propaganda met with a more ancient layer of well-established\nliterary tradition. The Catholic Church, as mentioned above, was first\nin possession. It was not a tabula rasa on which the new teaching\ncould be written, but yet that which existed was profoundly modified\nand a new fund of highly poetic yet popular material was added to the\nsmall store of knowledge possessed by the common people. But in time\nthe Church took up the challenge, and remorselessly hunted down the\napostles of popular heterodox teaching, just as the Greeks had done,\ngoing even further. It punished with sword and fire the followers of\nunauthorised practices, and branded every deviation from the strait\npath as rank heresy. The books containing legends and tales were burnt,\nand their possessors were often treated in like fashion.\n\nInquisition, Church and other influences helped, as already mentioned,\nto destroy them. In the tragedy of heresy-hunting and burning\nof witches, the charge of devil worship was the basic principle,\nthe chief head of accusation. It was clearly devised against the\nfollowers of the dualistic teaching. To tell a tale like any of these\nRumanian \"creation\" tales, would have been inviting the heaviest\npunishment--to believe in it would have meant sure death. No wonder\nthat they disappeared quickly, or were changed into harmless satires,\nas in the Reynard Cycle, or were even used for political cartoons,\nin broadsides, like the Cock Robin Cycle in the time of Charles II.,\nwhich, when transplanted to Russia, became a political lampoon on\nPeter and his Court.\n\nHeresy-hunting becomes a popular distraction only when the official\nclergy find it profitable to make it so, and when the people are made\nto trace their own ills and troubles, their losses in field and stable,\nto the evil machinations of these tools of the devil. So long as they\nare not suffering in body or purse, the folk are absolutely indifferent\nto dogmas, and they will eagerly accept anything that pleases them. It\nwill therefore not come as a surprise, in view of what has been stated,\nif we find some weird conceptions among the Rumanian peasantry.\n\nStudied from the point of view of heresiology or rather of popular\npsychology, some of these tales will appear to us as so many living\nrecords of the great spiritual movement, which for centuries dominated\nEurope, and which has since died out.\n\nToo little attention has been given hitherto to the influence of those\nnumerous sects, which stretched from Asia Minor to the south of France,\nand overflowed even into England. Their dualism, the strong belief\nin the Power of Evil, Satan and his host, the consequent duty of the\nfaithful to banish him or to subdue him, thus developed into belief in\nsorcery and witchcraft, with the attending horrors of the Inquisition.\n\nThen came a period of wider education still less tolerant of old\nwomen's superstition and nursery tales. What was left still standing\nhas been, and is being, finally destroyed by our modern schools and\nschoolmasters. From this dire fate, the folk-lore of the nearer East\nhas as yet been preserved. The importance of the study of folk-lore\nhas happily been recognised in those countries, early enough to stop\nthe blight which had set in and which threatened to destroy it more\nruthlessly than even in the West. The modern \"man of science\" is a\nmore relentless iconoclast than the religious fanatic. He starts\nfrom the mind in his attempt to destroy folk-lore, using to this\nend cold reasoning, logical conclusions, spiritual prepossession\nand intolerance. The religious fanatic starts from the heart, with\noverwhelming passion, fiery zeal, unreasoning hatred, from which\nthere is a possible escape for mysticism and mythical lore, whilst\nfrom the former there is none. Happily, our science of folk-lore with\nits deep sympathy and profound appreciation of these manifestations\nof the popular psyche has come in the nick of time to rescue from\ntotal extinction what the schoolmaster and the heresy-hunter have\nnot yet annihilated.\n\nI turn now to another aspect of these bird and beast tales. If, as I\nbelieve, they show us what is at the back of the mind of the people,\nthey are of invaluable service to the student of anthropology, above\nall to him who seeks enlightenment in the grave problems of education\nand civilization; and they are not without importance for the solution\nof political problems.\n\nAttempts are made--well meant, no doubt--to foist that state of culture\nwhich the West calls \"modern civilization,\" or \"civilization\" pure\nand simple, upon the reluctant people of the Near and Far East. We\nare forgetful of the fact that these nations have had a civilization\nof their own, and that something more important is included in this\nforcible change than the change of a dress.\n\nAs the outcome of a long-drawn battle between feudalism and modern\nsociety, as a result of political and economic evolutions, the\ncivilization of the West, when introduced among nations that have not\ngone through the same experience, acts like the Juggernaut car, which\ncrushes under its wheels the worshippers of this new god and destroys\nat the same time the foundations of the old order of things. Only\nstudents of folk-lore, those who try to reach the hidden depths, nay,\nto penetrate the inner soul of the people, are in a position to judge\nof the results of these civilizing attempts. They can compare the past\nwith the present, and draw a proper balance between gain and loss. Are\nthe people happier, more contented, more moral, and even more religious\nafter the change, than they were before it? Surely not. And if not,\nwhy not? The answer is very simple: because in this violent change no\ntenderness is shown to those beliefs and practices which are dear to\nthe people and which help to lighten the burden of life by innocent\nmirth and the wholesome play of fancy. Wire brooms may sweep well; but\nthey may do it too well, and they can sweep everything away, leaving\nthe home bare and the gardens stripped of every leaf and flower.\n\nA few words concerning the order and grouping of these tales. They\nhave been arranged in three main groups. The first comprises those\ntales which I have characterised as creation legends. In them the\norigin of birds, beasts and insects is explained as the result of\nsome direct act of God, or the Saints, or the Devil. An attempt has\nbeen made to follow a certain chronological order. Those tales stand\nfirst in which God is acting at the beginning of the creation. Then,\nfollowing the Biblical order, the legends connected with the persons\nof sacred history from Adam to the Apostles, including St. Mary\nand St. Anne. Mystical Christmas carols or rather epic ballads,\nin which similar subjects are treated, have been inserted between\nthe legends. The second section comprises such legends as are more\nlike fairy tales. The mythical personages are no longer those known\nthrough the Scriptures. On the contrary, there are in these tales\nreminiscences of ancient heathen gods and heroes, chief among them\nbeing Alexander the Great.\n\nIn the third section the animal fables are grouped together. It\nis the literature of the apologues without any framework or moral\nsetting. The parallels, as far as could be found, are given briefly at\nthe end of each legend, tale or fable. I have striven to be concise in\nmy references to the best-known collections of tales, such as Grimm,\nHahn, Cosquin, and Gonzenbach, where the student of fairy tales can\neasily find the whole comparative literature.\n\nFor the genuine and unadulterated popular origin of these tales I\ncan vouch absolutely. Some I have heard in my early youth, but the\nmajority have been culled from the works of S. Fl. Marian (Ornitologia\npoporana Rom\u00e2na, 2 vols., Cernauti 1883; and Insectele, Bucharest\n1903), than whom a more painstaking trustworthy collector could\nnot be imagined. Some have been taken from the Folk-lore reviews,\nSezatoarea, ed. by A. Gorovei (i.-xii., Falticeni 1892 to 1912),\nand Ion Creanga, published by the Society of that name (i.-viii.,\nBarlad 1908-1915). Anton Pann (Poveste si istoriaire, Bucharest 1836)\nhas given us a few stories, as well as A. and A. Schott (Walachische\nMaehrchen, Stuttgart and T\u00fcbingen 1845). The Pilgrimage of the Soul is\nfrom S. Mangiuca, Calindariu, pe. 1882, Brasiovu 1881 and the Story\nof Man and his Years, No. 113, from M. Gaster, Chrestomatie Romana,\nvol. ii., Bucharest 1891. These tales have been collected from every\ncountry where Rumanians live, not only in the Kingdom of Rumania,\nbut also from the Rumanians of Transylvania and Bukovina, as well as\nfrom the Kutzo-Vlachs of Macedonia.\n\nI have added a few charms and also a few more mystical religious\nsongs and carols, which throw light on some of the beliefs underlying\nthe tales and legends, taken mostly from the great collection of\nG. Dem. Teodorescu (Poesii Popularare Romane, Bucharest 1885).\n\nIn some cases I have given also variants of the same tale.\n\nI have endeavoured to render the stories as faithfully as the spirit\nof the Rumanian and English languages allows, and I fear that I have\non sundry occasions forced the latter in my desire to preserve as far\nas possible the quaintness and the flavour of the Rumanian original.\n\nThere is one characteristic feature in the collection of animal tales\nand legends given here, upon which I should like to lay great stress,\nand that is the complete purity which pervades them all. There is\nno playing with moral principles. No double meaning is attached to\nany story: and this, to my mind, is the best proof of their popular\norigin. These tales are not sullied by a morbid imagination, nor\ncontaminated by sexual problems. The people are pure at heart and in\nthe stories their simplicity and purity appear most beautifully.\n\nIn these tales and legends we have syncretism in full swing. It is\nnot a picture of the past which we have to piece laboriously together\nfrom half-forgotten records, from writing half obliterated by the\naction of time and by changes which have swept over those nations of\nthe past, whose life and thought we are endeavouring to conjure up\nand to understand. In our midst, at our door, under our own eyes,\nthis process of mixing and adjusting, of change and evolution, of\ndifferentiation, combination and assimilation is still going on. It\nis a wonderful picture for any one who is able to discover the forces\nthat are at work, who can trace every strand of the webbing, every\nthread in the woof and warp, to its immediate and to its remoter\nsource. We see the shuttle of human imagination, of human belief,\nflying busily through the loom, charged at one time with one thread,\nat another with a different one. Many of the ways of the human mind\nmeet here, cross one another, and new roads are thus created by busy\nwayfarers. And thus paganism sustains a busy and robust life. The old\nPantheon is still peopled with the old gods, or, shall we better say,\nthe Pandaemonium in its highest and best sense is displaying itself\nwith unexpected vigour. The heathen gods, the Christian saints, God and\nthe devil legends, fairy tales, oriental imagery, mystical traditions\nand astrological lore are all inextricably blended together. The line\nof demarcation between man and animal has not been clearly drawn, or\nit has not yet been attempted. These multifarious elements have not\nyet been combined into one homogeneous structure. The problem arises\nwhether other nations have also passed through a similar mental and\npsychical process; whether they have had a similar Pandaemonic mixture,\nout of which their more colourless folk-lore had been distilled in\nthe crucible of \"civilization.\"\n\nPrimitive people can often hear the footfall of men by putting the\near to the ground. We may, by putting an ear to the ground, hear the\nfootfalls of the Past, and listen to the echo before it dies away\ninto eternity.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBIRD AND BEAST STORIES\n\n\nI.\n\nWHY IS THE BEE BLACK, AND WHY IS IT MAKING HONEY? HOW DID THE BEE\nOUTWIT THE DEVIL?\n\n\nIn the beginning only water and God and the devil existed. These two\nwere all the time moving about upon the surface of the waters. After\nsome time God, feeling rather tired of this flitting about without\nrest or peace, said to the devil, \"Go down to the bottom of the sea\nand bring up in my name a handful of the seed of the earth.\" The devil\ndid as he was told, but whilst he was plunging in the depths he said\nto himself, \"Why shall I bring up the seed in his name? I will take\nit in my own.\" And so he did. When he came up God asked him, \"Hast\nthou brought the seed?\" The devil replied, \"Yes, here it is.\" But\nwhen he opened his hand to show the seed to God, lo, it was quite\nempty. The water had wasted the seed away.\n\nThen God told him to plunge again and bring up the seed of the earth\nin his name. The devil, however, again took the seed from the bottom\nof the sea in his own name, and when he opened his hand to give\nthe seed to God the waters had again washed his hand clean. For a\nthird time God sent him down to the bottom of the sea to bring up\nseed. This time the devil bethought himself, and instead of taking\nthe seed in his own name as he had determined, now took it in God's\nname and in his own. He would not do it in God's name alone. When he\ncame up the waters had this time also washed everything away that he\nhad taken in his hand. Only a few grains, however, remained under the\nnails of his fingers. God asked him whether he had brought the seed\nup, and he replied \"To be sure.\" But when he opened his hand it was\nagain empty. Still, there were the few grains which had stuck under\nthe nails. God greatly rejoiced at these few, which he carefully\nscraped out from under the nails, and made of them a small cake\nwhich he put upon the water, where it floated, and God sat upon it\nto rest. Being now very tired, God fell asleep on that little cake\nof earth. When the devil saw God fast asleep, what did the unclean\none think? \"What a lucky thing that is for me,\" he said to himself,\n\"I can now drown him.\" And so he tried to turn the cake over, so\nthat God should fall into the water. But what happened? In whatever\ndirection God rolled, the cake of earth expanded and stretched\nunder him. He first rolled him towards the east, and the earth grew\nunder God. The devil then tried to upset the cake towards the west,\nand again the earth stretched under God. Now, said the devil, \"Now\nthere is also room for me to rest,\" and he sat down on the opposite\nside where the earth had grown bigger. There again he endeavoured\nwith all his weight to press down the earth, so as to make the earth\nturn turtle, once towards the north, once towards the south; and God\nrolled towards them and the earth grew in all directions.\n\nNow by this continual rolling the earth grew so big that it became\nwider and larger than the waters. When God awoke and saw what the\ndevil had done he did not know what to do with this huge earth,\nwhich had become far too big. The devil, seeing what he had done,\nand being afraid of God's wrath, ran away and hid himself in one of\nthe clefts of the earth. God then decided to ask the devil what he\nwas to do with this earth, which had become so big.\n\nNow, of all the beasts and creatures which God had made, none was more\npleasing in his sight than the bee, which was then playing in Paradise.\n\nThe bee was white, and not black as she is now, and I will tell you\npresently how it came about that she changed her colour.\n\nGod sent the bee to ask the devil what he was to do and what good\nadvice he could give him. The bee, at once, went as she was commanded,\nand came to the place where the devil lived.\n\n\"Good morning, uncle,\" said the bee.\n\n\"Good morning, sister,\" said the devil. \"What has brought thee to me?\"\n\n\"Well, you see, God has sent me to ask what he was to do with this\nhuge earth.\"\n\nBut the devil grumpily and sneeringly replied, \"If he is God he ought\nto know better than to ask a poor devil for advice. I am not going\nto tell him. Let him find it out for himself.\"\n\nThe bee, who was a clever little thing--it was not for nothing that\nGod's choice had fallen upon her--pretended to fly away. But she soon\ncrept back quite stealthily and settled noiselessly on the upper\nbeam of the door. She knew that the devil cannot keep any secrets,\nand he would surely speak out. So, indeed, it happened. No sooner\ndid he believe himself alone, than he started muttering to himself,\nchuckling all the time.\n\n\"A clever man that God really is. He asks me what to do. Why does\nhe not think of mountains and valleys?\" You must know that the earth\nwhen first made was quite flat, like a pancake.\n\n\"Let him take the earth in his arms and squeeze it a bit, and it will\nfit all right.\"\n\nThe bee overheard what he said, for he spoke loud enough, and rejoicing\nthat she had got the answer, spread out her wings and started flying\naway. The buzzing of her wings betrayed her, and the devil, hearing\nthe noise, rushed out of his cave with his whip in his hand and said:\n\"O you thief! So that is the way you have cheated me. Mayst thou feed\non what comes out of thy body.\" And he struck the bee with his whip.\n\nThis changed her white colour into black. Moreover, he hit her so\nbadly that he nearly cut her in two. That is why the bee has such\na narrow waist, that she looks as if she were cut in two and barely\nhanging together by a thread.\n\nLimping and sore, the bee came back to God and told him what she\nhad overheard from the devil. God was greatly pleased and, squeezing\nthe earth in his arms, he made mountains and valleys, and the earth\ngrew smaller.\n\nThen turning to the bee he said, \"Out of thy body henceforth shall\ncome only honey to sweeten the life of man and he shall bless thee for\nthat gift; also shalt thou bring forth wax for candles on the altar.\"\n\nAnd God went on to ask the bee what reward she would claim for the\nerrand which she had so well fulfilled. The bee, impudent and greedy,\nreplied: \"Why should man share in my gift and have my honey? Give me\nthe power to kill with my sting.\"\n\nAnd God was angry at the impudence of the bee, and replied: \"All the\nhoney shall be thine alone, if thou art able to make a gallon of it\nduring the summer: if not, man may share it with thee. And because\nthou hast asked for the power of killing with thy sting, meaning to\nkill man by it, thine own death shall be by thy sting.\"\n\nThis is the reason why the bees work so industriously and indefatigably\nduring the summer. Each hopes to make a gallon of honey, but they can\nnever succeed. And this, too, is the reason why the bee dies when it\nstings anyone.\n\nThere is another variant of the cosmogonic part.\n\nThe place of the devil is taken by the mole [1] whom the Rumanians\nbelieve to be a very deep fellow.\n\n\n\nThe story then runs as follows:\n\nWhen God had made the heavens there was as yet no earth. So God took\na ball of string and measured the span of heaven. Then he called\nthe mole and told him to keep the ball whilst he was busy making the\nearth, according to the measure which he had taken. But whilst God\nwent on measuring by the string which he had rolled off the ball,\nthe mole very slyly let the ball roll on whilst God was tugging at\nthe string. And so it came to pass that the earth made thus by God\nwas larger than the span of heaven, and could not be got under it.\n\nThe mole, seeing what he had done, went away and hid himself in his\nearth. Hither the bee was sent to get the secret from him how the\nearth could be made smaller.\n\nThe story then runs on like the one just told, without the explanation\nof the dark colour and of the narrow waist. Nor is any reference made\nin that version to the sting and the gallon of honey.\n\nThe dualistic conception of the creation of the world is here clearly\nset out. The people believe in it. In the formation of the earth the\ndevil has his full, nay an equal share, though he always is fooled\nin the end and is cheated even by a little bee.\n\nTo this creation story a few variants can be found among the\nBulgarians and Letts, but they are neither so full nor so complete\nas the Rumanian version.\n\nThey are given by D\u00e4hnhardt, Natursagen, i. pp. 127-128 (Leipzig and\nBerlin 1907). The first part of the story of the devil being sent\ndown to bring up seed from the bottom, and only that part, is found\namong the Gipsy tales from Transylvania, published by Wlislocki,\nZigeuner-m\u00e4rchen aus Transylvania, p. 1, No. 1.\n\nAmong the Russians, Ralston gives a short variant in which only God\nand the devil are mentioned, nothing of the bee, and even the first\npart is extremely short. (Russian Folk Tales, p. 329, London 1873.)\n\nThe existence of hills is accounted for by legendary lore in this\nwise. When the Lord was about to fashion the face of the earth he\nordered the devil to dive into the watery depths and bring thence\na handful of the soil he found at the bottom. The devil obeyed,\nbut when he filled his hand he filled his mouth also. The Lord\ntook the soil, sprinkled it around, and the earth appeared, all\nperfectly flat. The devil, whose mouth was quite full, looked on\nfor some time in silence. At last he tried to speak, but choked,\nand fled in terror. After him followed the thunder and lightning,\nand so he rushed over the whole face of the earth, hills springing\nup where he coughed, and sky-cleaving mountains where he leaped.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI. B.\n\nHOW DID THE BEE OUTWIT THE MOLE?\n\nAnother Version.\n\n\nWhen the Lord made the heavens he took a ball and spanned the heavens,\nand after he had finished spanning the heavens he started making\nthe earth. The mole, cunning little beast, came to him and said:\n\"O Lord, let me help thee in making the earth\"; and the Lord, who is\nalways good, said in the goodness of his heart: \"Very well,\" and he\ngave the ball to the mole to keep it.\n\nThe Lord started working, and was busy weaving and working making\nthe earth. But the sly mole let just a little bit of the thread go\nfrom time to time, and the Lord worked on without noticing it. When\nhe had finished, how great was his astonishment when he found that\nthe earth was greater than the heavens. What was he to do? how could\nhe fit them together? He turned to the mole, but the mole was not\nthere; he knew what was coming and had buried himself deep down in\nthe earth. So the Lord walked up and down the earth, but could not\nfind him. What was he to do? At last he sent the bee to discover the\nmole and to find out from him what was to be done. The bee flew away\nalone, and, buzzing about, at last came to the hole where the mole\nwas sitting buried in the earth.\n\nThe bee came to him and said, \"Good morning, uncle.\"\n\n\"What brings thee to me, my sister?\"\n\n\"Well,\" she said, \"the Lord God has sent me to ask thee what is to\nbe done. The earth is so big and the heavens so small.\"\n\nThe mole, a sly beast, chuckled and said to himself, \"The Lord ought\nto know better than I. I am not going to tell him, though I know what\nought to be done.\"\n\nThe bee would not take this answer. She pretended to fly away, and\nthen went stealthily and settled herself in a flower which was near\nto the mole's burrow. She knew that the mole would talk to himself,\nand hoped to overhear what he would say.\n\nSo in sooth it happened. The bee overheard him chuckling and laughing\nand saying to himself: \"Oh what a clever fellow I am! if I had to\ndo it, I would take the earth in my arms and squeeze it tightly,\nand then mountains would be pressed out and valleys would be sunk,\nand then the earth would get small enough to fit under the heavens.\"\n\nNo sooner had the bee heard what the mole had said, than she started\nflying away. The mole, who heard her buzzing, ran after her and said:\n\"O sister, is that the way thou art dealing with me? Very well then,\nnow take my curse. Henceforth thou shalt feed on thyself.\"\n\nBut the bee never listened, and flew straight to the Lord and told\nhim what she had heard when the mole muttered to himself. And the\nLord took the earth in his hands and squeezed it, and from the flat\nthat it was, mountains rose up and valleys were cut, and it fitted\nthe heavens which God had spanned. And God, hearing of the curse with\nwhich the mole has cursed the bee, turned it into a blessing. That is\nwhy the bee makes honey and feeds on itself, whilst the mole always\nlives underground and is frightened to see the sky.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nII.\n\nWHY IS THE BEE BUSY AND THE SPIDER SULLEN?\n\nThe Story of the Widow and her two Children.\n\n\nThere is still another story about the origin of the bee, totally\ndifferent from those told hitherto.\n\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a very poor widow. She had only two\nchildren, a son and a daughter. When they had grown up, seeing that\ntheir mother could no longer provide for them, they left her house\nand went each one his or her way to find work. The girl went to a\nplace where they were building houses, and there she worked day and\nnight carrying bricks and mortar to the builders. The son went to a\nweaver and learnt there to weave clothes.\n\nNot long after that, the mother grew very ill, and knowing that her\nend was approaching, she sent for her children to come to her. When\nthe message reached the daughter, she was carrying a heavy load of\nbricks in her apron.\n\nShe did not hesitate for a moment, and saying, \"I must not leave my\npoor mother alone,\" she dropped the load of bricks and ran home as fast\nas she could, and there she found her mother on the point of death.\n\nWhen the message reached the son, he was sitting at his weaving. He\nsaid, \"Let her die. I cannot give up my work. Here I am, and here\nI stay.\"\n\nAnd there he stayed quite alone, working away, surly and grumbling\nall the time.\n\nWhen the mother saw her daughter, who had left everything and had\ncome to her, she raised herself on her bed and, kissing her on the\nforehead, blessed her, saying: \"Daughter, thou hast been sweet to me\nand a joy in my last hour. Mayst thou always be sweet to all.\"\n\nWhen she heard what her son had said, and why he had not come, she\ncursed him and said: \"As thou hast said so shall it go with thee. Day\nand night shalt thou be weaving incessantly and never see the joy of\nit: what thou doest, others shall destroy. In a corner shalt thou sit,\nfar away from everybody, and hated by everybody.\"\n\nAnd with these words she died, and her blessing and curse both came\ntrue. The girl was changed into the busy active bee, whose honey\nsweetens everything, and of whose wax candles are made to be lit before\nthe ikons of the saints and in the churches, and put by the head of\nthe dying and the dead. The brother was changed into the spider, who\nsits alone and sullen and spiteful in the corner and weaves his webs,\nnever finishing: whoever sees a web brushes it away, and whoever can,\nkills the spider.\n\n\n\nTo this story I have not been able to find a parallel. A different\nkind of curse seems to rest on the spider, according to the legend\nof the \"Lady Mary and the Spider,\" No. 54.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIII.\n\nWHY IS THE BEE BLACK, AND WHY HAS IT A NARROW WAIST?\n\nThe Story of the Bee and the Devil.\n\n\nWhen God created the bee she was white of colour, hence her name\nalbina, the white one. One day, however, God sent the bee to the\nEvil One to ask him for his advice, whether God should make one\nsun or several. The bee went to the Evil One and told him God's\nmessage. Then she slyly hid herself in his bushy hair, for the bee\nknew that he would talk to himself aloud, and she would be able to\nfind out his true thought. And so it happened: for no sooner did he\nthink that the bee was not within earshot, than he started talking\naloud to himself and said:\n\n\"One sun is better than a number of suns, for if there were a number\nof suns the heat would be much greater than my fire and I should not\nbe able to torture and to burn. Then, too, if there were several suns,\nthey would shine all day and all night, and the people would not be\nable to fall into my power. One sun would be best.\"\n\nWhen the bee had heard his reasoning and the conclusion to which he\nhad come, she started flying back to God. As she started, the Evil One\nheard her buzz and, filled with anger at the trick which the bee had\nplayed him, he struck her across the body with his whip. The white\ncolour was then turned black and the body of the bee nearly cut in\ntwain. The waist became as thin as a thread. In the beginning it was\nwhite, and hence the name. It is due to the merit of the bee that\nthere is only one sun now in the heavens and not many.\n\nIn the Bulgarian parallel it is not a question as to how many suns\nwere to be created but whether the sun is to get married. The story is\nas follows (D\u00e4hnhardt, Natursagen, Leipzig u. Berlin 1907, i. p. 127):\n\nWhen God grew old he wanted to marry the sun. He invited all the\ncreatures. Among them also the devil, but he saddled his ass and rode\naway angrily. Then God sent the bee to find out the thought of the\ndevil. The bee settled on his head and heard him mumble to himself:\n\n\"Oh yes, it is a long time since God had remembered me, who helped\nhim in the making of the world, but he does not know what he is\ndoing now. If he marries the sun he will destroy mankind and burn up\nthe world.\"\n\nThe bee heard it, and flying away went to God. The devil noticed her\nand, thinking that she had overheard what he was saying, wanted to\nkill her. He ran after her and shot at her. The bee hid herself in a\nwillow tree. After trying many times, he at last hit her and cut her\nin two. With difficulty she reached God and told him what had happened.\n\nThe Lord blessed her and said, \"The lower part shall be thy best\nand the upper part may remain as it is;\" and he joined the two parts\ntogether. God thereupon stopped the wedding, and the sun has remained\nan unmarried maiden to this very day, whilst the bee is making honey\neven now.\n\n\n\nThe story of the marriage of the sun does not concern us here. In\na different form it occurs in Rumanian Fairy Tales, where we are\ntold that sun and moon were a brother and sister. They wished to woo\none another, but God forbade it, and therefore God put them in the\nheavens and changed them into sun and moon, which never meet. When\none rises the other sets. (L. Saineanu, Basmele Rom\u00e2ne, Bucur 1895,\np. 398.) Other mythical references to sun and moon, and the way in\nwhich the devil tries to steal them from Paradise, will be found in\nthe Carol given below, No. 15.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIV.\n\nWHY DOES THE LITTLE WORM GLOW?\n\nThe Story of the Fallen Angel and the Maiden.\n\n\nWhen God had created the world, men multiplied. There were then towns\nand hamlets and gardens and fields. So one day a band of angels came\nto the Lord and said: \"O Lord, let us see the world which we now see\nonly from afar. Grant us in thy infinite mercy that we may go down\nand see it more closely.\"\n\nAnd the Lord in his infinite love granted their request, although he\nwho knows everything knew what would happen to them hereafter. And\nthe angels came down and mixed with the men and women and rejoiced at\neverything they saw. After a time God Almighty came down to them and\ntold them that the time for their return to heaven had come. The angels\ngathered together in a joyful band and went up to heaven. But there was\none angel who did not share in their joy. He walked sadly and alone.\n\nGod asked every one of the angels what they had seen. And one told\nhim of the flowers and their sweet smell, and another one told of the\nfruit and a third of the singing birds. Everyone had a pleasant tale to\ntell. When the turn came of that angel who was walking sadly in that\njoyful company, the Lord asked him whether he had anything to tell,\nand whether he would like to return to heaven as his companions did,\nto which he replied that he would prefer to remain on earth, for he\nwould not like to go back to heaven. And the good God asked him why\nhe was so sad and why he would prefer to remain in this world. The\nangel hesitated for a while, and then he said that he had looked too\nfar into the eyes of a girl, eyes which were as the blue of heaven,\nand he could not bear to go away from her. And the Lord asked who\nshe was, and the angel replied, \"A shepherdess feeding her flock on\na mountain.\" And the Lord asked him, \"Hast thou spoken to her?\" and\nhe said, \"I could not forbear doing so.\" And the Lord asked him,\n\"What didst thou tell her?\" and he replied, \"I said I would forego\nmy angelic station rather than leave her.\"\n\nThe Lord, who had up till then looked very young, suddenly turned\nvery old and careworn, and, after looking at him for a long time,\nwalked on slowly and silently with the band of angels. When they\nreached the Gates of Heaven the Lord stopped short and, turning to\nthe angels, said:\n\n\"You can no longer enter the heavenly abode. You are bringing\ntidings of the ways of the world which must not be heard by the other\nangels. And as you liked the world, you shall continue to look at the\nsoul's doings.\" Thereupon the Lord changed the angels and made them\ninto stars, which he scattered all over the heavens, and from there\nthey smile joyfully and kindly upon the earth.\n\nBut the angel who wished to return did not turn into a pleasant,\ntwinkling little star. He turned into a fiery star that, always\nblazing and unsteady, looked angrily at the other stars. At last\nthe Lord, fearing that there would be strife between them, cast the\nred star down to the earth, and it came down on the meadow where the\nshepherdess was; it came down as a shower over the whole field. But\nthe sparks never died out. The glow-worms carry them still.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nV.\n\nWHY DOES THE LITTLE WORM GLOW?\n\nThe Story of the Devil hurled down from Heaven.\n\n\nAnother legend about the origin of the glow-worm is of a similar\ncharacter. I will discuss later the possible origin, which will lead\nus to the same remarkable results.\n\n\n\nThe time of separation between the good and the evil angels had\ncome. The good ones gathered to the right, and the evil ones, under\nthe leadership of the devil, gathered to the left. You can imagine\nwhat a confusion and uproar there was, for they could not easily\ndisentangle themselves.\n\nWhilst that confusion went on, there was a little devil who, after\nall, did not like parting with the bliss of heaven. So what did he\ndo? He stole away from his own companions and hid himself among the\ngood angels, hoping that, by one way or another, he would get into\nheaven. But he had not reckoned with St. Peter, who stands at the\ngate of heaven and examines and searches every one asking leave of\nentrance. Each angel had to present his pass, duly signed. St. Peter\nexamined the signature, and when he found it correct he allowed the\nangel to enter heaven. So, one by one, they passed on, until the turn\nof the little devil came. In vain did he protest that he was a good\nangel. He had to produce his papers, and when St. Peter came to the\nend, there was no proper signature. So St. Peter got very angry, and\nwithout much ado, got hold of the little devil and cast him down to\nearth. He came down with such violence that he broke up in millions\nof luminous sparks, and these are the lights of the glow-worm.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVI.\n\nWHY DOES THE LITTLE WORM GLOW?\n\nThe Story of St. Peter and the Cuckoo.\n\n\nThe tale of the glow-worm tells us that in olden times the people\nwere better and the earth cleaner than to-day. It was on this account\nthat God's saints used to walk about upon the earth. The saints and\nthe apostles had also their establishments just as we have them now,\nhouse, table, cattle, children and everything that appertains to the\nhouse of man. The most important of the saints was St. Peter. He used\nto walk about with God more than any of the others, but, like every\nRumanian, he also had his house and all that belongs to it, just\nas beseems one of God's saints. The tale from our forefathers tells\nus that, among other things, he also had a stable full of beautiful\nhorses; black of skin like the raven's wing, and quick as the flame,\nthey were eating up the clouds, so fleet were they. In those times,\nunfortunately, as in our times, besides saints, there were also\nwicked people, thieves and the like, for the devil has had and will\nalways have his share in this world. But in those times there were\nonly a very few thieves, and they were very much ashamed of their\ndoings. They used to live in forests to which no one else went except\nevil spirits. To-day--for our sins--the thieves are so numerous that\nthere is not a spot which is free of them. They rob you everywhere;\nin the very midst of the town and in the open light of day.\n\nIn those days, there lived a great thief, whose name was Cuckoo. I\ndo not know how it came to pass, but he heard of St. Peter's horses\nand made up his mind to steal them. One day St. Peter had gone on\none of his usual journeys to a distant part of the country. Cuckoo,\nwho had learned of it, came in the night and stole the horses\nand drove them into the forest. On the morrow, by a mere chance,\nSt. Peter came home from his journey and asked about the horses. They\nwere nowhere to be found. Do what he might, he could not find them;\nthey were gone. But who had taken them, and whither had he gone with\nthem? St. Peter asked God to give him some powerful dogs to go with\nhim to the forest. God gave him the wolves, and from that time they\nhave remained St. Peter's dogs.\n\nHe went with them into the forest and searched high and low, but all\nin vain. All through the day they hunted, but could find no trace of\nthe thief or of the horses. Night fell, and it was one of those dark\nnights in which you can put your finger into your eye and yet not\nsee it. It was blacker and darker than the blackness and darkness\nof hell. St. Peter did not know which way to turn, and he asked God\nto perform some miracle for him to light up his way. God heard his\nprayer, and before one could wipe one's eyes the whole forest was\nfull of glow-worms. St. Peter greatly rejoiced, and by the light\nof the glow-worms he searched the forest all the night through,\nbut returned home with empty hands. Then St. Peter cursed the thief\nCuckoo, that he should be changed into a black, ill-omened bird, and\nwherever he should find himself he was to call out his name. Since\nthen the cuckoo became a black and accursed bird, and when it sings\n(calls) at the back of the house or in the courtyard it betokens\ndeath. It speaks nothing else, but calls its own name, Cuckoo. The\ncuckoo is frightened of the glow-worms, and, as soon as he sees them\nin the forest he stops calling, for he thinks St. Peter is looking\nout for him to catch him for stealing his horses. At the same time\nthe glow-worms were blessed by St. Peter and made the guides of\nthe wanderers through the forest. They come out about St. Peter's\nday. Then the cuckoo keeps silence.\n\n\n\nIn these glow-worm stories, much of the apocryphal literature\nconcerning the fall of the angels has been preserved. It is not,\nhowever, the pride of Satan that causes his downfall, but it is\nthe love of the earthly woman which causes the angel to fall. The\nstory in this form is found in the Hebrew versions preserved in the\nChronicles of Jerahmeel (my ed. London 1899, ch. xxv. p. 52 ff.),\nand in other kindred books, from which it has passed through the Greek\ninto the Slavonic apocryphal literature. The contest between the devil\nand angels is, however, not unknown. It is referred to here rather\nhumorously in the story of the little devil who wanted to steal slily\ninto heaven in the rush and is detected by the wily Peter. It is also\nreferred to in the Dragon-fly story, No. 14. Curiously enough, very\nlittle of it seems to have been preserved in Slavonic literature. In\nAlbanian literature a faint trace is recorded by Hahn (ii. No. 107),\nwhere the connection with the Wolf story is entirely missing, and\ntherefore inexplicable there. But the fragmentary Albanian tale is\nfully set out here in the Rumanian version about the creation of the\nwolf, Nos. 7, 8, 9.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVII.\n\nWHY IS THE WOLF FEROCIOUS?\n\nThe Story of God, St. Peter and the Devil.\n\n\nOnce upon a time God was walking with St. Peter. On the way they met a\ndog who came close to them and frolicked round them, and God stroked\nthe animal. St. Peter looked at God questioningly, and God said,\n\"I know what is in thy mind, but since thou art he who keeps the key\nof heaven it is meet that thou shouldst know everything, and I will\ntherefore tell thee the story of the dog and the wolf, for thou must\nknow whom to let into heaven and whom to shut out. Thou seest, Peter,\nwhat that brother of mine--\"\n\n\"You mean the devil?\" interposed St. Peter.\n\n\"Yes,\" said God, \"I mean him. You see what he has done to me with\nAdam and Eve, and how he made me drive them out of Paradise. What was\nI to do? When the poor man was starving I had to help him, so I gave\nhim the sheep to feed him and to clothe him. But dost thou think the\ndevil will give them peace?--no, not he!\"\n\n\"Yes,\" said Peter, \"all very well, but what about the dog? I know\nall that about Adam and Eve.\"\n\n\"Do not be in such a hurry,\" replied God, \"I will tell thee everything;\nbide thy time.\"\n\n\"Now, where was I? It was when I made the sheep, and the devil then\nmust again try and do something to hurt Adam, so he is now making the\nwolf, who will destroy the sheep and bring Adam and Eve to grief. For\nthat reason I have made the dog, and he will drive the wolf away\nand protect the flocks of sheep, and will be friendly to man, whose\nproperty he will guard with faithfulness.\"\n\nSt. Peter said, \"I know that in thy goodness thou art going again to\nhelp the devil, as thou hast done aforetime.\"\n\nThe devil had made many things aforetime, but could not give them\nlife or movement, and it was always God who helped and completed\nthe work. Thus the devil made a car, but built it inside the house,\nand did not know how to take it out and use it until God widened the\ndoor and took it out, and as the devil was pulling away at it he broke\nthe hind wheels, so God took the first part of the car and put it in\nthe heavens, and it forms the constellation known as the Great Bear\n(in Rumanian, the Great Car).\n\nThen the devil made the mill, but he could not start it, so God\ndid. Then he made a house, but put no light into it, so God had to\nmake the windows. Then the devil made a fire, but did not know how\nto kindle it.\n\nHe was now working away at moulding the wolf from clay. He worked so\nhard that the perspiration ran down his face. Scratching his head,\nhe pulled out three hairs, but would not throw anything away--they\nwere much too precious--so he stuck them in the head of the wolf\nbetween the eyes.\n\nWhen he thought he had finished, he turned to God and said, \"See what\nI have done.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied God, \"I see, but what is it?\"\n\n\"Thou shalt know more about it soon,\" replied the devil; and, turning\nto the wolf, which lay there lifeless, he said, \"Up, wolf, and go\nfor him.\" But the wolf never stirred.\n\nThen God turned to St. Peter and said, \"Just wait and see how I will\npay him out,\" and, waving his hand over the wolf, he said, \"Up, wolf,\nand go for the devil.\"\n\nThe devil can run fast, but never ran faster than on that day when\nthe wolf jumped up and ran after him. In running he jumped into the\nlake. He dipped under the waters and saved himself from the fangs\nof the wolf. And ever since that time, the wolf has power over the\ndevil: when he catches him, he eats him up. All the year round the\ndevils are hiding in pools and bogs, but, from the night of St. Basil\n(1st January) until the Feast of Epiphany, the waters are holy, being\nsanctified through the Baptism. The devil can no longer stay in the\nwater, and he must get on to the land, where the wolf lies in wait\nfor him, and woe unto the devils who get too near the wolf.\n\nWhen God and St. Peter saw the flight of the devil, they laughed\nuntil the tears ran down their cheeks. Then God turned to St. Peter\nand said to him, \"I give these wolves now into thy care.\" Poor\nSt. Peter trembled from head to foot when he heard the charge that\nwas given to him, but God reassured him and said, \"Never fear, Peter,\nthey will not harm thee; on the contrary, they will follow thee and\nlisten to thy command, as if they were friendly dogs.\" And so it has\nremained. Once every year, on the day of the Feast of St. Peter, in\nthe winter-time, all the wolves come together to an appointed place\nto meet St. Peter. Thither he comes with a huge book in his hand, in\nwhich are written the names of all the persons who had given themselves\nover to the devil, and he tells the wolves whom they are to eat.\n\nThe three hairs which the devil had put on the wolf are of a green\ncolour, and make the wolf look ferocious, for they are the devil's\nhairs, and it is from them that the devil's fire got into the wolves'\neyes, which are lit up by it.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVIII.\n\nWHY DO THE EYES OF THE WOLF GLOW AND HIS HAIR BRISTLE?\n\nThe Story of the Wolf, God and the Devil.\n\n\nWhen God had finished the creation of the world, and had made all the\ngood animals and beasts, the devil thought he would also make some\ncreatures. He took some of the clay and made the wolf. When he had\nfinished God came to see what he had done. When he saw the brute he\nasked the devil what it was.\n\n\"Ho, thou wilt soon see what it is. Up, wolf, and go for him.\" But\nthe wolf did not stir. There he lay where the devil had fashioned\nhim. When the devil saw that the wolf did not move, that there was\nno life in him, he turned to God and said:\n\n\"Just make him go.\"\n\nAnd God said, \"Very well.\"\n\nBut before he made him go, he chipped the wolf about, and moulded\nhim and fashioned him a bit better than the devil had done. Out of\nthese chippings came the snakes and the toads. When he had finished\nshaping him, God cried:\n\n\"Up, wolf, and go for him.\"\n\nUp jumped the wolf and went for the devil, who got so frightened that\nhe ran away as fast as his feet would carry him.\n\nWhen the devil saw that the wolf was running him close he pulled\nout three hairs from his body and threw them behind him on to the\nwolf. The wolf, who up to that time was hairless and smooth, was\nsuddenly covered with thick bristles, which, in one way or another,\nwere to prevent him from running so fast after the devil. It is\nfor that reason that the wolf has such thick bristles, and his eyes\nglisten in the dark. They are the hair of the devil and the sparks\nwhich have got into him through the devil's hair. And since that\ntime when he hears the wolves howling the devil takes to his heels,\nlest they catch him as God commanded them to do.\n\nPolish, Lettish and other Slavonic variations of the legend\nconcerning the creation of the wolf by the devil are given by D\u00e4hnhardt\n(l.c. pp. 147 ff.), yet none so full as the Rumanian version. According\nto one, the devil had made the wolf so as to have a creature of his\nown. But he endeavoured in vain to call his creature to life, for he\nwould persistently say to it, \"Arise, for I have made thee.\" Only,\nhowever, when he whispered into his ear, \"Arise, God has made thee,\"\ndid the wolf spring to his feet. Then he attacked the devil, who ran\naway and escaped with difficulty.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIX.\n\nWHY DOES THE WOLF RUN AFTER THE DEVIL?\n\nThe Story of God, the Devil and the Stone.\n\n\nAccording to a curious Rumanian version from Transylvania (in\nArchiv. f. Siebenburg Landeskunde, 23, pp. 4-8, abbreviated by\nD\u00e4hnhardt, pp. 152-3), the devil went to God and said to him, \"O Lord,\nthou hast created man and so many other creatures, but thou hast not\nyet created the wolf.\" And God replied, \"Very well,\" and, showing him\na huge boulder near a forest, told him to go and say to the stone,\n\"Devil, eat the stone.\" The devil went and said, \"Stone, eat the\nwolf.\" The boulder did not move. The devil went to God and said,\n\"The stone does not move.\" \"What didst thou say?\" \"Stone, eat the\nwolf.\" \"But thou must say, 'Devil, eat the stone.'\" The devil went\nagain to the stone and said, \"Stone, eat the devil.\" Whereupon the\nstone moved and ate the devil, and in its place there stood a wolf\nwith the face of the devil. Since then there are no more devils in\nthe world, but wolves too many.\n\n\n\nThis story, as here abbreviated, is undoubtedly corrupted. The real\nform must have been at the beginning, \"Stone, eat the devil,\" but\nthe devil changed it into, \"Devil, eat the stone,\" until he spoke\nexactly as he was told, and the stone turned into a wolf.\n\nThe wolf is dreaded as the most savage beast, and could therefore only\nbe conceived by the popular imagination as the creation of the devil.\n\nIn the northern mythology there occurs the wolf Fenrir, whose father\nis Loki, the God of Fire, who will play such a decisive r\u00f4le at\nDoomsday. Hahn (No. 105) contains the following version:\n\nAfter the creation of man, the devil boasted that he could create\nsomething better. God allowed him to do so. He took some clay and\nmoulded it and made the wolf. Then God said to him, \"Give him life,\nas I have done.\" The devil started blowing into the wolf until he\ngot red and blue in the face, but all in vain. Then God took a cane\nand smote the wolf on his back, and that is why the back of the wolf\nlooks broken in the middle, and he said, \"Creature, eat thy maker.\" Up\njumped the wolf and ate the devil. (Cf. Grimm, 148.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nX.\n\nWHY THE GOAT'S KNEES ARE BARE.\n\nThe Story of God, the Fire and the Devil.\n\n\nIn the beginning the goats had wings, and used to fly about eating up\nthe tops of the trees. They did it so thoroughly that they left no\nleaf or bud, and never allowed a tree to grow up. When God saw what\nmischief they were doing, and how they were destroying all the trees,\nhe cursed them, and, taking away their wings, he said that henceforth\nthey should only be able to climb up crooked trees. And so they do.\n\nWhen they came down upon earth, finding themselves without wings,\nthey went and made a pact with the devil, that they should henceforth\nhelp one another. The devil willingly entered into an agreement with\nthem. It so happened that the devil's fire went out, and he was not\nable to rekindle it himself, so he sent the two goats to God to steal\nthe fire from him. God had lit his fire, he had put the tripod over\nthe fire, and had hung on it the bowl to cook his food in. Then he\nsat down quietly, watching the wood crackle and burn up. When the\ngoats came they started a conversation with God, speaking of this and\nspeaking of that, so that God should not see that they had come for\nthe purpose of stealing fire. When they saw they could not get on, they\ndecided to make a rush upon the fire, and to snatch a brand from it.\n\nSo they ran towards the tripod trying to snatch the fire. God, who\nknew what they were bent upon, took the ladle which was sticking in\nthe food, and with the hot stuff on it he smote the goats on their\nknees. The goats started running, and they shrieked from the pain of\nthe burning food on their knees, which burned the skin so that all\nthe hair fell out, and from that time the goats have no hair on their\nknees, and the devil's beasts they have remained to this very day.\n\n\n\nIn other South-Slavonian versions (D\u00e4hnhardt, i. 142 f.) it is the\nEvil One who invents the fire, and God is anxious to obtain it from\nhim in order to give it to mankind. The Evil One had deprived them\nof it. God sends St. Peter to the Evil One with an iron rod in his\nhands. This he was to poke in the fire until it got white hot; then\nhe was to touch some wood and the fire would leap up. Pursued by the\nEvil One, who perceived the ruse, St. Peter struck the flint before\nthe rod had got cold, and thus got the spark inside the flint. Thus\nit is that sparks fly when the flint is struck by iron.\n\n\n\nAs for the goats, the following variants and parallels are of interest:\n\nAccording to an Armenian legend of Transylvania (D\u00e4hnhardt, 154;\nWlislocki, 12), the goat is the very work of the Evil One. Jealous of\nGod, who has made all the creatures, he boasted that he also would\nmake a creature of his own. When he saw how God fashioned the lamb,\none of the last of God's creatures, he set to work to make an animal in\nthe likeness of the lamb. So he made a goat. But he wanted to make it\nmore beautiful, so he added a beard and planted some pointed horns on\nits head. Then he asked God to give life to his creation. God did so,\nand thus made for man two new animals, the good, useful and meek lamb,\nand the mischievous goat. God then took a vase, in which he had put\nthe intelligence of the animals, and, finding in it only a few drops\nof the liquid at the bottom of the vase, he said to the devil that he\nmust be careful in the use of these drops. So he dropped a few on the\nhead of the lamb, but when he was going to pour some on that of the\ngoat the devil shook the vase, and thus many more drops fell on the\nhead of the goat than on that of the lamb. The devil laughed and said,\n\"My creature is cleverer than thine.\" To which God replied, \"That\nmay be, but thy creature shall play the fool and live on scanty food.\"\n\nIn a Polish version (D\u00e4hnhardt, i. 162), the goat is made by the devil\nalmost in the same manner as he made the wolf in the tales Nos. 8,\n9. And the goat comes to life only when, after saying \"get up,\" he\nwhispers, \"by the power of God.\" When the goat rises, the devil in\nhis fury gets hold of its tail and pulls it off; and ever since the\ngoats have had no tails.\n\nIn the South-Slavonic tale, curiously enough, the sheep take the\nplace of the goat and are made by the devil, which, in the light of\nthe above version, is due to some confusion made by the story-teller\nbetween the ram and the goat. (Krauss, Sud-slav. Sagen, Leipzig 1883,\nNo. 29, p. 109.)\n\nIn a modern Greek legend, the devil made the goat, but he made the\nknees stiff, and the goats perished from hunger. One day Christ was\nwalking upon earth, and he met the devil, who showed him the goats,\nand said to him: \"I have also made something, but I cannot make it sit\ndown; its knees are so stiff; so the goats die off.\" Whereupon Christ\ntook his seal and placed it upon the goats' knees. Afterwards they\ncould easily bend them. Hence the sign of the seal upon the goats'\nknees. (Politis, No. 842; D\u00e4hnhardt, pp. 153-4.)\n\nIn these two tales we have peculiar variants to some of the incidents\nin the Rumanian version, only so far as the connection of the goat\nwith the Evil One and the bareness of the goats' knees are concerned,\nthough the explanation is totally different from--nay, opposite\nto--that given in the Rumanian version, where the bareness is the\nsign of God's punishment of the goats.\n\nA German tale (Grimm, 148) tells us: God made all the animals, even\nthe wolves, which were his dogs. The devil made the goats, which\ndestroyed the vines, the young trees, etc. The wolves then went and\nkilled the goats, and God offered to pay the devil the price of his\ndestroyed creatures, but only when all the oaks should lose their\nleaves. But the devil was told that one oak in Constantinople keeps\nits leaves all the year. He went in search of it for six months,\nand could not find it. When he returned, the other oaks had got their\nleaves again, and he got nothing. He poked out the eyes of the goats,\nand put his own in instead, and therefore they have the devil's eyes,\nand so the devil sometimes assumes their form.\n\nThese stories of the goat and the devil are probably one chapter of\nthe larger and yet unwritten book on the goat-devil in popular beliefs\nand customs. It must suffice merely to mention the \"scape-goat,\" the\ngoat-demons (seirim of the Bible), the Greek fauns and satyrs. Satan,\nworshipped under the guise of a goat in the alleged orgies of the\nwitches, is found in the record of the Inquisition in medieval\naccusations against the heretics. Is not the devil himself depicted\nin medieval imagery with the cloven hoof--of the goat and with the\nhorns of the goat? The why and wherefore is another story. It is not\nhere and now the place to enter upon it. The mischievous character\nof the goat, the amorous inclinations, the offensive smell, may to a\ncertain extent have contributed later on to justify this equation of\ngoat and devil, but there must be some other reason for making the\ngoat, if not a type, at least the friend of Satan.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXI.\n\nWHY DID NOAH GET DRUNK?\n\nThe Story of the Goat, Noah and the Vine.\n\n\nIt is said that the vine did not exist before the flood, and of\ncourse, therefore, there was no wine. The giants, whatever mischief\nthey may have done, and however wicked may have been their ways,\nat any rate were never drunk. They only drank water, which is the\neternal beverage for man and beast. When the flood came the giants and\nall the living creatures, except those whom Noah saved in the ark,\nwere destroyed. When the flood had subsided, the animals went out,\nspread themselves over the earth, and multiplied very quickly.\n\nThus from the few head of cattle, sheep and goats there grew up soon\na large number, and Noah was able to live by his cattle and his goats.\n\nOf all these animals, Noah loved the goats best, especially when he\nsaw them climbing about everywhere up the trees and up the rocks,\ngoing freely in all directions. One day Noah saw that one of the\nhe-goats left the rest alone and went his own way, and when the\nevening came he came down dancing and jumping, quite jolly; this he\nrepeated many days, and every evening he came home jumping and dancing,\nand frolicking like a madman. Noah, anxious to find out what was the\nreason of this peculiar behaviour of the goat, followed him quietly\none day, and he found out what it was. There, on one of the hillsides,\nhe saw a tree with very huge grapes, each one as big as a bucket. The\ngoat went straight to these and ate his fill. Getting drunk, he laid\nhimself down to sleep. When he woke up he started the game again,\nand so until the evening, when he returned home quite jolly.\n\nOld Noah was greatly surprised at this sight, for he had never seen\nbefore any grapes; and so, climbing up as best he could, he plucked\na bunch in order to take it home and show his family.\n\nOn his way home the heat grew unbearable, and he got very thirsty. He\nturned to the right, he turned to the left; nowhere a drop of water to\nbe seen. I do not know what he thought; but, having the grapes in his\nhand, he put one in his mouth, and sucked at it. He found the juice\nvery sweet and refreshing, so he took the other grapes and squeezed\nthe juice into his mouth. Not satisfied with that, as his thirst was\nnot yet quenched, he went back to the vine tree, and taking a whole\ncluster, he sucked it dry. When he returned, he felt somehow that his\nhead had got rather heavier than usual, and his legs, on the contrary,\nwere much lighter than before. Altogether he felt in a merry mood, and\nthough old and advanced in years, he started singing a song. Getting\nnear his house, the goat overtook him, frolicking and jumping as it\nhad done every day.\n\nWhat should enter Noah's head but to follow the example of the goat,\nfrolicking and jumping, and in that state of high merriment both\nreached the house. When Noah got near the house, he looked at himself,\nand he could not make out what had happened to him, for he had lost\nalmost all his clothes. They had fallen off him on the way. He\ncould not get into the house, but, dropping down in front of it,\nhe fell fast asleep. There his sons found him, and thinking that he\nwas dangerously ill, put him on his bed and began wailing over him,\nfor they were sure he was at death's door.\n\nThe next morning, to their astonishment, he woke hale and hearty,\nand there and then he told them all about the goat and the vine and\nthe grape and the sweet juice. Then Noah gave orders that the vine\nshould be taken from the hills and planted in his garden. Before\nhe did so, he killed the goat and poured the blood of it on to the\nroots in remembrance of the fact that it was through the goat that\nhe discovered the vine.\n\nThus far the Rumanian story, which, however, requires completion. As\nfar as it goes it agrees almost verbatim with a story found in a very\nancient Hebrew collection of legends (Midrash Abkhir); the sequel\nthere is as follows: When Noah started planting the vine, the devil\ncame and asked to be allowed to take a part in it. Noah willingly\nagreed. After killing the goat, the devil brought a lion, whose blood\nwas also used to water the roots of the vine, and finally brought a\nswine, and his blood was also poured over the roots of the vine.\n\nFor this reason it comes to pass that, when a man drinks a little\nwine he gets merry and jumps and frolics like a young kid; and if\nhe drinks a little more, he becomes hot and roars like the lion; and\nhis last stage is reached when he wallows in the mire like the pig,\nfor he has drunk the blood of all of them.\n\nHere, then, we have a tale which shows how a man can become a beast\nwithout changing his human form, not like all the other tales, in\nwhich he remains a bird or a beetle to the end of his days.\n\nA peculiar transformation of this legend is found in the following\nvariant, in which the bones of the animals are substituted for their\nblood. The whole setting is different from the more primitive type\npreserved in the Rumanian.\n\n\n\nWhen Saint Dionysios was still young, he once made a journey through\nGreece, in order to go to Naxia (the isle of Naxos), but the way\nbeing very long, he got tired and sat down on a stone to rest. While\nhe was sitting, and looking down in front of himself, he saw at his\nfeet a little plant sprouting from the earth, which seemed to him so\nbeautiful that he resolved at once to take it with him and to plant\nit. He took the plant out of the ground and carried it away; but,\nas the sun was very hot just then, he feared that it might dry up\nbefore his arrival in Naxia. Then he found the small bone of a bird,\nand put the plant into it and went on. In his holy hand, however,\nthe plant grew so quickly that it peeped forth from both sides of\nthe bone. Then he again feared that it would dry up, and thought of\na remedy. He found the bone of a lion, which was thicker than the\nbird's bone, and he put the bird's bone, together with the plant,\ninto the bone of the lion. But the plant quickly grew, even out of\nthe lion's bone. Then he found the bone of a donkey, which was still\nthicker, and he put the plant, together with the bird's and lion's\nbones, into the donkey's bone, and so he came to Naxia. When he was\nplanting it, he saw that the roots had wound thickly round the bones\nof the bird, the lion and the donkey; and, as he could not take it\nout without injuring the roots, he planted it in the ground as it\nwas, and it quickly grew up and produced, to his delight, the finest\ngrapes, from which he made the first wine, which he gave to men to\ndrink. But what a wonder did he see now! When men drank of it, they\nsang in the beginning like merry little birds; drinking more of it,\nthey became strong as lions; and drinking still more, they became\nstupid like donkeys. (Hahn, Albn. M\u00e4rchen, ii. 76; v. also Thumb,\nBulletin of the John Rylands Library, Manchester, vol. ii. No. 1,\nOct. 1914, p. 38 and note 50).\n\nI add here a Christmas carol about the shepherd and the sheep,\nfor it seems that at the basis of it lies the idea of God giving a\nspecial blessing to the sheep. It is a second stage after the idea\nof creation of the sheep by God.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXII.\n\nGOD AND THE LAMB.\n\nA Christmas Carol.\n\n\n    On the flowery mountain,\n    O Lord, good Lord,\n    Nica feeds his flock.\n    He feeds them,\n    He drives them,\n    He touches the foremost,\n    He gathers the hindmost,\n    And leads them into the pasture.\n    But where has he fixed the pasture?\n    On the top of the mountains,\n    Under the yellow plane tree.\n    A summer breeze is blowing,\n    Shaking the leaves,\n    And scattering them over the plain.\n    The sheep grew excited,\n    And they made a great noise.\n    They bleated, and the bleating reached the heaven and the earth.\n    The Holy God heard them,\n    And he came down to them,\n    And thus he spake with his mouth:\n    \"Halloo, brave Nica, whose are these sheep,\n    Which bleat so beautifully,\n    So beautifully and devoutly?\"\n    Nica the brave replied:\n    \"O dear merciful God,\n    As thou hast come and askest me,\n    I will answer truly\n    To whom these sheep belong:\n    They are thine,\n    As well as mine.\n    I feed them;\n    Thou guardest them.\n    I milk them;\n    Thou multipliest them.\n    I shear them;\n    Thou makest them grow.\"\n    The good God replied\n    And said to Nica the brave:\n    \"May they be given to thee\n    From me as a gift--\n    From a good father\n    To a clever son--\n    For thou art sweet of tongue.\n    But thou shalt give me,\n    On St. John's day,\n    Two lambs;\n    On St. George's day\n    One suckling lamb;\n    And on Ascension day\n    A cake of cheese.\"\n    Nica the brave\n    May live in health,\n    He and his brothers\n    And his parents.\n    May God keep you all.\n\n\nThis refers no doubt to the creation of the sheep by God--as mentioned\nbefore--and the manner in which the sheep were expected to help Adam\nafter the fall. (v. Wolf Story No. 7.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXIII.\n\nTHE HART AND THE MAKING OF THE WORLD.\n\nA Christmas Carol.\n\n\n    Slowly, slowly, O Lord,\n    The little river Olt\n    Has grown big,\n    So big\n    That the borders cannot be seen.\n    But what is coming\n    Down the Olt?\n    Tall pines\n    And dry fir trees.\n    Among the pines,\n    Among the fir trees,\n    A three-year-old stag\n    Is swimming.\n    The stag swims,\n    And lifts up its horns.\n    On the top of his horns\n    A cradle is hanging and swinging,\n    A green cradle made of silk,\n    Woven in six strands.\n    But who sits in the cradle?\n    The maiden, the young girl,\n    With her tresses hanging down the back,\n    Shining\n    Like the holy sun.\n    She sits and sews,\n    And embroiders\n    A collar for her father,\n    A kerchief for her brother.\n    But she stops and does not sew,\n    Nor does her mouth keep quiet,\n    For she is singing:\n    \"Slowly, slowly,\n    Old stag,\n    Slowly, slowly be thou swimming.\n    Do not hinder my work.\n    And the waves are rising;\n    They might wash me off and carry me off thy horns.\n    Slowly, slowly,\n    Dear old stag,\n    For I have three brothers at court,\n    Where they learn many things.\n    All the three are noted hunters,\n    And good falconers.\n    They will discover thee,\n    And run after me.\n    With their falcons they will pursue thee.\n    With their dogs they will worry thee.\n    With their lances they will prick thee.\n    Slowly, slowly,\n    Dear old stag--\n    For if my brothers find thee,\n    They will make my wedding feast\n    With thy poor flesh.\n    With thy bones\n    They will build\n    My little house.\n    With thy skin\n    They will cover\n    My little home.\n    With thy blood\n    They will paint\n    My little courts.\n    And with thy head\n    They will celebrate\n    The holy feast.\n    They will place it\n    Over the gate,\n    At the entrance of the little garden.\n    Of thy hoofs\n    They will make\n    Crystal cups,\n    Out of which\n    Nobles drink.\n    On rare occasions--\n    On Christmas day and Epiphany--\n    When the whole world rejoices,\n    I drink to the health of these houses\n    For many years.\n\n\nThe mythical stag carrying on his horns a girl who is like the sun\nis similar to the bull of Mithras and to the bull in the Avesta,\nout of which the world was created. The stag provides here all the\nelements for the building of a house and for the merriment of the\nnobles. Each part of its body is accounted for.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXIV.\n\nWHY IS THE FLY CALLED THE DEVIL'S HORSE?\n\nThe Fight of St. George and the Devil.\n\n\nIn Rumania, the dragon-fly is known as the devil's horse or perhaps the\ndragon's horse. It is also known as St. George's horse. The following\nlegends explain this peculiar name.\n\n\n\nWe are told that in olden times there was continual strife between God\nand the devil. God, however, who is peacefully inclined, let the devil\nplay his game as long as possible. He thought that perhaps after some\ntime the devil might become better behaved. But what can you expect\nof the devil? He is what he is, and neither good nor bad treatment\nwill change him. And so it proved even to God. He waited a very long\ntime to see him quiet down and become more satisfied. But no sooner\nhad God granted him one thing, than the devil asked for another, and\nso he went on asking continually. When at last God saw that nothing\ncould be done with Satan, he armed his host of angels and gave each\none a beautiful horse to ride on. One morning, at early dawn, they\nall mounted their horses and, led by St. George, who was riding at\nthe head of the host, they started the fight with the devil.\n\nAfter a time St. George--who rode a horse, which was like unto none\nof the others, wondrously beautiful--felt suddenly that his horse was\nbacking instead of going ahead. So St. George found himself involved\namong his own host, and some other horses following his example,\nstarted moving backwards and hitting those who were riding behind\nthem. He then suddenly heard the voice of God telling him to dismount,\nfor his horse had been bewitched by the devil. \"If that is the case,\"\nsaid St. George, \"then be it the devil's own,\" and he let it go. And\nso it happened. Scarcely had it made three steps when it was changed\ninto a flying insect, which we, upon this earth, call the devil's horse\n(libellula depressa).\n\n\n\nA similar legend must have been current in West Europe and in England,\nas otherwise the English name of Dragon-fly could not be explained. At\nthe root of it there must be some legend of St. George and the Dragon,\nin addition to the fight between the hosts of heaven and the army of\nSatan. This part must have entirely dropped out, and the knowledge and\nrecollection of the part which St. George played was connected either\nwith the worm, i.e. dragon probably transformed into an insect, or the\nhorse of St. George, believed to have been a winged horse. To us here,\nhowever, the first part of the legend is of the utmost interest,\nfor it is nothing less than the Biblical legend of the rebellion\nof Satan which led to the combat and to the fall. Satan had lost\nParadise, and ever since then he had been yearning for the light\nof Paradise, either by attempting to steal the heavenly fire, as in\nthe Goat stories, or by stealing the sun and moon as in some of the\nChristmas carols. Thereby he entered into a contest with the heavenly\npower. Though these variants do not contain much of the legendary\nfauna, they form an important part in the mythological conception\nwhich lies at the root of many of these creation-tales and legends.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXV.\n\nTHE DEVIL STEALING THE SUN.\n\nA Christmas Carol.\n\n\n    In the glory of the heavens,\n    On the outskirts of Paradise,\n    Close to the throne of God--\n    The throne of Judgment--\n    Where the whole world gathers,\n    Tables are decked,\n    And the saints sit round the table.\n    John St. John,\n    Ilie St. Ilie,\n    Peter St. Peter,\n    With all the other saints,\n    Are feasting joyously.\n    The Lord came then to the table,\n    Sat down at the table,\n    Blessed the bread,\n    And began\n    To eat.\n    They were eating,\n    Or not eating,\n    For on a sudden\n    They lifted their eyes,\n    And whom should they see from afar?\n    The archangel Gabriel\n    And the angel Michael,\n    Who were coming, always coming,\n    Drawing nearer and nearer, and then they reached the table.\n    They bent their knees before the Lord,\n    Bent their knees and prayed.\n    And said the following:\n    \"Dost thou know, O Lord, or dost thou not know,\n    What has happened in Paradise?\n    What we have seen and what has been done?\n    No sooner had St. Peter gone,\n    And Ilie followed suit,\n    And St. John had left us,\n    When the heathen gods, realising it,\n    Stormed Paradise,\n    Entered inside,\n    Robbed it and\n    Have taken away the crown of Paradise.\n    They have taken the moon,\n    With its light.\n    They have taken the twilight,\n    With its glimmer.\n    They have taken the stars,\n    With their flowers.\n    They have taken the sun,\n    With its treasures.\n    The heathen gods have further taken away\n    The throne of judgment,\n    Before which the whole world must appear.\n    They have carried it all away into hell.\n    Paradise is darkened,\n    Whilst hell is lit up.\n    We have fought as much as we could fight,\n    But they overpowered us.\n    They refuse to give up the spoil.\n    We have now come to tell you,\n    To bring our prayer as a sacrifice,\n    That you may render us help,\n    And come back with us to Paradise.\"\n    When the Lord heard it,\n    He made a sign to the saints,\n    And turned his eyes upon the angels,\n    And went with them\n    To bear them company.\n    First St. Ilie,\n    Who is the most powerful saint;\n    And second to him St. Peter,\n    To smite the heathen gods with drought.\n    They followed him.\n    They started,\n    John baptising,\n    St. Ilie striking with his lightning flashes,\n    St. Peter drenching with rains and downpours.\n    When they arrived at hell\n    St. Ilie struck with his lightning;\n    St. Peter cursed them;\n    St. John baptised them.\n    The idols were seized with trembling.\n    They fell on their knees,\n    And submitted to St. John.\n    The archangel Gabriel,\n    Together with the angel Michael,\n    Entered hell,\n    Took everything\n    In their arms,\n    And brought them back to Paradise.\n    Holy moon with its light,\n    The twilight\n    With its rays,\n    The stars\n    With their flowers,\n    The sun\n    With its treasures,\n    The throne of judgment,\n    Before which all men must appear,\n    They brought them back to Paradise,\n    And Paradise again shone brightly.\n    Hell was darkened.\n    They turned to the Lord,\n    And prayed:\n    \"May, O Lord, thy will\n    And thy kingdom last forever.\n    To your health for many years to come.\"\n\n\nThis carol is full of apocryphal reminiscences and mythical\nelements. The contest between Satan and God, and between the evil and\ngood powers is here described under the form of Satan, stealing the\nsun from heaven and plunging the world into darkness, but the angels,\nwith the prophet Ilie (Elijah) at their head, are able to defeat the\nmachinations of Satan, and to restore the sun to Paradise. Cf. among\nothers the English poem, \"The Harrowing of Hell,\" and the literature\nconnected with the Gospel of Nicodemus. Wesselofsky has studied the\ntransformation of the prophet Elijah into the Ilie of the popular\nfaith, who rides the heavens with a thunderbolt in his hands, and\nsmites the devil wherever he finds him. It is a combination of the\nprophet Elijah with a modified form of the Greek Helias. The archangels\nGabriel and Michael are here in their proper place, whilst in the\nstory of the dragon-fly they have been supplanted by St. George. We\nshall find the same saint disguised as a knight and almost forgotten\nas a saint in the legend of the Fly of Kolumbatsh, No. 21.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXVI.\n\nWHY IS IT CALLED THE BULL-FLY?\n\nThe Story of God, the Sun and the Bulls.\n\n\nIn those days when God used to walk through fields and lanes carrying\nhis knapsack on his back and feeding his herds and flocks, his oxen\nand cows, his sheep and goats, it is told that, once upon a time,\nfeeling very tired, he went to sleep with his head upon a hillock\nof earth. He slept for a long while, and woke up very late. Before\nlying down, he told the older and stronger oxen to take care to\nbehave themselves well, and also to look after the younger ones,\nso that there should not be any fight or trouble among them. But no\nsooner had he closed his eyes, when such a shouting and bellowing\nwas started that one might think that the hills were falling and the\nearth was breaking up. The Lord sprang upon his feet as if he had\nbeen touched by fire, for the holy sun had come to him, and waking\nhim up had said:--\"O Lord, these creatures of yours have bellowed all\nnight long so loud and so vigorously that you might have thought that\nthey intended driving me away from the face of the earth. Look and\nsee what they have done to me. They have fought against me so long\nthat they have well-nigh torn my clothes into shreds and tatters,\nand with great difficulty I saved myself behind that flower-bed.\"\n\n\"What beetles are you speaking of?\" asked the Lord.\n\n\"I mean your oxen which have behaved so badly. They are not worthy\nto be anything else but horned beetles.\"\n\n\"Let it be so! But I must first look into the matter, and if I find\nthem guilty, I will punish them just as you wish.\"\n\nAnd as the Lord had said, so he did. For, finding them guilty, he drove\nthem away into the forest. There they climbed up the oak-trees, and\nsuddenly they all became horned beetles, bull-flies, with larger and\nsmaller horns, viz. the cows became cow-flies with smaller horns and\nthe oxen bull-flies with larger horns, through God's punishment. That\nis why they are called the Lord's bulls and cows (Lucanus cervus).\n\n\n\nAccording to another legend, the bull-flies were originally the angels\nwho refused to help St. Elias in fastening the felloes to his fiery\nchariot. Therefore their mouths have been closed as with a vice,\nfor ever, so that they be no longer able to speak, and that is why\nthey are also called wheelwrights.\n\nThe horns of these bull-flies are used by women, who tie them into\ntheir hair against the evil eye. The sharp points of these horns\nhave the same magical properties as the sharp points of the coral,\nor of the horns, fingers, etc., which figure so largely in the magical\ncharms and amulets against the workings of the evil eye.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXVII.\n\nWHY IS THE SAW-FLY RED?\n\nThe Story of Ileana, Voinic and the Archangel Gabriel.\n\n\nThe following legend is told of this little beetle.\n\nI do not know how long ago it was that Ileana Cosinziana (Ileana the\nfay) walked about with her young, beautiful, and brave hero (Voinic\ninflorit), and, singing with a loud voice, they filled mountain and\nvalleys with their music. It must have been long ago, for at that time\nthe archangel Gabriel also walked the earth in the form of a very\nold man, leaning on iron crutches. He went about warning the people\nthat God would send upon them a new flood of foreign tongues and\nwild nations, if they would not stop their quarrels and put an end\nto their curses. After having travelled through many countries and\nempires, St. Gabriel found himself one day at the top of a cliff,\nso high that it made your head turn when you looked down. There\nhe met Ileana Cosinziana, who was weeping and singing a doleful\ntune. With her was Voinic inflorit, whom she had met in the land of\nthe fairies, just as God makes men meet in their journeys. \"How far\nart thou going?\" asked Voinic, seeing the old man. \"Much farther than\nthou wilt go,\" replied the archangel Gabriel. The young man looked up,\nfeeling wroth with the answer. And quite naturally so, when he heard a\nvery old man boasting that he was going much farther than he. Was he\nnot a young sturdy man, and more likely to walk ever so much further\nthan a bent-down old fellow grey of hair? \"O old man, you must take\nme for a weakling, when you say that I cannot walk as far as you do.\"\n\n\"Young man, your sweet, strong voice will not be heard any more a\nyear hence.\"\n\n\"And why?\"\n\n\"Because such is the will of God.\"\n\n\"Yes, that might be so if you were the brother of Christ,\" replied\nthe young man, sneering.\n\n\"I may not be the brother of Christ, but that of St. Peter I may well\nbe. If you do not believe me, let us enter a wager that a year hence\nwe will meet here again. But you will be weak and broken, much more\nso than you think me to be now.\"\n\n\"Well, be it so, but woe betide thee if I win the wager.\"\n\n\"So it shall be.\"\n\nAnd wishing one another good-bye, each went his own way, bent on\nwinning the wager.\n\n\"Who was that daring old man?\" asked the Ileana; \"it seems to me that\nhe is not so old as his grey hair betokens. He is a valiant man. God\nknows who he may be, but one thing is certain, he is not an old man.\"\n\n\"How did you know it?\"\n\n\"Well, when he put out his hand, he gripped mine with so much strength\nthat he very nigh burnt my soul out of me with the fire of his hand.\"\n\nWhen the young Voinic heard it, he got so angry that he was more like\na wild beast than a human being, and being overpowered by his fury,\ngot hold of her by the hair of her head and hurled her down the cliff\nso that she broke into a thousand pieces. He then began to run away\nso fast that the earth seemed to fly away under his feet. And thus\nhe continued running through many lands and many countries, until\nthe year had come round when he was to meet the old man again. On\nthe last day of the year, Voinic remembered the wager, and looking\ninto the water at the bottom of a well, he saw himself much weaker\nand older than the old man had looked a year ago. In his anger he\nthrew himself into the well. But, in accordance with the will of God,\nthe water would not keep him, and cast him out. He had got very old\nindeed, for the thoughts and worries had cut deep furrows into his\nface; his hair from black, turned white as the snow. This was because\nin his fury and in an unlucky hour he had killed his beloved Ileana\nby throwing her down the cliff.\n\nThe archangel Gabriel, who knew all that had happened, changed into\na young man beautiful as the sun, valiant as a king and brave as a\nlion. He was mounted on a charger black as the night and swift as the\nwind. Thus arrayed, he came to the cliff where they had arranged to\nmeet. Voinic noticed that against his will he had also come to that\nspot. How great then was his fright when, instead of a decrepit old\nman, he found there so valiant a knight.\n\n\"Good morning, Voinic.\"\n\n\"All hail! I am no longer a hero full of sap; I am now an old weak\nman.\"\n\n\"He, he, seest thou now that what I had told thee has come to pass? I\nhave grown young and thou hast grown old. So it is, for who can\nalter the will of God? He can do what he likes, and man must submit\nto his decrees. So it is, indeed, but how now about our wager? Where\nis that beautiful maiden of thine, in whom thou didst believe more\nthan in God?\"\n\n\"She died soon after we met.\"\n\n\"True, she is dead, for thou, O wretch, hast killed her.\"\n\n\"I assuredly did not; she died by the will of God.\"\n\n\"Oh no, thou hast thrown her down the cliff. I know it well, for I\nhave seen the rut on the cliff she fell down.\"\n\n\"That is not true, for I have buried her with the assistance of the\npriest of the next village. If thou dost not believe, come with me,\nand I will show thee the grave.\"\n\n\"This is an infamous lie. Thou hast murdered her. Thou come and I\nwill show thee her real grave and her blood.\"\n\nAnd, getting hold of him, he took him down and showed him a place\nwhich seemed covered with red blood. But it was no blood. It was\na vast number of small red beetles. \"Out of the blood of Ileana,\nseest thou, have come these little flies.\"\n\nWhen Voinic heard this, he was seized with such a great fright that\nhe became changed from the old bent man that he was into a small\nblack insect, which unto this very day cries for his lost beloved\nIleana. The people call it the little cricket, or rather the bull\nor cow of the Lord (Lygaeus equestris). The little red beetles which\ncome out of the blood of Ileana they also call Easter beetle, for it\nwas on Easter Day that she was thrown down the cliff.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXVIII.\n\nWHY DOES THE SAW-FLY LIVE IN STABLES?\n\nThe Story of St. Mary and the Miserly Farmer.\n\n\nAnother legend of a totally different character is also told of this\nlittle beetle.\n\n\n\nWhen the Holy Mother gave birth to Jesus, she had not enough milk\nin her breasts to suckle the child. Next to her on the right lived a\nvery rich farmer who had a large number of cows. So the mother Mary\nsent to him, and asked him to give her a little milk, as much as was\nnecessary to feed her little baby. But rich farmers are, as a rule,\nvery stingy. So he replied, \"I am not going to give my good milk to\na witch to bewitch my cows and take away their gift.\"\n\nThe Holy Mother, on hearing his words, got very angry, especially when\nshe heard that he had called her a witch. But she kept her counsel,\nand went to the neighbour on the left, who had only one cow. He was\na kind-hearted man, and gave her at once a bowl full of milk. When\nshe left, she blessed him and said: \"On the morrow thou shalt not\nknow what to do with the milk,\" i.e. he would have so much milk that\nhe would not know how to handle it. And so it happened. When, on the\nnext morning, he entered the stables he found them full of beautiful\nfat kine, from which the milk was running, so rich were they.\n\nBut the stingy neighbour the Holy Mother cursed, and said: \"On the\nmorrow thy stable shall be empty, and in lieu of cows, beetles shall\nbe there.\" And so also it happened. When he entered the stables the\nnext morning, he found them empty, and instead of the cows, which\nwere no longer there, the stables were full of little red flies with\nblack spots on their backs, crawling up the walls and filling the\nmanger. And that is why they are called the cows and oxen of the Lord.\n\n\n\nTo obtain abundance of milk peasant women in the Bukovina go on\na Tuesday evening to a place where there are a number of these\ninsects. The next morning, before sunrise, they go there again and,\ntaking a number of them, bring them home, chop them up with their\nchoppers and, mixing them with the food, give them to the cows to\neat. The cows will then yield much milk.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXIX.\n\nWHY IS THE LADY-BIRD DAINTY?\n\nThe Story of the Wicked Maiden and the Archangel Michael.\n\n\nIn olden times, when the men were not yet so wicked and bad, there\nwas no hell, for the good God saw that it would remain empty, as there\nwould be no one to go there. The people were happy and grateful, and\nsatisfied with whatever God gave them. It did not enter their minds to\ncomplain of God's wisdom and love. After a time the people multiplied\nso much that they could no longer have enough of anything. So they\nbegan to quarrel with one another. Those who had nothing, without\nknowing that they were doing anything wrong, began to demand whatever\nthey wanted from the wealthy ones. They did not know that it was\nforbidden to take another man's property. For up till then no one knew\nwhat sin was. The Allmerciful God, who sees and knows everything,\nnoting that strife and quarrels increased more and more among men,\nsent his trusty servant, the archangel Michael, to awaken mankind\nto the sense of sin, and to train them to good deeds. The archangel\nwent among the people, enlightened their minds, and told them all\nabout sin and wrong-doing, and what they had to do in order to avoid\nsin. That was just the knowledge that the people were lacking; but\nno sooner did they know what evil was, than, curiously enough, they\ntook to wrong-doing. Jealousy, greed, strife, and murder were born\namong them. When God saw the obstinacy and perverseness of mankind,\nhe let them go their own way to do whatever they liked, even if they\nacted against his wishes. In order to punish them, however, he decided\nnot to allow them to get into Paradise. At the edge of the garden he\nmade a deep well; so deep that it was very dark, almost black. He then\ntook a fiery morning star, and cast him into the depth of the well,\nthus filling it with burning coals. And then he turned every wicked\nman into that fire so that he might repent. He called that place\nHell: and so it has remained to this day. In order that men should\nknow that God knows how to reward them, he at times left the gate of\nParadise open, so that everyone, if he liked, could enter into it\nand see how beautiful it was. He also opened the gates of Hell, so\nthat they might also see the tortures and hear the cries of the wicked.\n\nMany people went and looked, and when they looked into Paradise, their\nhearts swelled with joy; but when they went and looked into Hell,\ntheir hearts got as small as a flea on account of the great fright\nthey got, when they saw how severely God punished the sinner. They\nall repented of their evil ways, all of them, great and small, except\none single person, who on no account would repent. This one was a\ngirl as beautiful as an angel, and clever beyond comparison. She was\nstrong, with a fine body, round and sleek as no other, and she had a\nhead so beautiful that you might believe it was a picture. Her long\nblack hair, soft like silk, shone like the feathers of a raven. Her\neyes were black and sparkling--she could almost burn you up with her\nlook--her mouth had lips as red as the berries of the field--her cheeks\nwere white and smooth as snow lit up with two blood-red roses. I do\nnot know--by God I do not--where there is anyone who would not have\nfallen in love with her. God sent the archangel Michael to take her\nout of this world and put her in Hell, there to repent of her sins\nof obstinacy and perversity. He went, but when he looked at her,\nhe could not utter a single word. He felt as though he had a knot\nin his throat when he was to tell her that she must prepare for the\njourney. For he knew how terrible it is in Hell. So he returned to\nHeaven without taking the girl with him to throw her into the abysmal\ndepths. When God saw him so sad, he asked him what was the cause of it.\n\n\"O Lord,\" said the archangel, \"I have fulfilled all thy commands\nexcept one, which I could not fulfil; I had pity on the beauty of\nthat girl. She is so beautiful that you cannot help feeling full\nof pity, and to feel a sweet shiver passing through you when you\nbehold her. If it be possible, O Lord, let her live on for a while,\nperchance she will repent.\"\n\n\"O my son Michael, thou dost not know that thy pity will cause me much\ntrouble and worry. Just look down and see. Since thou hast left her,\nshe has increased the number of the wicked and sinful. For whoever\nlooks at her is seized with lust. Everyone thinks only of her eyes and\nher face. When I sent thee, she was the only one left who was wicked,\nfor she alone was possessed of pride, obstinacy and perverseness. Now\nthe number has grown.\"\n\n\"O, Lord, if it be only possible, do not uproot that example of\nwomankind, for she is beautiful, and it is not likely that another\nlike her will ever be born.\"\n\n\"Very well, then, I will let her live on, perchance she will repent and\nget better; but if she does not grow better at the end of one year,\nI will send thee again, and then thou wilt throw her down into the\ndepths of Hell.\"\n\n\"Well, let thy will be done.\"\n\nAnd with these words they separated, God going to mend the hinges of\nthe world, and the archangel to teach and to enlighten the mortals. So,\ngoing through many countries, walking on foot or riding in a car,\nwhen a year had past he came at last again to the house of the\nbeautiful maiden. There was a vast multitude assembled before her\nhouse. He pushed his way among the people to see at what they were\nlooking. The beautiful maiden was enticing the people to follow only\npleasure and pride.\n\n\"It is not good,\" so she spoke, \"to believe only in what God and his\ncounsellors tell us. We must do what we think best, for no evil will\nhappen to us.\"\n\nWhen the archangel Michael heard these words, he grew very furious,\nand, with a mighty effort, he got near her, so as to seize her and\nhurl her into the fire of Hell.\n\n\"Do not carry her to Hell,\" said the voice of God; \"for she might\nstart fresh mischief and wickedness there also, and engender strife:\nshe had better be changed into some insignificant insect.\"\n\nWhen the archangel heard the command, he got hold of her by the hair\nof her head, and he whirled her round so many times that she became\nas small as a speck; and then, throwing her away, she turned into\na small red insect with black points on her wings, which was called\nBubureaza (Coccinella septempundata). To this very day, when you put\nher on your finger, she will show you the way you are to go, but it\nis better for men to do the reverse and go in the opposite direction;\nfor she leads one only to evil.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXX.\n\nWHY DOES THE GAD-FLY STING THE CATTLE?\n\nThe Story of God, St. Peter and the Lazy Shepherd.\n\n\nIn olden times God and St. Peter used to walk about in the world, to\nsee what was happening, and how the world was going on. And after they\nhad seen what happened in one province, they used to go to another.\n\nOnce upon a time, after leaving a certain village, they got into\na deep and dark forest. Walking along for a while, they lost their\nway, and did not know how to get out of it. Tired and hungry, they\nwalked on, lost in that thick and gloomy wood, when suddenly before\nthem they saw a field, in which grass and flowers were growing and\nherds of cattle were feeding. The cowherd lay fast asleep under the\nshadow of a tree. He could take it easily, for the cattle were not\nsuffering from flies, and were wandering quietly about the field. God\nand St. Peter rejoiced greatly when they saw a man lying there. They\nwent up to him and woke him, and asked him to tell them the way which\nwould take them out of the forest. The cowherd, being asked by God\nwhich was the quickest road, did not even lift up his head to give a\npolite answer. But lying outstretched on the grass, he merely moved\nhis right leg and, half asleep and lazy as he was, and pointing in\none direction, said, \"If you wish to get out to the world of men,\njust go that way and you will get there.\" Then, turning over on the\nother side, he again fell asleep.\n\nGod and St. Peter, resenting the rudeness of the cowherd, said, \"Are\nthese, then, thy manners? Very well, thou wilt no longer be lazy from\nthis day onwards. Thy cattle will no longer feed quietly; the gad-fly,\nwhich I am sending, will sting them, and they will run like mad whither\ntheir feet and their eyes will carry them.\" And so it happened. The\ngad-fly came and the cows and oxen suddenly started running like mad\nin all directions, and so it has remained to this very day.\n\nThe cowherd, when he saw the cattle running like mad things with their\ntails in the air, jumped up like one stung to madness, and started\nrunning after them to bring them back. But in vain, for the cattle,\nwhich had run away as quickly as you strike a spark from the flint,\nentered into a swamp.\n\nAfter they had thus punished the cowherd, God and St. Peter went on\nwalking without knowing whither they were going. So again, after a\nlong walk in that same forest, they came to another meadow, where a\nshepherd tended his flock of sheep. But the sheep were running all\nthe time so fast that you could not see their legs. Hither and thither\nthey went, and the shepherd after them, out of breath, and the sweat\nrunning down his face, hoping that he might get them together. But the\nsheep were as if they had been bewitched, so fast did they run. And\nwhilst the shepherd could scarcely keep on his legs, and the sweat was\nstanding on his forehead like beads, God and St. Peter approached him\nand asked him which was the way they were to go to come back to this\nworld. Although he was dead tired and hot, the shepherd none the less\nstopped still and, wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt, said:\n\n\"Please, take that way, for if you follow that road, you will soon\nget to the end of the forest.\"\n\nThey took the way he showed them, and soon they found themselves in\nthis world. And God said to his companion:\n\n\"From this day onward, the flock of this shepherd, who has given us\ngood advice, so courteously, shall no longer suffer from the gad-fly\n(and the running madness), and they shall only run at times of rain and\nwind. They will henceforth feed quietly, and the shepherd also will be\nable to sit down and play his pipe.\" And from that day on the sheep\nfeed quietly, and the shepherd can tend them in peace and comfort,\nfor the sheep do not suffer from the gad-fly (Hypoderma bovis),\nwhilst the cowherds must weary their legs, as otherwise their cattle\nwould disappear.\n\n\n\nThere is a Macedonian variation:\n\nOnce upon a time God changed into a very old man. Walking one day in\na terrific heat, he met a cowherd and asked him for a drop of water,\nfor he said he would die of thirst. \"Die,\" replied the cowboy, and\nwould neither give him a drop of water nor tell him where to find it.\n\nGod found afterwards a shepherd hotly pursuing his sheep, and the\nperspiration running down him. \"Give me a drop of water, for I die,\"\nsaid God.\n\n\"I give you willingly, but my sheep have run away and I do not know\nhow to gather them\"; and going to a fountain at the foot of a hill\nhe took some in his fur cap and gave him to drink. God gathered the\nsheep, and blessed them to be God's flock, who should never henceforth\nseparate on the road or be scattered. Remembering the cowherd, he\ncursed him and said: \"The gad-fly is always to scatter his herd just\nwhen the heat is greatest, so that he may run like mad.\"\n\nTherefore the sheep always walk together in flocks, and gather together\nin hot summer weather in the shade. And for that reason the oxen are\ndriven mad by the fly in the hot season, and they run like mad as\nif they were ridden by devils. The cowherd has to run after them,\nand there are but few fountains in Thessaly from which to slacken\nhis thirst.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXI.\n\nWHY DOES THE FLY OF KOLUMBATSH POISON THE CATTLE?\n\nThe Ballad of the Knight and the Dragon.\n\n\nNumerous ballads recount the same story of the origin of the Poison-fly\nof Kolumbatsh, with slight variations, of which the most complete is\nthe following:\n\n\n    High up in the green forest\n    What does appear?\n    High up in the forest of Cerna,\n    At the ford of Rushava,\n    Have gone forth, verily gone forth,\n    From some village nigh,\n    Very early in the morning,\n    Through dew and mist,\n    Three sisters,\n    Beautiful maidens.\n    The elder sister,\n    Dressed sweetly,\n    Fair like a pink flower,\n    Surpassing a fairy,\n    When you espy her breast,\n    White like a lily.\n    The younger sister,\n    Darling Maria,\n    Full of pride\n    In her eyebrows,\n    In her eyes and lashes,\n    And when you look into her eyes,\n    You are like one smitten by the evil eye.\n    The youngest sister,\n    Like unto a dove,\n    Ana Ghirosana,\n    Like the fairy Sanziana,\n    Surpassed them all.\n    She is like the evening star,\n    And the star of morn,\n    The flower of flowers.\n    They played and frolicked,\n    And gathered flowers.\n    They made wreaths,\n    And while they twisted them they sang.\n    Through the forest the singing was heard.\n    Thus they went on,\n    Until, overcome,\n    The youngest lay down,\n    And went to sleep.\n    The elder two,\n    The sisters twain,\n    When night arrived,\n    To their home they turned.\n    They left the youngest behind,\n    Who was fast asleep,\n    Until the dawn appeared,\n    When she called for them.\n    But none heard her,\n    Except the little cuckoo,\n    Beautiful and brave,\n    Who flitted among the trees,\n    And sang with a loud voice.\n    \"Dear Cuckoo mine,\n    Listen to me, you brave one!\n    Lead me out into the open,\n    To the road of carriages,\n    That I find my sisters,\n    For I will be unto thee a cousin!\"\n    \"My sweet one!\n    I do not know\n    Whether I will lead thee into the open or not,\n    For I have many cousins,\n    As many as there are flowers on the mountain!\"\n    \"Cuckoo, cuckoo, listen, O brave one!\n    Lead me into the open,\n    To the road of cars.\n    I will be a sister unto thee.\"\n    The cuckoo replied:\n    \"No, my child, no,\n    For I have sisters as many\n    As flowers that bloom in spring.\"\n    \"Cuckoo, cuckoo, listen, O brave one!\n    Lead me into the open,\n    That I may find my sisters,\n    For I will be a wife unto thee\n    As long as I live.\"\n    \"O no, for I am not a young man\n    Able to wed.\n    I am only a little bird,\n    And I know not of a beloved one.\"\n    Then suddenly appeared from a rock\n    The most horrible fright,\n    Gruesome and cruel--\n    Twisting and crawling across the path--\n    A terrible dragon.\n    Running after her,\n    He coiled himself round her,\n    Twisted his tail\n    Round her waist; he encircled her.\n    She was seized with terror,\n    And shrieked aloud.\n    The forest resounded.\n    High up the Cerna,\n    Very high up the river,\n    Many a brave has passed,\n    And all were laid low.\n    A valiant Ruman,\n    Ioan Iorgovan,\n    Whose arms were like clubs,\n    Was riding upon a horse,\n    Swift as the eagle,\n    Followed by two little dogs,\n    Keen and quick.\n    He was riding gaily,\n    Walking up the Cerna\n    Quite quickly,\n    His horse prancing,\n    Encouraging his dogs,\n    And waving his lance.\n    He suddenly heard a noise,\n    But he did not understand,\n    However much he strained,\n    Whether it was the voice of a man\n    Or that of a woman.\n    For the waves of the Cerna raged,\n    Sounding loud through the forest.\n    So he turned himself back,\n    And said to the Cerna:\n    \"O my clean Cerna,\n    Stop, I pray thee, stop,\n    For I will throw\n    Into thy bed,\n    And I will give thee a silver lamprey,\n    And a golden distaff,\n    With dragon's eyes,\n    Which will spin and turn by itself.\"\n    The Cerna heard him,\n    And at once stood still.\n    Then Ioan Iorgovan,\n    With arms like clubs,\n    At once heard\n    And knew the voice,\n    That it was not that of a man,\n    But that of a woman.\n    Then he got angry,\n    Spurred on his horse,\n    And, striking it hard,\n    He roared like a lion,\n    Splitting the air.\n    The dragon got sight of him,\n    And, seized with fear, it ran away.\n    But he followed it,\n    And jumped across the Cerna,\n    And approached it.\n    The dragon waited for him,\n    And asked him:\n    \"Ioan Iorgovan,\n    With arms like clubs.\n    With what kind of a good message\n    Dost thou come this day to me?\n    Or hast thou the thought\n    To destroy me?\n    I pray thee, grant me peace,\n    And turn back to thy home.\n    I swear on my head\n    That, dead, I shall be worse.\n    For, if thou killest me,\n    My head will rot.\n    Worms will breed;\n    Flies will swarm,\n    Who will bite thy horse.\n    It will burst of the poison,\n    The oxen will run mad,\n    The plough will come to a standstill!\"\n    \"Accursed snake!\n    Thou still bandiest words.\n    I will teach the country,\n    And the people will hearken to me.\n    They will raise the smoke,\n    And thy flies they will choke.\n    My horse will not die,\n    But thou shalt perish,\n    For I have heard\n    That thou hast killed\n    A beautiful maid\n    With thy robber's jaw.\"\n    \"Ioan Iorgovan,\n    When I heard thy approach,\n    Thy horse's trot,\n    Roaring like a dragon,\n    I at once left the maid\n    Safe and unhurt.\n    I pray thee,\n    Leave me alone,\n    And turn back to thy home.\n    I swear on my head,\n    Worse shall I be dead.\"\n    Ioan Iorgovan,\n    With arms like clubs,\n    Brandished his sword,\n    Hit the snake,\n    And cut it up in pieces.\n    The maid looked on\n    Until he had finished it,\n    Then she showed herself,\n    And thus she spake:\n    \"Ioan Iorgovan,\n    With arms like clubs,\n    Lead me out in the open,\n    To the carriage road,\n    That I may meet my sisters,\n    For I shall be unto thee a wife\n    As long as I be alive.\"\n    When he beheld her,\n    Wonder seized him\n    Of her beauty and of her youth.\n    \"Ho, my beautiful flower,\n    Who art like a young fairy,\n    Be then to me a wife\n    As long as you be alive.\"\n    He then embraced her\n    And kissed her.\n    He then looked on--\n    May it burst--\n    There was the dragon's head\n    Running away,\n    Painting the Cerna red with his blood.\n    And it ran across the Danube,\n    Until it hid itself in the dark cave.\n    There it rotted.\n    The worms bred\n    And flies swarmed.\n    And so it is to this very day;\n    When the fly comes out\n    It bites the horses,\n    It poisons the oxen,\n    And stops the plough.\n\n\nThus far this, the most complete version.\n\nThere are a number of other variants, but the central idea is the\nsame, that the poison-fly (Musca Columbaca) comes from the head of\nthe dragon, slain by the knight Ioan Iorgovan.\n\nThe people show the imprint of the hoofs and the traces of Iorgovan's\ndogs on the high cliff overhanging the banks of the Danube.\n\nThis legend, localised in Rumania on the borders of Servia, is of\nspecial interest for hagiography. It is nothing else but a variant of\nthe legend of St. George and the Dragon. It has assumed a peculiar\nform, differing greatly from the other versions of that fight,\nwhich is known all over the East and West, and lives in many forms\nand versions. In the Rumanian hagiography there are at least two or\nthree versions of the legend as found in the Vitae Sanctorum and the\nSynaxarium of the Greek and Slavonic Church. Thus it is found in one\nof the oldest Rumanian prints, the Homiliary of 1646, the very first\nbook printed at Jasi, in Moldavia, in the Rumanian language. It occurs\nalso in part in the Lives of the Saints by the Archbishop Dositheus,\nwho used MS. collections for his book, printed also in Jasi, in\n1682. An elaborate version is to be found in the great collection\nof the Lives of the Saints in twelve volumes, by Bishop Benjamin\nof Moldavia, and then reprinted in Bucharest in 1836. All these\ncollections are full of apocryphal matter, and the Life of St. George\nmakes no exception. There is one point more to which attention must\nbe drawn in this connection, viz. the influence of the Genoese and\nVenetian traders who had established emporia along the Danube and\nthe Black Sea, among them one which to this very day has retained\nthe name of St. George. Along the Danube, on the left bank, on what\nis now Rumania, stands that place, called Giurgiu in honour of the\npatron saint of the Genoese who found it. Thus, from many quarters,\none or the other version became known to the folk, and was localised\nat that point where the Carpathian mountains seem to dip into the\nDanube, to emerge again on the other side and continue rising and\nforming the chain of the Balkans. From a philological point of view\nthe name Iorgu Iorgovan denotes Servian influences.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXII.\n\nWHY IS THERE A WORM IN THE APPLE?\n\nThe Story of God and the False Teachers.\n\n\nBefore God came upon the earth there were a number of men who were\nvery clever, and who followed the rule of the devil. They claimed\nthat they could change themselves into dogs and cats, for the devil,\nwho took much pleasure in his clever people, helped them. Those who\nsaw them, believed them to be gods, and worshipped them and brought\nthem gifts. The devil almost jumped out of his skin with delight, for\nhe hoped that all the nations would do likewise, and soon God would be\nforgotten. But God was watching the doings of the devil quietly from\nabove, until at last, seeing to what lengths he was going, he said:\n\n\"By God! it is no good sitting here with my hands in my lap. I must\ngo down and put matters straight.\"\n\nSo God took on the form of man, and went down among the people, going\nfrom country to country and from village to village. At last, one day,\nhe made it known through all the land that all the clever men should\ncome together at a certain place to perform their arts, and whoever\nwould win in that competition, he would give him a sackful of gold.\n\nOn the appointed day, all the clever men came together in a big hall\nwhich God had prepared. It was surrounded by numerous apple-trees on\nall sides. The clever men did what they could, each one more clever\nthan the other. They changed themselves into cats and dogs. At last\nGod said to them:\n\n\"You have all done very well, but I would ask you to make me an apple\nlike those on the trees here around.\"\n\nIn vain did they try to make an apple, but they could not succeed. So\nGod sent lightning among them, which so terrified them that they\ncrawled into the apples to hide themselves there. And God turned them\ninto caterpillars that can only live in apples. This is the origin of\nthe worm (Carpocapsa pomonella) which infests the orchards of apples\nand pears. In order to protect them from this pest the Rumanians of\nBukovina keep a special Day of the worms, on the Tuesday in the first\nweek of the month of May. On it, it is strictly forbidden to work,\nand it is good to give away a cake and other good things in alms for\nthe benefit (of the souls) of these men turned into flies. It is also\ngood to bring into the orchard a red Easter egg, which has been taken\nto Church.\n\nWhoever catches an orchard worm and spits on its head, he spits on\nthe devil between the horns.\n\nWhoever throws any of these worms into the fire throws into it the\ndevil's servant.\n\n\n\nIf we should call the \"clever\" men by the name of \"Perfecti,\" of\nwhich the former is an excellent translation, we might find in this\nlegend a slightly changed report of an act of accusation raised by\nthe Inquisition against the Albigenses and Cathars whose teachers\nwent by the name of \"Perfecti.\" These men were accused of being\nthe servants and tools of the devil, and of possessing the power of\nchanging themselves into animals, the cat being the special animal\nof the devil. It was said, moreover, that they enticed the world\nto the worship of the devil, and that they had almost succeeded in\nturning whole nations away from the true worship of God, so that it\nrequired his own interposition in order to save the world from the\nmachinations of these men. He turned them into worms, which at any\nrate continued to exist in apples and pears--the Inquisition has\nturned them into dust and ashes. And yet their memory is preserved,\nin spite of persecution and lives on in the memory of the people.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXIII.\n\nWHY ARE THE LOCUSTS VORACIOUS?\n\nThe Story of the Arrogant King and the Monks.\n\n\nIt is related that when the Emperor Por married his daughter he made\na great banquet, as big as had never been done before, for he called\nall the kings and governors, and so many guests came together that\none might have thought that they would eat up even Por's ears.\n\nBut Por the emperor knew what he had to do, and he prepared food for\nall. He opened casks of wine, which had been kept closed for a thousand\nyears, and he spread tables in a field as large as a country, and he\nbrought musicians who were so skilled that one would have liked to\nlisten to them for ever.\n\nEverything had he prepared, only one thing had he forgotten. He\ndid not call the priests and the nuns. The priests he left out just\nbecause he wanted to insult them, and he did not think of having the\nmarriage service performed in a Church.\n\n\"What do I want them for?\" he said, \"all this can be done without their\nblessing, and to have popas (priests) always about you in your house,\nby God, is not quite a lucky thing, for it is well known if you meet\na popa in your way you are sure to have no luck, for you have met\nthe devil.\"\n\nThe priests, seeing that Por had mocked at them, and the mothers of\nthe Church (the nuns) got very angry. They began ringing the bells\nand praying, and they fasted three days on end, hoping that God\nwould hearken to their prayer and would punish the Emperor Por in\nsuch signal manner as God alone in his wisdom could do.\n\nAnd God, as it seems, hearkened to their prayer, for while the tables\nwere laden with meat and drink, and all the guests had sat themselves\ndown to eat and drink, suddenly the heavens grew dark, a mighty wind\narose, and out of the sky came down a thick black cloud of winged\nthings with large mouths, voracious and hungry.\n\nThey settled on the tables and devoured every bit of food that could\nbe found, and drank every drop of wine. The guests turned sick at this\nhorrible sight, and, falling ill, they all died there and then. From\na wedding feast it became a huge burial, the fame of which spread\nthroughout the lands. No one knew why this misfortune had befallen\nthem, only Por understood what had happened, and before his death\nhe said:\n\n\"Nothing can be done without the mercy and grace of God. And this\nhas been my punishment.\"\n\nThese were the locusts (Pachytylus migratorius) which God sends upon\nmen when they forget the true God.\n\n\n\nThe r\u00f4le assigned here to the official priests, the \"popa\" of the\northodox religion, is in perfect harmony with that sectarian teaching\nwhich could not find words strong and opprobrious enough against the\n\"official\" Church and its ministers. The belief is still alive in\nRumania that to meet a \"popa,\" as he is called, is an evil omen,\nand the people will often desist from some enterprise if a popa has\nmet them. There are practices by which the evil consequences of such\na meeting could be averted; but they belong to those of primitive\nsociety. This story seems also to have been originally a satire against\nthese popas. They were the original locusts who descended upon the\ntables of the rich and mighty, but now the point has been blunted and\nthe lesson deliberately turned round, making the locusts the means of\npunishment for ignoring the priests. The man who told this tale must\nhave had a mischievous twinkle in his eye, not lost on his hearers,\nbut evidently lost upon him who wrote it down afterwards.\n\nThe Emperor Por is none else than the Indian King Porus who plays so\nimportant a part in the legendary history of Alexander the Great. This\nis one of the most popular Rumanian chap-books--probably the oldest\nin Rumanian folk-lore. There are a number of traces of this legendary\nhistory in the Rumanian popular literature. We shall meet another\nreference to it in the history of the cricket, No. 65, and of the\ncuckoo, No. 91.\n\nThis story evidently belongs to the cycle of legends in which an\nemperor tries to invite God and his host to dine with him, boasting\nthat he would be able to feed them. He decks tables along the sea\nshore and waits for God to come to the banquet. But a wind rises and\nblows everything into the sea. A sage explains to the emperor that\nthus far only one of the servants of God--the wind--has partaken of\nhis banquet. (v. Gaster, Exempla of the Rabbis, No. 12.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXIV.\n\nWHY DOES THE GRASSHOPPER RUN TO AND FRO?\n\nThe Story of Jesus and the Unkind Reaper.\n\n\nAnother large kind of locust or grasshopper is also known by the name\nof \"little horse\" or \"mower.\" For the explanation of the last name\nthe following legend is told:\n\n\n\nOnce upon a time when Jesus and St. Joseph hid themselves for fear\nof the heathen in some very high grass which reached to their waist,\nit is told that a giant came there to cut the grass, and he carried a\nhuge scythe, and with each stroke he cut down a large swath. Christ and\nSt. Joseph, seeing the work of that man and fearing lest they should\nbe discovered by the heathen if all the grass were cut down, asked him\nnot to cut any more. But when he heard that Christ begged him to stop,\nhe just went on with his work more furiously, full of spite, for was\nnot he also a heathen who wanted to catch him? When Christ saw this he\nprayed to God to put as many obstacles in the giant's way as possible,\nfor it was still some time before the sun would set, and he would\notherwise quickly finish the cutting of the whole field. God heard\nhim, and he sent a heat so fierce that it dried up even the tongue\nin the man's mouth. The mower, however, did not care. He only cast\noff all his clothes and went on with his work in his shirt. When God\nsaw that the giant would not stop he changed the weather and made it\nso bad that you would not have allowed a dog to leave the house. But\nthe mower went on with his work undisturbed. The only thing which he\ndid was to pick up the clothes which he had cast off and to put them\non again, and he made swaths as wide as the high road.\n\nWhen Christ saw the progress which he made he trembled like a reed. He\nfeared lest the heathen would catch him. Angrily, he knelt down, and\ncursing the giant, he said: \"Cursed shalt thou be, thou disobedient\nand callous mower, all thy life henceforth thou shalt be always\nonly mowing and never gain any benefit from it. As long as the world\nstands thou shalt always be running to and fro among the reapers, who\nwill cut thy legs as a punishment for not having listened to me.\" No\nsooner was this curse uttered, when the giant was turned into a small\ngreen insect with long legs, which to this very day is seen hopping\nbetween the blades of grass on meadows and fields, running in front\nof the scythes of cutters of grass. This insect is called the mower\n(Locusta viridissima).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXV.\n\nANOTHER STORY OF THE GRASSHOPPER.\n\nSt. Mary and the Wicked Innkeeper.\n\n\nThere is another legend of the origin of the grasshopper.\n\n\n\nWhen Christ was born in the stable, the animals which were there were\nstarved to death by the owner. There was no one who would as much as\nput a handful of hay into the manger. The Holy Mother, full of pity\nfor the poor animals, asked the master of the house to give them at\nleast a forkful of hay. The master, however, shrugging his shoulders\nsaid that all that he had, was gone and he could not give her even\nas little as a handful. \"If that be so, why did not you provide more\nhay last summer?\" asked the Holy Mother.\n\n\"Why? just because I was too lazy to cut more.\"\n\n\"If that be so,\" replied the Holy Mother, angrily, \"then thou shalt\nbecome a mower, and all thy life thou shalt not do anything else,\nbut from early morning to late at night thou shalt cut grass and yet\nhave no benefit therefrom.\"\n\nNo sooner had she uttered these words than the master was turned into\nthe grasshopper called the \"mower,\" and such has he remained to this\nvery day.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXVI.\n\nWHY DOES THE NUN BEETLE COVER ITS FACE?\n\nThe Story of St. Peter and the Girl Messenger.\n\n\nIn the time of the Holy Apostles, there was great trouble among the\nheathen giants, as they did not know whom to elect as ruler. The\nheathen then came in large numbers to the Christians, asking for\ntheir vote, and came even to St. Peter, who was then the headman of\nthe Apostles. St. Peter, realising the importance of this election,\ntook counsel with his brothers the Apostles. They decided to call\ntogether all the Christians in an Assembly to decide which part they\nwere to take. A good number came together. But as at that time the\nChristians were scattered far and wide, and lived a good way distant\none from another, and also were afraid of the heathen, the greater\nnumber stayed at home.\n\nFor in such troublous times who would have liked to leave his wife\nand children alone at home? Moreover, at that time Christians were\nnot permitted to meet, for when the heathen caught them speaking\nto one another, they poured oil upon them and burned them like\ntorches. Still, when St. Peter had got a few counsellors together,\nthey discussed what was best to be done. The one said one thing,\nthe other another, as people do even to-day when talking in council,\nbut if you think you are getting on any further, you are waiting in\nvain, for nothing comes out of it.\n\nSt. Peter, who was more learned than the rest, saw that no good\nwas coming out of their deliberations, and as he was the headman,\nhe got up from his seat and said, \"If we are to give our people good\nand sound advice, we all know that as for battle, good and strong men\nare wanted, so we must also have clever men. Unfortunately, however,\nthere are no such men in our midst. We also know that if the heathen\nsee us going from house to house, and find out our intentions, it\nmight go very ill with us. We must therefore find out other means,\nso that our enemies should not even suspect our action. I, as the\noldest among you, have come to the conclusion that we must get some\nvery clever women. We might then possibly win our case. Let us make a\nlist of all such women and instruct them carefully. We can then send\nthem to the houses of the Christians to advise them what to do.\"\n\n\"Excellent,\" replied the other learned men, and they called out all\nthe clever women from the list which they had made, and by teaching\nthem day and night, they fitted them for their work and sent them to\nthe houses of the Christians. Before they left, however, they were\ntold that they were neither to turn back and look at anything, nor\nwere they to look straight into the eyes of strangers, for their eyes\nwere bewitched by the devil, nor should they speak to strangers, who\nwould pour poison into their souls. After receiving these instructions,\nthey all covered their faces and left only holes for their eyes. Then\nthey took food for the journey, taking care to fast regularly for\ntwo days and eating only on the third. One of them, called \"Nun,\"\ngoing into a town where the people were dressed up more richly than\nin any other town, met a young man, tall as a reed, white as foam,\nwith a crisp upturned moustache, a small well-proportioned mouth,\nand eyes glittering like those of a snake. He stood quite alone! The\nyoung man, cunning as the young men of our days are, no sooner set\neyes on the young woman, when he began to tell her of all that is\nin the heavens and upon earth, and made her forget her errand and\nthe instructions which she had received. So she unveiled her face,\nand began to talk in such a manner that no man would have stopped her\nfrom going on. In the end she told him even of the intentions of the\nChristians and of the teaching of St. Peter. As soon as he had heard\nall she had to tell him, the young man disappeared, for he was none\nelse than the son of Satan. St. Peter, who knew all that had happened,\nfor the angel of God had told him, started after the young woman in\norder that he might stop her from revealing to others the intentions\nof the Christians. He found her in a meadow playing with some children.\n\n\"Thy name is nun, thy name shall remain nun (Mantissa religiosa),\nbut thou shalt not have any longer a human shape, as thou hast thrown\naway the veil, and has denied thy beautiful face.\"\n\nWhen the nun beheld St. Peter she got frightened, and tried to pull\nthe veil over her face, which was uncovered, but she could not do it,\nfor God had changed her into a little green beetle which to this very\nday joins its front legs, and it looks as if it intended to cover\nits face with them.\n\n\n\nThis legend has been turned into a charm against a bad wife. Put the\nnun under her head at night, and say three nights consecutively the\nfollowing charm:\n\n\n    \"Faithless Nun, St. Peter had taught thee;\n    St. Peter has sent thee to do good to the Christians, to give\n    them good teaching; to the ignorant thou hast given instruction.\n    But thy conduct was bad,\n    For thou hast spoken to the enemies,\n    And hast shown thy uncovered face;\n    And God has punished thee.\n    I now have also a wife, like unto a spark, with bad tongue and\n    evil speech--\n    Evil in every way--\n    Bad, envious, cheating,\n    Restless,\n    Always in motion, with a heart full of sin.\n    Thou, O faithless Nun, smitten by God,\n    Condemned by men,\n    Make my wife to become good.\n    From bad and faithless, make her good and faithful.\n    From cheating and envious, make her good and loving.\n    Otherwise, woe unto her.\n    Woe unto thy kind,\n    For I will set upon it and utterly destroy it.\n    I will fall upon it and annihilate it.\n\n\nShe will then repent of her evil ways. This charm is only to be used\nin the case when the wife is younger than the husband.\n\n\n\nIn the charm we have the \"historical\" or narrative element,\nin the legend we have the symbolical in the application which is\nassumed to run on parallel lines--the woman must also be faithful,\nobedient, chaste, must not look into other people's eyes nor talk to\nstrangers--a grave danger for her soul. And finally the \"threat\" that\nunless the \"nun\" will do the bidding, she will be severely chastised,\njust like the demons in older conjurations, who are first cajoled\nand then threatened. It is thoroughly typical, and shows the depths\nof belief in the power of even the little insect which is, however,\nstill seen as a \"nun\" in a human form well instructed and powerful,\nin spite of its actual \"disguise.\" No real line of demarcation is\ndrawn between the human being and the meanest creature. In popular\nbelief and imagination they all live and move on the same plane.\n\nThere is another tale told about this insect, which seems to be\nanother attempt to explain its name Nun.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXVII.\n\nWHY IS THE BEETLE CALLED THE NUN?\n\nThe Story of the Devil's Daughter in the Cloister.\n\n\nIt is said that the devil--may he go into the wild desert and remain\nthere--had a very bad-tempered daughter. She was so bad that in\nthe whole world there was none other like her to make a couple of\nthem. When the devil saw that, devil though he was, he was yet no\nmatch for his daughter, he slyly got her into a convent and made a\nnun of her, in the hope that she might perchance repent and change\nfor the better. But the daughter remained what she was; ill-tempered\nand bad. She kept making mischief without end. God, who could not\ntolerate a daughter of the devil in a convent, and seeing also that\nthe daughter of the unclean was doing all kinds of mischief, changed\nher into an insect. The other sisters, seeing what had happened,\ncalled it Nun, and this has remained its name to our very days.\n\nIt is curious that this insect should bear the name \"nun\" in almost\nall European languages. I am not aware, however, of any legend except\nthe Rumanian explaining the name.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXVIII.\n\nWHY IS THE WASP THE GIPSIES' BEE?\n\nThe Story of the Wasp, the Gipsies and the Rumanians.\n\n\nIn the beginning the wasp belonged to the Rumanians, and the bee\nto the Gipsies. When the former saw how useless, nay, dangerous,\nthe wasps were, and how useful the bees, they cheated the Gipsies\ninto changing with them.\n\nThose of aforetime tell us that when God made the living creatures\nwhich move with the sun, he made the bee first. The Gipsy, impudent\nand greedy, as he has remained to this very day, stole the bee from\nthe hand of God saying, \"Give it to me, O Lord, that I may eat of\nits honey, I and my little ones. And of the wax--I will make candles\nto light them up for thee in the Church.\" God did not say anything,\nbut kept silent and looked angrily at the Gipsy, for he was annoyed at\nthe Gipsy's impudence. He made up his mind to punish him. He therefore\nat once made the big wasp, and, after he had made it, he gave it to\nthe Rumanians, saying, \"Take this, for the bee has been ordained for\nthe Gipsy, and he has taken his share.\" The Rumanian took the wasp,\nand thanked God. Sometime afterwards the Gipsy met the Rumanian,\nand he asked him whether his bee had brought him much honey. The\nRumanian, smart as ever, replied, \"My bee has filled many barrels,\nfor this bee carries the honey in bagfuls, as it was big and strong.\"\n\n\"Oh,\" cried the Gipsy, \"I see that he has deceived me; my bee has not\nfilled a cup with honey, and my duckies have not even rubbed their\nlips with honey. Let us exchange our bees, my little Rumanian.\"\n\n\"But what do you give in addition?\"\n\n\"What shall I give you? By God, I have nothing. I will make an axe\nof my iron and give it to you.\"\n\n\"Well, then, let it be so. Bring here your hive and I will bring\nyou mine.\"\n\n\"I will do so,\" and the Gipsy went with the Rumanian to the hut and\ngave him the hive. The Rumanian took it home, and when they reached\nthe forest the Rumanian showed him a big tree, as thick as a barrel\nand high as the heavens, where the Rumanian had put before the wasps\nand where they had grown to a very large number.\n\n\"Here, you Gipsy, are my bees in this hollow tree. It is full of\nhoney enough to satisfy your whole nation of Gipsies and some to\nremain over.\"\n\n\"Thank you. May God bless you,\" replied the Gipsy.\n\nThe Rumanian went home to look after the bees. The Gipsy gathered his\nwhole nation together. They brought copper pans and pots and ladders,\nand came to the tree to eat of the honey to their fill. Arrived there,\nthey leaned the ladder just against the hole by which the wasps went\nout and came in. Full of courage, as the Gipsy is by nature, he took\na pot for the honey and climbed up the ladder. No sooner had he got\nthere when a wasp thrust its sting into him. Another stung him on the\nnose, and another, and again another, and the Gipsy could not see\nout of his eyes because of the pain, and he began howling there on\nthe top of the tree. He forgot the honey and everything, and cried,\n\"Keep the ladder, keep the pot, keep me also, for we are falling,\"\nand down he came with a thud. How long he lay there with broken\nbones I do not know, but I do know that he had had enough of wasps'\nhoney to last him to the end of his days. Since then the bees belong\nto the Rumanians, and the wasps are the Gipsies' bees.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXVIII. A.\n\nANOTHER VERSION OF THE WASP LEGEND.\n\n\nAnother legend which omits the first part of the story does not mention\nanything about the Gipsy stealing the bee from God, but simply tells of\na Gipsy who found a hive in the forest, and taking it home, went about\nbragging of his wonderful hive and of the honey. A clever Rumanian,\nfinding a wasp nest, told the Gipsy that his bees were making gold,\nand induced him to change with him. Since then the bees belong to\nthe Rumanians.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXIX.\n\nWHY DOES THE HORNET LIVE IN SMOKY PLACES?\n\nThe Story of God and the Odd Present.\n\n\nWhen God had finished making the trees and grass, the sun and moon,\nand all that lives and moves, he sat down on his seat and ordered\nall the creatures to come to him that he might bless them. Every one\ncame and brought a gift according to its best, and God blessed each\none according to its nature. The sheep brought wool and milk, and the\nLord blessed it, and bade it clothe the house of the Rumanians with\nits wool and feed the babies with its milk. The bee brought sweet\nhoney and wax with the perfume of all the flowers. God blessed it,\nso that with the honey man's food should be sweetened, and the wax\nshould light the Church at the Holy Office. Thus each creature got the\nblessing according to its ways. Now came the turn of the hornet, by\nnature lazy and accustomed to live by theft. What could she bring? and\nagain, how could she come with empty hands before the throne of the\nAlmighty? So, finding a piece of cardboard, she picked it up and\nbrought it to God. The Lord understood the trick which the hornet\nwanted to play on him, and how lazy she was. He, therefore, cursed\nher that all her work should be as brittle as bits of cardboard, and\nshe should live only by theft. Her habitation should be the chimney,\nand her nest should be broken by everybody. So has it remained to\nthis very day. The nests look as if they had been made of cardboard,\nthey hang down from the smoky chimneys of houses, as if they were to\nbe smoked; she lives by theft and even upon dead bodies, and her nest\nis always broken up.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXX.\n\nWHY IS THE HORNET SO SPITEFUL?\n\nThe Story of the Children of Cain.\n\n\nIt is told that one of the descendants of Cain had many children, one\nworse than the other. When sent on an errand to bring one thing, out of\nspite they would bring another; they were of no good to anyone. Their\nmother, who was a wicked and stingy bird (eagle), did nothing else\nfrom morning to evening but curse and shout and peck at them. The\nyoungest, who was the worst, finding his mother in a violent temper,\nstarted quarrelling with her so loudly that the noise could be heard\nat the other end of the country. They even went so far as to fight\none another. The mother, who was a strong woman, got the best of her\nson at first, but the youngster, biting her in the throat, drank all\nher blood until she died. Before dying, however, the mother cursed\nhim that none of his children should ever be prosperous, though they\nshould be very numerous. They should live in the hollows of trees and\nfeed on dead human bodies. They should become flies with poisonous\nstings, and their blood should change into poison. When he heard his\nmother's curse the youth ran into the forest, and the quicker he ran\nthe more it appeared to him that he became smaller and lighter, until\none morning he found himself changed into a hornet with a yellow body.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXX. A.\n\nHORNET CHARM.\n\n\nThe hornet is used for the following charm:\n\nIf people wish a dog to become savage, they take some hornets, and\nmixing them with the food, give it to the puppies to eat, and say\nthe following words: \"Just as the hornet is burning and unbearable,\nso shalt thou become hot and savage and intolerable, and thou shalt\nnot tolerate any one else besides me and those of this household....\"\n\n\n\nThe hornet's nest in the stubble indicates the strength of the winter\nand the depth of the snow, according as it is built high or low.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXXI.\n\nWHY HAS THE WOODPECKER SUCH A LONG BEAK AND WHY DOES IT PECK AT\nTHE TREES?\n\nThe Story of God and the Inquisitive Woman.\n\n\nKnow that the woodpecker was originally not a bird but an old woman\nwith a very long nose, which she put into everybody's pots and pans,\nsniffing about, eavesdropping, inquisitive and curious about everything\nwhether it belonged to her or not, adding a little in her tale-bearing\nand taking off a bit from another tale, and so making mischief\namong her neighbours. When God saw her doings, he took a huge sack\nand filled it with midges, beetles, ants, and all kinds of insects,\nand, tying it tightly, gave it to the old woman, and said to her:\n\"Now take this sack and carry it home, but beware of opening it,\nfor if your curiosity makes you put your nose into it you will find\nmore than you care for, and you will have trouble without end.\"\n\n\"Heaven forbid,\" replied the old hag, \"that I should do such a thing;\nI am not going against the will of God. I shall be careful.\" So she\ntook the sack on her back and started trotting home, but whilst she\nwas carrying it her fingers were already twitching, and she could\nscarcely restrain herself, so no sooner did she find herself a short\ndistance away than she sat down in a meadow and opened the sack. That\nwas just what the insects wanted, for no sooner did she open it than\nthey started scrambling out and scampered about the field, each one\nrunning his own way as fast as its little legs would carry it. Some\nhid themselves in the earth, others scrambled under the grass, others,\nagain, went up the trees, and all ran away as fast as they could.\n\nWhen the old woman saw what had happened, she got mightily frightened,\nand tried to gather the insects to pack them up again, and put\nthem back into the sack. But the insects did not wait for her. They\nknew what to do, and a good number escaped into the field. Some she\nwas able to catch, and these she packed into the sack, and tied it\nup. Then came the Voice of God, who asked her what she had done,\nand if that was the way she kept her promise.\n\n\"Where are the insects, beetles and midges, which I gave you to\ncarry? From this moment you shall change into a bird and go about\npicking up all these insects until you get my sack full again, and\nonly then can you become a human being again.\"\n\nAnd so she changed into a woodpecker; the long beak is the long nose\nof the old woman, and she goes about hunting for these midges, beetles\nand ants in the hope of filling up the sack, when she would again\nresume her human shape. But to this very day she has not completed\nher task, and has remained the woodpecker.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXXII.\n\nWHY HAS THE PELICAN A BIG POUCH UNDER ITS BEAK?\n\nThe Story of God and the Disobedient Man.\n\n\nThe story of the woodpecker finds its closest parallel in the story of\nthe pelican. It is difficult to say which of the two is the original,\nand which has been borrowed from the other. Certain legends have been\nadapted to more than one subject, in the same manner as ballads and\ntales and legends are often transferred from one hero or another. It\nis that elasticity of adaptation, which to a certain extent gives\nthem the popularity which they enjoy. It is the very essence of the\ntale not to be too much localised, but on the contrary to be able\nto pass from one country to another, and to be fitted to the most\ndiverse circumstances and persons, so long as the general framework\nhas been retained. Popular imagination has no patience, and, in fact,\nno room, for rigid forms or for mathematical formulae. The material\nwhich it handles must be soft as wax to be moulded and kneaded,\nand thin like gossamer to be woven into many strands. Of course,\nthe work of it can be seen in the variations in the theme and in its\nadaptation to the new purpose. Thus in the following story:\n\nGod and St. Peter were once upon a time walking upon the earth. There\ncame a great swarm of creeping things like rats, snakes, scorpions and\nother vermin of this kind, as well as beetles, insects, ants and so\non. They crowded round them, and with great impudence worried them,\nnay, even tried to bite them. St. Peter, who felt annoyed by the\nconstant worry of the vermin, said at last to God:\n\n\"What is the good of keeping all these vermin upon the earth? see how\nimpudent, how aggressive they are! They molest even us, and try to bite\nus, what then must the poor human beings be suffering through them?\"\n\n\"Very well,\" said God, \"if it is thy wish, and thou thinkest to save\nmankind of the attacks and molestations of these animals, I will try\nto do as thou desirest.\"\n\nSo he gathered them all together and put them in a huge sack, and\ntied it carefully by the mouth, and he said to St. Peter, \"Let us go\nand throw it into the sea.\"\n\nOn the way they fell in with a man, who was going in the same\ndirection. And God said to him, \"Whither art thou going?\"\n\n\"I am going to the sea for fishing.\"\n\n\"I will pay thee well,\" said God, \"if you will take this sack and\ntake it to the sea and empty it into it. But mind, you must not open\nit before you reach the shore; there, turning the sack upside down,\nloosen it gently and let everything fall straight into the water. Be\ncareful and carry out my orders exactly, otherwise instead of obtaining\na reward you will get yourself into serious trouble.\"\n\n\"For sure,\" replied the man, \"I know how to carry out orders, you may\nrely on me, I will do exactly as I am bidden.\" Then, shouldering the\nsack, he went on his way to the sea. The sack was somewhat heavy and\nthe way to the sea rather long. Tired by the weight of the sack, he\nsat down in the midst of his journey and rested. Then he asked himself:\n\n\"What can be in that sack? why should those old men want me to empty\nit into the sea? I will just loosen it a little and see.\" And so he\ndid. But no sooner had he loosened it a little when the animals, which\nwere all squeezed by God into the sack, pressed forward, and, before\nthe man could count two, out they were running, each one wherever his\neyes would lead him and his legs would carry him. Before he had time\nto recover from his astonishment, he saw the two old men standing by\nhis side, and, pointing to the sack, God said to him:\n\n\"Is that the way thou hast kept thy promise? As a punishment thou\nshalt no longer be a human being, but a bird with long legs to be\nable to run quickly after all these animals, and with a long beak to\npick them up, and under thy throat I will fasten the empty sack to\nfill it with the animals caught.\"\n\nAnd thus he has remained to this very day, walking about on his long\nlegs, looking round with his keen eyes, and trying to pick up all\npossible vermin which he espies crawling upon the earth.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXXIII.\n\nWHY DOES THE TITMOUSE GET INTO THE PUMPKIN?\n\nThe Story of God and the Food of the Titmouse.\n\n\nWhen God had made all the creatures, he called every one of them\nand told them what their food should be. Among the birds was the\ntitmouse. To her God turned and said, \"Thy food shall be the seed of\nthe pumpkin.\"\n\nThe titmouse, knowing that the seed of the pumpkin was very sweet,\ndid not wait to hear whether God said anything more, but, greedy\nand impatient, ran as fast as she could, relishing beforehand the\ndelightful food which God had given her. So coming down to the earth,\nshe alighted on a field in which maize was growing, and among it a\nlarge number of pumpkins.\n\n\"Here, now, I have the food ready for me, and I am going to have a\ngood time.\" But she had made a wrong calculation. When she got up to\nthe pumpkins, she found to her dismay that the skin of the pumpkin\nwas as hard as bone. So she tried to pick a hole in it. She went\nround and round, but wherever she tapped it with her little beak,\nshe found the shell too hard for her.\n\nBitterly disappointed, she went away and tried to feed as best she\ncould by catching flies and beetles. So she eked out a miserable\nlivelihood only and solely because she was greedy, and had not waited\nto hear what God had to say to her when he gave her that food.\n\nThe time came when God was walking upon the earth. The titmouse heard\nof it, and knowing the loving-kindness and mercy of God, and that he\nwould have pity if he heard of her miserable life, she took courage\nand went to meet him, and told him how hard it was for her, that after\nhaving had a gift from God, she could not enjoy it. She asked God,\ntherefore, that he would at least make a soft part in the skin of\nthe pumpkin that would become a hole, by which she could get inside\nthe pumpkin and eat the pips which were given to her for food. God\ntook pity on the little creature, who begged so piteously, and so,\ntaking a pumpkin, God made a hole in it. The titmouse got into it,\nand did not leave the pumpkin until she had picked all the seeds. From\nthat time onwards the titmouse, whenever she sees a field of pumpkins,\nwill go round and round each pumpkin trying to find one with a hole,\nby which to get into it and eat the pips.\n\nThe titmouse was too quick again this time, for it did not ask God\nto make two holes, to get in by one and out by the other, so now the\npumpkin often becomes a snare and a prison. Boys have only to make\na hole in the pumpkin for the titmouse to get into it and then they\ncatch it without any trouble.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXXIV.\n\nWHY HAS THE NIGHTINGALE A DRAB COLOUR?\n\n\nWhen God created the world he made all the living creatures of one\ncolour, or rather with none, for no one had any colouring on its\nwings, feathers, or skin. So, one day, God called all his creatures\nto paint them with different colours as he chose. All the birds and\nbeasts and creeping things came, and God gave every one a different\ncoat to wear. Only the nightingale did not come, as she had not heard\nof God's command. At last some birds, seeing her, told her what had\nhappened. So she hastened to come to God. But when the nightingale\nappeared before God, the paint-pot was quite empty, and no trace of any\npaint (colour) was left. It had all been spent on those who had come\nbefore. Thus nothing could be done, and the nightingale remained with\nher drab colour. God, however, wanted to compensate the nightingale\nfor the lack of any colour, so he gave her a very beautiful voice.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXXV.\n\nWHY HAS THE NIGHTINGALE TWELVE TUNES AND WHY DOES THE TURTLE-DOVE COO?\n\n\nOnce upon a time the nightingale met the turtle-dove. After greeting\none another, the nightingale said, \"Sister, let us keep awake during\nthe night and learn some tunes to sing.\"\n\n\"Quite agreeable,\" said the turtle-dove, \"and in the morning we shall\nsee what each one of us has learned.\"\n\nIn the following night the nightingale kept awake and listened\nattentively to all the sounds that could be heard. She heard the\nshepherd playing on his pipe, and the wind whistling, and the dogs\nbarking, and lambs calling, and many more sounds, and thus learned no\nless than twelve tunes. The turtle-dove, lazy as she is by nature, did\nnot keep awake, but went to sleep as soon as the night grew dark. She\nslept almost the whole night through, and awoke only at the break\nof dawn. There was no sound to be heard. It was all quiet. Suddenly\nshe heard a man driving his horses to the fields shouting \"trr,\ntrr.\" This sound she picked up, and no other. In the morning she\nwent to find her sister the nightingale, and asked her whether she\nhad heard anything, and whether she had learned any tunes. If so,\nwould she mind singing to her?\n\nThe nightingale replied, \"Oh, I have heard many songs, and have\nlearned many tunes.\" And without waiting any longer, she began to\nwarble her songs. The turtle-dove sat listening, lost in admiration\nat the beautiful singing of the nightingale. When the latter had\nfinished her songs, she asked the turtle-dove: \"And what have you\nlearned, sister mine?\"\n\nThe turtle-dove, full of shame over her laziness, owned that she had\nnot kept awake, but had gone to sleep, and that the only sound and song\nshe had learned was \"trr, trr,\" which she had picked up from the man\nwho was driving his horses to the field. And so it has remained to this\nvery day. The nightingale sings all the night through and stops towards\nthe morning, when the turtle-dove awakens and starts its \"trr, trr.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXXVI.\n\nWHY IS THE NIGHTINGALE THE SONGSTER OF THE KING?\n\nThe Story of the Nightingale, the Blackbird and the Thrush.\n\n\nThe king of the birds, feeling one day in a good humour, wanted to find\nout which of his subjects could sing best. So he sent an order to his\nbirds to select from amongst themselves those whom they thought to be\nthe best singers. All the birds came together, and, after having heard\nmany of the birds who said they could sing, they selected three from\namongst them and sent up, as the best singers for the king to choose\nfrom, the yellow thrush, the blackbird, and the nightingale. The\nthrush, with his beautiful golden feathers which glow in the light\nof the sun, was allowed to go first as the most beautiful of them;\nnay, he put himself at the head and walked first. The blackbird,\nwhich has a yellow beak, and whose feathers are shining like silk,\nwalked immediately behind, whilst the little nightingale, small\nof build, with the drab-coloured feathers, followed meekly in the\nrear. When they reached the palace, the king, seeing how beautiful\nthe thrush looked with his golden feathers, received him affably and\nplaced him at the head of the table. The thrush, swelling with pride,\nbegan its song. The king listened attentively, and being pleased with\nthe song he praised the thrush very much. Then came the turn of the\nblackbird; when the king saw it, he welcomed it and ordered a chair to\nbe brought near the table. The blackbird took its place and started\nsinging. It sang much more beautifully than the thrush. The king was\nvery pleased, and he expressed his delight. The last to come in was\nthe nightingale. When it entered the hall, it bowed down meekly to the\nearth before the king, touching the floor with its little beak. When\nthe king saw that little ungainly bird, so small and meek and skinny\nand of no appearance, he wondered what that bird wanted at the court,\nand somewhat angrily he asked:\n\n\"What do you want?\" without even offering her a seat, as he had done\nto the other guests.\n\n\"May it please your majesty, do not be angry with your servant; I have\nbeen selected by the other birds to sing here before your majesty.\"\n\n\"Very well then; sing, I will just see what you can do.\"\n\nThe nightingale, which did not even dare to look at the king, just\ncleared her voice and started singing as she alone knows how to sing,\nnot like the others. When the king heard her singing, he was quite\ntaken aback with the beauty and sweetness of her voice; he was full\nof admiration, for the nightingale had thrown the other birds into\nthe shade (lit. had put them under the bushel).\n\nWhen the nightingale had finished her song, the king did not allow\nher to stop in the doorway where she had been standing any longer,\nbut called her up to the head of the table, and gave her the seat of\nthe thrush, and, when the meal was over and all the guests rose from\nthe table, it was the nightingale who walked first, and the blackbird,\nwhich sang better than the thrush, walked immediately behind, whilst\nthe thrush, in spite of his grand array, now came third, feeling\nabashed and ashamed by his failure. And from that time onward the\nnightingale has been recognised as the best singer amongst them all,\nand all the birds must bow their heads before her.\n\n\n\nThere are a few more tales about the origin of the nightingale, but\nthey are somewhat confused. They do not seem to account either for\nthe beauty of its voice or for the simplicity of its appearance.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXXVII.\n\nWHY DOES THE THRUSH HIDE IN THE TREE?\n\nThe Story of the Boastful Thrush and St. Peter.\n\n\nIt was in the month of March, when Christ was walking on the earth\nwith St. Peter. Going through a forest they saw a thrush strutting\nabout on the top of a tree.\n\n\"Good morning, Mr. Thrush,\" said St. Peter.\n\n\"I have no time for you,\" replied the thrush.\n\n\"And why not, prithee?\"\n\n\"Oh, you see, I am just now making summer, and I am busy. To-day I am\ngoing to be married, and to-morrow a brother of mine has a wedding,\"\nhe said, turning his back upon them proudly.\n\nSt. Peter and Christ said nothing, but went on their way. In that\nafternoon there came a cold and heavy rain. It came down in torrents\nall the afternoon, and during the night there came a frost from God\nwhich made the stones crack, and it snowed heavily also. The next\nmorning, after they had done what they had to do, Christ and St. Peter\ncame again through the forest, and they found the thrush sitting\nnow on one of the lowest branches of the tree, huddled together and\ntrembling, with no more thoughts of marriage.\n\n\"Good morning, Mr. Thrush,\" said St. Peter, when he saw him sitting\nthere huddled together and trembling.\n\n\"Thank you,\" he replied angrily.\n\n\"But what are you doing now? Why are you sitting so huddled up?\"\n\n\"To-day I am dying, and to-morrow a brother of mine is dying,\" he\nanswered, letting his beak down and ruffling his feathers to protect\nhimself a little more against the frost which had struck him to\nthe heart.\n\nFrom that time on the thrush does not boast any more that he is making\nsummer, and that he is going to marry; but he cries anxiously: \"Socks\nand sandals, for to-morrow it snows, good socks of cloth and sandals\nof leaves to go in them to my beloved.\" This he sings because of the\nfear of being caught again in snow and frost, and of not being able\nto walk about in safety.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXXVIII.\n\nWHY HAS THE PARTRIDGE A MOTTLED COLOUR?\n\n\nIn the beginning the partridge had red feathers. God had painted her\nso when he painted all the other creatures, but for one reason or\nanother the partridge was not very pleased with this colour. After\na time she thought she would go to God and ask him to change her\ncolour. When she came to God, he asked her, \"What ails thee?\"\n\n\"Well,\" she said, \"I do not like the dye of my feathers.\" And God\nasked her what was the reason for it.\n\n\"Well,\" she said, \"I do not like it.\" Upon which God, getting hold\nof her, threw her into a box filled with ashes. When the partridge\nrecovered her senses--for she was dazed by the fall--she was mightily\nindignant at the disgrace, and, climbing out of the box, she went as\nfast as she could to the nearest brook, wishing to wash away the ashes\nin which she was smothered. She wished to avoid being seen in that\nstate by the other birds. So she started dipping her beak into the\nwater and trying to wash off the ashes on her back. But, instead of\nwashing the ashes completely off, she managed to carry the ashes with\nher wet beak under her wings also and along her sides. And that is why\nshe has remained to this very day mottled and freckled, the grey of the\nashes being mixed with the red--the original colour of her feathers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXXXIX.\n\nWHY HAS THE THISTLE-FINCH RUFFLED FEATHERS?\n\n\nWhen God created the world, he made all the creatures to be of one\ncolour, or rather none of them of any colour at all. You see, God was\ntoo busy to bother about these little things. When he had finished\nmaking everything that he intended to make, he called all the birds\ntogether and said, \"Now, I am going to paint you with nice colours.\"\n\nWhen the birds heard that message, they came all overjoyed to God, who\ntook his brush and dipped in various pots filled with paint and painted\nthem one by one. When he had almost finished, who would come but the\nthistle-finch, with his feathers all ruffled and out of breath. When\nGod saw the little bird, he said to him, \"Well, little master, how do\nyou look, where have you been, have you not heard my command, why did\nyou not come in time? Now all the paint is gone, I cannot do anything\nfor you, and it serves you right, you should have come in time like\nthe others did.\" And the little bird began to weep and said, \"O God,\nI am quite innocent, just look at me and see what a state I am in;\nI was very hungry and tried to find something to eat, but could not\nfind anything for a long time, until I espied at last a few grains of\nmillet in a bush of thistles. So I got in and started picking. But, as\nsoon as I moved, the thistles got hold of me and would not let me go,\nand the more I tried to get out, the more strongly did they hold me,\nand tore my feathers and dishevelled my hair, and it was only after\na long tussle that I was able to get myself free and come here.\"\n\nWhen God saw that the little bird had told the truth, and that\nit looked torn about and ruffled, he took pity on it and said,\n\"Wait a little and I will see what I can do,\" and taking his brush\nhe endeavoured to pick up the drops of paint which were left at\nthe bottom of the various pots. Taking them all on the tip of his\nbrush, he sprinkled the little bird all over with the drops of the\nvarious colours which he had picked up from the bottom of the pots,\nand that is the reason why the thistle-finch has so many spots and so\nmany colours. His name has remained to this very day \"little master\"\n(domnisor in Rumanian) and also thistle-finch, because the thistles\nruffled his feathers and tore at him.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXL.\n\nWHY HAS THE BULLFINCH A RED BREAST AND A BIG MOUTH?\n\nThe Story of the Brutish Innkeeper.\n\n\nThere lived in a town a brutish man, a grocer, who had only one care,\nand that was how to cheat and rob in the quickest fashion the people\nwho came to deal with him. But this was not all, for, bad as it is,\none might let it pass, as there are so many others who do likewise,\ncheating their customers right and left. But this man was also a\nusurious moneylender, and he managed it so well that, instead of\nhelping people, he took the last shirt off their backs and sent them\nout to die in misery. He sucked the blood of everyone who fell into\nhis clutches.\n\nBut everything comes to an end. But no man is likely to repent\nunless he has first come to grief. So it happened also to this\nwicked man. Instead of being satisfied with what he had been able\nto get by draining the very blood of his Christian fellow-men, he\npersisted in his evil doings, robbing and fleecing right and left,\nwithout mercy and without pity. When the cries of his victims came up\nto God, he decided to punish him, and for his wickedness he changed\nhim into the bullfinch, which has still kept some of the features of\nthe man, when he was a human being. For he had a head like a melon,\nand a wide mouth, and that is why the bullfinch has such a big head\nand such a broad beak. The black feathers on its head are the black\ncap of lambskin which he used to wear. The red breast is the blood\nof the victims whom he had sucked dry, and the big body is the big\nbelly of the voracious fellow.\n\nNow when a bullfinch is caught, remembering its evil deeds, it will\nbite out its tongue and die rather than become a mockery to the people\nwhom he had ill-treated in his former life.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXLI.\n\nWHY DOES THE HOOPOE FEED ON DROPPINGS?\n\nThe Story of the Hoopoe and its Greed.\n\n\nWhen God had created all the creatures, he gave everyone the food\nwhich he thought best for them. When the turn of the hoopoe came,\nGod said to her, \"Thy food shall be millet seed.\" The hoopoe was not\nsatisfied. She did not think it was good enough for her. So God in his\ngoodness gave her barley grains for food, but the hoopoe cannot easily\nbe satisfied. So she went on asking for better food. And God said,\n\"Let wheat be thy food.\" And still the hoopoe was not satisfied. So\nGod got angry, and said, \"Thou impudent and greedy thing, I have\ngiven thee the best food that is in this world, and in which even man\nrejoices and is satisfied, but as this is not good enough for thee,\nthou shalt find thy food henceforth in the droppings of other animals.\"\n\nThe same happened when God arranged the dwelling-places of birds,\nwhere they should build their nests. He had at first given to the\nhoopoe sweet-smelling bushes and flowering trees to build her nest\nin. But she wanted something better, and she was punished in the\nsame way as with the food. She now makes her nest in places which\nare anything but clean and sweet-smelling.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXLII.\n\nWHY IS THE WAGTAIL CALLED THE GIPSIES' BIRD?\n\n\nWhen God had made the world and all the creatures and man, he gave to\neach one the food from which they should eat and be satisfied. All\nthe creatures thanked God, and whenever they eat their food they\nare satisfied, except only the wagtail and the Gipsy who are never\nsatisfied. When God saw the greed of these two, he grew very angry and\nsaid to the wagtail, \"You shall not be allowed to go near any village\nunless the Gipsies, after having eaten, say with their full heart that\nthey are quite satisfied.\" And to the Gipsy he said, \"When the wagtail\nwill come into the villages, only then shall you be satisfied.\" But\nthe Gipsies, even when they are invited to the meals freely given in\nhonour of the dead, however much they may eat and stuff and fill, will\nsay as soon as they have got up from the table and gone a few steps,\n\"I am starving; I am dying of hunger.\" And therefore the wagtails\nnever come near the village. And it is also called the Gipsies' bird,\nbecause it can only come near the village, when the Gipsy says he\nhas eaten enough and is satisfied. But as such a thing never happens,\nthis bird cannot approach the houses of men like other birds. Also it\nis called \"half a bird,\" for all the other birds get into the village\nexcept the wagtail.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXLIII.\n\nWHY IS THE HOOPOE SUCH A DIRTY BIRD?\n\nThe Story of the Hoopoe, the Cuckoo and God.\n\n\nThere are a good many stories told about the hoopoe, some of them\nin connection with the cuckoo. These two birds seem to be found very\noften together, and the people believe them to be a pair, the cuckoo\nbeing the male and the hoopoe the female bird. The following story\nis told of them:\n\nThe cuckoo had married the hoopoe, and they lived happily together\nfor a time. But after a time the hoopoe grew ambitious, and told\nthe cuckoo that if he wanted to have peace in the house, he must go\nto God and ask that the hoopoe should become the head woman of the\nvillage. God, who listens patiently to the weakness of his creatures,\nreceived the cuckoo affably and said to him, \"Go home in peace, the\nwish of your wife shall be fulfilled.\" So it came to pass. After a\nwhile the hoopoe grew more ambitious, and she sent the cuckoo again\nto God, and told him to go and ask God to make her the mayoress. And\nGod again listened to the cuckoo's pleading and made his wife a\nmayoress. But a woman can never be satisfied. So, after a while,\nshe sent the cuckoo again to God to ask him to make her the queen\nover all the birds. God again listened to his prayer, and he made her\nqueen over all the birds. Moreover, as sign of her queenly station,\nGod gave her the tuft of feathers on her head, which were to be like a\ncrown. But also this did not satisfy the foolish hoopoe, although God\nhad told the cuckoo, \"Mind, this is the last time thou comest to me to\ntrouble me for thy wife's sake; there are many more things in the world\nfor me to do, than to listen to her wishes.\" Still she insisted on the\ncuckoo going again to God, and to ask him that he should allow her to\nsit next to him on his throne in heaven. When God heard these words,\nhe said, \"As thy wife has had the temerity and impudence to make such\na demand and to send such a request to me, she shall now be the least\nconsidered of all the birds. She may whoop henceforth as much as she\nlikes, no one is to take any notice of her. She is to hatch her eggs\nin dung, whilst thou, O cuckoo, shall be singing for as many months\nin the year as thou hast spent in coming to me with these messages,\nand everyone shall be pleased to hear thy song.\"\n\nAnd so it has remained as God said. The people like the cuckoo,\nwhilst the hoopoe is detested by everybody.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXLIV.\n\nWHY DOES THE CUCKOO LEAD A RESTLESS LIFE?\n\nThe Story of the Cuckoo and the Wonderful Bush.\n\n\nMany a tale is told about the origin of the cuckoo. Curiously enough,\nthey generally agree in seeing in the cuckoo a man punished for his\nwickedness and cruelty, or for his faithlessness against his companion\nor brother whom he is now seeking in vain.\n\nThere are, however, also other tales and legends in which the cuckoo\nis the victim of the cruelty of others; one is the preceding one,\nand others now follow: in the first place, one which tells also of\nthe greed of the wife--The Story of the Cuckoo and Hoopoe.\n\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived in a village a man who was so poor that\nsometimes days passed and he could not get a crumb of bread. So one\nday he said to his wife, \"What is the good of my stopping here any\nlonger. We are both dying of hunger; I will go away into the wide\nworld and see what luck may bring.\" So he took up his axe and went\nalong. Before he left, his wife said to him: \"Do not go far away, and\ndo not forsake me and the children, for we have no one else to look\nto for help.\" So he went away. Walking alone, he came to a forest. At\nthe edge of the forest he saw a beautiful bush with shining leaves,\nand all the twigs of equal length. It was so beautiful that the man\nthought, \"I will just cut it up.\" When he drew near, how great was\nhis astonishment when he saw the bush bending its boughs towards him,\nand speaking with a human voice, it said, \"Do not touch me, do not\nhurt me, for I will do you much good.\"\n\n\"What good can you do me?\" enquired the man.\n\n\"Go back to the village and they will appoint you headman. Just go\nand try.\"\n\nAmazed as he was on hearing the bush speak, he said to himself, \"I\nlose nothing if I go back; I shall see whether the bush is speaking\nthe truth. If not, woe unto it,\" and so he returned. No sooner had he\ncome near the village, when he saw the people coming out to meet him,\nand without asking him any questions, they, for reasons of their own,\nappointed him to be their headman. His poverty was now a thing of the\npast, and he lived in cheer and comfort. This went on for three years,\nand then, for the same reasons unknown to him, the people changed\ntheir minds, and without saying anything to him one day he was the\nheadman, the next he was so no longer. They had put another man in his\nstead. So he returned to his want, and again began to feel the pinch of\npoverty. For a time he went on as best he could, but not being able to\nstand it any longer, he again took his axe, and going into the forest\nhe went to the bush and said, \"Now I am going to cut you down.\" The\nbush again began to speak, and said to the man, \"Do not touch me;\nI will do you much good. You have seen what I have done before. You\ngo now to that and that town and they will appoint you to be judge.\"\n\nBelieving the words of the bush, the man continued his journey,\nand came to the town of which the bush had spoken to him; and\nthere, as had been foretold, without asking him a single question,\nthe people appointed him mayor over the place. The man now lived in\naffluence and comfort, forgetting his time of poverty and suffering\nhe had gone through. Here, again, after three years, just as he\nwas appointed without a question, so he was dismissed by the people\nwithout a question.\n\nThe evil days came back, and he was looking about for a crust of bread,\nbut could not find any for himself and his family. He bethought himself\nagain of the bush, and, taking his axe upon his shoulder, he went away\nto find it. The bush said to him: \"Don't touch me; much good will\nI do you, still more than I have done hitherto. You go to such and\nsuch a kingdom, and there they will appoint you to be their emperor.\"\n\nHe did as he was bid, and as he came near the town, all the people came\nout to meet him, and they appointed him to be their emperor. He took\nhis wife and children with him, and there he lived in great state,\ngreat power and riches. The law of that land was that no man could\nbe emperor for more than three years, so when the three years came\nround he lost his position and another emperor was appointed in his\nstead. He had meanwhile amassed great fortune and no longer feared\npoverty. But his wife was ambitious, and was not satisfied at living\nin affluence and wealth. Envious of the other emperor, she nagged\nthe man and worried him and sneered at him for being so meek and\nbeing satisfied with his lowly state, and made him go to the bush\nto ask for something more. She wanted him to be even better treated\nthan any emperor. The poor man, what was he to do? he could not stand\nthe trouble in his house, so again taking his axe upon his shoulder,\nhe came for a fourth time to the bush. When the bush saw him, it said:\n\n\"What has brought you hither? You are no longer in want of\nanything.\" \"Well,\" he said, \"my wife has sent me to you. She says\nyou must make me as great as God, greater than all emperors.\"\n\nThe bush grew angry, and said to him: \"O miserable wretch, always\ndissatisfied! I have made thee headman and judge and emperor, and thou\nlackest nothing. Thou art not in want of anything. Now, because thou\nhast become impudent and insolent, for thy impious wishes thou shalt\nbe punished. From the man thou hast been thou shalt henceforth be a\nbird, restless, without peace, and without quiet, flitting from tree\nto tree, and from branch to branch, always dissatisfied, without a\nhome, without a family, and thy name shall be Cuckoo. Tell thy wife,\nwho, because she had been urging thee on and driving thee to do this\nimpious thing, that she shall become the hoopoe; puffing herself\nup she shall cry whoop, whoop.\" And so it has remained to this very\nday. (Cf. Story in Grimm, No. 19.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXLV.\n\nWHY IS THE CUCKOO SILENT IN THE WINTER?\n\nThe Story of the Cuckoo and the Palace of the Goldfinch.\n\n\nAfter the creation of all the birds, God called them together and\ntold them they should elect a king to rule over them.\n\nThe birds, like human beings, would chatter and chirrup, and talk\nand fight, and never come to any decision.\n\nWhen God saw that it was going on without an end, and that it was\nno good waiting for them to make their choice, he picked out the\ngoldfinch and said, \"This is to be your king.\" The birds submitted,\nas they were bound to do, and making their obeisance to the new king,\neach one departed to its own place. Although the gathering had lasted\nfor some time, the cuckoo was still missing, and who was the last to\ncome but the cuckoo. When all the birds had departed, he turned up\nand made his obeisance to the new king. The goldfinch looked at him\nand said, \"Hallo, cuckoo, where have you been?\"\n\n\"Oh, I lost my way in the forest, and it took me a long time to\ncome here.\"\n\n\"I will forgive you,\" said the goldfinch, \"but on one condition;\nyou know the forest so well. Go and make me a nice palace out of the\nbast of the trees.\"\n\nThe cuckoo, glad to have got off so cheaply, said, \"Willingly will\nI do so,\" and went away.\n\nYou know the cuckoo, how light-headed and unstable he is: he says one\nthing one day and forgets it the next, so, light-heartedly he flew\nfrom tree to tree and allowed the summer to pass without remembering\nthe promise which he had made to the goldfinch.\n\nWhen autumn drew near he suddenly recollected that the goldfinch\nexpected him to build him a palace out of the bast of the tree, for\nthe goldfinch wanted to live in a shining palace. And that was just\nwhat the cuckoo never intended to do.\n\nFearing the wrath of the king, he stopped singing and hid himself in\nthe thickest part of the forest. The goldfinch waited month after\nmonth to see the palace, and seeing the cuckoo flitting from tree\nto tree and hearing him singing, thought he was busily at work. But\nwhen the autumn came, and no trace of any palace could be seen, he\nlooked round to see where the cuckoo was. But catch him if you can,\nfor he had disappeared.\n\nAnd that is why the goldfinch never had the palace which he\ndesired. And that is also the reason why the cuckoo stops singing\nfrom the feast of St. John, lest he be discovered by the goldfinch\nand taken to task for his broken promise.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXLVI.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE CROW AND ITS UGLY FLEDGLINGS.\n\n\nLet us turn now to the crow, with which the raven is often confused\nin the popular mind.\n\n\n\nOf all the birds, this is considered the ugliest, especially its young\nfledglings. The legend tells that sometime after God had created\nall the living beings, he called everyone to see them and their\noffspring. He wanted to see how the young birds and animals looked,\nand then to give them suitable gifts, and food for their little ones.\n\nThey came one by one, and God looked at them, patted some and stroked\nothers, and was very pleased with every one of them, for each one had\nsomething of beauty in it. And so he blessed them and gave them food\nby which to live. The last to come was the crow, bringing her little\nbrood with her, very proud of them. When God cast his eyes upon the\nyoung crows, he spat in astonishment, and said:\n\n\"Surely these are not my creatures. I could not have made such ugly\nthings. Every one of my creatures has such beautiful young ones that\nthey are a pleasure to look at, but thine are so ugly that it makes\none sick to look at them. Whence hast thou got this one?\" \"Where\nshould I get them from?\" replied the crow; \"it is my very own young\nchild,\" she added with pride. \"You had better go back and bring me\nanother one, this is much too ugly, I cannot look at it.\" Annoyed at\nthe words of God, the crow went away, and flew all over the earth\nto search for another young one that would be more beautiful than\nthe one she had brought to God. But no other young bird appeared so\nbeautiful in her eyes as her own. So she returned back to God and said,\n\"I have been all over the world, and I have searched high and low,\nbut young birds more beautiful and more dainty than mine I have not\nbeen able to find.\" Then God smilingly replied, \"Quite right, just\nso are all mothers; no other child is so beautiful in their eyes as\ntheir own.\" Then he blessed the little crows and sent them away into\nthe world with his gifts.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXLVII.\n\nWHY IS THERE ENMITY BETWEEN THE CROW AND THE HAWK?\n\n\nThe Rumanians tell another tale about the ugliness of young crows. It\nis the story of the crow and the hawk.\n\n\n\nThe crow was in very great distress, for however she tried and whatever\nshe did, she could not rear a family. No sooner were the young hatched,\nthan the hawk would come and pick them up. In vain did she try to\nhide her nest in the hollows of a tree or in the thickets of a bush,\nas sure as death would the hawk find them and eat them.\n\nNot knowing what to do, she bethought herself and said, \"How would it\ndo if I try and get the hawk to be godmother, for then, being a near\nrelation, she is sure to spare my little ones?\" Said and done. She went\nout of her place to search for the hawk, and finding her, she said,\n\"Good morning, sister.\"\n\n\"Good morning,\" replied the hawk.\n\n\"How pleased I should feel,\" said the crow, \"if you would become\ngodmother to my children.\"\n\n\"With pleasure,\" replied the hawk, \"why not?\" And so they made up a\ncovenant of friendship and of good-fellowship between them.\n\nBefore leaving the hawk, the crow said to her, \"Now, sister, I have\none request to make.\"\n\n\"Granted,\" replied the hawk, \"what is it?\"\n\n\"I only beg of you to spare my children, do not eat them when you\nhave found them.\"\n\n\"All right,\" replied the hawk, \"I shall certainly not touch them, but\ntell me how they look so that in case I meet them I may spare them.\"\n\n\"O,\" replied the crow, \"mine are the most beautiful creatures in the\nworld, they are more lovely than any other bird can boast of.\"\n\n\"Very well, rest assured. Go in peace.\" And they parted.\n\nThe crow, being quite satisfied with the hawk's promise, began flying\nabout the next day trying to find something with which to feed her\nchildren. The hawk the next morning went about her own business\nand tried to find some nice little young ones to eat. Flying about,\nshe saw the young ones of the thrush, the blackbird, and of other\nbeautiful birds, and she said to herself, \"Surely these are the\nchildren of the crow; look how lovely and beautiful they are, I am\nnot going to touch them.\"\n\nShe went all day, without finding any little birds but these; and\nshe said to herself:\n\n\"I must keep my word to my sister, I am not going to touch them.\" And\nshe went to bed hungry. The next day the same thing happened, and\nstill the hawk kept her word and would not touch them.\n\nOn the third day she was so hungry that she could scarcely see out\nof her eyes. Roaming about, the hawk suddenly lighted upon the nest\nof the crow. Seeing the little, miserable, ugly things in the nest,\nthe hawk at first would not touch them, although she never dreamt that\nthese ugly things were the children of the crow, so much praised by\nher for their beauty, and thought they must belong to some hideous\nbird. But what is one to do when one is hungry? One eats what one\ngets and not finding anything better, she sat down and gobbled them\nup one by one, and then flew away.\n\nNot long after the hawk had left, the crow came in, feeling sure this\ntime to find her little ones unhurt; but how great was her dismay\nwhen she found the nest empty! First she thought the little birds\nhad tried their wings and were flying about in the neighbourhood,\nand she went in search of them. Not finding them, she began to be a\nlittle more anxious, and hunting a little more closely, found on the\nground near some rushes some tufts of feathers with little bones and\nblood. She knew at once that the hawk had again been there, feeding\non her children.\n\nFull of wrath and fury, she went to find the hawk. Meeting her, she\nsaid, \"A nice sister and godmother you are! After you had promised\nmost faithfully not to touch my children, no sooner had I turned my\nback on them, than you come again and eat them.\"\n\n\"I do not understand what you are saying,\" replied the hawk. \"It is\nyour own fault. You told me your children were the most beautiful\nin the world, and those which I have eaten were monsters of\nhideousness. If I had not felt the pinch of hunger so strong, I\nwould not have touched them, not for anything, such ugly things they\nwere! They nearly made me sick.\"\n\n\"Is that the way you keep your promise?\" replied the angry crow;\n\"after having eaten them, you even have the impudence to tell lies\nand insult me. Off with you! and woe betide you if I ever catch you,\nI will teach you to behave properly.\"\n\nFrom that day on, the hawk, if it gets near the crows, attacks\nthem. And from that day on there is implacable hatred between the\ncrows and the hawks.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXLVII. A.\n\nCROW CHARMS.\n\n\nIt is said that the crow bathes its young in some waters between\nfrontiers. This water becomes poisonous, and is used by witches\nfor philtres and spells. If a man wants to obtain the water, he\nmust go to nine witches, who assemble on a Tuesday at midnight\nat the fountain. Each one brings a stolen pot, or, in preference,\nthe skull of a dog. In each they take three drops of that water, and\nthey say their spell over it, waving over it a tuft of hair from a mad\nwolf. This incantation they must repeat for nine weeks on each Tuesday\nat midnight, and with the water thus obtained they make their philtres.\n\nThe croaking of the crow is considered as evil an omen as that of the\nraven. A very peculiar custom prevails among the people, who, when the\nchildren lose their teeth, take them and throw them if possible on the\nroofs of the houses and say: \"Here, crow, I give you a tooth of bone,\nbring me one more beautiful.\" Or, according to other versions, \"bring\nme one of gold. I give you a tooth of iron, bring me one of steel.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXLVIII.\n\nWHY DOES THE HERON DRINK ONLY RAIN-WATER?\n\nThe Story of the Heron and the digging of Wells.\n\n\nWhen God had created the world, there were no springs or wells. The\nonly water from which to satisfy the thirst of all the creatures was\nrain-water. After a time the rain was not enough to satisfy them all;\nthe grass and trees were fading and withering, burnt up by the fiery\nheat of the sun, and the animals were perishing from thirst.\n\nSo God called all the birds together, and told them that they should\ndig holes in the earth with their claws and beaks, in order that the\nwater from underneath should come up and water the earth and slake\nthe thirst of all the creatures. At the bidding of God all the birds\ncame together and started working with their beaks and claws. They\nall worked together. The hawk worked side by side with the young\nchickens, and the owl with the doves. Such a thing never happened\nbefore or since.\n\nThe heron alone flew about as if it did not affect her. She was quite\nindifferent to see how hard the other birds worked. She cared not\nfor the sweat which stood out like beads, and ran down the neck of\nthe lark as it went scratching away at the earth with legs as thin\nas two straws, nor did she care for the titmouse which hacked away\nat the foot of a hillock. And God asked her:\n\n\"Why dost thou not do anything?\"\n\n\"Why should I soil my feet with mud,\" she replied, \"when the\nrain-waters are not yet dried up?\"\n\nAnd God said:\n\n\"Because thou hast not hearkened to my command, thou shalt slake thy\nthirst only from the rain, and then only by the water running down thy\nwings.\" From that time onwards one hears the heron crying in time of\ndrought. She prays to God to send some rain to moisten her dry mouth.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXLIX.\n\nWHY DOES THE KITE CRY IN DRY WEATHER?\n\nThe Story of the Kite and the making of Rivers.\n\n\nThe same story is told of the kite in the following version:\n\nWhen God made the world, he called all the birds together to help him\nto dig wells for the water and beds for the rivers. All the birds\ncame except the kite, which, looking at its claws, said, \"See how\nbeautiful and dainty they are! I am not going to soil them with the\nmud of the rivers and wells.\" Then all the other birds cursed her,\nthat she might never be able to drink water out of wells and rivers,\nand should slake her thirst only with the dew and rain from heaven,\nnor should she be able to drink by lifting her beak and catching the\nfalling rain, but she would only be able to drink the rain-water\nwhich was running down her wings. Therefore, in time of drought,\nthe kite flies high up to God and prays for rain and dew, for if she\ndrinks of the water of rivers and wells she dies.\n\n\n\nA remarkable parallel to this story has been given by Grimm in his\nD. Mythologie, 4th ed. p. 561; and for a Russian parallel, v. Ralston,\nRussian Folk Tales, p. 331.\n\nAn oriental version substitutes the raven for the kite as the bird\nwhose piteous cries bring about the breaking of the drought. It is\nsaid that when Adam beheld his dead son Abel, he did not know what\nto do, for he was the first man to die. A raven dug a hole and put\ninto it his companion who had died.\n\nAdam saw this and followed his example. God therefore granted to the\nraven that henceforth when there would be drought in the world, his\ncry would bring about the breaking up of the drought and a downpour\nof rain (Chapters of Eliezer, ch. xxi.).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nL.\n\nWHY CAN THE MOLE NOT COME OUT ON THE HIGH ROAD?\n\nThe Story of the Mole and the making of Roads.\n\n\nWhen the world was made, there were no roads and no pathways. It was\nvery difficult to get about from one place to another.\n\nSeeing this, God ordered all the animals to come and work together and\nstraighten out paths and make roads. All the animals came and worked\nas they were commanded. Only the mole stayed away, so God asked him\nwhy he had not come, when all the others had?\n\n\"I do not want any roads and ways, for they are of no use to me,\"\nhe replied; \"I burrow under the earth and there I spend my life.\"\n\n\"So shall it always be henceforth,\" said God, \"and thou shalt not be\nable to make thy little hills on roads or highways, and it shall not\nbe a sin to kill thee.\"\n\nAnd so it has remained to this day. No mole-hill has ever been seen\non any public road. The mole cannot make them except in fields and\nmeadows.\n\nWhoever destroys a mole-hill gets a peculiar wart on his hand. In\norder to get rid of it he must pass over it seven times the paw\n(the claws) of a mole.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLI.\n\nWHY HAS THE TORTOISE A ROUND BACK?\n\nThe Story of the Tortoise, St. Peter and God.\n\n\nWhen God and St. Peter were walking on the earth, one day they made a\nvery long journey, and grew very hungry. Coming to a little hut, they\nfound the woman in, and they asked her for something to eat. \"Well,\"\nshe said, \"I have very little flour in the house, but I am going to\nbake two loaves, and when you come back in half an hour they will be\nready and you will be welcome to one.\" Taking the flour, she kneaded\nit in the trough and made two loaves, one for herself and one for\nthe travellers. Meanwhile they went to church, but they said before\ngoing that they would come back at the end of the service.\n\nThe woman covered over the dough, and to her great astonishment,\nwhen she lifted the cover, the dough of the loaf for the strangers\nhad risen much higher than the other. Then she put both loaves in the\noven. How great was her surprise, on taking out the loaves from the\noven, when she found that the one for the travellers had been baked\nnicely and was a very big loaf, whilst the one for herself was half\nburned and almost shrivelled to a pancake. When she saw the miracle\nher greed overtook her, and she forgot the promise which she had\nmade to the travellers. She said to herself: \"Why should I give my\nbest bread to strangers whom I do not know? Let them go elsewhere to\nricher people than I am.\"\n\nSo she took the pasteboard and put it on the floor, and crouching on\nit, covered herself over with the trough. She told her little girl\nto stand in front of the door, and if two old people should come\nand ask for her she was to say that her mother had gone away and\nthat she did not know where she was. The travellers then, of course,\nwould not come in, and she would be able to enjoy the loaf.\n\nAfter a while God and St. Peter came back from church, and asked\nthe little girl where her mother was, to which the child replied as\nshe had been told. God said, \"Where she is there shall she remain\";\nand went away. The child came in and tried to lift the trough off\nthe back of her mother, who was lying hidden underneath, but try as\nhard as she could the trough would not come off. It had grown on to\nthe back of her mother, and the pasteboard had grown underneath on\nto her. The woman was only able to put out her little head with the\nglistening, greedy eyes, and her tiny little hands and feet, and the\nhandle of the pasteboard had turned into a waggling tail.\n\nAnd that is how the tortoise was made, when the old woman became the\ntortoise always carrying the trough and the pasteboard with her.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLII.\n\nWHY HAVE THE FISH NO FEET?\n\n\nWhen God had made all the creatures, he gave every one the power of\nwalking and saving themselves from danger.\n\nAmong others, came the fish, and God asked him what he would like,\nand the fish replied: \"If I am to have my choice I would ask you to\ngive me seven wings; I should fly much quicker than any other animal,\nand no one would be able to catch me: but should I be caught I am\nwilling to die alive on the grill with my eyes open.\" And God shook\nhis head at the foolish request, for he knew that man would be able\nto find out how to make the line and hook, and that all the wings of\nthe fish would not help him. So he is caught with his mouth open,\nand that is why the fish takes his punishment without murmuring,\nand dies quietly on the grill with his eyes open.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLIII.\n\nWHY DO THE PLOVER FLY SINGLY?\n\nThe Story of the Plover and Lady Mary.\n\n\nIn the beginning the plover used to fly in large coveys. But one day,\nwhen Our Lady was riding on a horse, they ran across the road and\nfrightened the horse so much that it threw the rider. Angry at the\nmishap, St. Mary cursed the plover that they should no longer gather\nin coveys but should go singly. And so it has remained to this very\nday. The plover nest quite alone and never join others in their flight.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLIV.\n\nWHY DOES THE SPIDER HANG ON A THREAD?\n\nThe Story of the Spider and Lady Mary.\n\n\nOne day a spider, meeting the Holy Mother, challenged her as to which\nof the two could spin the finer thread. The Holy Mother accepted the\nchallenge, and started to spin a very fine thread indeed. But, however\nfine her thread was, the yarn spun by the spider was much finer,\nand then, to add to the discomfiture of the Holy Mother, the spider\nlet himself down on one of its threads and remained dangling, and,\nturning to the Holy Mother, he said to her: \"Can you do anything like\nit?\" And the Holy Mother replied, \"No\"; and being angry she cursed the\nspider, and said, \"Thy web shall be of no use to anyone, and because\nof thy spite, whoever kills thee shall be forgiven three of his sins.\"\n\n\n\nWe meet the spider again in controversy with the Holy Mother on a\nmore dramatic occasion.\n\n\n\nShe was searching for her son, and going to St. John, she asked him\nwhat had happened to him, as she had not seen him for some time. \"The\ncruel people have taken him and are torturing him.\" Going on her\nway she met the carpenters, who said to her that instead of making\na light cross they had made a heavy cross. She cursed them, saying,\n\"May you work all the year and see no profit.\"\n\nThen she met the smiths, who, instead of making short nails, had made\nlong nails, and she cursed them likewise. She came to the gate of the\npalace of Pilate, and on her touching the gate, it opened, and going\nin, she saw all that happened. On her way, weeping and crying, she met\na flight of swallows, who asked her why she was crying and weeping,\nand she replied, \"My only son has been taken away from me.\" And they\nreplied, \"Do not weep and do not cry, for three days hence thou shalt\nsee him alive, thou and thy friends.\"\n\nAnd the Holy Mother blessed them, that they should always be welcome\nin the house of the people, that they should nest on the roofs, and\nthat no one should disturb them, and that whosoever should kill a\nswallow should be guilty of three sins.\n\nGoing further, she met the spider, and the spider asked her why she\nwas weeping and crying, and she replied, \"My only son has been taken\naway.\" And the spider replied, \"You may cry till the day of doom;\nwhat is gone is gone, and can never come back again.\" Next to the\nspider was standing the mouse, and the mouse chimed in: so the Holy\nMother cursed him and went on her way, but finding that her way led\nher nowhere, she came back the same road.\n\nWhen she had gone, the mouse said to the spider: \"The Holy Mother\nhas not blessed us, so I think you had better make a rope and stretch\nit from tree to tree, and I will dig a pit underneath, and when she\ncomes back we will hang her by the rope and throw her into the pit.\"\n\nBut the Holy Mother knew what they were plotting, and when she came\nback, she said:\n\n\"Thou ugly and spiteful spider, worms shall settle on thee, and by thy\nown rope shalt thou hang. All the days of thy life an unclean animal\nshalt thou be. And thou, O mouse, who hast plotted against me, thy\nhabitation shall be henceforth in the pits and hollows of the earth,\nand thou shalt be an unclean beast. Whatever thou touchest shall\nbe defiled, and whoever kills thee or the spider shall be forgiven\nthree sins.\" And so it has remained to this very day, the spider\nhanging on its own rope, and the mouse lying hidden under the earth,\nand both are killed by men and beasts.\n\nThis same legend has become a carol which is also used as a charm.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLIV. A.\n\nWHY ARE THE SPIDER AND THE MOUSE ACCURSED?\n\nThe Story of Lady Mary, the Mouse and the Spider (a Charm).\n\n\nAfter the crucifixion, the Lady Mary went along crying and weeping in\npain and grief for that they had crucified her son. Wherever she went\nall the creatures wept with her, and the flowers in the grass of the\nfield bent low in sign of mourning. A flight of swallows met her in\nthe beautiful meadow, and seeing her crying, comforted her, and said:\n\"Do not weep, for thy son will come to life again three days hence,\nand will show himself to thee and to the Apostles.\" Then the Lady Mary\nbecame more comforted, and said to the swallows: \"Ye swallows from\nthis day on shall be the cleanest birds on the face of the earth,\nand the house at which you build your nests will be a happy one,\nand whoever destroys your nest shall be cursed.\" The Lady Mary went\non her way, and passing on her way she met a spider weaving his web,\nand a mouse burrowing in the ground. When they saw her weeping they\nmocked at her, and said: \"In vain dost thou weep and cry. Know that\nthy son is dead; he will never come to life again, although thou\nmayest believe it.\" But the Lady Mary replied: \"My child is the son of\nGod. He will do what he wills.\" And she went on her way. She went on\nuntil she came to another forest. Fearing that she might lose her way\nshe returned the same way as she had gone. The spider and the mouse,\nseeing that she had not blessed them, took counsel together to hang\nher on a rope and to kill her the next time they met her again. And\nthe mouse said to the spider: \"Now thou weave a rope and get it ready,\nand upon that rope we will hang her as soon as we set our eyes on\nher.\" A short time afterwards the Lady Mary returned, and came back\nto the same spot. Meanwhile the spider had woven a strong rope, and\nhad tied one end to a branch of the tree, and the mouse had digged a\ndeep pit under that tree. But the Lady knew what they had intended,\nand she said: \"Thou, O spider, hast woven a rope for hanging me,\nthou shalt always dangle on a rope. Thou shalt be unclean and full of\nvermin, and whoever catches thee shall kill thee. And thou, O mouse,\nthou shalt be so dirty from this day onwards, that wherever thou diest\nthat place shall become unclean, and whoever sees thee shall kill thee,\nand whoever will kill a mouse or a spider God shall forgive him three\nsins.\" And as she had said, so it has remained to this very day. From\nthat time on the mouse and the spider have remained accursed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLV.\n\nWHY HAS THE SWALLOW A FORKED TAIL AND A RED SPOT ON ITS BREAST?\n\nThe Story of Lady Mary and the Wicked Stepmother.\n\n\nIn Oriental folk-lore the swallow seems to be considered everywhere\nas a sacred bird, of which many legends are related. We hear, that\nwhen the Temple was burning in Jerusalem the swallows were the birds\nwhich brought water in their beaks with which to quench the flame,\nwhilst the spider brought fiery coal to fan the flame. Hence he who\nkills a swallow commits seven sins, whilst he who kills a spider is\nforgiven seven sins. In the Appendix, No. III., a peculiar legend is\nalso told of the spider, the gnat and the swallow. As for the origin\nof the swallow, which would account for the forked tail and for the\ncolour of the feathers, the Rumanians have the following tale.\n\n\n\nIt is a story of a mother-in-law, who, like all mothers-in-law, treated\nher daughter-in-law in a most cruel manner. Whatever the young woman\ndid was not right. Her mother-in-law persecuted her from morning\ntill evening, and gave her neither peace nor rest. One day, seeing\nthat she could not get rid of her by any other means, she killed her,\nand cut her up in pieces. Her son, who had been away, came in just in\ntime to see the foul deed which his mother had done. Enraged, he made\na pile of wood, and dragging his mother on to it, he lit the wood, so\nas to burn his mother on the fire. For reasons which we do not know,\nSt. Mary came down from heaven and pulled the old woman away from\nthe fire after her. Her clothes had already began to burn. She got\nhold of her, changed her into a swallow, and pulled her through the\nchimney. As soon as she saw herself saved, the wicked woman wanted\nto fly away. But St. Mary said: \"Stop, and do not fly away. Do not\nimagine that because I have saved you from being burned on the fire,\nI will let you go away like that: you just wait, for I must put a sign\non you, that everybody may know what a good mother-in-law you have\nbeen, and that you have killed your daughter-in-law.\" And as she said\nthese words, she caused her tail to become like a pair of scissors,\nor rather like two sharp knives joined in one point, like the knives\nwith which she had cut up her daughter-in-law. But this was not the\nonly sign. For when St. Mary pulled her through the chimney, a lot\nof soot fell on her, and wherever it fell it made the feathers black,\nand so they have remained to this very day. The red spot on the breast\nof the swallow is the red blood of her daughter-in-law, and the white\nspots are the remnants of the shirt which remained unburned when all\nthe other clothes had caught fire, but it has not kept white either,\nfor it was just a little singed.\n\n\n\nThere are besides these a number of tales about the swallow. They\nare told in Nos. 86, 87.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLVI.\n\nWHY DOES THE FROG SHRIVEL UP AT DEATH?\n\nThe Story of the Frog and Lady Mary.\n\n\nWhen Christ was being crucified, his mother went in search of him;\nshe did not know whither he had betaken himself. On her way she met\na band of carpenters. Weeping, she asked them, \"Have you seen my\nson?\" \"We have seen him,\" they said. \"Nay, we have made the cross,\nand instead of light timber, we have taken heavy timber.\" \"So,\" she\nsaid, \"you shall henceforth work from morning till night and never\nget any richer.\"\n\nThen she met a band of Gipsies, and she asked them, \"Have you seen\nmy son?\" \"O yes,\" they replied, \"we have seen him, and we were told\nto make thick and blunt nails, but we have made them thin and pointed\nso they should pass easily through and not give much pain.\" And Mary\nreplied, \"May your work be light and your profit great.\"\n\nGoing on her way she met a frog, and the frog asked her, \"Dear\nlady mine, what are you weeping and crying for?\" And she replied,\n\"I am weeping and crying for my only son, whom they are killing now\nin Jerusalem.\" And the frog replied, \"What am I to say; I have had\nten children and nine were crushed to death by the wicked wheel of\nthe carts, only one is left to his mother, a sweet darling and pet,\na beauty.\" When Mary heard the frog lauding her child, she said,\n\"Let me see that beauty of yours, just come out, little froggie,\nbeloved darling of mother.\" And there came out of the lake behind a\nlittle frog with its crooked legs and ungainly face, and with eyes\nstaring out of his head. And when Mary saw that beauty she could not\nhelp laughing under her tears. And she said to the frog, \"Because\nthou hast made me smile in my grief, may thy body never rot when\nthou diest, and the worm never have a share in it.\" And ever since,\nwhen the frog dies, the body shrinks into nothingness and disappears.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLVII.\n\nWHY DOES THE SILKWORM SPIN A THIN THREAD?\n\nThe Story of the Tortoise and Lady Mary.\n\n\nThe blessed Mary, great and glorious as she is--she must not take\nit amiss--was one day too lazy to go out on behalf of her son to\ndistribute his gifts among the children of the village. So when she\nleft the house with the loaves of bread, some cake, and other gifts\nwhich she was to distribute, under her arm, she met the tortoise.\n\n\"Good morning,\" said the one. \"Welcome, daughter,\" said the\nother. St. Mary said, \"Prithee, auntie, just give this bread as alms\nfor souls to the boys of the village.\"\n\n\"That is not much, my daughter, I will willingly do it,\" and taking\nthe bread under her arms, there she went crawling along until she\ncame to the boys.\n\nThe tortoise had scarcely left her, when St. Mary bethought herself\nthat it might have been better if she herself had given the alms away,\nand not sent them through a stranger. So without more ado she followed\nthe way the tortoise had gone, and came to the school.\n\nWhat did she see there? Auntie tortoise performed her deed as she had\npromised, and going from boy to boy gave everyone a bit. But when at\nlast she came to the youngest, who was her own child, she took out\nthe cake and gave it to him. \"I should like to know,\" said St. Mary,\n\"how it happened that the last piece to be given away was a cake?\"\n\n\"Well, daughter, or rather mother, I had kept the cake for the most\nbeautiful child, and I could not find anyone more beautiful than\nmine.\" St. Mary, who had heard many things, when she heard this,\ncould not help laughing aloud.\n\nWhen she stopped laughing she was rather sorry, for why should she have\nlaughed so loud? She said, \"Verily, there is nothing more beautiful\nin the eyes of a mother than her own child.\"\n\nHer beautiful face grew sad, and in order that her laughter should\nnot bewitch the little tortoise--as if struck by the evil eye for\nbeing praised as beautiful--she spat out upon the ground, and out of\nthe spittle there grew the silkworm. St. Mary blessed it and said,\n\"Thou shalt live upon green leaves, and thou shalt draw out fine silk\nthreads\" (like the thread of the spittle). It is therefore forbidden\nto say anything evil of the silkworm, or to touch it whilst it is\nspinning the cocoon, for no sooner is an evil word spoken or the worm\ntouched, than it stops drawing the silk.\n\n\n\nThe variant from the Balkans is as follows:\n\nWhen Jesus went up to Golgotha, the Virgin Mother followed,\ncrying. There she saw in the procession also a tortoise, and she\ncould not help laughing. She then reproached herself, and said, \"O\nevil mouth, thou art only good for worms.\" There and then she spat on\nthe ground in disgust, and worms came out of the spittle. But having\ncome from a holy mouth the worms which grew out of the spittle became\nthe silkworms, which have remained so to this very day.\n\n\n\nA peculiar variant in which, however, the second part--the origin of\nthe silkworm--is omitted, is found among the Kutzovlachs of Macedonia\nas \"The Story of St. Mary and the Tortoise.\"\n\nOnce upon a time the Virgin Mary sat sadly at the door of the school,\nwaiting for her son, who was learning within, to come out so that she\nmight give him a piece of cake which she had brought with her. Whilst\nshe was sitting there she said to herself, \"I will wait and see whether\nall the creatures recognise my son to be the most beautiful child in\nthe world.\"\n\nA tortoise just then came along. In order to put her to the test,\nSt. Mary said to her, \"Would you like to give this cake to the most\nbeautiful child here in this school?\"\n\n\"Willingly,\" replied the tortoise, and taking the cake she went into\nthe school room. It so happened then that her own child was also\namong the pupils. She went straight up to it, and without a moment's\nhesitation gave it the cake destined for the most beautiful child in\nthe school. When St. Mary saw what the tortoise had done, instead of\nbeing angry she laughed heartily, and said to her:\n\n\"Thou hast acted as every mother would act, for to a mother no one\ncould be more beautiful than her own child. And because thou hast\ndriven away my sadness, the finest and softest grass shall henceforth\nbe thy food, and when thou diest thy bones shall not rot away.\"\n\nAnd so it has remained to this very day, and the shell of the tortoise\nremains sound.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLVIII.\n\nWHY IS IT RIGHT TO KILL A SPARROW?\n\nThe Story of the Sparrow and the Crucifixion.\n\n\nAnother legend brings us again to the same events. This time it is\nin connection with the sparrow. It is said that the sparrows were\noriginally much bigger birds than they are now, but at the time of\nthe crucifixion they flew round the cross and cried half mockingly,\n\"Jiviu Jiviu,\" which means \"Live, live.\" Christ, who was in pain, and\nannoyed at their behaviour, cursed them and said, \"May you live only\non the crumbs which you will pick up on the roadside, and henceforth,\nbecoming smaller, you will be snared by little boys and tormented\nby them, and the passers-by shall hit at you with whips, and kill\nyou.\" And so it has remained to this very day.\n\nThey live on crumbs wherever they can pick them up. They have become\nvery small birds. They are snared by children, who often play with them\ncruelly, and the passers-by strike at them with a whip, and kill them.\n\n\n\nA Russian Legend, Afanasief, p. 13, is a close parallel to this\nstory, though it differs somewhat from it in detail; v. Ralston,\nRussian Folk Tales, p. 331.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLIX.\n\nWHY SHOULD THE OAK TREE NOT BOAST?\n\nThe Story of the Sparrow and the Oak Tree.\n\n\nThe people regard the sparrow as one of the greatest pests, for he\neats up the seeds and the crops. The people believe that the sparrows\nreach an age of over nine hundred years, and they tell the following\ntale about it:\n\n\n\nIn a clearing of a huge oak forest, there grew up a tiny little\ntree. All the other trees looked upon it with pleasure, it was so\ngreen and so tender. Suddenly a sparrow flying over the trees came\ndown and settled on that little sapling, which bent under the weight\nof the bird. Angrily, the little tree said to the sparrow, \"It is a\ngreat shame that thou shouldst have come and settled on me, I who am\nso weak and tender and scarcely able to stand up, why didst thou not\ngo and settle on one of those huge trees of which the forest is full.\"\n\nThe sparrow, feeling ashamed and angered at the words of the little\nsapling, replied: \"Very well, I am going, but when thou shalt be\non thy death-bed I will come back, and thou wilt have to render me\naccount for these offensive words which thou hast spoken to me.\" And\nthe sparrow went away.\n\nNow it is known that an oak lives for nine hundred years: for three\nhundred years it grows in strength and might, the next three hundred\nit rests quiet, and during the last three hundred it slowly decays and\ndies. First the heart, that is, the core, dies, then the wood is slowly\neaten away, the branches fall off, and at the end of nine hundred years\nthe tree is changed into dust. And so it happened with that little\nsapling. It grew for three hundred years, it stopped still for the\nnext three hundred years, and finally it decayed and died at the end\nof the last three hundred years. When the last day of the nine hundred\nyears had come, and scarcely anything was left of the tree but dust,\nthe sparrow came back, and rolling about in the dust it said: \"Dost\nthou remember when thou wast a mere sapling, how thou didst insult me,\nthou didst believe thou wouldst grow on and live for ever? Dost thou\nsee that my word has come true, thou proud tree of the forest, now\nthy head is lying low and thou hast been changed into dust, thou hast\nbeen humbled, whilst I am still living on in strength, and I am now as\nI have then been.\" This longevity of the sparrow makes him the dread\nof the peasants and farmers, and among the means taken to save the\ncrops from the inroads of this pest are magical practices and charms.\n\nI will only quote one or two.\n\n\n\nCharms against the Sparrow.\n\nOn the first day of Lent the man must collect all the crumbs and\nbones from his table after he has finished his meal, and, taking them\nout in the table-cover, he must strew them upon the field, and say,\n\"O ye birds of heaven, here I have brought you of the food from my\ntable, eat this, and do not touch the food from off the field.\" Or,\ntaking a handful of corn and standing with one foot on his field and\nwith the other on the roadside, he must throw the corn on the road\noutside the field and to say, \"O St. Mary, here I have brought food\nfor the birds of heaven. Let them feed on this seed and not on the\nseed which I sow in my field.\"\n\nThere is still another charm.\n\nAt the time when the sparrows begin to pick at the corn the youngest\nof the household must go to the field. He must take off all his\ngarments, then, tying a kerchief over his eyes, he must hold in\nhis hand a candle, which has been burning at the head of a corpse,\nand carrying also a tuft of hair cut off from the head of the dead,\nhe is to walk with the lighted candle in his hand over the four sides\nof the field and say, \"As I do not see now, and as the dead man does\nnot see, so shall the birds not see this field with the corn growing\nin it. And the mind of the birds should be taken off from this field,\nas the mind of the dead is off it.\" When he comes to the fourth\ncorner of the field he must tie the hair of the dead round some of\nthe ears of corn and say, \"I do not tie up this crop, but I tie the\nmouth of the birds, that they may not be able to eat it, as the dead\nman is unable to eat it. And they shall not be able to see the corn,\nas the dead man does not see the world.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLX.\n\nWHY DOES THE MOSQUITO LIVE IN THE WELL?\n\nThe Story of King Pic, Lady Mary and the Sun.\n\n\nOnce upon a time St. Mary talked with the sun about the sins of\nthis world. They also talked about the wicked deeds of the Emperor\nPic among others, of whom an evil report had spread on account\nof his cruelty. The sun talked to her about all that he had seen,\nand St. Mary, weighing up all his sins, came to the decision that he\nshould be thrown into the depths of the sea, so that even his memory\nshould be lost to the end of days.\n\nBut before she had time to pronounce her judgment, up came the Emperor\nPic himself in mighty wrath. He caught hold of St. Mary by the hair\nof her head, for was he not the emperor, and was there anyone of whom\nhe should stand in awe? He feared no one, and cursing as fast as he\ncould fill his mouth with blasphemous words, he started fighting the\nsun. When St. Mary wanted to remonstrate with him he gave her a blow\non her mouth, so as to stop her from speaking. The sun, seeing this\ninfamous conduct, got angry, and catching him by the throat, hurled\nthe Emperor Pic into a well with the intention of drowning him before\nhe could utter a single word. The only sound which he made before\nsinking was Zi Zi Zi. St. Mary, having pity upon him, wanted to save\nhim from drowning, and tried to draw him out of the water. But she\nlooked in vain for him. Instead of finding Pic in the well, she only\nfound a little insect that was shivering with cold and was hiding\nunder one of the beams of the well. God had no doubt punished Pic\nfor his impudence. The mosquito (Culex pipiens) does not leave his\nhiding place until the sun disappears, for he is frightened of him,\nand this fear has remained with him. For this reason no mosquito will\ncome out during the daytime: he will wait until it gets dark, then he\nwill come out and, sitting on the edge of the well, sings Zi, Zi, Zi.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXI.\n\nWHY DOES THE MOSQUITO FEED ON BLOOD?\n\nThe Story of God and the Food of the Mosquito.\n\n\nAfter God had made all the creatures, he called them together, to tell\nthem what they would have to do so that they might live. They all came,\nand God gave every one its gift and the manner of its food. All had\ncome and gone, but the mosquito did not come until very late. When\nasked why he had done so, he started telling tales, until God got\nangry and, turning to him, said:\n\n\"I have no time to waste with thee, hurry up and tell me quickly,\nwhat kind of food dost thou wish?\"\n\nThe mosquito replied, \"I wish to live by sucking.\"\n\n\"So it shall be,\" replied God, \"now go and suck the juice of trees\nand plants.\"\n\nWhat was he to do? He went and sucked the trees and plants. After a\nfortnight had passed he got weak and shrivelled from this kind of\nfood. His wife, seeing the state into which he had fallen by his\nfoolish demand, said to him:\n\n\"See what has become of you! You are shrivelled up and weak, a few\ndays more and you are sure to die. You had better go to God and beg\nhim to give you another food.\"\n\nBut he said, \"I cannot go; if you have the impudence you had better\ngo.\"\n\n\"Very well, then, I will go,\" replied the female mosquito, and up\nshe went to God.\n\nWhen he saw her he asked her, \"What has brought you to me?\"\n\n\"The miserable food which my husband has got is killing us. We cannot\nlive by it. We are getting shrivelled up.\"\n\n\"If so,\" said God, \"I will give you the right to suck also blood\nfrom man and beast, but as soon as you cannot get blood you must\ndie. Your husband, however, he may live on the blood and juice of\nplants alike.\" And so it has remained, the female dies when she cannot\nfind blood to suck.\n\n\n\nAccording to some local tradition, the mosquito has been made out\nof the smoke of the devil's pipe, and for that reason he hates the\nsmoke. According to another they are also the servants of the devil\nand the enemies of the angels, who cannot come into a room where\nthere are many mosquitos\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXII.\n\nWHY DOES THE FLY EAT THE CHERRY?\n\nThe Story of Lady Mary and the Cherries.\n\n\nIt is told that, once upon a time, the Lady Mary wanted to bring some\ncherries to her son. So she went to a cherry tree and began to shake\nit. But to her surprise, instead of coming down as she expected,\nthe cherries seemed to rise higher and higher. It was a cherry tree\ndedicated to the devil, and it was not meet that such cherries should\nbe brought to God. So she went away full of wrath, and cursed the\ncherries. And lo! they were changed into small black mites that flew\naway. But the love of their sisters--the cherries--brings them back,\nand they come and kiss them, and when they kiss them they leave their\neggs behind, which, growing into little white worms, eat the cherries.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXIII.\n\nWHY HAS THE BUTTERFLY RINGS ON ITS WINGS?\n\nThe Story of St. Anne and the Magician.\n\n\nOnce upon a time the rumour spread through Palestine that there was\na man who could perform greater miracles than God. St. Anne, hearing\nof it, determined to go and see him, and so she did.\n\nWhen she approached the house where he lived, she washed her feet,\nas it is customary in those parts of the world, and with meekness and\ndevotion she went in and asked the man to change a withered trunk into\na green tree. The man got very angry, and said he did not perform\nmiracles, and after insulting her before the assembled multitudes,\nseized her hands and thrust her out of his house.\n\nWhen St. Anne saw what he had done she fell upon her knees and prayed\nto God to punish him. As she was lifting up her hands in prayer she\nsuddenly noticed that the ring which she had from her dear mother had\ngone. She remembered that the man had got hold of her by the hand,\nand she understood that he then must have slipped the ring off her\nfinger. So she prayed that God would punish this impostor, thief,\nand robber.\n\nAnd God heard her prayer. Of a sudden the man disappeared from amongst\nthe people, and a small ring appeared round one of the boughs of the\ntree outside the house. Whilst the people were gazing upon this ring\ninto which the thief had been changed, it opened, and out of it came\na hundred of small butterflies with the mark of the ring on their\nwings. This was the sign of the ring, which had been stolen from\nSt. Anne.\n\nThe miracle which St. Anne asks the man to perform, namely, to change a\nwithered trunk into a green tree, belongs to the large cycle of similar\nmiracles starting from the rod of Aaron, the story of Lot and Abraham,\nthe Tannh\u00e4user legend, etc. (v. Gaster, Literatura Populara Rom\u00e2na,\nBucharest 1883, p. 286 ff.).\n\nThis ring of small insect eggs round the twigs of trees is also known\nas the cuckoo's ring, and taken off from the tree is used for charms\nby girls, who say \"as men are pleased to hear me.\" This ring is also\ncalled \"Sleep,\" and it is therefore often put into the cradle of\nrestless children in order to cause them to sleep.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXIV.\n\nWHY DOES THE CRICKET CHIRP?\n\nThe Story of Lady Mary and the Yellow Bird.\n\n\nIt is said that at the time of the birth of Christ, there was a\nbeautiful little bird with feathers, yellow as gold and with a beak\nshining like silver, and a thin, fine little body. Just as the bird\nwas beautiful, so she was insolent and disobedient. She was a friend\nof St. Mary, who liked her singing. When she was sad, the bird would\ncome and comfort her with her sweet songs. And the Holy Mother also\nhelped the little bird when she was in trouble, and when the nest\nwas broken, she helped to mend it.\n\nBut when the Holy Mother got Jesus, her friendship with the bird came\nto an end. For the bird did not like children. It could not stand their\ncrying. The bird believed that the crying child mocked at her singing,\nand therefore, whenever she saw Christ, she made faces at him and\nmockingly chirped, Gri Gri Gri. Christ, hearing it, got frightened\nand cried bitterly. When St. Mary saw the insolence of the bird,\nshe drove her away from the house, and, cursing her, said: \"From\nthe beautiful bird which thou art, thou shalt become one of the most\nhideous insects, and, living only in clefts and holes, thou shalt sing\nonly Gri Gri Gri, as a punishment for having mocked at God's child.\"\n\nSince then, that bird has entirely disappeared, and all of her kind\nwhich were living at that time were turned into crickets chirping in\nthe hearths and mocking at the children of men, Gri Gri Gri.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXV.\n\nWHY DO THE ANTS FEED THE CRICKET?\n\nThe Story of Alexander and the Knight.\n\n\nThere is another legend of the origin of the cricket which leads us\nto the cycle of the Alexander legends.\n\n\n\nIt is told that in the time of Alexander there lived a young man who,\nwhen he was sixteen years old, was more beautiful than any one had\nbeen before him, or after him. The princesses were fighting for him,\ncalling one another as many names as the moon and stars, and each\none vowing that hers only he was to be, none other was worthy of\nhim. Still more beautiful was his singing, for when you heard him your\nmind stopped still, so sweet was his voice. Even the mothers of the\nmaidens fell in love with him. And grey-haired old kings with long,\nwhite beards and bushy eyebrows, would lift their brows to see him,\nwho was as beautiful as a wonder and dear as a ball of gold. But whilst\neveryone liked him, Alexander could not suffer him. He must hate him,\nfor though Alexander was the mightiest emperor of the world, yet\nnone could please him, no not one even of those princesses. For this\nreason there grew up an enmity between them, which became so strong\nthat even the sun, which used at that time to walk about on the earth,\ncould not make peace between them. Alexander might perhaps have made\npeace, but he would do so only on the condition that the other would\nnot make love to his own favourite.\n\nBut the young knight would not hear of any conditions, and in order to\nspite him still more, he went more often than before to Alexander's\nfavourite wife, and sang to her as much as he could. When the sun\ntold how insolent he was, Alexander turned on him and drove him out of\nthe house. The sun chased him and burned him, so that from the white\nthat he was he turned as black as a coal, and from the big and tall\nman that he was he shrivelled up and became as small as a hazelnut,\nand hid himself away under the hearth of a poor woman's house, from\nwhich he squeaked \"Griji, Griji ( = take care) that the sun does not\ncatch me.\" When the sun heard it, he said, \"Now thou shalt always live\nhere where thou art, and hungry and thirsty shalt thou cry Griji,\nGriji without stopping.\" When the beautiful maidens heard what had\nhappened, they became very angry, and then, turning into ants, they\nbrought food to the poor cricket. To this very day they bring him food,\nso that he may not die of hunger.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXVI.\n\nWHY DO CATS AND DOGS FIGHT?\n\nThe Story of the Dog, the Cat and the Mouse.\n\n\nIn the beginning there was no enmity between the cat and dog, and\nthey lived on friendly terms together and served their master (Adam)\nfaithfully, each one doing its own work. But as you know, it is very\nmuch better to have a written agreement at the beginning than to have\na row afterwards, so they decided to draw up an agreement defining\nthe work which each had to do, and decided that the dog was to do\nthe work outside the house, and the cat the work inside. For greater\nsafety the dog agreed that the cat should take care of the agreement,\nand the cat put it in the loft.\n\nAfter a time, the devil, who could not allow peace to last for a long\ntime, must needs set the dog up against the cat; so one day the dog\nremarked to the cat that he was not fairly treated, he did not see\nwhy he should have all the trouble outside the house, to watch for\nthieves and protect the house and suffer from cold and rain, and\nonly have scraps and bones for food, and sometimes nothing at all,\nwhilst the cat had all the comfort, purring and enjoying herself,\nand living near the hearth in warmth and safety. The cat said,\n\"An agreement is an agreement.\" The dog replied, \"Let me see that\nagreement.\" The cat went quickly up the loft to fetch the agreement,\nbut the agreement, which had been a little greasy, had been nibbled\nby the mice who were living in the loft, and they went on nibbling\naway until nothing was left of it but a heap of paper fluff, and as\nit was as soft as down the mice made their home of it. When the cat\ncame up and saw what the mice had done, her fury knew no bounds, she\npursued them madly, killing as many as she could seize, and running\nafter the others with the intent of catching them.\n\nWhen she came down the dog asked her for the agreement, and as the\ncat had not brought it, the dog, taking hold of her, shook her until\nhe got tired of shaking her.\n\nSince that time, whenever a dog meets a cat he asks her for the\nagreement, and as she cannot show it to him he goes for her, and the\ncat, knowing what the mice had done to her, runs after them when she\nsees them.\n\n\n\nIn the South Slavonic folk-lore (Krauss, No. 18) there is a parallel\nto this story, but greatly changed from the original form. It is no\nlonger a \"creation\" legend. It runs as follows:\n\nThe dogs used to receive all the meat that fell off the table. This\nbecame a habit, and so he and the cat drew up a statement to that\neffect, and made it a permanent rule. They wrote it on the hide\nof an ass, and the king of the dogs gave it to the cat--the first\nchancellor--to take care of it. The cat hid it away in the rafters\nof the house. There the skin was found by the mice, who nibbled it\nuntil there was scarcely anything left. One day a dog got badly beaten\nbecause he picked up some meat that had fallen from the table. He went\nand complained to the king, who sent the cat to find the document. The\ncat could not find it, and saw that the mice had eaten it. Since then\nthere is a continual feud between the cat, the mice and the dog.\n\nIn this version, the entire origin of the tale has been lost. It is\nno longer referred to Adam, nor is there any question of a compact\nbetween a cat and dog which was broken by the latter. In the Slavonic\ntale there is no authority for this arrangement.\n\nThe Rumanian version approximates much more closely to the Oriental,\nand seems to have preserved much more faithfully the ancient form. The\noldest which can thus far be traced is that in the \"Alphabet of Pseudo\nSirach,\" printed here in the Appendix (No. III.).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXVII.\n\nWHY DO CATS EAT MICE?\n\nThe Story of Adam and Eve and the Devil.\n\n\nWhen Adam and Eve had lived for some time together, Adam suddenly\nnoticed a change in his wife's demeanour. Watching her narrowly, he\nfound that she had fallen in love with the devil. She had introduced\nhim into the house, which she had built close to the seashore. Adam,\nas a wise man, kept his peace, but he thought day and night what was he\nto do to get rid of the devil and to save his wife? At last he thought\nthat the only way would be to take his wife away into some distant\nland across the sea, where the devil could not follow him. But how\nwere they to cross that sea? At last he discovered that the best way\nto cross the sea would be to make a boat, and then, when it was ready,\nhe would take his wife quietly and they would both sail away. But the\ndevil has nothing to do but to watch other people's doings, and to\nput a spoke into the wheel wherever he can. He was therefore not to\nbe outdone in as simple a manner as Adam thought. He saw that Adam was\ncutting wood, and making timber and laths, and joining them together,\nbut whenever he asked Adam what he was doing he would not answer him.\n\nSo at last he came to Eve and told her: \"Look here, that husband\nof yours is preparing some trick, and it is meant against you and\nme. You better find out what is in Adam's mind. What is he doing,\nand what is the meaning of it?\"\n\nEve, in order to please the devil, asked Adam what he was doing, but\nhe knew it was no good giving a secret into the keeping of a woman. So\nhe kept his counsel to himself. At last, when the devil saw the boat,\nhe told Eve:\n\n\"I know what Adam means, he wants to take you away and leave me\nhere alone. That you must not allow, but when everything is ready\nand he is coming to fetch you, you ask him to allow you to bring the\nhouse-snake with you. He will not refuse you, and I will take the form\nof the snake, and so you will carry me with you into the boat. Then\nwe shall see who will be the cleverer, Adam or I.\"\n\nSo when Adam came to fetch Eve, she asked him to be allowed to bring\nalso the house-snake with her. Adam, good-hearted fellow as he was,\ndid not refuse her. What did the devil do? He took the form of the\nsnake, and to make sure of being carried into the boat, he coiled\nhimself round Eve's bosom, and so was carried by her into the boat,\nchuckling all the while at the stupidity of Adam. Adam had no suspicion\nwho the passenger was, he had brought with him.\n\nOne day, after he had sailed a long time, Adam, tired from his work,\nlaid himself down to rest, when he suddenly felt that the boat was\nsinking. Up he jumped, trimmed the sail, and looked round to see\nwhether the boat had sprung a leak and was making water, for he could\nnot understand why the boat should suddenly sink and let the water\nin. The devil, thinking that Adam was asleep and not able to watch\nhis tricks, had made himself heavy like lead in the hope of sinking\nthe ship and drowning Adam. But he had reckoned without his host,\nfor Adam woke up in the nick of time and caught the Wicked One at\nhis evil deeds. When the devil saw that Adam was awake, he changed\nhimself quickly into a mouse. Adam did not trouble, but thought his\ntime would come. The devil, who cannot keep quiet but must do mischief\nwhenever he can, was not content to be left in peace, and be carried\nacross the water, but he must needs start gnawing away at one of the\nplanks of the ship, and so make a hole and drown Adam. His misfortune\nwas that, just when the plank at which he was gnawing had got as thin\nas a sheet of paper, Adam surprised the Black One at his work. What\ndid he do? He took off his fur glove and threw it at the mouse.\n\nThe fur glove changed into a cat which, seizing the mouse, killed\nit and ate it up. And thus the cat got the devil into it. And that\nis why the cat's hair bristles and makes sparks, and the eyes of the\ncat glisten in the dark. These are sparks of the devil in the cat.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXVII. A.\n\nANOTHER VERSION.\n\nThe Story of the Devil, Noah and the Ark.\n\n\nThere is another version of this tale which transfers the origin of\nthe mouse to the ark of Noah. Noah would not allow the devil to get\ninto the ark which he had built. In order, therefore, to get in,\nthe devil transformed himself into a mouse, which, being surprised\nat the same work of gnawing away the boards of the ark, was eaten up\nby the cat--the fur glove which Noah threw at her.\n\nA legend concerning the cat and mouse is found in the so-called\n\"Alphabet of Pseudo Sirach,\" here in the Appendix, No. III. According\nto a Bohemian legend, the devil created the mouse that it might\ndestroy \"God's corn,\" whereupon the Lord created the cat. (Ralston,\np. 330 note.)\n\nThe apocryphal interpretation of the temptation of Eve by the\nserpent which has been identified with Satan is found in many ancient\nbiblical legends. This story of the temptation has been transformed\ninto a somewhat primitive love story between Eve and the devil--her\nparamour--who assumes the form of the house-snake and then wishes to\ndrown poor unsophisticated Adam.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXVIII.\n\nWHY DOES A CAT SIT ON THE DOORSTEP IN THE SUN?\n\nThe Story of the Cat, the Mouse and Noah.\n\n\nWhen Noah had built the ark, he kept the door wide open for the\nanimals to enter. After they had all gone in, his own family came,\nand last of all his wife.\n\nNoah said to her \"Come in.\" She obstinately said \"No.\" Noah again said\n\"Come in.\" She again said \"No.\" Noah, getting angry, said \"Oh, you\ndevil, come in.\" That was just what the devil was waiting for. He knew\nthat Noah would not allow him to come in otherwise, and so he waited\nfor an invitation, of which he promptly availed himself. Getting into\nthe ark the devil changed himself into a mouse.\n\nWhen the devil has nothing to do he weighs his tail. But here he found\nplenty to do, for, he thought, now is an opportunity of putting an end\nto the whole of God's creatures. So he started gnawing on one of the\nplanks, trying to make a hole in it. When Noah surprised him at this\ndevilish work he threw his fur glove at him. It turned into a cat,\nand, in the twinkling of an eye, the mouse was in the mouth of the cat.\n\nBut Noah could not allow the peace of the ark to be broken, the animals\nhad to live in peace with one another. So he seized the cat, with\nthe mouse in her mouth, and flung her out of the ark into the water.\n\nThe cat swam to the ark and, getting hold of the door step, climbed\non to the sill and lay down there to bask in the sun.\n\nThere she remained until the water had subsided: and ever since then,\nthe cat likes to lie on the doorstep of the house and bask in the sun.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXIX.\n\nWHY DOES THE FLY SETTLE ON THE DEAD?\n\nThe Story of God and the Giants of the Flood.\n\n\nIn olden times, huge giants existed in this world. They were so big\nthat they could put one leg on the top of one mountain and the other\non the next one. They reached as high as the heavens, and getting\nhold of the handles of the great gate would shake it as a man shakes a\nkettle. They even rebelled against God, for they knew no fear. At last,\nGod, realising their nature, decided to destroy them, and he sent\na flood which covered the highest mountains, so that you could not\nsee of them as much as the black under the nail. So all the giants\ndied, except one, who was the biggest of them all. He stood with\none leg on the top of one mountain, and with the other on the next\nmountain, and with his hands he got hold of the handles of the gate\nof heaven. But God would not tolerate a single one of these giants,\nfor he had decided to make men, very similar creatures to giants\nbut smaller and more obedient. So he sent a fly to pick at his eyes,\nand worms to gnaw at the soles of his feet. Feeling the pain in his\neyes, the giant let the gate of heaven go and wiped his eyes, with\nhis hand, but he could not stand the gnawing of his feet, and he,\nfalling down into the water, was drowned. From the gnawing of the\nsoles the instep in man's foot has come, and these flies (Sarcophaga\ncarnaria) and worms still eat up the human bodies and all the carcases.\n\nIt is therefore a bad sign if such a fly settles on a sick man;\na sure sign of death.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXX.\n\nWHY IS THE FOOT OF MAN ARCHED?\n\nThe Pact between God and the Devil.\n\n\nWhen God created the world, I do not know how it came about and why\nit was done, enough that it was done, God made a pact with the devil\nwhich they signed and sealed, and God kept the document in which\nit was stated that they had divided the world between them. It was\nsettled that all the dead should go to the devil and all that was\nliving should belong to God. After a while, the devil repented himself\nof this arrangement and tried to get hold of the contract. Taking\nadvantage of God's indulgence, he stole into heaven, and, taking the\ndocument, he made off with it. Clever though he thinks himself to be,\nthe devil is a fool and remains a fool. So, going down from heaven,\nhe lost the document, and did not even notice his loss until after\nhe had plunged deep down to the bottom of the sea. The document which\nhad fallen out of his hands was lying on the sand of the seashore.\n\nWhen God noticed what the devil had done, he sent a frost so hard that\nit split the stones and covered up all the waters with a thick crust\nof ice, so that the devil could not get out. Then God sent St. Peter\nto fetch the agreement where it lay. St. Peter descended and was about\nto take it, when a magpie which watched his doings went to the sea,\nand whack! whack! made a hole in the ice with its beak. That was just\nwhat the devil was waiting for, and quick as lightning he came up from\nthe bottom of the sea. But quick as he was, St. Peter was quicker,\nand picking up the pact he went up to heaven. The devil went after him,\nbut could not catch him up.\n\nWhen St. Peter got near the gate of heaven, the devil, seeing that he\nhad escaped him, threw his spear after him. He missed him; but not\nentirely, for he hit St. Peter in the sole of his foot. St. Peter\ncried out of pain. God asked him what had happened, and he replied,\n\"The devil has hit me in my foot with his venomous spear.\"\n\n\"Cut that bit out and throw it away,\" said God.\n\nSt. Peter did as he was told, and, cutting out the wounded part from\nthe sole of his foot, threw it at the devil. Since then the human\nfoot is short of that bit which St. Peter had cut out when the devil\nhad hit him with his spear.\n\n\n\nIt is not quite clear from the story as it stands whether the magpie\nacted as a confederate of the devil, and picked a hole in the ice\ndeliberately so as to free him from the imprisonment, or whether\nthe magpie quite innocently went and helped the devil against\nSt. Peter. There is no sequel here to its action. It is neither\npunished nor rewarded. In this respect the story is imperfect.\n\nThere exists another popular legend intended to explain the arch in the\nsole of the human foot. According to the latter, it so happened that\nthe Archangel Michael was the foremost angel in the fight between\nSatan and the heavenly hosts, which added to the discomfiture of\nSatan. When he finally was hurled down from heaven he tried to get\nhold of the archangel. But the angel was too quick for him. The devil\nmissed him, but not entirely, for he seized the archangel by the sole\nof his foot and tore out a part of the flesh. Since then the sole\nof the human foot is curved in the middle. That portion is missing,\nwhich was torn out of the sole of the archangel.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXI.\n\nWHY HAS A SNAKE NO TAIL? AND WHY DO FLEAS SUCK HUMAN BLOOD?\n\nThe Story of the Devil in Noah's Ark.\n\n\nWhen God had brought the Flood, and Noah's ark was floating on the\nface of the waters, the wretched good-for-nothing devil wanted to\ndestroy Noah with all those who were with him in the ark. So he fell\na-thinking for a while, and invented an iron tool called now gimlet,\nwith which he could bore holes in the wall of the ark.\n\nThe murderous devil started on his work, and poor Noah and those with\nhim were in great danger of being drowned. They all worked hard to get\nthe water out, but who can get the better of the devil? He worked much\nmore quickly, and making many holes in the boards, the waters came in\nfast. They all believed themselves lost. But God, who does not desire\nthe death of the sinner, and did not wish to see the work of his\nhands destroyed, gave cunning to the snake, and it is possible that\nsince that day the snakes have remained wise, for does not Holy Writ\ntell us to be wise as the serpent? The snake came to Noah and said,\n\"What wilt thou give me if I stop up the holes which the devil is\nmaking by which the water enters the ark?\"\n\n\"What dost thou want?\" replied Noah in despair.\n\n\"After the Flood thou art to give me a human being every day to be\neaten by me and my seed.\"\n\nNoah, hard pressed by the imminent danger, promised to do so. No\nsooner did the devil bore a hole than the snake stopped it up with\nthe tip of its tail, which it cut off, leaving it in the hole, and\nthat is why ever since the snakes have no tails. When the devil\nsaw that his plan had failed, he ran away and left Noah's ark in\npeace and all those who were in it. As soon as the Flood had passed\naway, Noah brought a thanksgiving sacrifice to God for having been\nmiraculously saved. In the midst of these rejoicings the snake took\ncourage and came up to Noah, asking for the human being of which he\nhad promised to give her one every day to be eaten by her and her\nseed. When Noah heard it, he got very angry, for he said to himself,\n\"There are so few human beings now in the world, if I give her one\nevery day, the world will soon come to an end.\" So he took hold of\nthe beast which dared to speak to him in such a manner, and threw it\ninto the fire. God was greatly displeased with the evil smell which\narose from the fire in consequence, and sent a wind which scattered\nthe ashes all over the face of the earth. From these ashes the fleas\nwere born. If one considers the number of fleas that are in the world,\nand the amount of human blood which they are sucking, then, taking\nthem all together, they eat up without doubt as much as a human being\nevery day. And thus the promise made by Noah is being fulfilled.\n\n\n\nA similar tale seems to be known among the Russians, as far as the\nfirst part of this legend is concerned. According to Ralston, Russian\nFolk Tales, p. 330, when the devil in the form of a mouse gnawed a\nhole in the Ark, the snake stopped it up with its head. In the Russian\ntale the two tales of the mouse and the snake are thus combined.\n\nAn Oriental legend which seems to have retained some of the incidents\nin the Rumanian legend is referred to in Hanauer, Folk Lore of the Holy\nLand, p. 283. We are told that Iblis (the devil) promises the serpent\nthe sweetest food in the world, that is, human blood, if it helps to\ndeceive Eve. Adam protests, as no one knew yet which is the sweetest\nblood. The mosquito is sent out to suck the blood of all the animals,\nand find out which is the sweetest. The swallow shadows the mosquito,\nand in the end plucks out its tongue so that it shall not be able to\ntell. The serpent, enraged, darts after the swallow, but only gets\nhold of the middle feathers of the swallow's tail, which it plucks\nout, hence the forked tail of the swallow. The serpent still tries\nto hurt man, but cannot do so in virtue of any claim.\n\nThe flea is also called the devil's horse, for Satan rode upon a flea\nwhen he started on his rebellious fight with God.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXII.\n\nCHARMS AGAINST FLEAS AND OTHER HOUSE VERMIN.\n\n\nIn the first quarter of the moon she who wishes to make the charm\nmust be told by a neighbour that the moon has just risen. She then\ntakes a glazed dish or bowl, which she has bought at the fair of the\nMummers (Mosii) at the Eastertide, or one that has been given to her\nat that time. She fills it with \"living\" water taken from three wells\nin three new jugs brought by three virgins, who must not look back\nfrom the time they have drawn it.\n\nThis bowl filled with water is put on the window facing the moon,\nand she waits until the moon strikes the window and the bowl. When\nshe can see the moon well in the bowl and at the bottom of it, she\nbegins to charm (conjure) the fleas, etc., with three stalks taken\nfrom a new broom, and says, \"New moon in the house, bugs, vermin,\nfleas, get ye out of the house, leave this house, be scattered--let\nno one meet the other before mountain meets mountain--and hill top\nknocks against hill top--then and then only may they meet, and not\neven then.\" She repeats the charm three times, then she pours the\nwater into four vessels, places them in the inner four corners of the\nhouse, and in the morning she is sure to find some of the house vermin\nin the vessels. These she must take out, and put into an empty box,\nstolen from somewhere. She must wait for a car that returns home after\neverything brought in it has been sold at the market, and must throw\nthe box into that empty car, saying: \"Yes, fleas, little fleas--from\nthe house have I taken you, into a stolen box have I put you, charmed,\ndrowned, cursed, thrown into a box, charmed at new moon now, may\nyou become the devil's own, may you become numbed and stiff--in the\nnine countries--beyond the nine seas--for there they are waiting for\nyou--at spread tables--with torches lit up. Amen!\"\n\nIt is almost unnecessary to discuss at any length the charms against\nfleas, etc., which were considered the special tools and associates\nof the Evil One. The philtres in the Western countries consist mostly\nof poisonous ingredients taken from toads, snakes, etc., and some\nof the oldest charms are against flies, fleas, midges, etc. This is\nnow, perhaps, the only complete charm in which not only the formula\nhas been preserved, but also, what is of the highest importance,\na detailed description of the ceremonial used on that occasion.\n\nEvery detail of this magical operation might be made the starting\npoint of a separate investigation. The symbolic character of some of\nthem is too clear to be gainsaid. We have here the crescent of the\nmoon as an operative factor: the bowl and the box must be stolen,\nprobably to bring down a curse upon the thief and upon him who\nuses it. The living water, the three maidens, the three wells,\nthe curse of the vermin, the empty car carrying it, as it were,\naway for ever, the inducement for those fleas to remain there in the\nmythical nine countries for a feast that is awaiting them. Each and\nall are found in other charms, but here we have the whole operation\nminutely described. It is, moreover, typical of a large class of such\nenchantments or binding by charms. For our purpose it must be deemed\nquite sufficient. I have only introduced it as it is one affecting\nthe insects and throwing light on many more charms and conjurations\nin which the Rumanian literature abounds. I may on another occasion\ndiscuss the whole range of the Rumanian charms. They cover the whole\nfield of human ailments and physical troubles--a wide range indeed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXIII.\n\nCHARMS AGAINST BUGS.\n\n\nCuriously enough, there do not seem to be any special legends about\nthe origin of the bugs, but there are a good many charms which\nare used for getting rid of these troublesome vermin. The charms\nare of a symbolical nature. A suggestive action is performed which\nthe conjurer believes will be followed by the conjured bugs. Thus:\nA woman in a complete state of nudity takes a mealie cake into one\nhand, or a crust of bread, or some other flour, and a brush used\nfor whitewashing in the other. She nibbles at the cake or food, and\nwhitewashes the wall, and while she is doing it, she says: \"As I am\neating my food and cleaning my walls so may you eat up one another\nand leave my walls clean of you,\" after which the bugs will perish.\n\nIt is advisable to do this when the moon wanes, and the whitewashing\nshould start from the wall which faces the door and then go on to\nthe right until the door is reached again.\n\nAnother charm--A boy in a state of complete nudity takes bread and salt\ninto one hand, and in the other he holds his flute and also a number\nof bugs, called the wedding party. Thus equipped, he goes into the high\nroad until he passes the boundary of his field. There he starts playing\nthe flute, and then he throws the bugs away into the road, saying:\n\"Here I have brought for you bread and salt, and I have been singing\nto you with my flute, now go and have a merry wedding, and remain\nwhere you are, never returning to my home.\" The bugs then never return.\n\nAnother charm, like that of the fleas, is connected with the new moon.\n\nWhen the new moon appears, a man, coming outside his house and\nseeing it, exclaims, \"A new king in the land, a new king in the\nland.\" To which one in the house standing by the window replies,\n\"All the bugs must now go out of the house one by one, so that none\nremain behind.\" And after repeating these words three times he rides\non a besom, poker, or the oven-peel (with which the bread is shovelled\ninto the stove), and running through the house he begins sweeping the\nrooms, and says whilst so doing, \"Get out of the house, ye bugs, for\nthe new king is getting married, and he invites you to his banquet,\nfor he has no one to eat, to drink, or to dance there. Get ye out\nand you will eat and drink and dance until you are satisfied.\"\n\nThese words must be repeated three times, viz. at the beginnings of\nthree months. The bugs are then believed to leave the house in the\nform of a swarm, and to go elsewhere.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXIV.\n\nWHY DOES THE CUCKOO CALL \"CUCKOO\"?\n\nThe Story of the Little Boy and the Wicked Step-mother.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a poor man, who had a wife and two children,\na boy and a girl. He was so poor that he possessed nothing in the\nworld but the ashes on his hearth. His wife died, and after a time\nhe married another woman, who was cantankerous and bad-natured, and\nfrom morning till evening, as long as the day lasted, she gave the\npoor man no peace, but snarled and shouted at him. The woman said to\nhim, \"Do away with these children. You cannot even keep me, how then\ncan you keep all these mouths?\" for was she not a step-mother? The\npoor man stood her nagging for a long time, but then, one night, she\nquarrelled so much that he promised her that he would take the children\ninto the forest and leave them there. The two children were sitting\nin the corner but held their peace and heard all that was going on.\n\nThe next day, the man, taking his axe upon his shoulder, called to\nthe children and said to them, \"Come with me into the forest, I am\ngoing to cut wood.\" The little children went with him, but before they\nleft, the little girl filled her pocket with ashes from the hearth,\nand as she walked along she dropped little bits of coal the way they\nwent. After a time they reached a very dense part of the forest,\nwhere they could not see their way any longer, and there the man said\nto the children, \"Wait here for a while, I am only going to cut wood\nyonder, when I have done I will come back and fetch you home,\" and\nleaving the children there in the thicket he went away, heavy hearted,\nand returned home. The children waited for a while, and seeing that\ntheir father did not return, the girl knew what he had done. So they\nslept through the night in the forest, and the next morning, taking\nher brother by the hand, she followed the trace of the ashes which\nshe had left on the road, and thus came home to their own house. When\nthe step-mother saw them, she did not know what to do with herself,\nshe went almost out of her mind with fury. If she could, she would have\nswallowed them in a spoonful of water, so furious was she. The husband,\nwho was a weakling, tried to pacify her, and to endeavour to get the\nchildren away by one means or another, but did not succeed. When the\nstep-mother found that she could not do anything through her husband,\nshe made up her mind that she herself would get rid of them. So one\nmorning, when her husband had gone away, she took the little boy,\nand without saying anything to anybody, she killed him and gave him\nto his sister to cut him up, and prepare a meal for all of them. What\nwas she to do? If she was not to be killed like her brother, she had\nto do what her step-mother told her.\n\nAnd so she cut him up and cooked him ready for the meal. But she took\nthe heart, and hid it away in a hollow of a tree. When the step-mother\nasked her where the heart was, she said that a dog had come and taken\nit away. In the evening, when the husband came home, she brought the\nbroth with the meat for the husband to eat, and she sat down and ate\nof it and so did the husband, not knowing that he was eating the flesh\nof his child. The little girl refused to eat it. She would not touch\nit. After they had finished, she gathered up all the little bones and\nhid them in the hollow of the tree where she had put the heart. The\nnext morning, out of that hollow of the tree there came a little bird\nwith dark feathers, and sitting on the branch of a tree, began to sing,\n\"Cuckoo! My sister has cooked me, and my father has eaten me, but I\nam now a cuckoo and safe from my step-mother.\" When the step-mother,\nwho happened to be near the tree, heard what that little bird was\nsinging, in her fury and fright she took a heavy lump of salt which\nlay near at hand, and threw it at the cuckoo, but instead of hitting\nit, the lump fell down on her head and killed her on the spot. And\nthe little boy has remained a cuckoo to this very day.\n\nThis tale is more or less a variant of a well-known type of fairy\ntales. Nos. 43, 44 are tales of men with inordinate and foolish wishes,\nwho by constantly changing bring about their own undoing. This last is\na variant of the story of the bad step-mother and the two children. But\nhere the fairy tales assume a different character.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXV.\n\nWHY DOES A WAGTAIL WAG ITS TAIL?\n\nThe Story of the Cuckoo and the Wagtail.\n\n\nThe wagtail did not have the tail from the beginning. This tail\noriginally belonged to the wren, but it happened in this manner. The\nwagtail was one day invited to the wedding of the lark, and as\nshe felt ashamed to go there without any tail, as she had none,\nshe went to the wren and asked the wren to lend her her tail for a\nfew days. The wren, which had as now a small body but in addition a\nlong tail, did not wish to be churlish, and lent her the tail. When\nthe wagtail saw herself with a long tail, she did not know what to do\nwith herself for joy, she was dancing and prancing all the way to the\nwedding. The wedding lasted some days. When it was over, the wren came\nto the wagtail and asked for the tail, but the wagtail, finding that\nthe tail suited her so well, pretended not to hear and not to see,\nand took no notice of the wren. And thus it came about, from the time\nof the lark's wedding, that the wren has remained without a tail,\nand the wagtail with one. But, fearing lest the wren would come one\nday and steal it, the wagtail is wagging its tail continually to be\nsure that she has it, and that it has not been taken away.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXVI.\n\nWHY HAS THE HOOPOE A TUFT?\n\nThe Story of the Hoopoe and the Cuckoo.\n\n\nThe tuft of the hoopoe's head has given rise to a tale, similar to\nsome extent to the story of the tail of the wagtail, and yet not quite\nidentical. Like the wagtail, which originally had no tail, the hoopoe\nhad originally no tuft on its head. But when the lark had her wedding,\nshe invited all the birds. Among them also the hoopoe. She did not want\nto come with her simple feathers, but went to the cuckoo and borrowed\nthem from him, for he had the tuft, promising to return it to him as\nsoon as she had come back from the wedding. The cuckoo, who was a good\nnatured and obliging fellow, trusted the hoopoe and lent her the tuft.\n\nShe went to the wedding, and her beautiful ornament was greatly\nadmired by all the birds. Most of all was the lark pleased with\nit. The hoopoe grew very elated, and thought she had better keep\nit. And so she did. She came home, and entirely forgot the cuckoo\nand her promise to return him his tuft. The cuckoo waited for a while\nfor the hoopoe to return to him the tuft which he had lent her. But\nthe hoopoe was nowhere to be found; she never showed herself. Seeing\nthis, the cuckoo went to her and asked her to return the tuft. She\npretended not to know what the cuckoo was saying, and coolly replied,\n\"I do not know what you are talking about.\" Enraged at her callous\nconduct, the cuckoo called all the other birds together to lay his case\nbefore them, and to ask them to pass judgment on the hoopoe. When the\nbirds came together, they appointed the lark to be the judge, but the\nlark had taken a fancy to the hoopoe ever since the wedding day, so,\nin spite of the protestations of the cuckoo, he decided that the tuft\nmust remain with the hoopoe, as it suited her so much better. And so\nit has remained to this day. But since then there is no friendship\nbetween the cuckoo and the lark, who delivered a wrong judgment.\n\n\n\nAn Eastern popular tale, Hanauer, Folk-lore of the Holy Land, p. 254\nff., explains the origin of the tuft on the head of the hoopoe as a\ncrown given by King Solomon to this bird for its wisdom in refusing\nto pay homage to women.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXVII.\n\nWHY DOES THE EAGLE LIVE ON RAW MEAT?\n\nThe Story of the Bewitched Brothers.\n\n\nLet us pass to the story of the eagle. It is the largest bird of\nprey known in Rumania, and lives on young animals, lambs, goats,\nand so on. The story runs as follows.\n\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was such a famine in the land that the people\nlived on grass and even on sawdust, and were dying of hunger in untold\nnumbers. At that time there lived a widow who had managed to husband\na little flour. When she found that nothing else was left to her she\ntook that flour and mixing it with water kneaded it into dough. Then\nshe lit the furnace, and got a shovel to put the dough on it and thence\ninto the furnace to bake. This woman had two sons and one daughter. The\ntwo boys came in just at the moment when the loaves of dough were on\nthe shovel. They were so hungry that they did not wait for the dough\nto be baked, and before their mother had time to put the shovel into\nthe oven they got hold of the dough, raw and uncooked as it was,\nand ate it up to the smallest bit. They did not leave even a little\npiece for their mother and sister. When the mother saw the terrible\ngreediness of her children, and that they ate the raw stuff and did\nnot leave even a small piece for her or their sister, she cursed them\nand said, \"May you be cursed by God and be changed into two birds;\nmay you haunt the highest peaks of the mountains; may you never be\nable to eat bread even when you see it, because you did not leave any\nfor me this day.\" No sooner had the boys gone out of the house than\nthey were changed into two huge eagles, who, spreading their wings,\nflew away to the ends of the earth, no one knowing whither they had\ngone. A short time afterwards their sister, who had not been at home\nwhen all this had happened, came in, and she asked the mother where\nher brothers were. Her mother did not tell her what had happened,\nand said that the brothers, finding it was impossible for them to live\nany longer here, had gone out into the wide world to live by their own\nearnings. When the girl heard this she wept, and said, \"If that be so,\nthen I will also go out into the wide world, and will seek my brothers\nuntil I find them,\" and would not listen to the words of her mother,\nwho wanted to keep her back. She said good-bye and departed, and\ntravelled on and on for a long time, until she came to the ends of the\nearth, where the sun and moon no longer shone and the days were dark.\n\nSo she fell a-praying, and said, \"I have gone in search of my brothers;\nO God, help me,\" and as she turned round she saw a forest full of\nhigh trees which she had not noticed before, and she said to herself,\n\"I will go into that forest; I am sure nothing will happen to me,\"\nand so she did. She went into the forest not knowing where she was\ngoing. In the midst of it she saw a beautiful meadow full of singing\nbirds, and there was a huge castle surrounded by thick walls and\nclosed by a gate with six locks. At the entrance of the gate there\nwere two huge monsters. She was very frightened. Still she watched\nuntil these monsters had fallen asleep, and then slipping past them\nshe entered the gates. There she was met by a fox, who said to her,\n\"What has brought thee hither into this the other world from the world\noutside? I fear our master will eat you up. As soon as he comes home\nhe will swallow you.\" Still she went on, and on entering the house\nshe met the mistress of the house, who asked her the same question,\nand she told her what had happened to her from the beginning to the\nend, and that she had gone out into the wide world to seek for her\nlost brothers. When the mistress heard her tale she took pity on\nher, and taking her into the innermost chamber she hid her there,\nand then went to await the home-coming of the master. About midday,\nwhen the sun stands on the cross-ways of heaven, there was a great\nnoise in the house; the place shook, for the master had come, and he\nwas none other than a huge lion.\n\nAt table, the mistress said to him, \"O my master, thou hast always\nbeen so good to me; I ask you to be once more good and kind; promise\nme.\" And he promised, and asked her her request. She told him what\nhad happened to that girl, and said that she had come there from\nthe other world in search of her brothers. The lion called the young\ngirl, who was greatly frightened, and she told him again all that had\nhappened to her. He then said, \"I will call together all my subjects\nand ask them whether they have seen your brothers passing by this way,\nor whether meeting them they have eaten them.\"\n\nSo he called from far and near all the animals who were in his\ndominion, and he asked them about the brothers. But they all said\nthat these had never passed through the land, and they had neither\nseen them nor eaten them. So the lion told her to go on. She went on\nand came to another forest, very big and dark, and walking for a time\nin it she came to another meadow full of birds singing so beautifully\nthat you could not hear enough of them, and there in the midst was\na house deep down in the ground with a thatched roof. The girl went\nin the house, and there was an old woman sitting on the oven. [2]\n\"May God help you,\" said the young girl, and the old woman replied,\n\"Welcome, my daughter, what has brought you here into this part of the\nworld never yet trodden by human foot?\" And the girl told her that she\nhad left her mother's house and gone in search of her brothers. The\nwoman said, \"Your brothers are alive, but they are under a spell,\nfor they have been charmed into huge birds, and they live yonder in\nthe castle on that steep mountain. If you can reach that place you\nwill be able to see your brothers.\"\n\nFull of joy at these tidings, the girl went to the mountain and\nfound that it was a bare, steep, high cliff with little patches\nof grass here and there, just the place for eagles' nests. Taking\ncourage, she started climbing up, and after endless toil reached\nthe top. There she saw a huge palace surrounded by iron walls, and\ngoing inside she saw a room; the table was set and food was on the\ntable. As she was very hungry, she went round the table and took a\nbit from every dish. Then she hid herself, watching to see what would\nhappen. She had not to wait very long, for soon two huge eagles came\nfrom the depths of heaven. They entered and sat down at the table\nand began to eat their meal. Suddenly one of them said to the other,\n\"Halloo, some one must have been here, for I see that my food has been\nnibbled.\" The other said, \"It is impossible for any one to come here,\"\nand took no further notice of it.\n\nOn the second day they noticed that once again some of their food had\nbeen eaten again, and so on the third day, when more of it had been\neaten. So they started hunting through the house to find out who was\nhidden there, for surely some one must have come to eat the food. After\na long search they found the girl huddled up in a small room. As soon\nas they saw her they recognised her as their sister, and taking her\ninto the large hall they asked her what had happened and what had\nbrought her to them. She told them all that had happened to her,\nand how she had been through the forest and climbed up the mountain,\nand that she was now there with them. The brothers then said to her,\n\"We are under a spell; mother has cursed us. We have now been changed\ninto birds of prey; but if you will stay here for six years and not\nspeak a single word, that will save us; the spell will be broken,\nand we shall again be human beings.\" The girl promised to do all they\nwished, as the old woman whom she had met before had told her that\nshe was to do whatever her brothers would wish her to do. And there\nshe remained. Her brothers spread their wings and flew away. Five\nyears had past, the girl not seeing anything of them, and not speaking\nall the time. After that time she said to herself, \"What is the good\nof my sitting here and keeping silent when none of them have come;\nperchance they are dead, or who knows what has happened?\" No sooner\nhad she opened her mouth and spoken a word when in came her two\nbrothers, and said to her mournfully, \"Thou hast not kept thy vow,\nthou hast broken thy promise, thou hast spoken! If thou wouldst have\nwaited one more year we would have become human beings, and the spell\nwould have been broken. Now we are cursed forever. We must remain\neagles and birds of prey.\" And so they have remained to this day,\npreying on birds and beasts, living on raw meat, never being able\nto touch bread, and even picking up children under six years of age,\nthe years which their sister had to wait in order to break the spell.\n\n\n\nIn this story we find again well-known motives from fairy tales,\nespecially that of \"Snow White and the Dwarfs,\" in which Snow White\ncomes into the house and nibbles at the food which is on the table, so\nthat her presence is thereby disclosed. But here the tale has been used\nfor the purpose of explaining the origin of the eagle. Other details\nthere are in that tale which are not clearly brought out in this,\nfor at the bottom of it lies the tale of the grateful animals. That\nis the reason why the lion spares the girl and also the good fairy,\nwhom she serves faithfully, here represented by the old woman in the\nhouse with the thatched roof, by whom she is rewarded by being shown\nthe way to her lost brothers.\n\nAll these elements have here been combined in the bird tale. A close\nparallel to this tale is to be found in Grimm, No. 25.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXVIII.\n\nWHY HAS THE LARK A TUFT?\n\nThe Story of the Glass Mountain.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a man who was under a spell. He got married\nto a woman, and after a time he suddenly disappeared. He was carried\naway by the spell, no one knew whither. The poor woman waited for him\none day and another day and a third day, and seeing that he did not\nreturn she went out into the world to search after him. And so, passing\nthrough many a country, she came at last to the house where Holy\nThursday lived, a good old woman, who was the mistress of a third of\nall the birds in the world. When she saw the traveller, she asked her\nwhat had brought her there, and the poor woman, weeping, told her how\nshe had gone in search of her husband, who had suddenly disappeared,\nand whom she had not been able to find anywhere in the world.\n\nHoly Mother Thursday said to her, \"Wait, I will call all my birds\ntogether, and I shall hear from them whether they know where your\nhusband is.\" In the evening she called all the birds who were under\nher rule, and asked them whether they knew what had happened to the\nman. They all replied that they had not seen him, and they did not\nknow whither he had gone. Sad at heart, the poor woman went away,\nand came to Holy Mother Saturday, who ruled over half the birds in\nthe world. She asked the young woman how she had come to that part\nof the world, and what had brought her thither.\n\nThe poor woman told her tale, and also that Holy Mother Thursday could\nnot find where her husband was. So Mother Saturday called her birds,\nand asked them whether they had seen anything of the poor woman's\nhusband. They all replied that they had not seen anything of him,\nand did not know what had become of him. Greatly disappointed, the\npoor woman went on her way, until she came to the house of the Holy\nMother Sunday, who ruled over all the birds. After hearing from the\nwoman what had brought her to her house, she called all the birds\ntogether, and put the same question to them. None of the birds knew\nwhere the husband was except the cock lark. He said he knew where\nthe husband was, a very long way off. Then Mother Sunday asked the\nbird whether he could carry the woman to that place.\n\n\"Willingly will I abide by your command, O mistress,\" said the bird;\nand taking the woman on his back, he rose up high in the air, and\nstarted flying to the place whither the husband had been carried. And\nso flying, they came at last to a high mountain made all of glass. The\nbird could not go up that mountain, so they shod his little feet\nwith iron, and slowly, slowly, they climbed up that mountain until\nthey came to the top. The woman, however, was so much frightened by\nthe flight that she clutched at the feathers on the top of the lark,\nand held tightly to them, fearing to lose her hold. Since that time\nthe ruffled feathers have remained upstanding, and hence the tuft on\nthe head of the male lark.\n\n\n\nIt is peculiar that the tale here ends abruptly without telling us\nwhether the woman met her husband, or whether she was able to break\nthe spell. It is probably tacitly assumed.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXIX.\n\nWHY IS THE TUFT OF THE LARK DISHEVELLED?\n\nThe Story of the Helpful Lark.\n\n\nAnother story of the lark tells of one who went in search of his\nsister, who had been stolen away from her home by Sila Samodiva. [3]\nHe was directed by a curious dream, in which he saw an old man with\na long white beard, who told him to go in search of her, for he was\nsure to find her. On his way he came to a very old man, who turned\nout to be the king of all the birds. In the evening all the birds\ncame to him to be fed, but one bird was missing. It came in rather\nlate, limping and tired, and when the king saw it he recognised it\nto be the lark. And he asked the bird why it was so tired and what\nhad befallen it. The bird said, \"Thou hast ordered me to live so far\naway that it takes me a very long time to come to the court, and it\nis with great difficulty that I have been able to come here to this\nplace in obedience to thy command.\" Then the king asked the lark where\nhe had his nest, and when he replied in the gardens of Sila Samodiva,\nthe brother was full of joy, for that was the place where his sister\nhad been taken. Then the king asked the bird whether he could lead\nthe man to that place. \"Willingly will I do so,\" replied the lark. \"I\nwill jump from tree to tree and from bush to bush, and flutter about\ngently, and if he follows me I am sure to lead him to the place of his\ndesire.\" And so following the bird, he reached a golden palace in which\nthe fairy Sila Samodiva was living. He entered the palace by holding\non to the tuft of the lark, which has since remained dishevelled. A\nfairy put him to various trials, which he successfully accomplished,\nand thus was able to rescue his sister and to return home in safety.\n\n\n\nNeedless to point out, that in these two tales we have parallels to\nthe famous legend of the hoopoe in the Solomonic cycle. In it Solomon\norders all the birds to come and render homage; only one bird does\nnot appear at the proper time. It comes in very late, limp, tired\nand exhausted, and excuses itself by telling Solomon of its long\nflight from the court of the Queen of Sheba, to whom King Solomon\nthen sends a message by means of the same bird. But we are not told\nin this story anything of the origin of the bird, except that it is\ndescribed as one leading the travellers to the places in the other\nworld which they wish to reach. Another very elaborate fairy tale\ngives us the origin of the lark.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXX.\n\nWHY DO LARKS FLY TOWARDS THE SUN?\n\nThe Story of the Princess and her Love for the Sun.\n\n\nA very long time ago, so long indeed that no one can remember when\nit happened, there lived a king and queen. They had everything which\ntheir heart desired, except that they had no children. They were good\nand charitable people, and distributed alms and prayed, but all in\nvain. At last, when they had given up every hope, they were suddenly\nblessed with a child. It was a little girl, and she was so sweet and\nso beautiful that they called her Little Light. The parents could not\nsee enough of her, and so they kept her in their palace all the time,\nuntil one day her mother allowed her to go out into the garden.\n\nIn the wall of the garden there was a small gate leading into a\nbeautiful meadow. The young princess opened the gate and went into\nthe meadow and looked around her, for she had never before been out\nof her rooms. She rejoiced at the flowers and birds and animals, but\nmore than anything was she pleased with the sight of the sinking sun,\nand with the golden rays which he sent through the heavens. She was so\npleased with that sight that she went every day in the afternoon to\nwatch for the glorious sun and his golden rays. Thus one day passed,\nand again another day, and she fell deeply in love with the sun, and\nbeing in love, she decided that she must go and find him. So great\nwas her love that she did not look at any young man, and grew thinner,\nweaker and sadder every day, until she could not bear it any longer;\nand going to her parents, she said that she could not stay any longer\nat home, and that she must go out into the world. The parents tried\nin vain to keep her at home, but, seeing that all their efforts were\nof no avail, they let her go, and she went. She took money and food\nwith her, and went along not knowing the right way.\n\nSo long as the money and the food lasted she felt quite happy, but a\ntime came when both had come to an end, and she was in a very sore\nplight, not knowing what to do. Moreover, she was frightened to go\nalone, for she was in woman's clothes. Suddenly she found herself\nin the midst of a wide field full of dead bodies. A battle had been\nfought there, and the field was strewn with the dead. So she took\none of the uniforms of the soldiers, dressed herself up in a man's\ngarb, and, finding a horse, mounted on it and rode along with her face\nturned towards the sinking sun. On the way she found then an old woman\ndressed all in black, sitting close to a well, and weaving gossamer\nand cobweb. She addressed her as the Black One, which seemed to please\nthe old woman, who told her to turn towards the rising sun until she\nwould come to a glass mountain; she would have to reach the top of\nthe mountain, and then she was sure to find her way to the palace\nof the sun. She rode on and came to the glass mountain. When she had\nreached the top, after having had the horse shod again at the bottom\nof the hill, she found a palace, but it was not that of the sun. It was\ninhabited by three sisters, who received her in very friendly fashion,\nand treated her with great hospitality. Thinking that she was a man,\nthey all fell in love with her; but she told them she was a woman,\nand they left her to continue her quest. Before leaving they gave her\na magic sword, which, if drawn half out of its sheath, killed half\nthe number of an army, and if drawn entirely, killed the entire army\nof the enemy. By this means she was able to vanquish the enemies of\na great king, who, discovering her to be a girl, wanted to marry her;\nbut she escaped and continued her journey towards the rising sun.\n\nOn the way she met with a very old man, whose white hair had grown\ndown to his ankles, and who was so weak that he could scarcely open\nhis mouth. Little Light washed him and fed him and cut his hair. When\nhe had eaten and felt himself refreshed, he told her which way to go;\nthen he gave her a piece of bread, and told her that on her way to the\npalace a wild dog would come out against her; she must give him that\nbread and none other, and before entering the palace she must drink\nof the water of the fountain at the gate of the palace. A three-headed\ndog met her, she gave him the bread, and he suddenly disappeared after\nhaving eaten it. Then she went and drank of the water in the well,\nand was able to look at the golden palace in front of her, which\nwas so radiant and so luminous that no human eye could look at it\nwithout being blinded. Then she went into the palace, and there, in\nthe middle of the hall, who should be sitting at the table and eating\nbut the glorious sun, beautiful and luminous as only the sun can be?\n\nWhen Little Light saw him, she almost fainted with joy, but he also,\nturning to her and seeing her beautiful face, felt himself drawn to\nher, for he had never yet seen such a wonderful human being. There in\nthe hall was also the mother of the sun. When she saw Little Light,\nshe turned fiercely on her, and cursing her said, \"O thou wicked child\nof man, born of sin, thou hast come here to defile the immaculate\npurity of my son and to lead him on to sin and wickedness. Thou shalt\nno longer remain a human being, thou shalt become a bird flying as\nhigh as to get near the sun, and there, seeing the beloved who cannot\nbe thine, thou shalt cry plaintively for him whom thou hast won and\nyet lost.\" At that moment Little Light was changed into the lark,\nwhich at the break of dawn, before the sun rises, flies up into the\nsky trying to get as near as possible to the sun, and there cries\nplaintively at the loss of her beloved.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXX. A.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE LARK.\n\nAnother Version.\n\n\nA variant of this story tells us that after the girl had left the\nking's palace and had gone on seeking for the sun, she came to a\nriver, and did not know how to cross it. Whilst she was sitting there\nat the bank of the river, not knowing what to do, there came out of\nthe river a girl dressed in white, who told her that she would reach\nthe palace and yet not reach it; and as she spoke these words, there\ncame a bridge and spanned the river. The girl went across the bridge,\nand going on in her journey, she came to a field where an old woman\nwas watching a flock of geese. Curious as old women are, this one\nasked the girl what had brought her hither, and whither she was going,\nand who she was. The girl answered politely, and the old woman, being\ntouched by her beauty, gave her a twig in her right hand and placed\na ring on her left hand, and told her to cross herself with the twig,\nand then she would see what would happen. She did so, and she suddenly\nfelt herself lifted up high in the air and carried as fast as a thought\nto some distant land. When she found herself again on the ground, she\nsaw the palace of the sun facing her, but the palace was surrounded by\na river, over whose waters, clear as tears, there was no bridge. An\nold man carried the passengers across, but he had to be paid with\na silver coin. Those who did not pay had to wander round that river\nfor a year. Remembering the ring which the old woman had given her,\nshe offered it to the old man instead of a coin; he accepted it and\ncarried her across. On the other side a two-headed dog came out and\nbarked at her furiously. At his barking an old woman came out, who was\nnone other than the mother of the sun. The poor girl did not know who\nit was; she might have been careful with her answer if she had. The\nwoman asked her who she was and what she had come for. The girl, who\nwas truthfulness itself, said in her simplicity that she had come to\nsee the sun whom she loved so much. When the old woman heard this,\nshe cursed her, and thus she became the lark flying about high in\nthe air, and trying in vain to reach her beloved.\n\n\n\nIt is evident that we have here reminiscences of ancient myths,\nwhich have assumed a very peculiar shape in the mind of the people. It\nwould be difficult to say whether these are survivals of Greek myths,\nof Charon, who ferries the dead across the river, and other legends\nconnected with Apollo, or whether we have here later stories which\nhave lingered on in the Balkans and have then been carried across the\nDanube. Whatever the connection, one cannot deny that we are dealing\nhere with materials closely akin to those which form the substance of\nsome parts of ancient Greek mythology, but in a modified form. Charon\nhas survived to this very day in the legends and in the folk-lore\nof modern Greece, no less than in that of Macedonia and the other\npeoples of the Balkans. It is curious, however, that in this tale no\nblending with Christianity has taken place. We find various layers of\nreligious belief which seem to have been superimposed upon one another,\neach one as it were leading an independent life of its own, seldom\nmixing to such an extent that the line of demarcation between what,\nin the absence of another term, one might call heathen mythology and\nChristian mythology or legendary lore.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXXI.\n\nTHE WOOING OF THE SISTER OF THE SUN.\n\nA Christmas Carol.\n\n\n    White flowers, O Ler, [4]\n    What cloud appears on the horizon?\n    It is not a cloud, a black cloud,\n    But a young man\n    On a yellow charger.\n    The saddle glitters like gold;\n    The stirrups shine like silver;\n    The whip with a beautiful handle;\n    And bells tinkling on his reins.\n    He is gone to hunt--\n    To hunt, to woo.\n    He met a beautiful maid,\n    The like of whom there is not in the world.\n    It was the queen of the fairies--\n    Iana, the sister of the Sun.\n    He met her,\n    He took hold of her,\n    And in his cellar he hid her--\n    In the cellar of the peacocks.\n    The Sun, as soon as he got wind of it,\n    Sent immediately after her\n    The morning dawn to search,\n    The twilight stars to seek.\n    But the young man,\n    What did he say?\n    \"For what are you searching,\n    Dawn of the morning?\n    And what are you seeking,\n    Stars of the evening?\n    Go into every nook,\n    But beware of the cellar.\n    If a peacock will escape,\n    I will take one of the sun's steeds instead.\n    And if a hen will escape,\n    I will wed his sister.\n    For I have found her,\n    I have taken her,\n    And into my house I brought her.\"\n    This the young man--\n    May he keep in good health,\n    With his brother,\n    And his parents,\n    And with all of us together.\n\n\nThis belongs to the series of the sun myths, curiously connected\nhere also with the peacock. I am not aware of any parallel to this\nlegend. Here a young man tries to woo the sister of the sun. In\nthe lark stories it is the young girl who wishes to marry the sun,\nrepresented as a young man. They all belong to the same cycle, into\nwhich apparently so far the Christian element is absent. The remarkable\npart of it is, that this and the other songs are Christmas carols,\nconnected probably with the Festival of the Sun with which Christmas\nwas originally connected. It is the time of the winter solstice and\nthe birth of the new sun. This probably explains the part which the\nsun legend plays in so many Rumanian Christmas carols.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXXII.\n\nTHE WOOING OF A FAIRY.\n\nA Christmas Carol.\n\n\n    Here, O Lord; there, O Lord,\n    In these houses, in these palaces and yards,\n    There have grown, O Lord,\n    Grown two tall apple trees.\n    Wonderful they are,\n    Joined in their roots,\n    United and entwined in their tops\n    The tree reaches up to the sky,\n    The bark is of silver,\n    And the fruit of gold.\n    But the fruit\n    Could not be plucked,\n    Through the threat of the Black Sea,\n    For the Sea was boasting,\n    And with its mouth saying:\n    \"Who is here in the world\n    Who would dare to shoot at my apples?\"\n    No one was found;\n    No one dares.\n    But when he heard the boast of the Sea,\n    Went home quickly to his house,\n    Went up the stairs,\n    Took the bow from the nail--\n    The bow with the arrows--\n    Placed them in his bosom,\n    And riding on his black charger,\n    He came to the Sea.\n    Arrived at the Sea,\n    He put his hand into his bosom,\n    Drew forth\n    The bow with the arrows,\n    And pointed the arrow to the tree.\n    The tops of the apple-tree--\n    The wonderful apples--\n    Thus spake to him:\n    \"Stop. Do not shoot,\n    For we will give thee\n    The sister of the sun,\n    The niece of the fairies, the beauty among the beauties,\"\n    He was persuaded,\n    And did not shoot the apples.\n    He mounted his charger,\n    Took his bow and arrow,\n    And turned back.\n    He had not gone a long way,\n    When he looked back,\n    And what he saw filled him with wonderment;\n    For there came,\n    There ran a pale-faced damsel.\n    She neither laughed\n    Nor rejoiced,\n    But wept bitterly, tearing her golden hair,\n    Scratching her white face.\n    But the knight said to her:\n    \"Stop, O Princess.\n    Stop, O Queen.\n    I do not take thee\n    For a slave to me,\n    But my mistress shalt thou be,\n    A good mistress of the house,\n    A good ruler\n    Of the household,\n    A niece\n    To uncles,\n    A sister-in-law to brothers,\n    A daughter-in-law to parents,\n    Dispenser at the treasury,\n    Mistress of my wealth.\"\n    The girl, hearing his words,\n    Ceased from crying,\n    And joined him joyfully.\n    And ... the brave man, may he live in health with his brothers,\n    With his parents,\n    And with all of us together.\n\n\nWe have here again the intertwined trees of the Tristram and Isolde\nlegend; the special golden apples of Hesperides fame, and even since\nof the fairy tales. In the latter, the golden apple represents often\nthe palace of the giant, with all the treasures that it contains,\nand the possession of the apple brings with it the possession of the\nprincess. The Black Sea plays here a part, which reminds one of the\nraging sea in the pilgrimage of the soul. But what is of importance\nhere is that the princess is called \"the sister of the sun.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXXIII.\n\nWHERE DID THE SWAN COME FROM?\n\nThe Story of the Swan Maiden and the King.\n\n\nThis is in its essence the well-known story of the swan-maidens,\nbut with a very marked difference. It is here used more or less to\ndescribe the origin of the swan, whilst the tale of the swan-maiden\npresupposes the existence and knowledge of such birds.\n\nThe version, which I have been able to find is, however, not complete;\nstill it is clear enough for our purpose. It runs as follows:\n\n\n\nOnce upon a time a king went out hunting, and after he had been\nhunting in the forest for a long time without finding anything, he\nfound himself suddenly in an open plain, in which there was a huge\nlake, and in the midst of the lake he saw there a bird swimming about,\nthe like of which he had never seen before. It was a swan.\n\nDrawing his bow, he wanted to shoot it. To his surprise it spoke to\nhim in a human voice, and said, \"Do not kill me.\" So he tried his\nbest to catch it, and succeeded. Pleased with the capture of the bird,\nhe carried it home alive, and gave it to the cook to kill it to make\na meal of it for him. The cook was a Gipsy. She whetted her knife\nand went to the bird to cut its throat, when, to her astonishment,\nthe bird turned three somersaults, and there stood before her a most\nbeautiful maiden, more beautiful than she had ever seen before. So\nshe ran to the king and told him what had happened.\n\nThe king, who first thought that the cook was trying to play some\ntrickery with him, did not listen to her, but when she persisted\nin her tale, the king, driven by curiosity, went into the kitchen,\nand there he saw a girl more beautiful than any that he had ever yet\nset his eyes upon.\n\nHe asked her who she was, and she said she was the swan who was\nswimming on the lake, that she had wilfully gone away from her mother,\nwho lived in the land of fairies, and that she had left two sisters\nbehind. So the king took her into the palace and married her. The\nGipsy, who was a pretty wench, had thought that the king would marry\nher, and when she saw what had happened, she was very angry. But she\nmanaged to conceal her anger, and tried to be kind to the new queen,\nbiding her time all the while.\n\nThe king and queen lived on for a while in complete happiness, and\nafter a time a child was born unto her.\n\nIt so happened that the king had to go on a long journey, leaving the\nwife and child in the care of the Gipsy. One day the Gipsy came to the\nqueen, and said to her, \"Why do you always sit in the palace? come,\nlet us walk a little in the garden, to hear the birds singing,\nand to see the beautiful flowers.\" The queen, who had no suspicion,\ntook the advice of the Gipsy, and went with her for a walk into the\ngarden. In the middle of the garden there was a deep well, and the\nGipsy said artfully to the young queen, \"Just bend over the well,\nand look into the water below, and see whether your face has remained\nso beautiful as it was on the first day when you turned into a maiden\nfrom being a swan.\"\n\nThe queen bent over the well to look down into the depths, and that\nwas what the Gipsy was waiting for, for no sooner did the queen bend\nover the well, than, getting hold of her by her legs, she threw her\ndown head foremost into the well and drowned her. When the king came\nhome and did not find the queen, he asked what had happened, and where\nshe was. The Gipsy, who had meanwhile taken charge of the child, and\nlooked after it very carefully, said to the king that the young queen,\npining for her old home, had turned again into a swan and flown away.\n\nThe king was deeply grieved when he heard this, but believing what\nthe Gipsy had told him, he thought that nothing could be done, and\nresigned himself to the loss of his wife.\n\nThe Gipsy woman looked after the child with great care, hoping\nthereby that she might win the king's love, and that he would marry\nher. A month, a year passed, and nothing was heard of the wife. And\nthe king, seeing the apparent affection of the Gipsy for the child,\ndecided at last to marry her, and fixed the day of the wedding. Out\nof the fountain into which the queen had been thrown, there grew\na willow tree with three branches, one stem in the middle and two\nbranching out right and left. Not far from the garden there lived a\nman who had a large flock of sheep. One day he sent his boy to lead\nthe sheep to the field. On his way the boy passed the king's garden\nwith the well in the middle of it.\n\nAs the boy had left his flute at home, when he saw the willow he\nthought he would cut one of the branches and make a flute.\n\nGoing into the garden, he cut the middle stem, and made a flute of\nit. When he put it to his lips, the flute by itself began to play as\nfollows: \"O boy, do not blow too hard, for my heart is aching for\nmy little babe which I left behind in the cradle, and to suckle at\nthe black breast of a Gipsy.\" When the boy heard what the flute was\nplaying, not understanding what it meant, he was greatly astonished,\nand ran home to tell his father what had happened with the flute.\n\nThe father, angry that he had left the sheep alone, scolded him, and\ntook away the flute. Then he tried to see whether the boy had told the\ntruth. As soon as he put it to his mouth the flute started playing\nthe same tune as when the boy had tried to play it. The father said\nnothing, and wondering at the meaning of the words he hid the flute\naway in a cupboard.\n\nWhen the king's wedding-day drew near, all the musicians of the kingdom\nwere invited to come and play at the banquet. Some of them passed\nthe old man's house, and hearing from them that they were going to\nplay at the king's banquet, he remembered the marvellous flute, and\nhe asked whether he could not go also, as he could play the flute so\nwonderfully well. His son--the young boy--had meanwhile gone into the\ngarden in the hope of getting another flute, as the willow had three\nbranches. So he cut one of the branches and made a flute of it. Now\nthis flute did not play at all.\n\nWhen the old man came to the palace, there was much rejoicing and\nsinging. At last his turn came to play. As soon as he put the flute\nto his lips, the flute sang: \"O man, do not blow so hard, for my\nheart aches for my little babe left in the cradle to be suckled by\na black Gipsy.\"\n\nThe Gipsy, who was the king's bride and sat at the head of the table,\nat once understood the saying of the flute, although she did not know\nwhat the flute had to do with the queen whom she had killed.\n\nThe king, who marvelled greatly at the flute and at the tune which it\nwas singing, took a gold piece and gave it to the man for the flute,\nand when he started blowing it, the flute began to sing: \"O my dear\nhusband, do not blow so hard, for my heart aches for our little babe\nwhom I left in the cradle to be suckled by the black Gipsy. Quickly,\nquickly, do away with this cruel Gipsy, as otherwise thou wilt lose\nthy wife.\"\n\nThe guests who were present marvelled at the song, and no one\nunderstood its meaning. The Gipsy, however, who understood full well\nwhat it meant, turning to the king, said, \"Illustrious king, do not\nblow this flute and make thyself ridiculous before thy guests, throw\nit into the fire.\" But the king, who felt offended by the words of\nthe Gipsy, made her take up the flute and blow. With great difficulty\nshe submitted to the order of the king, and she was quite justified\nin refusing to play it, for no sooner had she put the flute to her\nlips when it sang: \"You enemy of mine, do not blow hard, for my heart\naches for my little babe left in the cradle to be suckled by thee,\nthou evil-minded Gipsy. Thou hast thrown me into the well, and there\nput an end to my life, but God had pity on me, and he has preserved\nme to be again the true wife of this illustrious king.\"\n\nFurious at these words, the Gipsy threw the flute away with so much\nforce that she thought it would break into thousands of splinters. But\nit was not to be as she thought, for by this very throw the flute was\nchanged into a beautiful woman, more beautiful, indeed, than any had\never seen before. She was the very queen whom the Gipsy had thrown\ninto the well.\n\nWhen the king saw her, he embraced her and kissed her, and asked her\nwhere she had been such a long time. She told him that she had slept\nat the bottom of the well into which she had been thrown by the Gipsy,\nwho had hoped to become the queen, and this would have come to pass\nhad it not been for the boy cutting a flute out of the stem of the\nwillow-tree. \"And now, punish the Gipsy as she deserves, otherwise\nthy wife must leave thee.\"\n\nWhen the king heard these words, he called the boy and asked him\nwhether he had cut himself a flute from the stem of the willow tree\nwhich had grown out of the well in the garden.\n\n\"It is so, O illustrious king;\" said the boy, \"and may I be forgiven\nfor the audacity of going into the king's garden. I went and cut for\nmyself a flute from the stem of the willow tree, and when I began\nto blow it, it played, 'Do not blow so hard, O boy, for my heart is\naching within me,' etc.\" Then he told him he had gone back to his\nfather, who instead of praising him for the marvellous flute, gave\nhim a good shaking. He had then gone a second time into the garden,\nand had cut off one of the branches to make a flute; but this did\nnot play like the first one. The king gave the boy a very rich gift,\nand he ordered the Gipsy to be killed.\n\nSome time afterwards, the queen came to the king and asked leave to\ngo to her mother to tell her all that had happened to her, and to\nsay good-bye for ever now, as she henceforth would live among human\nbeings. The king reluctantly gave way. She then made three somersaults,\nand again became a swan, as she had been when the king found her for\nthe first time on the waters of the lake.\n\nSpreading her wings she flew far away until she reached the house of\nher mother, who was quite alone. Her two sisters were not there. They\nhad left her some time ago and no one knew whither they had gone. The\nyoung queen did not go into the house, she was probably afraid lest her\nmother would not let her go back again, so she settled on the roof,\nand there she sang: \"Remain in health, good mother mine, as the joy\nis no longer granted thee to have me with thee in thine house, for\nthou wilt only see me again when I lose my kingdom, dear mother mine,\nnot before, and not till then.\" And without waiting for the answer\nof her mother she returned back again to her husband. Sitting on the\nwindow sill, she sung again: \"Rise up, O husband, open the doors, wake\nup the servants and let them be a witness of my faithfulness to thee,\nfor since I have married thee I have left my mother, and my sisters\nhave gone away from me, and from a swan I have become a true wife to\nlive in happiness with thee. Henceforth I shall no longer be a swan,\nbut thou must take care of me that I do not go hence from thee. I\ndo not know whether my fate will be a better one by being a queen in\nthis world. O sweet water, how I long to bathe in thee! And my white\nfeathers, they will belong to my sisters. Since I am to leave them\nfor ever, and my mother with them, O Lord, what have I done? Shall I\nbe able to live upon the earth, and shall I keep the kingdom? Thou, O\nLord, O merciful, hearken unto me and grant that this kingdom may not\nbe in vain.\" And turning again head over heels, she became a woman as\nbefore, and entering the palace she lived there with her husband--the\nking--and if they have not died since they are still alive.\n\n\n\nHere we have the origin of the swans, for since that time the swans\nhave come to this world.\n\nIt is a remarkable tale, in which the element of the swan-maiden\nstory has been mixed up with the type of the false wife. It claims,\nhowever, special attention, for we have here what I believe to be\n\"the song of the dying swan.\" It is practically the song of the swan\nbefore her death as a swan, and her rebirth as a fairy maiden, which\nis contained in the concluding portion.\n\nI am not aware of any other parallel to this peculiar song, although\nthe fable that the swan sings a very beautiful song before his death\nis well known from antiquity.\n\nHere follows another version of the swan legend in the form of\na ballad.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXXIV.\n\nTHE SWAN MAIDEN, THE BIRD OF HEAVEN AND THE CROWN OF PARADISE.\n\nA Christmas Carol.\n\n\n    High up on the top of the mountains,\n    On the brow of the rocks,\n    At the gates of the fairies,\n    On the land of Neculea,\n    Appeared a white swan\n    Sent by God,\n    Selected by God.\n    She has been flying under the heavens,\n    And settled on the rock.\n    She turned off from her flight,\n    And fell near the brave,\n    For he is to wed\n    The little white swan.\n    The king's son, as soon as he saw her,\n    Was wounded at his heart,\n    And spake as follows:\n    \"O thou white fairy,\n    O thou beautiful swan,\n    I will bathe thee in a bath of white milk,\n    So that thou shouldst not be able to depart.\"\n    The swan replied, and said:\n    \"Young son of kings,\n    I will not be bathed,\n    For I am not a white swan,\n    But the fairy from heaven,\n    From the gate of Paradise.\"\n    The prince, when he heard her,\n    His love burned in him fiercely\n    And what did he say with his mouth?\n    \"O thou white little swan,\n    O thou beautiful fairy,\n    Stay here and be my wife.\"\n    The swan answered and replied,\n    And thus spake with her mouth:\n    \"I will wed thee,\n    And remain as wife to thee,\n    If thou wilt go,\n    If thou wilt bring me\n    The bird of heaven\n    And the crown of Paradise.\n    The bird which sings in heaven with sweet and beautiful speech,\n    To which God Almighty and the angels listen constantly,\n    Singing among the trees in bloom,\n    And some laden with ripe fruit;\n    And the crown of Paradise,\n    Of the Paradise of God,\n    Woven of jasmine,\n    With the fruits of virginity.\"\n    When the prince heard her words,\n    He went to his stable-yard of stone,\n    Brought forth his whole stud--a great company--\n    And he started on his journey\n    On the road\n    Where the sun rises.\n    Nine horses he made lame,\n    Other nine horses he broke ere he arrived at the mansion of\n    the Lord,\n    At the gate of Paradise.\n    Who came there to meet him?\n    St. Basile came to meet him,\n    Came to try him, and to ask him\n    What might be his wish?\n    What might be in his mind?\n    The prince replied and said:\n    \"The Holy God has selected for me,\n    The Holy God has sent to me\n    A wonderful swan to wed me,\n    But she will not marry me\n    Until she wears\n    The crown of Paradise,\n    The crown of our Lord,\n    Woven with jasmine,\n    With fruits of virgin maidens.\n    She will not marry me,\n    Unless at our wedding sings\n    The bird of heaven and the Lord's bird,\n    Which discourses here in Paradise,\n    With such sweet and charming speech,\n    In between the blooming trees--\n    Some decked with flowers,\n    Others laden with fruit--\n    And the Lord\n    And the angels listen constantly.\"\n    Thus spake the Prince,\n    Praying very deeply,\n    And shed tears all the while.\n    St. Basile had mercy on him.\n    He gave him the bird\n    And the crown.\n    He then returned to\n    The crest of the mountains,\n    The valley of Neculea.\n    There he set the bird free,\n    And placed the crown upon the altar,\n    And he spake thus:\n    \"Come forth, my beautiful swan,\n    Come forth, my wonderful fairy.\n    Behold the crown,\n    And listen to the bird;\n    For the crown is that of Paradise,\n    From the mansions of the Lord;\n    And the bird is the bird of heaven,\n    From among the trees of Paradise.\"\n    When the swan came forth, it turned into a maiden fair;\n    The crown leapt on to her head;\n    The bird began to sing,\n    With sweet and beautiful song,\n    The song of heaven.\n    They went to church,\n    And the priest married them.\n    Who was his sponsor?\n    Who but St. John,\n    Who stood sponsor to Jesus.\n    He blessed them,\n    And gave them,\n    To each one gifts,\n    To her a small cross,\n    As well as a small Ikon;\n    To him a staff of silver,\n    To rule over the whole world,\n    To have power upon earth.\n    And this young bride\n    With golden tresses\n    That shone like the sun's rays,\n    Together with her groom,\n    Young and brave,\n    May they live\n    For many years\n    With happy cheer and with health,\n    Together with their brothers\n    And with their parents.\n\n\nHere we have a remarkable \"carol,\" full of mystical lore, in which the\nswan-like maiden in the tale is really a fairy in disguise. The bird\nof heaven, and the crown of paradise, and all the rest stand here for\nthe tests which often are found in fairy tales. The hero must first\nwin these mythical beings before he can obtain the love of the maiden,\nor probably before she can turn from a swan into a human being, and\nremain as such. We have here thus a version of the large cycle of the\nSwan Maiden (v. Cosquin, ii. 16; Saineanu, p. 264 ff.). Such miraculous\nbirds occur very often in Rumanian (v. Saineanu, p. 410 ff.).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXXV.\n\nWHY DOES THE DUCK FEED ON REFUSE?\n\nThe Story of the Cannibal Innkeeper.\n\n\nThis is more or less a fairy tale, but of a very complicated\ncharacter. Various elements are combined in it. It begins as do many\ntales, with the fact that a couple had a child after many years:\nthat child is a beautiful girl, who, left as an orphan, dresses up in\na man's clothes, works at the house of a rich man, where she after a\ntime resumes her character as a girl: the chieftain of robbers falls\nin love with her, but when he asks his companions to go and steal\nher away from her master, everyone refuses. He then goes himself,\ndisguised as a servant: he stays for some time in the same house:\nwhen he asks her to marry him, she refuses. His attempts at stealing\nher are frustrated by a little dog which she had received from her\nparents. One night he succeeds in catching the dog, and, assisted by\nsome of his comrades whom he had summoned for the purpose, he is able\nto carry her away to his house. There she refuses again to marry him,\nand when he finds that neither good words, nor threats, nor beating\nmake her change her mind, he gets so furious that he decides to sell\nher to a wild and cruel innkeeper who lives some distance away.\n\nNow this innkeeper used to rob the travellers: then he used to kill\nthem, cut them in pieces, and, after having cooked them, he gave\ntheir flesh to his customers to eat. When he received the girl he\ntook her first into a very large room, in which there was only a table\nand chairs round it. That was the room where he used to feed all the\ntravellers who came to him. Then he took her into another apartment\nwhich was full of gold and silver and vestments of silk, and round the\nwalls were hanging weapons of all kinds, all robbed from the people\nwho had lodged in that place, and whom he had murdered. Then he took\nher into a third room. There was a pillar, and on it were hanging two\nknives and an axe, with which he used to kill and cut up his victims;\nand along the walls there were hooks, and on each hook a human head. He\nshowed all these things to the girl, who was greatly frightened,\nand who expected now to be killed by this cruel man. But he somehow\nseemed to have taken some pity on her, or perhaps he wanted to keep\nher for some time longer; whatever the reason, he took her and pushed\nher into another room, quite behind all these rooms, and locked the\ndoor upon her; and he told her to wait until he came back, and she was\nto do all that she was told. She had taken the little dog with her,\nand that seemed to comfort her. Soon afterwards he brought in a boy\nwhom he had captured in the forest gathering berries, and taking him\ninto an inner apartment he cut his head off, and cut him in pieces,\nand calling the girl in, he told her to take the meat and cook it and\nget it ready for the customers whom he was expecting. When the people\ncame, he fed them in his usual way with human flesh. The people did\nnot know what manner of food it was they were getting, but they seemed\nto like it; then he did with these guests what he had done with all\nthe others, and so it went on day after day, the poor girl was kept\nthere locked up and helping to prepare the food of the chopped-up men.\n\nOne day a very old woman was brought in, whom the man had bought,\nbut she was so ugly and so wizened that one could scarcely recognise\na human countenance. Not knowing who she was, the wild man thrust her\ninto the chamber where the young girl was: very likely he wanted to\nkill her later on, as he had killed all the others, but possibly he\nwanted first to feed her up, as she was only skin and bones. When the\nyoung girl saw that bag of bones, she was very frightened; but the old\nwoman spoke in friendly fashion to her, and asked her who she was and\nhow she came to be in that house, telling her at the same time that she\nwas a great witch, she could do anything, change everything, and that\nshe had cursed her son for his cruelty, when he was still a young boy,\nand that she had come now to punish him. She had disguised herself in\nthis ugly form, for she knew that if her son recognised her he would\nnot wait long, but would kill her at once without mercy. The girl then\ntold her her pitiful tale, and begged of her to save her. She told her\nwhat a terrible life she was leading, how she had been fed on human\nflesh, and that he was probably only waiting for an opportunity to\nkill her also and to give her flesh to others to be eaten. The old\nwoman took pity on her, and told her she need not fear; though her\nson had put her in the innermost recess and there was no outlet, yet\nshe would be able to escape. She must kill the little dog, and taking\nout a small bit from the heart was to swallow it. While she was doing\nit, the old woman took out some ointment from her bosom and began to\nrub her with it all over her body, when she suddenly became changed\ninto a duck. There she sat quietly in a corner, and when the wild man\ncame and opened the door she flew away and escaped into the open. The\nman looked round, and not finding the girl he went all over the place\nsearching for her. At that moment the mother followed him out of that\nroom, and uttered a terrible curse, on which the whole house fell\ndown over him and killed him. When the duck had flown some distance\naway, she turned back to see what had happened, for the old woman had\nforetold her that she was going to destroy it. When she turned round\nshe saw the heap of ruins, but as the old woman had not told her how\nshe could again become a human being, the spell remained unbroken,\nand she has remained a duck to this very day.\n\nIt is for this reason that ducks are so fat, and they seek their food\namong the dead bodies and dirty places.\n\n\n\nIt will be seen that we have here a remarkable parallel of the\nBluebeard story, but in a much more primitive form, for this Bluebeard\ndoes not kill only his wives, but he kills indiscriminately all those\nupon whom he can lay his hands, and then he uses the flesh of his\nvictims for food. There are dim recollections of cannibalism in this\ntale, which in a way also reminds us of Polyphemus, who keeps Ulysses\nand his companions for the purpose of killing them and eating them,\nand the same story is found in another form in the adventures of\nSindbad the Sailor.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXXVI.\n\nWHY HAS THE STORK NO TAIL?\n\nThe Story of the Water of Life and Death.\n\n\nThis tale, though part of a longer fairy tale, is still complete\nin itself.\n\n\n\nThe hero of the tale, Floria, having shown some kindness to a stork,\nwho afterwards turns out to be the king of the storks, receives from\nhim a feather, which when taken up at any time of danger would bring\nthe stork to him and help him. And thus it came to pass that the hero,\nfinding himself at one time in danger, remembered the gift of the\nstork. He took out the feather from the place where he had hidden it,\nand waved it. At once the stork appeared and asked Floria what he\ncould do for him. He told him the king had ordered him to bring the\nwater of life and the water of death. [5]\n\nThe stork replied that if it could possibly be got he would certainly\ndo it for him. Returning to his palace, the stork, who was the king\nof the storks, called all the storks together, and asked them whether\nthey had seen or heard or been near the mountains that knock against\none another, at the bottom of which are the fountains of the water\nof life and death.\n\nAll the young and strong looked at one another, and not even the\noldest one ventured to reply. He asked them again, and then they\nsaid they had never heard or seen anything of the waters of life and\ndeath. At last there came from the rear a stork, lame on one foot,\nblind in one eye, and with a shrivelled-up body, and with half of\nhis feathers plucked out. And he said, \"May it please your majesty,\nI have been there where the mountains knock one against the other,\nand the proofs of it are my blinded eye and my crooked leg.\" When\nthe king saw him in the state in which he was, he did not even take\nany notice of him.\n\nTurning to the other storks, he said: \"Is there any one among you who,\nfor my sake, will run the risk and go to these mountains and bring the\nwater?\" Not one of the young and strong, and not even any of the older\nones who were still strong replied. They all kept silence. But the lame\nstork said to the king, \"For your sake, O Master King, I will again\nput my life in danger and go.\" The king again did not look at him,\nand turning to the others repeated his question; but when he saw that\nthey all kept silence, he at last turned to the stork and said to him:\n\n\"Dost thou really believe, crippled and broken as thou art, that thou\nwilt be able to carry out my command?\"\n\n\"I will certainly try,\" he said.\n\n\"Wilt thou put me to shame?\" the king again said.\n\n\"I hope not; but thou must bind on my wings some meat for my food,\nand tie the two bottles for the water to my legs.\"\n\nThe other storks, on hearing his words, laughed at what they thought\nhis conceit, but he took no notice of it. The king was very pleased,\nand did as the stork had asked. He tied on his wings a quantity of\nfresh meat, which would last him for his journey, and the two bottles\nwere fastened to his legs. He said to him, \"A pleasant journey.\" The\nstork, thus prepared for his journey, rose up into the heavens, and\naway he went straight to the place where the mountains were knocking\nagainst one another and prevented any one approaching the fountains of\nlife and death. It was when the sun had risen as high as a lance that\nhe espied in the distance those huge mountains which, when they knocked\nagainst one another, shook the earth and made a noise that struck\nfear and terror into the hearts of those who were a long distance away.\n\nWhen the mountains had moved back a little before knocking against\none another, the stork wanted to plunge into the depths and get the\nwater. But there came suddenly to him a swallow from the heart of\nthe mountain, and said to him, \"Do not go a step further, for thou\nart surely lost.\"\n\n\"Who art thou who stops me in my way?\" asked the stork angrily.\n\n\"I am the guardian spirit of these mountains, appointed to save every\nliving creature that has the misfortune to come near them.\"\n\n\"What am I to do then to be safe?\"\n\n\"Hast thou come to fetch water of life and death?\"\n\n\"Yes.\"\n\n\"If that be so, then thou must wait till noon, when the mountains rest\nfor half an hour. As soon as thou seest that a short time has passed\nand they do not move, then rise up as high as possible into the air,\nand drop down straight to the bottom of the mountain. There, standing\non the ledge of the stone between the two waters, dip thy bottles into\nthe fountains and wait until they are filled. Then rise as thou hast\ngot down, but beware lest thou touchest the walls of the mountain or\neven a pebble, or thou art lost.\"\n\nThe stork did as the swallow had told him; he waited till noontide,\nand when he saw that the mountains had gone to sleep, he rose up into\nthe air, and, plunging down into the depth, he settled on the ledge of\nthe stone and filled his bottles. Feeling that they had been filled,\nhe rose with them as he had got down, but when he had reached almost\nthe top of the mountains, he touched a pebble. No sooner had he done\nso, when the two mountains closed furiously upon him; but they did\nnot catch any part of him, except the tail, which remained locked up\nfast between the two peaks of the mountains.\n\nWith a strong movement he tore himself away, happy that he had saved\nhis life and the two bottles with the waters of life and death,\nnot caring for the loss of his tail.\n\nAnd he returned the way he had come, and reached the palace of the king\nof the storks in time for the delivery of the bottles. When he reached\nthe palace, all the storks were assembled before the king, waiting to\nsee what would happen to the lame and blind one who had tried to put\nthem to shame. When they saw him coming back, they noticed that he\nhad lost his tail, and they began jeering at him and laughing, for he\nlooked all the more ungainly, from having already been so ugly before.\n\nBut the king was overjoyed with the exploit of his faithful messenger;\nand he turned angrily on the storks and said, \"Why are you jeering\nand mocking? Just look round and see where are your tails. And you\nhave not lost them in so honourable a manner as this my faithful\nmessenger.\" On hearing this they turned round, and lo! one and all\nof them had lost their tails.\n\nAnd this is the reason why they have remained without a tail to this\nvery day.\n\n\n\nCompare the story of the lark, No. 78, who alone of all the birds obeys\nthe king's command; for the story of the stork, the only bird that can\nreach the fountains of life and death, v. Cosquin (i. No. 3, p. 48).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXXVII.\n\nWHY HAS THE SWALLOW A FORKED TAIL AND A RED SPOT ON ITS BREAST?\n\nThe Story of the Young Maiden and her Husband the Demon.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a widow who had one only child. She had a\nflock of sheep and a magic dog. The widow died, and the girl was left\nquite alone. So she took the flock of sheep and went to feed them in\nthe mountain, accompanied only by her faithful little dog. After some\ntime, there came also to the same pastures a young shepherd leading\nhis flock. Before leaving, the girl had put on man's clothes, and\nso when the other shepherd, who was the son of a she-demon, came,\nthey got very friendly, and the girl often went with her flock to\nspend the night in the house of the demon. She did not know who the\nother shepherd was, nor who was his mother. After a time, the young\nman began to feel suspicious about his comrade, and he said to his\nmother, \"Methinks my friend is a girl, despite his man's clothes;\nhis gait and his speech are just like that of a maiden.\" The mother\nwould not listen; but after a time, when the son went on saying that he\nbelieved his mate to be a maiden, she said to him, \"Very well, then,\nwe will put him to the test, and we can easily find out what he is. I\nwill take a special flower and put it under his pillow, and if it is\nfaded in the morning he is for sure a maiden.\" The dog, who knew what\nthe old woman was up to, called the girl aside and told her: \"Listen\nto me, my mistress. Follow my advice, it will go well with thee. The\nold dragon is going to put a flower under thy pillow as soon as thou\nhast gone to bed; now keep awake, take it out from under the pillow\nand put it on the pillow. Early in the morning, before any one else is\nawake, put it back under the pillow, and nothing will happen to thee.\"\n\nThe girl did as the dog had told her. She took the flower from under\nher pillow, and kept it on her pillow all through the night, and put\nit back again early in the morning. The old woman afterwards took the\nflower out; she found it was even fresher than it had been the night\nbefore. So she told her son that he must be mistaken. His companion\ncould not be a maiden. He persisted in his belief despite of it,\nand so the woman said to him, \"Go and ask your companion to bathe,\nand if he is eager to do so, be sure it is not a girl; but if he\nmakes any difficulties, you will know that you are right.\"\n\nThe dog, who knew of the plotting of the old woman, told the girl to\nput on a pleasant face, and not to hesitate to go to the river with her\ncompanion, \"for,\" he said, \"no sooner will you be near the water than I\nwill get among the flock, and so you will have to jump up and run after\nthe sheep, and there will be no more question of bathing.\" As the dog\nsaid, so he did, and again the young man did not know what to make of\nhis companion. The mother then told him to go with his companion to\nthe forest, and to find a big tree, and to ask his companion what it\nwould be good for. If he replied for distaff and spindle, then it is\na girl; but if he answered it was good to make carts out of, then it\nwas a boy.\" So he took her into the forest, and, finding a big tree,\nhe asked her what could be best made out of the wood. The girl replied\n\"carts.\" When the girl saw that the boy troubled her too much, she went\nto the sea-shore, and, smiting the waves with her shepherd's staff,\nshe rent the waters in twain, and passed dryshod with her flock and\ndog to the other shore of the sea. The other shepherd--the demon--came\nto the sea-shore just when she had already passed over to the other\nside. She removed her fur cap, and her long golden hair fell down\nto her knees. Then she moved her wand, and the waters again closed\nup. When he saw that she had escaped him, he was very angry, and he\nwent to his mother and told her all that had happened. She said to him,\n\"Do not mind; I will help you to get her into your hands.\" So the old\nwoman went to the sea and built there a huge ship. This she filled\nwith all kinds of merchandise, and told the young man to sail in it\nacross the sea, and try and find his beloved; and she told him how\nto get hold of her when he had found her. So sailing along in the\nboat he got across, and anchored near a great town. The people came\nout to look at the wares which he had brought. The last to come--led\nby curiosity--was the girl. As soon as he saw that she had entered\nthe boat, he set sail, and off he went. When the girl saw what had\nhappened, she recognised him, and, finding herself in his power, she\noffered no resistance. But when they were in the middle of the sea,\nshe took off the ring which she had on her finger, and, casting it\ninto the sea, she said to him, \"From this day onward I shall remain\ndumb. I shall not speak to thee until this ring is brought back to me\";\nand she kept her word faithfully. For many a year she lived with him,\nbut never spoke a word. One day her mother-in-law thought that it\nwould be better to get rid of her. As she herself dared not kill her,\nshe sent the girl with a message to her elder sister to bring her\nthe sword and the threads, knowing full well that her sister would\nkill her. When her husband heard the errand on which she was sent,\nhe came out quietly, and, meeting her outside the house, he whispered:\n\n\"When you go to my mother's sister, she is sure to offer you some\nfood; take the first bite, and keep it under your tongue. Then\nyou may eat; otherwise you will be lost.\" The girl never replied,\nbut listened attentively to what he had said. So she came to the old\ncrone, who was ever so much worse than her own mother-in-law, and she\ncertainly was bad enough. As soon as she entered the house, the young\nwoman greeted her. Great was the surprise of the old woman, who said,\n\"Now who is to believe my sister; she made that girl out to be dumb,\nand now she speaks so sweetly. Come in, my child.\"\n\nThen she went out, killed a cock, grilled it, and gave it to her\nto eat.\n\nThe young woman, remembering her husband's advice, took the first\nbite and put it under her tongue; then she sat down and made a\nhearty meal of the cock. When she had finished, the old woman said,\n\"I do not have the sword or the threads; they are with my younger\nsister. She lives not very far from here; you just go to her.\"\n\nTaking leave, she went a little way further, and she came to the\nsecond sister, who was worse than the other. She saluted her when\nshe came in, and this sister also said:\n\n\"How is one to believe your mother-in-law? She made you out to be dumb,\nand now you speak so sweetly and so nicely. What have you come for?\"\n\nShe said, \"I have come for the sword and the threads.\"\n\n\"Sit down and eat, my child,\" she said, and, going out, she took a\nyoung lamb and killed it and prepared it for her. Remembering the\nadvice given to her, she put the first bite under her tongue, and\nthen she went on eating until she had satisfied her hunger.\n\nWhen she had finished eating, the old woman said, \"I do not have that\nsword; it is with my younger sister. You must go further; she lives\nquite close by, and she will give it to you.\"\n\nSo she went to the third sister, and greeting this third one, who was\nthe worst of all and the ugliest of all, said to her, \"Sit down and\neat.\" Then she took out the hand of a dead man and gave it to her to\neat. But this the wife could not do.\n\nMeanwhile the old woman had gone up into the loft of the house,\nsaying she was going to fetch the spade, but in reality to watch the\nyoung woman to see what she was doing.\n\nWhen she was left alone, she took the hand and threw it under\nthe hearth. Then came a voice from the loft crying. \"Hand, hand,\nwhere art thou?\" and from under the hearth the hand replied, \"Here\nI am under the hearth.\" So she turned on the young woman and said,\n\"You eat this or something worse will happen to you; I am going to\neat you.\" She was very frightened; so she took it and put it in her\nbosom under her girdle. And again the old woman cried, \"Hand, hand,\nwhere art thou?\" and the hand replied, \"I am under her heart.\" The old\nwitch thought that she had eaten it, and coming down, she brought the\nsword and gave it to her together with the threads. Before she left,\nthe old witch asked her to give her back the hand; so she put her hand\nin her bosom, and drew out the dead hand and gave it back to her. And\nso she had to let her go in peace, as she had retained nothing.\n\nThen, coming to the other sister, this one said to her, \"Give me back\nmy lamb.\" The young woman heaved, and out came the little lamb quite\nalive and started frolicking through the house. It was because she had\nkept the first bite under her tongue. She therefore had to let her\ngo unharmed. Then she came to the eldest one. And she said to her,\n\"Give me back my cock,\" and then the young woman spat, and out came\nthe cock, running and crowing through the house. And so she came back\nto her own house with the sword and the threads.\n\nShortly before she had come, some fishermen had caught a large number\nof fish, among them a huge fish which her husband had bought. When\nhe opened that fish, he found the ring which his wife had cast into\nthe sea. So, full of joy, he ran out to meet her and to give her the\nring. He embraced her with one hand, and with the other, which was full\nof the blood of the fish, he stroked her chin gently, saying to her,\n\"O my dear little girl, here is thy ring.\" No sooner had he spoken\nthese words, when the woman was changed into a bird with a red breast,\nthe mark of the blood stains on her chin; then, breaking a pane of the\nwindow (lit. an eye of the window), she flew away. Her husband tried\nto catch hold of her, but he only got hold of the middle feathers of\nthe tail, which remained in his hand. The bird flew away. The young\nwoman had become a swallow. For that reason the tail looks like two\nprongs of a fork, for the middle part was plucked out by the husband\nin his attempt to catch her.\n\n\n\nIn this legend we have a combination of many tales. The central\nincident of the magical ring recovered from the depth of the sea\ninside the fish, upon which the whole future depended, is somewhat\nobscure in this tale. It is part of the Polykrates tale, but still\nmore so of the Solomonic legend, where the recovery of the ring means\nthe recovery of power by King Solomon. It is a curious romance,\nin which Solomon is married as a poor man, i.e. in disguise, to a\nprincess, for his ring by which he was able to rule all the spirits\nand demons had been cast into the sea by a demon and swallowed by a\nfish. From that fish Solomon recovered it later on, and with it his\nkingdom and power. The incident of the sword and the threads is an\nobscure episode. No doubt it is a magical sword, by which the power\nof the ogre is to be broken, and the threads are magical threads,\nby which he is to be tied and made powerless.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXXVIII.\n\nWHY DOES THE SWALLOW LIVE IN HOT PLACES?\n\nThe Story of the Swallow and Holy Mother Sunday.\n\n\nIn another tale the swallow was originally a servant of Holy\nSunday. Holy Sunday, going to church, told her servant, whom she had\nleft at home, that she was to prepare the dinner for her, and that\nshe should take care that it should neither be too hot nor too cold,\nbut just as she liked it best. The servant remaining at home did as\nshe was told; she cooked the dinner, but forgot to take the food off\nthe hob in time to get it cool enough for Holy Sunday when she came\nhome from church.\n\nWhen Holy Sunday came home and began to eat the food burned her\nmouth, as it was too hot, having been left on the fire so much\ntoo long. So she got very angry, and cursed the servant, saying,\n\"As thou hast not done my will and hast burned me with the food,\nso mayest thou now be henceforth a bird burned and frizzled up by\nthe great heat of the places and the countries where thou shalt dwell.\"\n\nNo sooner had Holy Sunday spoken these words, when the servant girl was\nchanged into a swallow, and therefore it makes its nest in the lofts\nof houses where it is hottest, and travels the countries where the\nsun is burning like fire, frizzling up the inhabitants with its heat.\n\n\n\nHoly Sunday is here merely a Christianised form of some of the older\ndivinities, who did not scruple at the slightest provocation to vent\ntheir feelings and to punish their sub-ordinates without pity and\nwithout mercy.\n\nIt is not here the place to discuss the personification of the\ndays of the week in the form of divinities. They occur very often\nin Rumanian legends and tales, and are in most cases described as\ncholeric old women, spiteful and revengeful. On rare occasions they\nare helpful. They resemble much more the three parcae, Moirai or\nFates of the Roman and Greek mythology and the Norns of the Teutonic\nmythology, than Christian saints. That these divinities are identified\nwith special days of the week belongs to that process of heretical\nteaching to which I have referred already, and in which certain days\nof the week are endowed with a peculiar character of sanctity; and\nthe apotheosis has reached such a degree that they are looked upon\nas real saints. And the swallow still is looked upon as a more or\nless sacred bird. According to popular belief, swallows will not\nbuild nests in bewitched or cursed houses; to kill a swallow is\nconsidered a heinous sin, almost tantamount to killing one's wife\nand children. As the people believe that the swallow was originally\na girl, they refrain from eating it. They consider it wrong to eat\na swallow. They are also called \"God's hens,\" and are a sign of luck\nto the people where they build their nests.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLXXXIX.\n\nWHY IS THE DOVE A HOMING BIRD?\n\nThe Story of the Bewitched Calf and the Wicked Step-mother.\n\n\nIt is very curious that, so far, very few tales and legends have been\ncollected referring to the dove, a bird which plays so prominent a part\nin Ancient Greek and heathen worship. I have not been able hitherto to\ndiscover more than passing references to the dove in legendary tales,\nnor is there anything in Rumanian folk-lore that would explain the\norigin of the dove. There is only one legend, which is in a way a\ndistinct variant of the Cinderella cycle.\n\nI will give it here briefly.\n\nThe beginning agrees on the whole with the usual type. There is\nthe bad step-mother, who has an ugly daughter, and persecutes the\nbeautiful daughter of her second husband. Among other trials, besides\nkeeping her unkempt and dirty and sending her out to feed the cattle,\nshe gives her one day a bag full of hemp, and tells her that in the\nevening she is to bring it home carded, spun, woven into cloth and\nbleached. The poor girl did not know what to do. Her father had given\nher a calf. This calf was \"a wise one.\" So the calf came to the girl\nand said, \"Do not fear; look after the other cows: by the evening it\nwill be all ready.\" So it was.\n\nWhen she brought the white cloth home, her step-mother did not know\nwhat to say. The next day she gave her two bags full of hemp, and again\nthe little calf worked at it and got it ready by the evening. When\nthe woman saw what had happened, she said, \"This is uncanny; no human\nbeing can do such work in one day. I must find out what is happening.\"\n\nThe next morning she gave her three bags full of hemp and followed her\nstealthily to the field to see what she was doing. There, hidden in\na bush, she overheard the conversation between the little calf and\nthe girl. Straightway she went home, put herself to bed, and said\nthat she was very ill and was sure to die.\n\nHer husband, coming home and finding her in what he thought was a very\nsorry plight, believed that she was really very ill. She called him\nto her bedside, and said, \"I know I am dying; there is only one way,\nhowever, by which I can be saved, and that is to kill the little calf\nand to give me some of its meat roasted.\" The poor man did not know\nwhat to do, and he said to his wife, \"Why, that is all that my little\ngirl has, and if that calf is killed she will remain with nothing.\"\n\n\"Do as you like,\" she replied, \"if you prefer a calf to my life.\" The\nlittle calf, which was \"wise,\" knew what was going to happen, and\ntold the girl that the step-mother was sure to have it killed, but\nshe must not grieve. The only thing the calf wanted her to do was to\ngather up all the bones after the meal, and to hide them in a hollow\nof a tree not far from the field. Everything happened as the calf\nhad foretold, and on the next day the woman ate as one who had been\nstarving for a week, as ravenously as if the wolves were fighting at\nher mouth. The old man also ate of the calf, but the girl refused to\ntouch the meat. After the meal was over she took all the bones and\nput them in the hollow of a tree as she was told.\n\nSoon afterwards, the step-mother again put her to a trial. Going with\nher husband and her own daughter to church, she left her at home in\nher dirty clothes, and giving her a bag full of linseed and poppy-seed\nmixed, she told her that she must sweep the room, get the meal ready,\nwash the plates, clean the pots and separate the linseed from the\npoppy seed.\n\nNow the bones of the calf had turned into three white doves. These\ncame to her and did all the work, and told her at the same time to\ngo to the hollow tree; there she would find a carriage and pair and\nbeautiful clothes waiting for her. She did so, went to church in state,\nleft before the others, and was at home to meet her people coming\nback from church and found the house swept and clean, and the linseed\nseparated from the poppy seed. They spoke of the beautiful girl who\nhad come to church, and chided their poor daughter for staying at home.\n\nThe second week the same thing happened. This time there were two\nsacks of poppy seed and linseed which she had to separate. And again\nthe doves helped. And so on the third Sunday. The son of the squire,\nwho had seen her on the former two Sundays, tried to stop her on\nher way out of church, and trod on her slipper, which was knocked\noff her foot. She did not wait to recover it, but returned home\nas fast as she could. The young man went round with the slipper to\nfind the person whom it would fit. When he came near the house, the\nstep-mother, fearing lest he see her step-daughter, hid her under a\nbig trough behind the door. When the young man, after having tried\nthe slipper on her daughter, whom it did not fit, asked whether there\nwas another girl in the house, and she replied, \"None,\" but a cock\nwho was standing by began to sing: \"O that old crone is telling lies;\nthere is another girl hidden under the trough behind the door.\"\n\nThe young man, hearing the words of the cock, which the old woman\ntried in vain to drive away, sent his servant into the house to find\nout whether it was so. He lifted the trough and found there the other\ngirl, clothed in dirty rags and huddled up. The woman, seeing that the\ngirl had been discovered, said to the man, \"Do not take any notice of\nher; she is a dirty slut and an idiot.\" But the cock again sang out,\n\"O that old crone is telling lies; it is the daughter of the old man,\nand she is very wise.\" The young man, who was waiting outside, became\nimpatient, and calling for the servant, he told him to bring the girl\nout. He tried the slipper, which fitted like a glove, and there and\nthen he married her.\n\nAnd this is the origin of the dove.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXC.\n\nWHY DOES THE RAVEN FEED ON CARRION?\n\nThe Story of Noah and the Raven.\n\n\nThe Rumanian story about the raven is more or less the well-known\nstory of the raven in Noah's ark as told in the Bible. But it has\nnot reached the people in that simple ungarnished form. It has been\nembellished with legends. Those found among the Rumanian peasants\nagree in the main with those told by oriental writers and found in\n\"historiated\" Bible's--that great treasure-house of legendary Biblical\nlore and the depository of many of the legends of the past.\n\nIt is important to see how stories, the literary origin of which\ncannot be doubted, have penetrated among the people and have become\nactual popular legends. We can almost trace the way which they have\ncome. And this lends a special value to such popular Biblical legends.\n\nThe story runs as follows:\n\nThe raven was originally a bird with white feathers. When Noah sent\nout the raven to find out how things were in the world, the raven\nespied the carcase of a horse floating on the waters which had begun\nto subside. Forgetting his errand, the raven settled on the carcase\nand started eating, and he continued eating for three days and three\nnights. He could not get satisfied; only at the dawn of the fourth\nmorning did he remember the errand on which he had been sent, and\nstarted on his return. When Noah saw him at some distance, he cried,\n\"Why hast thou tarried so long, and what is thy message, and how does\nthe world without look?\"\n\nThe raven, unabashed, replied, \"I do not know anything about the\nworld and how things are going; I only know that I was very hungry,\nand finding the dead body of a horse, I sat down and ate, and now\nthat I have had my fill, I have come back.\"\n\nWhen Noah heard this answer from the raven, he grew very angry, and\nsaid, \"Mayest thou turn as black as my heart is within me,\" for his\nheart had turned black from anger and fury. And from that minute the\nraven's feathers turned as black as coal. And Noah went on saying,\n\"As thou hast fed on carrion, so shalt thou feed henceforth only on\nthe dead bodies of animals and beasts.\"\n\nAnd in order that the ravens should not multiply too quickly, it was\nordained that they should lay their eggs in December and not hatch\nthem until February, for only then, when the frost is so strong that\neven the stones burst, does the shell of the raven's eggs split, and\nthe young are able to come out and be fed by their parents, for they\nare unable to hatch them unless they are aided also by a hard frost,\nwhich causes the shells to break. Otherwise, if they had laid their\neggs in the summer and hatched them in the summer, like other birds,\nthey would grow so numerous that people would not have been able to\ndefend themselves from the raven.\n\nMoreover, the raven, when sent by Noah, saw only the peaks of the\nmountains, and those have remained to this very day the real haunt of\nthe bird. They only nest in very high crags and peaks of mountains,\nand never in villages.\n\n\n\nThus far the legend, which occurs in many variants. The raven, whose\npeculiar appearance is well known, has become the bird of oracle\npar excellence. There are a large number of treatises on the augury\nof the raven, notably in the Arabic literature, some of which are\ntraced back to Indian originals. As for the part which the raven has\nplayed in Northern mythology, it is sufficient to mention the ravens\nof Odin, not to speak of the Biblical legend according to which the\nraven fed the prophet Elijah. (Another interpretation of the word in\nthe Bible changes the raven into Arabians, who fed the prophet in his\nhiding-place.) There are some Rumanian popular beliefs connected with\nthe raven which I will mention here.\n\n\n\nIf two or three ravens fly over a village and croak, it is a sure\nsign that there will be death in the village.\n\nIf two ravens, one coming from the north and one coming from the south,\nmeet over the roof of a house, it is a sure sign of the death of one\nof the inmates of the house.\n\nIt is an old saying that if ravens are seen flying in a great number\nin one direction, it is a sure sign of plague or some death among\nbeasts and men.\n\nIf ravens croak over a flock of sheep, the shepherds keep a double\nwatch, for they believe the ravens foretell an inroad by wolves or\nother wild beasts.\n\nIf a raven, meeting a herd of cattle, croaks, the Rumanian responds,\n\"May it be on thy head, thy feathers and thy bones,\" for he believes\nthat one of his animals will die and become food for the raven.\n\nAnd, if one raven is seen flying over the head of a man and continues\nto do so for a while, it is a sign of the death of that man.\n\nIt is generally assumed that the ravens fly in pairs, and the\nappearance of one alone is therefore ominous.\n\nThese few examples will suffice. They stamp the raven as the bird\nof ill-omen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXCI.\n\nWHY IS THE ANT CUT IN THE MIDDLE?\n\nThe Story of the Young Maiden and her Step-mother the Demon.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a widow who had only one child, a girl, and\nall her possessions (goods and chattels) consisted of a flock of sheep.\n\nWhen the girl grew up, the mother sent her with the flock, and told\nher at the same time to put on a man's clothes and not to speak to\nanyone in the manner of women.\n\nThe girl did as she was told, and fed the flock for a long time. One\nday, however, she was in the forest, where a young boy also fed his\nflock. But he was not the son of man; he was the son cf the serpent\n(dragon). How was she to know it? And even if she had known it, what\ngood would it be to her, seeing that she did not know what a dragon\nor a she-dragon was?\n\nRegarding him as a shepherd like herself, she began talking to him,\nand the whole day they went together with their flocks. When the young\ndragon came home in the evening, he told his mother, \"I think that\nhe with whom I spent the day is not a man in spite of the clothes\nbut a woman, but he does not seem to have a woman's voice. Would\nit not be better if I brought him here, and you might then tell me\nwhether it is a man or a woman, for if she be a woman, I should like\nto have her as my wife. I have not yet seen in the whole world one more\nbeautiful.\" \"Go,\" said the mother, \"bring him. If he be a man, he will\nreturn safely from us, but if she be a woman, then thine shall she be.\"\n\nOn the next day, meeting the daughter of the widow, they fed their\nflocks together, and in the evening, when they were to separate,\nhe asked the girl to spend the night at his house. The girl, not\nthinking aught evil, and being somewhat far away from her own house,\naccepted his invitation and went with him. What did the she-dragon do\nwhen she saw her coming? She went out to meet her and engaged her in\nconversation. Then she turned to her son and spoke to him, but in a\nforeign tongue. She told him to put a flower under the pillow of his\ncompanion, and if in the morning the flower will be faded, for sure\nthen she is a girl; otherwise the flower would remain fresh. So he\ndid. The girl, seeing that they talked in a foreign tongue, understood\nthat they were talking about her, and determined to watch and see. No\nsooner had she gone to bed than she began to snore, as if she had\nfallen fast asleep, but she did not sleep. Her hosts, thinking her\nfast asleep, got up, went on tip-toe into the garden, and, taking a\ncarnation in full flower, put it under her pillow and fell asleep.\n\nThe girl, feeling that something had been put under her pillow,\nunderstood that something was wrong. So she got up and took out of\nher bag a charmed mirror by which to undo the sorcery of her hosts. No\nsooner had she taken out her mirror, than the dragon-mother woke up,\nand, running quickly to the bed, found the flower faded, to her own\ngreat joy and that of her son. What was the girl to do now? She\ncould not deny that she was a girl. So she began to speak with a\nwoman's voice. The young dragon then insisted on her marrying him,\nbut she said, if he insisted on taking her she would neither speak\nto him nor kiss him. The young dragon, more in a joke, took her in\nhis arms and squeezed her so tight that her face got swollen and her\neyes almost started out of her head. She then changed herself into an\ninsect and ran to the door to get out from under the threshold. But\nthe old dragon took a knife and slashed her across the body when she\nhad crept half-way out of the house, so that she nearly cut her in\ntwain. Her luck was that just a little flesh remained by which the\nother part of the body was kept hanging on, and thus she has remained\nto this very day, for she became the ant.\n\n\n\nThe first part of this story agrees in the main with the first part of\nthe swallow story, No. 87. It is another example of the transfer of\na story from one object to another, like the story of the woodpecker\nand the pelican. (Cf. also the slashing of the bee in the stories,\nNo. 1 ff.)\n\nPopular belief is that the ant is the grandchild (niece nepoata)\nof God, and the handmaid of the Virgin, although I have not yet been\nable to find the legend upon which this belief rests. The ant must\nnot be molested, for the Virgin sighs as often as an ant is killed.\n\nThe red ant comes from the tears shed by St. Mary over the grave\nof Christ.\n\nThe ant is used as a remedy against toothache by boiling it together\nwith the earth of its nest and rinsing the mouth with the water\n(which thus contains the well-known arnica of the pharmacopoeia).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXCII.\n\nWHY DOES THE CUCKOO CALL \"CUCKOO\"?\n\nThe Story of the two Brothers and King Alexander.\n\n\nIn the time of Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, there lived a very\nwealthy man who had two sons, each one more beautiful than the other,\nand both more beautiful than any other living being. When they grew up\nto be twelve years old, the fame of their beauty had reached the Court\nof King Alexander. He was told that no young men so beautiful as they\nwere could be found over nine seas and nine countries. Alexander went\nhimself to see them, and no sooner had he seen them than he appointed\nthem captains in his army, for he was a high and mighty king, and he\nliked to have in his army valiant knights like himself.\n\nAt that time there lived the dog-headed people, who were human from the\nwaist down and dogs from their waist upward. Their kingdom stretched\nfar away to the north of Alexander's realms. Every year the king of\nthe dog-men and his people made incursions into the countries, and,\ncapturing many women, carried them away. The men they fattened, and,\nafter killing them, used to eat them, but the beautiful women they\nbrought to their king to become his wives. They treated the men just\nas we treat our animals, which we fatten to kill and eat.\n\nWhen Alexander saw that these wild dog men would not give him peace,\nhe decided to make war upon them, and to free the world of such wild\ncreatures. But to fight with these dog-men was not an easy task, and he\ntherefore selected the best men among his host, all seasoned warriors,\nand he put the best captains over them. Among these were also the two\nbrothers, one of whom was called Cuckoo and the other Mugur. Wherever\nthey went they did wonders. The heads of the dog-men fell before the\nstrokes of their swords like the grass cut by the scythe. The battle\nlasted for three days and three nights. On the fourth, the two brothers\ncaptured the king of the dog-men and brought him to Alexander. There\nthey killed him. Then they set fire to the land of the dog-men, and\nthe fire burnt for over a month. It was so wide a country that no one\nhas ever known the end of it, and so these dog-men were routed utterly\nand none were left; only their name has remained behind. When Alexander\nsaw the valiant deeds of these two brothers, he appointed them leaders\nof his army. They had to be always near him, and wherever they went\nand drew their swords, the blood of the heathen ran like water.\n\nAlexander had many wars with kings and emperors, and he conquered\nthem all. No one dared to stand up against him, for God had given\nhim strength, and he marched on to the ends of the earth; he was to\nbecome king over the whole world and then die.\n\nHe went to the south with his army, passing through many desolate\ncountries, filled with wild animals and monsters, dragons and\nserpents: wherever he went he burned them with fire so as to cleanse\nthe world. For months Alexander went on with his march, accompanied by\nthe two brothers and his army, for he had set his heart upon going to\nthe very ends of the earth. One day on their march they met a company\nof women riding on white horses, one more beautiful than other, and\nthere was one who by her beauty outshone them all. She was dressed,\nmoreover, so radiantly that she shone like the sun. Alexander drew\nnear, and he asked them how it came about that they were riding such\nbeautiful horses, and where were the men?\n\nTo this the women replied: \"Ours is the country where the women\nrule, the women take the place of the men and the men that of the\nwomen.\" Alexander rested there for a while with his two companions\nand his army, and they were well entertained by the women, who were\nmore beautiful than any known among men of this part of the world.\n\nAmong these there was one who was like the moon among the stars. Cuckoo\nfell in love with her, and they became inseparable. Cuckoo thought he\ncould not live without her. Mugur, who was of a more retiring nature,\nrestrained his love and kept aloof from the women.\n\nWhen the two weeks had elapsed which Alexander had appointed for him\nto stay there, he broke up his camp and journeyed onward until the\narmy reached the gates of Paradise. These were guarded by angels with\nflaming swords, who would allow access only to those who were pure\nand sinless. When the soldiers beheld the beauty of Paradise they\nwondered greatly at it, and some of them were desirous of entering\nit, and went to the angel to ask his permission. Amongst these were\nMugur and his brother Cuckoo. Mugur went in front, Cuckoo followed\nwith his beautiful wife at his side. When Mugur drew near, the gate\nof Paradise was flung open and he entered without hindrance. Cuckoo\nwanted to follow him, but the door was shut in his face, and for his\naudacity he and his fair companion were turned into birds, for no\nman is allowed to enter Paradise with a companion.\n\nSince then Cuckoo is continually calling aloud his name in the hope\nthat his brother may look for him and thus find him.\n\n\n\nThis story is remarkable for its origin. We have here the popular\nreflex of the famous Romance of Alexander, which had reached\nRumania, as all the other countries of Europe, in a literary\nform. The book has been read for at least three hundred years,\nand it is extremely interesting to see how deeply it has influenced\nthe popular imagination. What we have here is not one incident only\nfrom the \"Romance,\" but practically an abridged recital of the famous\n\"Journey to Paradise,\" and \"Alexander's Letter to Aristotle.\" We have\nhere his wars with the Kynokephaloi, or the people who were believed to\nbe human beings with dog's heads. The Eastern Church, and no less the\nRumanian, even venerates a saint with a dog's head, Christophorus. In\nthe Rumanian monastery of Neamtz there appeared a \"Life\" of that saint,\nin which the woodcut picture of the saint represented him as having a\ndog's head. We have, further, Alexander's war with the Amazons, and\neven the fact that he reached the gates of Paradise. But what gives\nto this tale importance is that the \"Romance of Alexander\" has become\nthe tale accounting for the origin of a bird. No doubt there must be\nsome more detailed account of this immediate fact, explaining a little\nmore clearly the sudden transformation of the cuckoo and his mate into\nparticular birds. Here it is described as a punishment for Cuckoo's\naudacity in attempting to bring his female companion into Paradise.\n\nThe only point of resemblance between this and the Albanian tale of\nHahn (No. 105), is that Cuckoo was originally a man by that name,\nand he was the brother of Gion.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXCIII.\n\nWHY DOES THE ARMENIAN LOVE THE DIRTY HOOPOE?\n\nThe Story of the Armenian, the Cuckoo and the Hoopoe.\n\n\nA funny story about the hoopoe and the cuckoo is told by the Rumanians\nat the expense of the Armenians. It is said that in olden times the\nforefather of the Armenians had to flee for his life. So, taking all\nhis belongings with him, and mounting on a horse, he rode away as fast\nas he could. He feared lest his enemies would overtake him. Riding on,\nhe came to a forest and, not being able to find the way, he got into\na bog. In vain did he try to get his horse up again. The more he tried\nthe further it sank; so, taking all his belongings, he dismounted, and\nwading through the mud, he sat down at the edge of the bog and thought\nall the time what was he to do to get his horse out. He could not carry\nall his belongings, and, if he tarried much longer where he was, his\nenemies were sure to overtake him. Where he sat, there was a cuckoo,\nresting on the tree, and singing all the time, but the more he sang the\ndeeper the horse seemed to sink into the mire. He took some food out of\nhis bags, and, showing it to the horse, he tried to tempt it, but the\nhorse paid no attention to him. Whilst he was now in great despair,\nthere came a hoopoe and sat on another tree and began to cry \"Hoop,\nHoop.\" No sooner did the horse hear the bird shouting \"hoop, hoop,\"\nthan up it jumped as if stung by wasps. Overjoyed, the Armenian got\nhold of it, and putting his food into his sack he mounted again and\nwent on his way. And out of gratitude the Armenians call the hoopoe\nto this very day by the name of cuckoo, for he saved their ancestor\nby his cry \"up, up.\" The cuckoo had made it lie down by singing \"coo,\ncoo,\" but the hoopoe made it jump up by singing \"up, up.\"\n\nThere are some beliefs attached to the cry of the hoopoe forming part\nof that great section of prognostications by the cry of the birds. It\nis not, however, considered as an ominous bird. It merely foretells\nthe fruitfulness or the barrenness of the coming year.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXCIV.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE PARTRIDGE, THE FOX AND THE HOUND.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a partridge, and that partridge was sorely\ntroubled, for no one in this world is safe from trouble and worry. Her\ntrouble was that for some time back she was not able to rear her young,\nbecause of AUNTIE FOX, who made a royal feast of the young brood. No\nsooner did the fox find out that the partridge had hatched her young,\nthan she tied some brambles to her tail, and, dragging it along the\nground, pretended to plough the land, close to the place where the\npartridge had her nest. Turning to the partridge, the fox would say:\n\n\"How dare you trespass on my land. Off you go, lest I eat you up.\" The\npartridge, frightened, would run away, and the fox would eat the\nyoung. This had gone on for three years. On the fourth year it so\nhappened that, while the partridge was weeping, just as a man will\ndo out of worry and grief, she met a hound.\n\n\"What is the matter with thee, friend; why dost thou weep so, what\nails thee, why art thou so inconsolable?\"\n\n\"Eh!\" said the poor bird, \"I am full of trouble.\"\n\nThen the hound said sympathetically, \"What has happened unto thee?\"\n\n\"What has happened unto me? O! dear friend, so many years have I\ntried to rear my young, and no sooner do I see God's blessing when\nauntie fox, with the brambles and thorns trailing behind her tail,\ncomes and claims the land, and says, 'Hast thou again hatched young\non my land? Get thee off lest I eat thee.' And I am so frightened\nthat I run away, and the fox then takes the family and leaves me\nchildless.\" The bird stopped here and looked despairingly at the\nhound. She wondered what he could do for her. But no one knows whence\nhelp may come, and just when it is least expected it comes. And so\nit happened to the bird. The dog who had been sitting all the time,\nlistening as it were with half-closed ears, suddenly shook himself\nand said, \"Is that the trouble which ails thee?\"\n\n\"Yes, that is my trouble.\"\n\n\"Well, if that be so, let me come with thee, and may be that I shall\nbe of some help.\"\n\nAnd so they both went to the nest of the partridge. There the dog\ncrouched behind the bushes and waited for the fox to come. He had not\nto wait very long until the fox came with the brambles tied to her\ntail, and, pulling it along, made pretence of ploughing the land. \"Now\nthen you partridge, are you trespassing again--\"\n\nBut the fox was not allowed to finish the sentence, for out of the\nbushes sprang the dog. The fox took to her legs, running as fast as\nthey would carry her. Now, whether the hound ran or did not run I do\nnot know, but I certainly can say that the fox ran for all she was\nworth and raised a cloud of dust behind her. And so she ran and ran\nuntil she reached her lair, and she buried herself deep in the ground,\nvery thankful to have saved her skin from the jaws of death. The hound,\nwearied, tired, and vexed that the fox had escaped, settled down at the\nmouth of the lair waiting for the chance that the fox would come out\nagain, that he might set his eyes upon her, but it was all in vain,\nfor the fox, once safe, never dreamt of coming out again. But then\nthe fox, having nothing else to do, started talking to herself.\n\n\"Clever fox, clever fox, I know that thou takest care of thy\nskin. Well, thou didst well to save thyself, and to get safely away\nfrom that hound. Now let me ask my eyes, 'What did you do when the\nhound was after me?'\"\n\n\"Well, we, turning right and left, looked out to see which way we\ncould save thee and hide thee.\"\n\n\"Dear eyes,\" said the fox, and full of satisfaction, she stroked them\nwith her paws.\n\n\"Now I will ask my forelegs.\"\n\n\"And ye, my forelegs, what did you do when the hound was chasing me?\"\n\n\"What did we do? We ran as fast as we could to carry thee safe to\nthe lair and to save thee.\"\n\n\"Very good, then, my darlings,\" and she kissed them and stroked\nthem lovingly.\n\nThen she asked the hind legs.\n\n\"What did you do when the hound was chasing me?\"\n\n\"What did we do? We raised the dust and threw it into his eyes to\nsave thee.\"\n\n\"My darlings,\" again the fox said, and licked them and caressed them,\n\"so must you always do.\"\n\nThe fox, having nothing else to do, said, \"I must now ask thee, tail,\n'What didst thou do, O my tail?'\"\n\n\"I, what was I to do? I waddled to the right and left and yet he\nnever caught me. If it were not for the legs, I am afraid I should\nnot see the sun any more, and neither wouldst thou, O fox.\"\n\n\"As thou sayest, then, thou art the only one who did not help me,\nthou art mine enemy, for if it were not for the blessed legs, none of\nus would have seen the sun any more. All right, out thou goest, thou\nfool. Thou must no longer be with me or with my darling eyes.\" And,\nturning round, she crawled backwards and pushed it out of the lair. The\nhound, who was sitting outside, was just waiting for this, and no\nsooner did he see the bush of the tail coming out than he pounced on\nit and, getting hold of it, he pulled with all his might and dragged\nout tail and fox together. And that was the end of the fox. The fox\nmay have been very clever, but the old proverb is true. \"Each animal\ndies through his own tongue.\" And since that time the partridge hatches\nher young unmolested, and the land of the fox has remained unploughed.\n\n\n\nThis Rumanian tale belongs to a large cycle of similar tales, of\nwhich the Rumanian seems to have preserved only the first part,\nunless the second part has afterwards been tacked on to it. In the\nextended tale the dog asks for the payment of the food, drink, and\nmerriment which the bird had promised.\n\nAn almost identical story is found among the Slavonic Tales, Krauss,\nNo. 9. In this no mention is made of the fox claiming to be the\nlandowner. It is only out of pity for the partridge that the dog\nattacks the fox, which runs away, and then the story continues exactly\nlike the Rumanian. The first part of No. 6 is another parallel to\nthe Rumanian tale, but it is greatly reduced and is only the first\npart of a much longer tale of \"The Starling, the Fox, and the Dog.\"\n\nThe starling promises the dog food, drink, and merriment, if he\nwould avenge it against the fox, who, in spite of sworn friendship,\nhad taken advantage of the absent starling to eat the young birds. The\ntale contains also the episode of the fox's undoing. But then the\nSlavonic story goes on to detail the manner in which the starling\noutwitted a boy who carried food to his people on the field, a man\nwho carried a wine cask, and a hewer of wood, all to provide for the\npromised food, drink, and merriment of, the dog.\n\nThis last part, as a tale by itself, quite independent of the story\nof the dog and fox, is found in Haltrich, No. 81. Here the bird offers\nfood, drink and merriment to the fox who is to spare her young.\n\nIn a more reduced form still, the first part having entirely\ndisappeared, the story appears in Grimm, iii. p. 100, who refers to a\nsimilar episode in the French version of Reinecke and to an Esthonian\ntale. Cf. also the Russian Tale in Afanasief, No. 32.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXCV.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE PARTRIDGE AND HER YOUNG.\n\n\nA partridge once built her nest in the furrows of a newly ploughed\ncornfield, and hatched her young when the stalks of the corn had\ngrown tall and the corn began to ripen. There was food in plenty and\nsafety enough for them to play and to frolic about without fear of\nany danger. But the good things in this world never stay long with\nus, and this the partridge was soon to find out. The time came when\nthe corn was cut and hunters appeared followed by their dogs, whose\nbarking they could hear drawing nearer and nearer. The partridge now\nbegan to be frightened for her young. She tried to cover them with\nher wings, but they could not help hearing the reports of the guns and\nthe barking of the dogs. One day, not being able to stand the strain\nany longer, she remembered a place of safety which she had known, in\nthe cleft of a mountain beyond the seas. Tucking her eldest under her\nwing, she started one morning on her flight, intent on carrying it to\nthe mountain beyond the sea. When she reached the border of the sea\nthere stood a huge tree. Tired from her long flight, she settled on\none of the branches of the tree overhanging the water. And she said\nto her young, \"Little darling, see how great is the love of a mother\nand what trouble I am taking. Nay, I am putting my life in danger in\norder to save you.\"\n\n\"Never mind, mother,\" replied the little one, \"Wait till we grow up\nand then we will take care of you when you grow old and weak.\"\n\nWhen the partridge heard these words she tilted her wing and\nlet the young bird fall into the water of the sea, where it was\ndrowned. Distressed, weary, and lost in thought, she returned to\nher nest and took the middle one of her three young, and, putting it\non the wing, she started again on her flight to the mountain beyond\nthe sea. On the way she again alighted on the tree with the branches\noverhanging the sea. And she spoke to this one in the same manner as\nshe had spoken to the first. And he replied, \"Do not worry, mother,\nwhen you get old we shall take care of you and show you our love.\"\n\nThe partridge, grieving at the words of this one, again dipped her\nwing and the young bird slid down into the bottom of the sea, where\nit was drowned. Almost broken hearted, not knowing any more what to\ndo with herself, and heavy with sorrow and anxiety, her only hope\nbeing the youngest one, she returned to her nest, and, taking the\nyoungest--the mother's pet--she tucked it under her wing and flew\nagain to the mountain beyond the sea.\n\nTired from her continual flight hither and thither, she again alighted\non the tree with the branches overhanging the sea, and with her heart\ntrembling within her for fear and love, she said to the youngest,\n\"See, my beloved little pet, how much trouble mother is taking to save\nher dear little ones, how willingly I am suffering pain and fatigue;\nsee how exhausted I am and wearied, but nothing is too much for a\nmother if only she knows that her young will be safe.\"\n\n\"Do not worry, mother dear, for we when we grow up will also take\ncare of our young children with the same love and devotion.\"\n\nAt these words, the mother pressed the little one nearer to her heart,\nand, full of joy, carried him across the sea to a place of safety,\nfor of all her children this alone had spoken the truth. And is it\nnot so in the world?\n\nThis is the story of the partridge and her young.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXCVI.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE LARK AND THE TAMING OF WOMEN.\n\n\nA man was once ploughing his field. In the midst of it a lark had\nmade her nest and was hatching her young. When the cock lark saw\nwhat the man was doing, and that he was coming nearer and nearer with\nthe plough, he feared that the nest would be destroyed. So he turned\nto the man and said, \"Prithee, spare my nest; go round it with your\nplough and do not touch it, for I might also do you some good.\"\n\nThe man, surprised at hearing the lark speak to him, said, \"What good\ncan you do to me?\"\n\n\"Oh,\" replied the lark, \"you never know what I can do. Just bide your\ntime, there might be a chance.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said the man, \"I do not mind going with my plough round that\npiece of ground, it will not make much difference, but you see I have\na very bad-tempered wife, and should she come out and see what I have\ndone, and that I have left a part of the field without ploughing it,\nI shall come in for a good hiding.\"\n\n\"What,\" said the lark, \"you a man, and your wife, a woman, beating you,\nhow can that be?\"\n\n\"Oh,\" replied the man, \"you do not know her; from morning till evening\nshe does nothing but strike and beat me, I have not a minute's rest\nand peace.\"\n\n\"I can help you,\" replied the lark, \"if only you will do what I\ntell you.\"\n\n\"If you will help me I shall be for ever grateful to you.\"\n\n\"Well then, this is what you have to do. You get yourself a stout\nstick, and should she come and start chiding you, you just lay out\nand go for her without mercy. You will see it will be all right.\"\n\nWhilst they were thus speaking, the woman came out, with one jaw on\nearth and the other in heaven, spitting fire and fury; and when she saw\nthat the man had left a part of the field not ploughed she started to\ngo for him with her fists and to give him a good beating. But before\nshe had time to get to him, remembering the advice which the lark had\ngiven him, he got hold of the stick, and there was a great change. The\nwoman did not know what it was that happened to her; the blows fell\nupon her fast and thick over her head, face, shoulders, hands. At last\nshe got frightened, and ran away vowing vengeance. After she had gone,\nthe lark said to the man:\n\n\"Don't be a fool, I know she awaits you at home with a long stick,\nbut you get yourself a short, stout stick, and just slip into the\nhouse before she has time to use her long rod, and then you go for\nher, hitting as fast as you can and as hard as you can, for, being\nin the house, the woman will not be able to use the long rod to\nany advantage.\"\n\nThe man did as the lark had taught him, and the woman came in for a\ndrubbing she never expected. The tables were now turned, and instead\nof beating the husband the woman got it now, and twice over.\n\nThat was the first case of the men beating their women, instead of the\nmen being beaten by the women, for the neighbours, seeing how things\nhad changed with this man, soon followed his example, and there was\nyelling and shouting and cursing as never before, the women getting\nthe worst.\n\nWhen the women saw that the men got the upper hand, they all\ngathered together in the market-place and held a conference under the\nleadership of the head woman of the town. After a long consultation\nand discussion, they all decided to leave their husbands alone and\nto get across the Danube to the other side.\n\nSo they did; they gathered themselves together and, led by the head\nwoman, left the town to go across the Danube. When the men saw what\nthe women were doing, and that they were in earnest, they turned on\nthe first man who had set the example and threatened to kill him, for\nhe had brought all that trouble upon them. And the man got frightened\nand ran out into the field, and going to the lark told all that was\ngoing on and that he was in danger of his life.\n\nThe lark laughed and said, \"Oh, you are worse than a set of old\nwomen. Do not be afraid, nothing will happen to you; you just wait\nand see, I am going to bring the women home again.\"\n\nSo saying, the lark rose up in the air, and flying over the heads\nof the women who were standing by the banks of the Danube waiting to\ncross, it sang out, \"Tsirli, tsirli, on the other side of the Danube\nthere are no men.\"\n\nOne of the women, hearing the bird's song, said to her neighbour,\n\"Did you hear what that bird was singing?\"\n\n\"Oh, yes, we can all hear it saying that across the Danube there are\nno men, and if that be true I think we had better return to our own\nhusbands, never mind whether they beat us or not.\"\n\nAnd they all returned home quite meekly to their houses, and ever\nsince then the men beat their wives, but the women never beat their\nhusbands. And you should know that if a woman does beat her husband,\nhe is not a man, but a donkey.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXCVII.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE TURTLE DOVE AND ITS LOVE FOR ITS MATE.\n\n\nOf the turtle-dove the Rumanian popular poetry relates that when she\nloses her mate she never associates with any bird, but sits solitary on\nthe branches of trees, not on the green or the high bough, but on the\nlow, and on the withered branches of the tree. She no longer goes to\nclear water, but she first stirs the mud and then drinks the troubled\nwater, and when she sees the hunter she goes to meet him cheerfully,\nhoping that he will kill her. The tears of the turtle-dove are the\nmost powerful antidote against every spell and sorcery.\n\nAn incident in one of the Rumanian Fairy Tales reminds us of the\nstory of the Shirt of Nessus given to Hercules.\n\nIt is of a step-mother who tries to kill her daughter-in-law by\ninducing her to buy such a poisoned shirt. As soon as she has put\none on she becomes very ill, and her illness grows with every day\nthat passes.\n\nHer father, who has been absent, comes home and sees what is the cause\nof her illness, so he washes her in tears of the turtle-dove. The\nspell is broken, the fire is driven out, and the young woman recovers\nher health.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXCVIII.\n\nWHY DOES THE WREN HIDE HIMSELF?\n\nThe Story of the Wren, the Eagle, and the Owl.\n\n\nThe wren is called by the Rumanians the little king. The reason for\nit is that the birds once came together to elect a ruler. They were\nall there, big and small, and after much wrangling and discussion\nthey agreed that he who flew highest of all should be king. It was\nthe eagle who suggested it, for he knew that no bird could fly so\nhigh as he could, and he told them that the highest place they could\nreach would be the region of the wild winds. They arranged that he\nwho would reach so high, should give them a sign and then they should\ndescend. They all started for the race. There was much fluttering\nof wings and shrieking and boasting, for every bird believed that\nhe would be the winner. But they had not measured their strength,\nfor after a while the weakest stopped in their flight and began to\ndescend slowly. The stronger ones flew a little higher but they too\ngot tired and came down to the ground, until at last almost every\nbird that had entered the race had given it up. Only one bird was\ncontinuing the flight. It was the eagle, who was soaring higher and\nhigher. At a certain moment, the eagle signalled to them that he had\nreached the wild wind, that is the wind which blows very high up in\nthe sky and is bitterly cold, much colder than ice and frost. But\nthe eagle was not to win the race. The little wren, a midget among\nthe birds, had crept stealthily under one of the outer feathers of\nhis wings; the eagle did not feel it, and so it was borne aloft to\nthe very high heavens. Now when the eagle stopped in his flight, and\nbegan to descend, the little bird, not at all tired, came out from\nunder the wing, and he, flying higher, far above the eagle, shouted:\n\n\"He! he! you thought you would be the king, that no one could fly\nas high as you do! You see I have flown much higher, no one can\ndeny it, you can all see me, and though I am very small and light,\nI am your king.\" The birds, hearing the little wren and seeing that\nit had been flying far above the eagle, wondered greatly, but they\ncould not help themselves, they had to stand by their agreement,\nand so the wren was proclaimed king.\n\nBut the birds soon learnt the trick by which the wren had outwitted\nthem, and furious at the way in which they had been played, they\nwanted to tear him to pieces. The little wren, knowing what was in\nstore for him from the enraged birds, ran away quickly, and hid\nhimself inside the hollow of a tree, slipping in by so narrow an\nopening that no other bird could follow him. When the birds found\nout the hiding-place of the wren, and that they could not get at it,\nthey decided to starve him out, and put some to watch over the opening\nto prevent the wren escaping. The wren thought it better to starve\nthan to come out and be torn in pieces. \"I will wait my chance,\"\nhe said to himself, and the chance came when they appointed the\nowl to watch over the tree. The owl is a lazy bird, and sitting down\nquietly soon fell asleep. That was just what the wren was waiting for,\nand before the owl could have turned round, it was out and away in\nthe bushes and under the roots of the trees. When the owl awoke it\nfound that the prisoner had gone: catch him if you can! The birds,\nfull of wrath, turned on the owl for letting the wren escape and\nthe owl had to run for its life. It is for that reason that the owl\nnever shows itself in day-time. It is frightened of the birds, for\nthey bear it a grudge for not keeping careful watch over the wren,\nand as the wren knows what the birds have in store for him, he hides\nhimself under the bushes and trees and has become a very furtive bird.\n\nCf. Grimm, No. 171.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXCIX.\n\nWHY IS THERE NO KING OVER THE BIRDS?\n\nThe Story of the Hawk and the Election of the King.\n\n\nOnce upon a time the birds came together to decide which was to rule\nover them all, and in what order authority should be distributed\namong them, who was to be the superior and who was to be inferior\namong them. After a long discussion it was agreed that the eagle\nshould be the highest of all. The second in command should be the\nfalcon, the third in command the black vulture, under him the white\nvulture, under him the vulture with the striped tail, under him the\nlamb's vulture and under him the kite, under him the hen-harrier,\nunder him the blue heron, and under him the sparrow-hawk. All the\nbirds consented and accepted this arrangement without much demur or\ncontradiction. Only the sparrow-hawk, who though the smallest and\nthe weakest, yet knew himself to be quicker and cleverer than many\nof them, objected to the arrangement, and said to them:\n\n\"Do you expect that I should submit to you? or be frightened of you,\nas if you were the strongest and mightiest creatures in the world? You\nare greatly mistaken. There are other beings stronger and mightier\nand greater than you. Of these I am frightened, but not of you. I do\nnot care for you.\"\n\n\"But what creatures are stronger and more powerful than we?\" asked\nthe other birds greatly surprised.\n\n\"What!\" said he, \"you do not know who is greater and stronger than you\nare? You all think yourselves to be the cleverest of created beings,\nand you expect me, the smallest of you, to tell you that? Very well,\nthen, since you do not know even as much as this, hear it from\nme. Stronger than all of you are the archers and the sportsmen.\"\n\n\"Why,\" replied the birds, \"how can that be?\"\n\n\"Well,\" he said, \"if they meet you they can make an end of you,\nand that, before you know where you are; you, who are so clever,\nthat you wanted to put me at the tip of your tail!\"\n\n\"What can we do to save ourselves?\"\n\nThe sparrow-hawk replied, \"You must never gather together and fly in\nlarge numbers, for thus we are sure to fall a prey to them. Our only\nsafety lies in our dispersion.\"\n\nAs soon as the birds heard that, they dispersed quickly, and since\nthat time hawks are never found together in large numbers, except\nwhen they see carrion. In such wise did the little sparrow-hawk free\nhimself from the domination of the other birds of his clan.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nC.\n\nTHE STORY OF KING LOG AND KING STORK.\n\nThe Story of the Frogs.\n\n\nThis is the well-known story of King Log and King Stork.\n\n\n\nOnce upon a time the frogs assembled and decided to ask God to appoint\na king who would guide them and rule over them, for they were like a\npeople scattered all over the waters and seas with no one to look after\nthem. God gratified their request, and taking a log of wood cast it\ninto the water and said to the frogs, \"This is to be your king.\" When\nthe log fell into the water it made such a splash and such a noise,\nthat the poor frogs did not know where to hide themselves in their\nfright. After a while the noise subsided, and the log lay still in the\nplace where it had fallen. Gaining a little courage, the frogs came out\nof their hiding places and crept slowly on to the log of wood, which\nthey found lying quite still and motionless. They waited for a time\nto see it move, but in vain. So they went again to God and said to him:\n\n\"What is the good of a king who can neither guide us, nor rule over\nus, and cannot even move about to look after us?\"\n\nAnd God said, \"You shall have one who will move about, and he will\nguide you and rule you after the manner of kings.\" And he called the\nstork and appointed him king over the frogs. He moves about amongst\nthem very fast indeed, and guides them and rules them in the proper\nmanner of kings, for he gobbles them up as soon as he sets eyes on\nthem in the proper manner of kings, who always go about and eat up\ntheir subjects as fast as they can.\n\nHere, of course, a moral from modern life has been added to the old\ntale, but this does not detract from its popularity.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCI.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE STORK AND LITTLE TOMTIT.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a stork who could not rear any young. His\nwife's eggs had become addled, or something else had happened to them,\nand the long and short of it was that there were no young birds. Very\ndistressed, he was walking about in the forest when he noticed a little\ntomtit on the ground. Seeing he was so small, he thought it was a young\nbird, a chick that had fallen out from a stork's nest somewhere. So\nhe picked him up gently and carried him to his own nest, and there\nhe kept him and fed him most tenderly. He would fly about for miles\nto get worms to feed the little bird. The days passed, and the stork\ncould not help wondering why that little bird of his did not grow:\nit remained so small. One day there came a down-pour of cold rain\nmixed with hailstones. In order to protect his little young, he put\nthe tomtit under his wing, and going into the forest placed himself\nunder the branches of a thick-leaved tree to shelter himself from the\nrain and hail. In the trunk of that tree there was a little hollow. As\nsoon as tomtit espied it he glided into it, and from there he kept up\na conversation with the stork. Among other things, the stork said,\n\"What terrible weather that is, I cannot remember anything like it\nall my life.\"\n\n\"What,\" piped little tomtit, \"you call this bad weather. You should\nhave seen what bad weather means, when the red snow fell.\"\n\n\"Hush, you little thing,\" said the stork, \"how do you come to speak\nof red snow, you have never seen such a thing?\"\n\n\"Oh,\" replied tomtit, \"I remember it quite well, although it was so\nmany years ago.\"\n\n\"You remember it, you little cunning beast, who made yourself out to\nbe quite a little chicken!\" and the sharp beak of the stork pierced\nthe hollow of the tree and spiked the insolent little tomtit, who\nhad made a fool of the stork.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCII.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE FLEA AND THE GNAT.\n\n\nThe flea once upon a time meeting a gnat, said to her:\n\n\"I say, sister, why is your back so bent, and why is your head so\nlow? What heavy care is worrying you?\"\n\n\"Oh, my sister,\" replied the gnat, \"it is the heavy work which I have\nto do that bends my back and pulls my head so low. I have to drive the\noxen to the plough, and make them do their work. I must sit between\nthe horns and prick them to urge them on. Their hide is so thick\nthat I have to bend my body and put my head very low to drive the\nsting through it. But, then, tell me, why is your back so much bent,\nsister flea? You have no heavy work like me.\"\n\n\"You do not know what you are talking about. I have to keep mankind\nto their duties. These men have such heavy clothing that it takes\nall my strength to lift it up so that I can move about, to get at him.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCIII.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE GNAT, THE LION, AND THE MAN.\n\n\nThe fable of the gnat and the lion is told in order to explain\nthe proverb, \"The gnat, small as it is, proved stronger than the\nlion.\" Once upon a time a lion sat himself down to rest under a\ntree. Suddenly a gnat appeared and settled upon his nose. The lion,\nfeeling the tickle, struck out with his paw, but missed her. The\ngnat then settled in his ear, and again the lion tried to strike her,\nbut failed. So he said to the gnat:\n\n\"Who are you? and why do you come here and worry me? Who are you\nthat although so small can worry so much and give so much trouble,\nand yet are one whom it is impossible to catch?\"\n\n\"I am the gnat, and I drink the blood of anyone I choose, and no one\ncan hurt me.\"\n\n\"You may drink blood from whomever else you choose, but my blood you\nshall not drink, for I am the stronger.\"\n\n\"If you believe that I cannot drink your blood, very well then,\nlet us wait and see who is the stronger,\" said the gnat.\n\n\"I am quite satisfied,\" said the lion, and they made the bet. Without\nsaying a single word, the gnat jumped on to the nose of the lion,\nand digging its point into the flesh of the lion sucked the blood\nuntil it was full, but the lion could not do anything to her. When\nshe had finished, she asked the lion:\n\n\"What do you say now? have I not beaten you? Now it is your turn to\nshow me your strength.\"\n\n\"I am so strong that if a man should happen to pass here I could eat\nhim up.\"\n\nHe had scarcely finished speaking when a boy happened to pass. The\nlion, as soon as he saw him, wanted to catch him and eat him. \"Stop,\"\nsaid the gnat, \"this is not yet a man, wait until he grows to be a\nman.\" The lion felt ashamed and let the boy pass.\n\nSoon afterwards a very old man happened to pass. Again the lion,\nsaying, \"Now, a man is passing,\" wanted to get hold of him. And again\nthe gnat stopped him, saying, \"This is no longer a man, he has been\nso some long time ago. It is a pity to break your teeth on him.\" And\nthe lion left him also alone.\n\nNow there came riding along a hussar.\n\n\"This is a man,\" said the gnat, \"go for him and show your strength.\"\n\nThe lion went for him, but when the hussar saw him he drew his sword\nand smote him two or three times over his head. The lion, seeing that\nthis was not a joke, turned tail and ran away; there was his road\nto safety. The gnat, following him, settled on his ear and asked him\nhow he felt. The lion, half-stunned, replied:\n\n\"That foolish man drew a rib from his side and hacked lustily away\nand had I not run away only bits of me would have been left.\"\n\nHence the proverb, \"However small, the gnat proved more powerful than\nthe lion.\"\n\n\n\nThis is a parallel to the story of the \"Gnat and the Lion.\" Among the\nSouth Slavonic Tales, (Krauss, No. 12) we find another parallel to it,\nthough differing in some details. A lion was continually boasting of\nits strength. One day a tiger, tired of his boasting, said to him:\n\n\"You wait until you meet a man and see what strength is.\"\n\nOne day, as they were walking, a young boy passed along, and the lion\nasked whether that was a man.\n\n\"No,\" replied the tiger, \"that is a man that is to be.\"\n\nShortly afterwards an old woman passed, and the lion asked whether that\nwas a man. \"No,\" replied the tiger, \"that is one who has made men.\"\n\nAt last a hussar passed. The tiger said, \"This is a man.\"\n\nThe hussar drew near, shot at the lion, and, quite dazed, it ran away.\n\nThe hussar overtook him, and drawing his sword wounded him in many\nplaces. The lion escaped and said afterwards, \"When he blew at me it\nwas bad enough, but how much worse was it, when he pricked me.\"\n\nAnother version from the inhabitants of Transylvania is found in\nHaltrich D. Volksm\u00e4rchen a. d. Sachsenlande i. Siebbrgn, Wien 1877\n(No. 86). Here it is the wolf who boasts, and the fox tells him that\nthere is something much more powerful than he is and that is man. The\nwolf asks the fox to show him man. An old man passes, the fox says,\n\"This was a man.\"\n\nA boy passes and the fox says, \"This is not yet a man.\"\n\nA hunter comes, and from behind the bush the fox whispers, \"That\nis man.\" The hunter shoots at the wolf, then draws his knife and\nslashes him. The wolf runs away and owns himself beaten by the man,\nwho makes thunder and lightning, throws stones in his face, and then\ndraws a shining rib and cuts away at him.\n\nCf. also Grimm, 72.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCIV.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE GNAT AND THE BUFFALO.\n\n\nA man was driving his buffalo to market. On the way they passed a\nmarsh. The buffalo, in accordance with its habit, went into it and\nstarted wallowing. The man tried to get him out of it and threatened\nhim with his stick, but the buffalo took no notice.\n\nThere came a gnat buzzing by the man and saying to him:\n\n\"What wilt thou say if I drive him out of the swamp?\"\n\n\"You,\" replied the man contemptuously, \"what can a little midget like\nyou do, when the buffalo does not care even for me?\"\n\n\"Just so,\" said the gnat, \"I will show you that I can do what you\ncannot.\"\n\n\"Try, then, if you can.\" So the gnat went and placed itself under the\nfold of the buffalo's belly, and stung him just between the creases\nof the skin where the flesh was softest.\n\nUp jumped the buffalo, and in a wink he had got out of the mire, and\nwas brought to the market by the man who owned shamefacedly that of\nthe two the gnat was the stronger.\n\n\"Hi! hi!\" hissed the gnat, \"didst thou see that I could do with my\nlittle tongue, what thou with thy mighty cudgel couldst not do?\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCV.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE FIELD MOUSE.\n\n\nA mouse living in the town one day met a mouse which lived in the\nfield.\n\n\"Whence do you come?\" asked the latter when she saw the town-mouse.\n\n\"I come from yonder town,\" replied the first mouse.\n\n\"How is life going there with you?\"\n\n\"Very well, indeed. I am living in the lap of luxury. Whatever I want\nof sweets or any other good things is to be found in abundance in my\nmaster's house. But how are you living?\"\n\n\"I have nothing to complain of. You just come and see my stores. I\nhave grain and nuts, and all the fruits of the tree and field in\nmy storehouse.\"\n\nThe town-mouse did not quite believe the story of her new friend, and,\ndriven by curiosity, went with her to the latter's house. How great\nwas her surprise when she found that the field-mouse had spoken the\ntruth; her garner was full of nuts and grain and other stores, and her\nmouth watered when she saw all the riches which were stored up there.\n\nThen she turned to the field-mouse and said, \"Oh, yes, you have here\na nice snug place and something to live upon, but you should come to\nmy house and see what I have there. Your stock is as nothing compared\nwith the riches which are mine.\"\n\n\n\nThe field mouse, who was rather simple by nature and trusted her new\nfriend, went with her into the town to see what better things the\nother could have. She had never been into the town and did not know\nwhat her friend could mean when she boasted of her greater riches. So\nthey went together, and the town-mouse took her friend to her master's\nhouse. He was a grocer, and there were boxes and sacks full of every\ngood thing the heart of a mouse could desire. When she saw all these\nriches, the field mouse said she could never have believed it, had\nshe not seen it with her own eyes.\n\nWhilst they were talking together, who should come in but the cat. As\nsoon as the town-mouse saw the cat, she slipped quietly behind a box\nand hid herself. Her friend, who had never yet seen a cat, turned to\nher and asked her who that gentleman was who had come in so quietly?\n\n\"Do you not know who he is? Why, he is our priest (popa), and he has\ncome to see me. You must go and pay your respects to him and kiss\nhis hand. See what a beautiful, glossy coat he has on, and how his\neyes sparkle, and how demurely he keeps his hands in the sleeves\nof his coat.\" Not suspecting anything, the field-mouse did as she\nwas told and went up to the cat. He gave her at once his blessing,\nand the mouse had no need of another after that: the cat gave her\nextreme unction there and then. That was just what the town-mouse had\nintended. When she saw how well stored the home of the field-mouse was,\nshe made up her mind to trap her and to kill her, so that she might\ntake possession of all that the field-mouse had gathered up. She had\nlearned the ways of the townspeople and had acted up to them.\n\n\n\nThis story reminds one of the story of La Fontaine, yet the conclusion\nhere is quite different. The popular tale undoubtedly underwent a\ndefinite change in the hands of La Fontaine, who used the fable for\ndriving home a totally different moral lesson, just in the style of\nall the fables so used since Aesop downwards. The popular tale as\ntold here is perhaps more crude, but still much more true to nature--a\npicture of life.\n\nHahn (No. 90) tells an Albanian tale where the fox goes on a pilgrimage\nand becomes a monk, just as the cat in the Rumanian story is a priest.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCVI.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE HARE AND THE FROGS.\n\n\nOne day, the hare, thinking of his miserable life, decided to put an\nend to it. \"What is my life worth to me?\" he said to himself, sighing\nheavily. \"The dogs tear me, the wolves cat me, the eagles claw me,\nthe man hunts me. I have no peace, no rest, everybody is against\nme and wishes to take my life. I had better go and drown myself,\nand then there will be an end to my miseries.\" So speaking, he got\nup and went to the neighbouring lake to drown himself in the water.\n\nAs he drew near he saw a number of frogs sitting by the water. When\nthey saw the hare coming up, they got frightened and jumped into the\nwater, some of them getting drowned in it. When the hare saw that he\nhad frightened the frogs to such an extent that he caused a number of\nthem to jump into the water and to get drowned, he stopped short and\nsaid, \"If there are creatures whom I can frighten, then surely even\nI am not the weakest of all, as I had hitherto thought.\" Comforted\nby this thought, he returned to his form.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCVII.\n\nWHY DOES THE BUFFALO WALK SLOWLY AND TREAD GENTLY?\n\nThe Race of the Buffalo and the Hare.\n\n\nIn olden times, so we are told by those who know best, there was\nconstant strife between the hares and the buffaloes. Each of them\ncontended for the honour of being the most swift-footed.\n\nBoth did run very fast and neither would give in to the other. So\nit went on year after year, and there seemed to be no end to the\nstrife. Tired of this constant fight, one day the hare said to the\nbuffalo, \"Let us try a race together and settle this quarrel once\nfor all.\" The buffalo was well contented with the proposal, and they\nagreed to race one another. When the day came the hare, putting his\nears back, started the race. He ran so fast that you might have said\nhe was flying upon the ground.\n\nBut the buffalo was a match for him. He went thundering away, his\nhoofs splashing the mud and raising seas of mire. The earth shook\nat his furious tread. He soon overtook the breathless hare which was\nrunning panting as fast as its little legs could carry it.\n\nThen a thought struck the hare, and he cried to the buffalo, \"Ho,\nfriend! Take heed how thou art thundering along. The earth is shaking,\nand if thou art not careful, the earth will give way under thee. See\nhow it is rocking under thy feet.\"\n\nWhen the buffalo heard the hare's story, he stopped still for a while\nbewildered, and then, being frightened, lest the earth should give\nway under him and he sink beneath, he checked his pace and began to\nwalk slowly and tread gently.\n\nThat was just what the hare had wanted, and pulling a long nose at the\nbuffalo, he ran swiftly by, leaving the buffalo a long way behind. Thus\nhe won the race, and there was no longer any strife between the hares\nand the buffaloes. But ever since the buffalo walks slowly and treads\nlightly upon the ground.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCVIII.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE POINTER AND THE SETTER.\n\n\nIt is told that the pointer and the setter kept a public-house\ntogether. All the animals would come and eat and drink and pay their\naccount, except the wolf and the hare who would come and eat and\ndrink very heavily, and regularly forget to pay. At last, the pointer\nand setter could stand it no longer, and they went and lodged their\ncomplaint before God. And God said, \"As they have treated you so badly,\nyou are free to go for them whenever you see them. You must try and\ncatch them and make them pay.\"\n\nAnd that is the reason why these dogs will go for the wolf as soon as\nthey scent his track, and also that is the reason why, when they catch\na hare, he will squeak, \"Miat, miat\"--which sounds like mart (Tuesday\nin Rumanian)--as if he were saying \"Wait till next Tuesday when I am\ngoing to pay.\" And they are still waiting for that Tuesday to come.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCIX.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE RAT AND HIS JOURNEY TO GOD.\n\n\nIn a mill a rat once lived and prospered. It took after the miller,\nand from day to day its paunch grew bigger. It became as round as\ncucumber and as fat as a candle.\n\nOne day, looking at his round, sleek figure, the rat said to itself,\n\"Behold I am so beautiful and strong. Why should I not go and pay a\nvisit to God? He is sure to receive me.\"\n\nNo sooner said than done. Leaving the mill, he started on his journey\nto God. After travelling a few days and not coming nearer to God, he\nstopped and said, \"Methinks that either God lives much farther away\nthan I believed, or I have lost my way. I will go to the sun and ask\nwhere God is.\" Coming to the sun, the rat asked, \"Where is God?\" \"Off\nwith thee,\" shouted the sun, \"I have no time for idle talkers.\"\n\nThe rat went to the clouds and asked them, \"Where is God?\" The clouds\nstared at him and said, \"We cannot stop to bandy words with the like\nof you.\" Away the rat went and came to the wind. \"Where is God?\" asked\nthe rat. \"There,\" replied the wind, whistling, and getting hold of\nthe rat hurled him down into an ant-heap, and there he found his level.\n\n\n\nThis story is a curious parallel to another series of rat or mouse\ntales. In these a rat wishes to marry the daughter of the mightiest\nthing, and asked for the daughter of the sun. But he is not great\nenough. The sun is covered by the clouds. The clouds are carried by the\nwind, the wind is stopped by the mountain, the mountain is sapped by\nthe rat, thus he comes back to his own and finds his proper level. So\nin the Rumanian Tale (Sevastos, Basme, Moldov. p. 236). (Cf. Benfey,\nPantschatantra, i. 375 ff.)\n\nIn an ancient Biblical legend Abraham discusses with Nimrod, Who\nmight be God? The sun cannot be worshipped as God, for the sun sets\nand is followed by darkness, the moon is eclipsed by the sun, the\nfire is quenched by water, the clouds of rain are carried by the\nwind, the wind is stopped by the mountains, and so on. (Cf. Gaster,\nChronicles of Jerahmeel, London 1899, chap. xxxiv. p. 72 ff.)\n\nThe biblical setting of the legend is about two thousand years old. In\nthe Rumanian tale the comparison has disappeared, but the principal\nelements have been preserved whilst invested with a different r\u00f4le.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCX.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE SEVEN-WITTED FOX AND THE ONE-WITTED OWL.\n\n\nOne day the owl met a fox, and the latter bragged about his\nintelligence and cleverness, and said that he was very cunning and\nslim. The owl asked him, \"Brother mine, how many minds (wits) have\nyou?\" \"Seven,\" he said, boastingly. \"No wonder you are so clever,\nI have only one,\" said the owl.\n\nA short time afterwards the owl again met the fox, but this time he\nwas running for his life. The hunters were after him, and the hounds\nwere trying to catch him.\n\nRunning as fast as his legs could carry him, he at last managed to slip\ninto a hole. The owl followed him, and seeing him there, exhausted,\nasked him, \"How many minds (wits) have you?\" And he replied, \"Six,\nI have lost one by the chase.\"\n\nMeanwhile the hunters and dogs came nearer and nearer, so they could\nhear the baying of the dogs. The fox did not know what to do. The\nowl asked him, \"How many minds (wits) have you now, old fellow?\"\n\n\"Oh, I have lost all my minds (wits). I have none left.\"\n\n\"Where is your cunning of which you bragged?\"\n\n\"It is not kind of you, now, to go for a poor fellow when the dogs\nare at his heels and there is no escape for him.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said the owl, \"I have but one mind (wit), and I will see\nwhether I cannot save you with my one wit. It is my turn. I am going to\nlie down here at the entrance as though dead. When the hunters come,\nthey will see me and get hold of me and talk about me. Meanwhile they\nwill forget you, and in the midst of the trouble you just dash out\nand run for your life.\"\n\nIt happened just as the owl had said.\n\nNo sooner did the hunters come up and find the owl than they said,\n\"What is this ugly bird doing here? and a dead owl to boot\"; and whilst\nthey were busy with the owl trying to get hold of it to throw it away,\noff went the fox through them and escaped.\n\nSoon afterwards the owl met him again and she said, \"How have your\nseven minds (wits) helped you when in time of danger? It is like that\nwith people who have too much, they often have nothing when they want\nit most, but you see I had only one mind (wit), but a strong one and\nnot a dissolute one like yours, and that saved both you and me.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCXI.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE FOX AND HIS BAGFUL OF WITS AND THE ONE-WITTED\nHEDGEHOG.\n\n\nI do not know how he managed it, but a fox one day got into a\npoultry-yard and there he ate his fill. Some time afterwards, going\nalong to the poultry-yard, the hedgehog met him. \"Where are you going,\nbrother?\"\n\n\"I am going to eat my fill.\"\n\n\"Surely you cannot get it just as you like.\"\n\n\"Oh,\" he said, \"you just come with me and I will show you. I know my\nway, and there is plenty for me and for you, and some to leave behind\nfor another time.\"\n\nThe hedgehog, who was a wise old fellow, said to the fox:\n\n\"Now, be careful; are you sure that the owners of the poultry yard\nwill let you in again so easily?\"\n\n\"Don't you trouble,\" said the fox. \"I know my business, you just come\nwith me.\" And the hedgehog went with him.\n\nBut the people of the poultry-yard were not such fools as the fox had\ntaken them for, and just where the fox had got in last time they had\ndug a deep pit, and into that the fox and the hedgehog tumbled. When\nthey found themselves at the bottom of the pit, the hedgehog turned\nto the fox and said, \"Well, you clever fellow, is that the proper\nway to get into the poultry-yard? Did I not warn you?\"\n\n\"What is the good of talking?\" replied the fox, \"We are here now,\nand we must see how to get out of it.\"\n\n\"But you are so clever, and I am only a poor old fool.\"\n\n\"Never mind, you were always a wise one. Can you help me?\"\n\n\"No,\" he said, \"I cannot help you. This sudden fall has upset me,\nand I feel queer and sick.\"\n\n\"What,\" cried the fox, \"you are not going to be sick here; that is\nmore than I can stand; out you go!\"\n\nSo he got hold of the hedgehog by the snout, and the hedgehog coiled\nhimself up with his little paws into a little ball round the fox's\nmouth, the fox lifted up his head with a jerk and threw the little\nfellow out of the pit.\n\nAs soon as he saw himself safely out of the pit, the little hedgehog,\nbending over the mouth of the pit, said, chuckling to the fox:\n\n\"Where is your wisdom, you fool? You boast that you have a bagful of\nwits, whilst it is I who get myself out of the pit though I have only\na little wit.\"\n\n\"Oh,\" said the fox, whining, \"do have pity on me! you are such a\nclever old fellow, help me out of it too.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said the hedgehog, \"I will help you. Now, you pretend to be\ndead, and when the people come and find you stiff and stark, and a\nnasty smell about you, they will say, 'The fox has died and his carcase\nis rotting; it is going to make all the poultry yard offensive.' They\nwill take you and throw you out. And then see whither your way lies.\"\n\nThe fox did as the hedgehog had advised him, and when the people came\nand found him in that state, they hauled him out and threw him out\nof the yard on to the road.\n\nQuicker than you could clap your hands, the fox was on his legs,\nand he ran as if the ground was burning under him.\n\nSince then the fox and the hedgehog are good friends.\n\n\n\nSouth Slavonic Tales, Krauss, No. 13.\n\nA fox meeting a hedgehog asked him, \"How many wits have you?\" And he\nreplied, \"Only three. But how many have you?\" \"I,\" boasted the fox,\n\"have seventy-seven.\"\n\nAs they were talking and walking along, not noticing whither they\nwere going, they fell into a deep hole which the peasants had\ndug. The fox asked the hedgehog to save him. The hedgehog said,\n\"I have only three wits, perhaps you will save me first, then I\nwill see about you afterwards\"; and he asked the fox to pitch him\nout of the hole. The fox did so, and then asked the hedgehog whether\nhe could help him. The hedgehog said, \"I cannot help you with three\nif you cannot help yourself with seventy-seven.\" And so the fox was\ncaught in the morning by the peasants and killed.\n\nIn the Rumanian version, the hedgehog saves the fox by one wit and\nputs him to shame, which rounds off the story much better; in the\nSlavonic tale there is scarcely any point.\n\nBut this probably goes back to a more ancient legend referred to in\na Greek epigram, v. Benfey, Pantschatantra, i. 316.\n\nCompare the parallel story in Grimm (No. 75) of a fox with the hundred\nwits, and also Hahn (91).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCXII.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE PEASANT, THE SNAKE, AND KING SOLOMON.\n\n\nOnce upon a time, when King Solomon the wise ruled over the people,\nsome shepherds gathered under a tree and lit a fire, not for any\nspecial reason, but just to pass their time, as they often do. When\nthey left, they did not take care to put the fire out; it was left\nburning under the ashes. Spreading slowly, it caught the great tree,\nwhich soon afterwards became a mass of living flames. A snake had crept\non to that tree before and found itself now in danger of perishing in\nthe flames. Creeping upwards to the very top of the tree, the snake\ncried as loud as it could, for she felt her skin scorched by the\nfire. At that moment a man passed by, and hearing the shrieking of the\nsnake, who begged him to save her from the flames, he took pity on her,\nand cutting a long stick, he reached with it up to the top of the tree\nfor the snake to glide down on it. But he did not know the mind of the\ncunning beast, which had aforetime deceived his forefather Adam, for,\ninstead of gliding down to the ground, no sooner did the snake reach\nthe neck of the good man than she coiled herself round and round his\nneck. In vain did he remind her that he had saved her life, she would\nnot hear of anything, for she said, \"My skin is dearer to me than to\nyou, and I remain where I am, you cannot shake me off.\" Finding that\nhe could not get rid of the snake, the man went from judge to judge,\nfrom king to king, to decide between them, but no one could help him.\n\nAt last, hearing of the wisdom of King Solomon, he came to him and laid\nhis case before him. But King Solomon said, \"I am not going to judge\nbetween you unless you both first promise to abide by my word.\" Both\ndid so. Turning to the snake, King Solomon then said, \"You must uncoil\nyourself and get down on the earth, for I cannot judge fairly between\none who is standing on the ground and one who is riding.\"\n\nCunning though the snake may be, she did not understand the wisdom\nof King Solomon, and therefore uncoiling herself she glided down\nand rested on the ground. Turning to the man, King Solomon said,\n\"Do you not know that you must never trust a snake?\" The man at once\nunderstood what the king meant, and taking up a stone he bruised the\nsnake's head. And thus justice was done.\n\n\n\nNeedless to point out, that we have here a variant of the widespread\ntale of the man and the snake. At one time the judge is King Solomon,\nwho looms largely in the minds of the people as the very type of human\nwisdom, at another time the judge is a child playing at justice, who\ninduces the snake to loosen her hold on the man and is then killed\nby the man, who finds himself suddenly freed.\n\nIn other parallels animals are appointed as judges and this leads to\nthe undoing of the snake. (v. Benfey, Pantschatantra, i. p. 113 ff.);\nHahn (87), and the literature given by him; Afanasief (No. 15).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCXIII.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE DOG AND THE SNAKE AND THE CURE OF HEADACHE.\n\n\nOnce upon a time, I do not know how it came about, the dog had a\nfrightful headache, such a headache as he had never had before. It\nnearly drove him mad, and he ran furiously hither and thither, not\nknowing what to do to get rid of it. As he was running wildly over\na field, he met a snake that was lying there coiled up in the sun.\n\n\"What is the matter that you are running about like a madman,\nbrother?\" asked the snake.\n\n\"Sister, I cannot stop to speak to you. I am clean mad with a splitting\nheadache, and I do not know how to be rid of it.\"\n\n\"I know a remedy,\" said the snake, \"it is excellent for the headache\nof a dog, but it is of no good to me who am also suffering greatly\nfrom a headache.\"\n\n\"Never mind you, what am I to do?\"\n\n\"You go yonder and eat some of the grass, and you will be cured of\nthe headache.\"\n\nThe dog did as the snake had advised him. He went and ate the grass,\nand soon felt relieved of his pain.\n\nNow, do you think the dog was grateful? No such luck for the snake. On\nthe contrary, a dog is a dog, and a dog he remains. And why should he\nbe better than many people are? He did as they do, and returned evil\nfor good. Going to the snake, he said, \"Now that my headache is gone,\nI feel much easier; I remember an excellent remedy for the headache\nof snakes.\"\n\n\"And what might it be?\" asked the snake eagerly.\n\n\"It is quite simple. When you feel your head aching, go and stretch\nfull length across the high-road and lie still for a while, and the\npain is sure to leave you.\"\n\n\"Thank you,\" said the simpleton of a snake, and she did as the dog had\nadvised her. She stretched herself full length across the high-road\nand lay still, waiting for the headache to go.\n\nThe snake had been lying there for some time, when it so happened that\na man came along with a stout cudgel in his hands. To see the snake\nand to bruise her head was the work of an instant. And the snake had\nno longer any headache. The cure proved complete. And ever since that\ntime, when a snake has a headache it goes and stretches across the\nhigh-road. If its head is crushed, then no other remedy is wanted,\nbut if the snake escapes unhurt, it loses its headache.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCXIV.\n\nTHE STORY OF THE HORSE, THE LION, AND THE WOLF.\n\n\nThere once lived a Sultan who had a charger. It had served him most\nfaithfully for a good number of years, carrying him in many battles\nand on numerous other occasions.\n\nAt last the horse grew old and was no longer fit to serve him as\nbefore. The Sultan, remembering its faithful services, decided to\nfree it from every manner of work, and in token of recognition of\nits faithfulness he set it free to roam about and to feed wherever\nit liked.\n\nIn order that it should not be molested, he ordered that a special\ncoating should be made for it of red cloth adorned with many coloured\nstripes and patches. He also had it shod with steel shoes, which last\nfor a very long time.\n\nSo, covered with the king's cloth, the horse went about from field\nto field eating whatever and whenever it pleased. Being now at ease,\nthe horse got fat again and strong, and when it walked on the road,\nit struck with its feet against the stones and pebbles, and made the\nsparks fly from them.\n\nIn a forest near by there lived a lion. One day, coming out to the\nedge of the wood, he saw the horse in the distance, and as he had\nnever yet seen such a peculiar animal, he got frightened and started\nrunning back into the thickest part of the forest.\n\nThere he met a wolf, who, seeing the lion run, asked him why he\nwas running.\n\n\"If your life is dear to you,\" he replied, \"do not stop here talking,\nfor that terrible beast which I have seen yonder in the field is sure\nto overtake us, and then good-bye to us.\"\n\n\"What beast?\" asked the wolf. \"I know no beast that could frighten\na lion.\"\n\n\"Well, then, thank God that you have never come across it.\"\n\n\"How does it look?\"\n\n\"It is a huge beast with a head so big as I have never seen a head\nbefore, and a mouth so large that it could devour us in one bite. As\nto its skin, I have never yet seen any like it, all red with stripes\nand patches of every colour. It stands on huge feet, and whenever it\nwalks it scatters fire right and left.\"\n\n\"That may all be as you describe it,\" said the wolf, \"but still it\nmight also be otherwise. I should like to see it myself, and I might\nperhaps know what it is.\"\n\n\"Very well then, let us go higher up the hill, where we can look down\non the field.\"\n\n\"I would rather see it from here, if possible, near at hand.\"\n\n\"As you please. I will squat down on my hind-legs and lift you up\nwith my fore-legs, so that you can see some distance from here.\"\n\nThe lion did as he said, and taking the wolf in his fore-paws he lifted\nhim up. But whilst doing so he pressed the wolf so hard that he nearly\nlost his breath, and his eyes began starting out of his head. When\nthe lion saw it, he said, \"You cur, you talk bravely and laugh at\nme who have been close to that terrible beast, and you, who are so\nfar away and scarcely able to get a glimpse of it, you are already\nlosing your breath, and your eyes are starting out of your head.\"\n\nWith these words he threw the wolf down, and away he ran as fast as\nhis legs would carry him.\n\n\n\nThis story reminds us of the framework of the famous Indian\nPanchatantra, which had so successful a run through the literature of\nEast and West, becoming one of the most popular books of the Middle\nAges, better known as the story of Kalila and Dimna, or even falsely,\nSyntipas.\n\nIn Krauss (No. 2) the animal which frightens the lion, or rather\nimposes on his credulity, is an ass. The ass makes the lion believe\nthat he, the ass, was the real king of beasts. The wolf, to whom\nthe lion says that he was not the real king but that another animal\nclaimed the right to rule, listens incredulously. The lion ties their\ntwo tails together and takes the wolf to the summit of a hill, from\nwhich they can see the ass. The lion, misunderstanding the exclamation\nof the wolf and thinking that he said \"there are six,\" runs away as\nfast as he can, dragging the wolf behind him and killing him in his\nmad flight. It is obviously the same tale but slightly varied in\nthe details. In the Rumanian the lion never gets so near the other\nanimal as to be undeceived by his own sight. He merely sees from a\ndistance an animal the like of which he had never seen before, and\nhe works himself up into a great fright. This seems to be the more\nprimitive form. In the South Slavonic, the lion is simply deceived\nby an animal with which he ought to be familiar enough.\n\nA curious and corrupted version is found in Grimm (No. 132), where\nonly the tying of the tails has been retained. In this version the\nhorse is tied to the lion, and he drags the lion to his master's house.\n\nSimilar is the story of the dib-dib (the name used by the woman for the\ndropping rain), whom the leopard, who listens at the door, takes to be\na great monster. A man jumps on the back of the frightened leopard,\nthinking it was an ass. The leopard carries him to the dib-dib,\nand he runs away. He meets a fox, who laughs at his fear, and they\ntie their tails together. The man, who had sought safety in the\nbranches of the trees, says that the fox had brought the leopard to be\nkilled. The leopard, who had distrusted the fox, runs away with him,\nand as their tails are knotted together, both get killed. (Hanauer,\np. 278.) (Cf. also Afanasief, No. 19.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCXV.\n\nTHE MARRIAGE OF TOM AND THE VIXEN.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a very poor man who had a wife and\nfamily, and there was also a tomcat prowling about the house. One day\na neighbour took pity on them and gave the man a handful of flour\nof maize. Overjoyed he went home, and mixing it with water made a\nnice dish. Pouring it out on to the plates, he and his wife and the\nchildren sat round eating as much as they could.\n\nTom, smelling the dish, began to mew, and the father, taking pity on\nTom, said to the children:\n\n\"Poor Tom is starving too, give him some of the mameliga\" (maize\npudding). But they said, \"He must have it in a better style. We will\ngird him with a sword round his loins, and he will draw it and cut for\nhimself as big a slice as he likes.\" And so they did. But when Tom saw\nhimself girded with a sword, which clanked as he moved about, he said,\n\"I am much too good for this family,\" and off he went into the world.\n\nOn his way he met a vixen, and she asked him:\n\n\"Where are you going, Sir Knight?\"\n\nHe said, \"I am going to get married.\"\n\n\"Will you marry me?\"\n\nTom replied, \"Yes, you are just as good as any other bride.\"\n\nSo they went together to the vixen's lair, and a happy life began\nfor our friend. For the vixen went catching birds, rabbits, and other\nanimals, and bringing them home to feed her husband.\n\nOne day the vixen met the wolf. \"Hallo, sister,\" he cried, \"have you\ngot a meal ready?\"\n\n\"I have and I have not. I am married now, and I have a soldier for\na husband.\"\n\n\"I should like to see him,\" said the wolf; \"show him to me.\"\n\n\"Come, I will show him to you,\" said the vixen, and going to her lair\ncalled Tom, who came out and met the wolf. Tom came out with his sword\nclanking behind him, and when he saw that huge beast with his huge\nhead, his hair stood on end and he began to spit and to snarl for\nvery fear. The wolf, thinking that Tom was getting angry and ready\nto draw his sword and cut him up, turned tail and ran away.\n\nRunning very fast he met the bear, who asked him:\n\n\"What is the matter with you that you run so fast? Who is running\nafter you?\" The wolf told him all that had happened, and how the vixen\nhad got a mighty soldier for a husband, who killed anybody who came\nnear him.\n\nThe bear began to get curious and ran to the vixen's lair, and the\nsame thing happened to him, for Tom came out with his hair standing\non end, and growled, and snarled, and spat, shaking all the time with\nfear. The bear ran away as fast as he could and came to the wolf,\nand they discussed between themselves how best to get rid of that\nterrible Tom, as their lives were no longer safe. So they called the\nhare and the lion into counsel. These decided to invite the vixen and\nher Tom to a banquet at which they would all fall upon him and end his\ncareer. So they spread a table-cloth under a huge tree, but none had\nthe courage to go and call the guests. The bear said, \"Send the wolf,\"\nbut he replied he was too weak and they would catch him. The bear\nsaid he was rather stout and heavy and they would catch him. So the\ntrouble fell upon the hare. He, poor fellow, could not help himself,\nso he went with the message to invite them. But he did not venture\ntoo near. From a distance he called out to them that they were invited\nto a banquet, and off he went after he had delivered the message.\n\nWhen the vixen heard the message she told Tom, and together they went\nto the banquet. On the way Tom saw a crow on the top of a tree, and,\nas is the way with cats, before one could turn round Tom had climbed\nto the top of the tree and had caught the crow. He then killed it,\nand threw it down on the ground.\n\nThe hosts, who were sitting at the table, saw what had happened,\nand said to one another, \"Just see what that knight is doing. Even\nthe people on the very top of the tree are not safe from him. He\ncatches them and kills them. How then can we fight him on the earth?\"\n\nSo the lion crawled under the table, the bear climbed up the tree,\nand the wolf and the hare hid themselves in a bush.\n\nWhen the vixen and Tom came to the place, no one was there, and they\nwondered where their hosts could be. Whilst they were looking round,\nTom saw the tip of the lion's tail, and, thinking it to be a rat,\nhe attacked it. When the lion felt someone tugging at his tail he did\nnot wait any longer, but ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.\n\nWhen Tom saw that huge lion he got frightened and ran up the tree. Now\nthe bear saw Tom running up the tree, and he got frightened and\ntumbled head over heels down the tree on to the table with Tom after\nhim, who, being frightened, ran into the bush. There the wolf and the\nhare were crouching, hidden away. No sooner did they see Tom than off\nthey dashed in a fright. Tom ran back to the vixen, who was sitting\nat the table thinking with great satisfaction how they had all run\naway out of fear of Tom.\n\nShe embraced him, and they sat down alone to the banquet and enjoyed\nthemselves, no one disturbing them.\n\n\n\nIn Krauss, No. 3, there is a story parallel yet not identical with\nit. In the South Slavonic, a cat, together with a dog, a duck and a\ngander, defeats the wolf, fox, bear and wild pig arrayed against them\nin battle. Tom contributes most to the victory by sudden attacks on\nthe ear of the hidden pig, and frightening the bear in the tree by\nclimbing up in fear, etc. In other respects the stories disagree.\n\nThe setting is entirely different. The wolf challenged to combat the\ndog, who had betrayed him on two occasions, and each one brought his\ncontingent to the appointed place of battle. The dog brought his\nfriends of the courtyard, and the wolf his of the forest, and the\nbattle ended in the discomfiture of the latter as mentioned above.\n\nAnother version is found in Haltrich (No. 82), in which a cat feeds on\nthe carcase of a horse. It is seen successively by the fox, the wolf,\nthe bear and the wild pig, who get frightened by the sight of a small,\nwild beast, which had killed an animal many times their size and was\neating it.\n\nThe cat runs after them by mere chance, and manages to bite the pig's\near and frighten the others to such an extent that they are still\nrunning, all except the wolf, who has fallen on a pointed stick and\ngot impaled.\n\nAmong the Cossack Tales (W. Bain, London 1894, p. 130 ff.) there is\na story similar, not quite identical.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCXVI.\n\nTHE STORY OF MAN AND HIS YEARS.\n\n\nWhen God had created the world, he called all his creatures together\nto grant them their span of life, and to tell them how long they\nwould live and what manner of life they would lead.\n\nThe first to appear before God was man. And God said to him, \"Thou,\nman, shalt be king of the world, walking erect upon thy feet and\nlooking up to heaven. I give thee a noble countenance; the power of\nthought and judgment shall be thine, and the capacity of disclosing\nthy innermost thoughts by means of speech. All that lives and moves\nand goes about the earth shall be under thy rule, the winged birds\nand the creeping things shall obey thee, thine shall be all the fruits\nof the tree and land, and thy life shall be thirty years.\"\n\nThen man turned away dissatisfied and grumbling. \"What is the good\nof living in pleasure and in might, if all the years of my life are\nto be thirty only?\" So did man speak and grumble, especially when he\nheard of the years granted to other animals.\n\nThe turn came to the ass. He stepped forward to hear what God had\ndecreed for him. The Creator said, \"Thou shalt work hard; thou shalt\ncarry heavy burdens and be constantly beaten. Thou shalt always be\nscolded and have very little rest, thy food shall be a poor one of\nthistles and thorns, and thy life shall be fifty years.\" When the ass\nheard what God had decreed for him he fell upon his knees and cried,\n\"All merciful Creator, am I indeed to lead such a miserable life,\nand am I to have such poor food as thistles and thorns. Am I to work\nso hard and carry such heavy burdens and then live on for fifty years\nin such misery? Have pity on me and take off twenty years.\" Then man,\ngreedy of long life, stepped forward and begged for himself these\ntwenty years which the ass had rejected. And the Lord granted them\nto him.\n\nThen came the dog. To him the Creator said, \"Thou shalt guard the\nhouse and the property of thy master; thou shalt cling to them as if\nthou wast afraid of losing them; thou shalt bark even at the shadow\nof the moon, and for all thy trouble thou shalt gnaw bones and eat\nraw meat, and thy life shall be forty years.\"\n\n\"All merciful Creator,\" cried the dog, \"if my life is to be of worry\nand trouble, and if I am to live on bones and raw stuff, take off,\nI pray thee, twenty years.\"\n\nAgain man, greedy of life, stepped forward and begged the Creator to\ngive him the twenty years rejected by the dog. And the Creator again\ngranted his request.\n\nNow, it was the turn of the monkey. The Creator said, \"Thou shalt only\nhave the likeness of man, but not be man; thou shalt be stupid and\nchildish. Thy back shall be bent; thou shalt be an object of mockery\nto the children and a laughing-stock of fools, and thy life shall be\nsixty years.\"\n\nWhen the monkey heard what was decreed for him, he fell upon his\nknees and said, \"All merciful God, in thy wisdom thou hast decided\nthat I should be a man and not a man, that my back shall be bent,\nthat I shall be a laughing-stock for young and fools and I shall be\nstupid. Take, in mercy, thirty years off my life.\" And God, the all\nmerciful, granted his request.\n\nAnd again, man, whose greed can never be satisfied, stepped forward and\nasked also for these thirty years which the monkey had rejected. And\nagain God gave them to him.\n\nThen God dismissed all the animals and all his creatures, and each one\nwent to his appointed station and to the life that has been granted\nto him.\n\nAnd as man has asked, so has it come to pass.\n\nMan lives as a king and ruler over all creatures for the thirty\nyears which the Lord had given to him, in joy and in happiness,\nwithout care and without trouble.\n\nThen come the years from thirty to fifty, which are the years of\nthe ass; they are full of hard work, heavy burdens, and little food,\nfor man is anxious to gather and to lay up something for the years\nto come. It could not be otherwise, for were not these the years\nwhich he had taken over from the ass? Then come the years from fifty\nto seventy, when man sits at home and guards with great trembling\nand fear the little that he possesses, fearful of every shadow,\neating little, always keeping others away lest they rob him of that\nwhich he has gathered, and barking at every one whom he suspects\nof wanting to take away what belongs to him. And no wonder that he\nbehaves like that, for these are the dog's years, which man had asked\nfor himself. And if a man lives beyond seventy, then his back gets\nbent, his face changes, his mind gets clouded, he becomes childish,\na laughing-stock for children, an amusement for the fool, and these\nare the years which man had taken over from the monkey.\n\n\n\nThus far the story which I found in some old Rumanian MSS., and which\nmay, therefore, not be quite of a popular origin. I have retold it here\nbecause we have in it the animal in the man. It may be a caricature,\nbut it does not show up man to advantage in comparison with the animal\nworld. And yet, he is endeavouring to conquer the animal, to shake\noff the fateful inheritance of greed, and to return to that rule and\nkingdom which are his own by the grace of God to his thirtieth year,\nand which he endeavours to carry even beyond that limited span of time.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCXVII.\n\nTHE JUDGMENT OF THE SOUL OF MAN, ACCUSED AND DEFENDED BY BEAST\nAND BIRDS.\n\n\nWhen a man dies two angels appear, the good one and the evil one. The\ngood one walking on his right, and the evil on his left, each one holds\na book in his hand in which man's deeds are written. When the soul\nappears before the divine judge, there comes first the cat accusing\nthe man, and the cat says, \"He gave me no peace all my life through;\nhe put me to catch mice and I often remained hungry. Then man drives\nme out of the house, and during daytime he never lets me in.\"\n\n\"What are you talking of? you should be ashamed of yourself,\" is\nthe rejoinder of the dog, \"you live in a warm house, you have food\nin plenty, you have nothing to complain of. What am I to say, who\nam kept out in the cold and rain, and have to watch day and night,\nand if ever I get a bone thrown at me I think myself happy.\" The\njudge replies: \"That is your work; to that you have been appointed:\noff with you.\" The evil angel writes it all down and puts the weight\nof guilt on the one scale, and the good angel writes it in his book\nand he puts a counter-weight in the other scale.\n\nThen come the birds. First the wild duck. He says, \"O unfailing judge,\nsee how this man has ill-treated us, he comes to our resting-place\nand shoots us down mercilessly.\" \"It serves you right,\" is the reply\nof the judge, \"if you live as a wild bird, you must be treated like\na wild bird. You ought to be domesticated and no hurt will befall you.\"\n\nThen the sparrow comes, and he says, \"O mighty Lord, this man here\nsnared us and killed us.\" And the judge replies, \"You have stolen his\ncorn and destroyed his crop.\" And other birds, like the finch and the\nthrush and the heron, come, and all bring accusations against the man,\nand the evil angel enters them in his book.\n\nThen come the good witnesses. First the swallow, and she says, \"O\nLord, this man has been kind to us. We built our nest in his house\nand under his roof, and he never as much as molested us, and even\nwhen my young spoil the food, which he is preparing under their nest,\nhe never hurts them.\" Then the stork comes, he says, \"I build my nest\non the very roof of his house, and on his storehouses, and he never\ninterferes with us, and we hatch our young and feel no hurt. All\nmerciful father, have mercy on him, as he was full of pity for us.\"\n\nThen the cuckoo comes, and he said, \"I who have been thy servant pray\nthee to forgive his sins, for even to me he does no hurt, and though\nI often announce death to him, he none the less listens with pleasure\nto my call. Have mercy on him and forgive his sins.\" And so the other\nbirds come and ask the forgiveness of sin. And the good angel writes\nit all down in his book and puts it as counter-weights in his balance,\nand often the pleading of the birds opens the gates of heaven to the\nhuman soul.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCXVIII.\n\nTHE PILGRIMAGE OF THE SOUL AFTER DEATH.\n\n\n    O rosebush, O rosebush,\n    Thou art evil tempered!\n    Why hast thou tarried\n    And not budded\n    Since yester-morning\n    Until this morning?\n    It was bitter enough to watch,\n    How they became separated,\n    The soul from the body.\n    Going away from the beautiful world,\n    From the world with the sun shining,\n    From the blowing wind,\n    From the flowing waters.\n    O rosebush, why hast thou hastened not to bud?\n    I have budded quickly,\n    For my time also has come,\n    To go away like thee,\n    To travel to the setting of the sun,\n    Where the sun is hiding,\n    Where the flowers dwell\n    With all their sisters,\n    And where the flower of the sun\n    Sits at the gate of Paradise\n    To judge the flowers,\n    Where they have left their scent.\n    In the evening the rain did fall.\n    In the night the sky cleared up.\n    In the dawn the dew has fallen,\n    And the scent has gone astray.\n    The soul divided from the body,\n    Full of grief and sorrow,\n    Journeys far away.\n    It reaches the sea.\n    The sea is raging furiously.\n    It comes howling and foaming,\n    Frightening the whole world.\n    The wave rose up high,\n    To swallow the world.\n    It brings in its sweep blackberry trees, elder-trees,\n    Pines torn from the roots.\n    On the border of the sea,\n    Where the pine tree of the fairies stands,\n    The way across the waters,\n    The soul stood praying to the pine.\n    O pine,\n    Be a brother unto me.\n    Stretch, oh stretch\n    Thy boughs,\n    That I may lay hold of them,\n    And thus pass across\n    That wide sea\n    Which divides me from the world.\n    I may not stretch my boughs\n    For thee to lay hold of them,\n    And to pass across by them,\n    For on my crest a red hawk has hatched its young,\n    With a cursed heart\n    And a proud eye.\n    Ere thou art aware,\n    The young will see thee.\n    They will whistle,\n    And frighten thee,\n    And thou art sure to drop into the sea beneath,\n    And be engulfed there.\n    Let it be so!\n    The sea was raging furiously.\n    It came howling and storming,\n    Frightening the whole world.\n    The wave rose,\n    To swallow the world,\n    And brought in its sweep,\n    Blackberry trees,\n    Elder trees,\n    Pines torn from their roots.\n    On the shore of the seas,\n    Where the pine tree of the fairies stands,\n    The passage across the water,\n    The soul stood praying to the pine:\n    O pine tree,\n    Be a brother unto me.\n    Stretch, I pray thee,\n    Thy trunk,\n    That I may pass across the seas\n    Which separate one world from the other.\n    I may not stretch my trunk\n    For thee to pass,\n    For in it the barking otter has laid her young,\n    Which lie in wait for men.\n    Before thou art ware,\n    The young ones will find thee.\n    They will bark at thee,\n    And frighten thee,\n    And thou art sure to drop into the sea beneath,\n    And be engulfed by it.\n    Let it be so!\n    The sea was raging furiously.\n    It came howling and foaming,\n    Frightening the whole world.\n    The waves rose high up to swallow the world.\n    It brought in its sweep,\n    Blackberry trees,\n    Elder trees,\n    Pine trees torn from the roots.\n    On the shore of the sea,\n    Where the pine tree of the fairies stands,\n    The passage across the waters,\n    The soul stood praying.\n    O pine tree,\n    Be a brother unto me.\n    Stretch thy roots,\n    That I may lay hold of them,\n    And pass across the seas\n    To the other part,\n    From which the sea separates me.\n    I may not stretch my roots\n    For thee to lay hold of them,\n    To pass across,\n    For in it the yellow dragon has hatched its young,\n    And they are starving.\n    Ere thou art aware,\n    They will discover thee,\n    And they will hiss.\n    Thou wilt be frightened,\n    And art sure to drop into the sea,\n    Which will engulf thee.\n    Let it be so.\n    And now, pine tree,\n    Pine tree,\n    Long enough have I prayed of thee,\n    But I have a brother,\n    A fine shepherd.\n    He has a small axe,\n    And he has two cousins,\n    Two strong boys.\n    They will come and cut thee down,\n    And throw thee down.\n    The carpenters will come,\n    And cut thee to measure,\n    And they will make out of thee\n    A bridge over the sea,\n    To give peace to all,\n    For the souls to have a passage,\n    The tried souls,\n    That journey on the way to Paradise.\n    The pine tree considered,\n    It stretched out its boughs,\n    And the soul passed across the nameless sea,\n    To go where its desire carried it,\n    To the other world.\n    Pass on, O soul;\n    Pass on unharmed,\n    Until thou hast gained in mercy\n    The seven heavy toll-houses.\n    Then go on straight, O dear soul,\n    Until thou reachest a place\n    Where the road divides.\n    Stop there and consider\n    Which road to take,\n    Until thou seest\n    A tall acacia tree,\n    Bent and with broad leaves.\n    Take good care\n    Not to turn to the left,\n    For it is the narrow way--\n    Narrow and a blind alley,\n    Watered with tears.\n    And there are also fields badly ploughed,\n    And covered with briars and thistle.\n    There dwells the old fay,\n    Who takes thy passport out of thy hand.\n    But turn to the right.\n    Thy own desire leads thee,\n    For there thou shalt find\n    Delightful fields,\n    With choice flowers,\n    Fields well tilled, sown with flowers.\n    Thou wilt pick flowers,\n    And the longing for this world will vanish.\n    Take further good care,\n    For thou shalt find\n    In two beds,\n    Only one flower in each,\n    Flower close upon the ground\n    Not touched by the wind;\n    Flower in the shade\n    Never seen by the sun.\n    Pick them,\n    For these are the flowers of Paradise.\n    Journey on,\n    Until thou reachest that apple tree\n    Which belongs to St. Peter.\n    It is a high and mighty tree,\n    And somewhat bent\n    On its side.\n    The top reaches the heavens.\n    The sides go down to the seas.\n    The top is full of bloom,\n    And the boughs are full of fruit;\n    And down at the roots trickles a gentle fountain.\n    There sits St. Mary.\n    May her mercy be with us!\n    Whoever passes by\n    She takes pity on them,\n    And gives them all to drink,\n    And guides them into the right path.\n    The soul drinks of the water,\n    And forgets this world.\n    Go on thy journey\n    Until thou reachest the noble willow tree\n    Covered with bloom.\n    But it is not a noble willow covered with bloom.\n    It is St. Mary\n    In a beautiful garment,\n    A garment of silk.\n    She sits at a table,\n    Adorned with flowers.\n    There she sits and writes--\n    She the holy Mary--\n    The dead and the living.\n    And she writes down the fate of each of them.\n    Pray to her\n    To take the page of the living.\n    Perchance she will have compassion on thee,\n    And will write thee among the living.\n    But she will not have pity on thee,\n    And will not write thee among the living,\n    For her sheet is full up,\n    And she has lost her pen.\n    Pray her, however, very much\n    That she take thee with her into the Paradise,\n    If thou hast not prayed,\n    When the call has reached thee\n    In thine own village.\n    Go then further\n    Upon beaten tracks, until thou comest\n    To the very gate of Paradise,\n    Where there stands the flower of the sun.\n    There stop.\n    There take shelter,\n    And wait patiently\n    The hour of quickening,\n    For it is sure to come,\n    And thou wilt return,\n    When the stags will draw the plough,\n    And the hinds will scatter the seeds.\n    O earth,\n    From this day on\n    Be thou my father.\n    Do not hurry\n    To eat me up,\n    For I am giving thee now,\n    Without ever taking them back,\n    My shoulders in thy arms,\n    And my face under thy green sward.\n\n\nThe conception which is here revealed is totally unlike popular\napocryphal Christian tales like the Visions of St. Peter, Paul,\nand the Lady Mary, all well known in Rumanian literature. Nor are\nthere traces of the other set of ideas, originating probably in Egypt,\naccording to which the soul has to pass through many toll-houses where\nangels and devils are waiting for it, and through which it can only\npass with extreme difficulty, if and when the good deeds outweigh the\nevil deeds. The poem of the \"Pilgrimage of the Soul\" has almost an\nheathen aspect. Noteworthy are the huge trees, at the shore of the\nboundless sea, which must bend across it so as to form a bridge for\nthe soul to pass, and the three animals living in it which threaten\nthe soul with destruction. It reminds one strongly of the Northern\nYgdrasil, and almost the same beasts which inhabit it. This is not\nthe place to discuss at any length this tree upon which the world\nrests, which no doubt goes back to, or is somehow connected with,\nthe tree of life in Paradise and the legends which have clustered\nround that tree. This conception of the \"Pilgrimage of the Soul,\"\nwith its allegorical and mystical meaning, is certainly not a product\nof the Orthodox Church. It reminds one forcibly of the fantastical\nand poetical conceptions of the heterodox sects.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCXIX.\n\nTHE REWARD OF THE GOOD MAN.\n\nA Christmas Carol of the Lord's Justice.\n\n\n    Lord, O Lord,\n    In this house,\n    In this yard,\n    This place,\n    Two tall apple trees have grown,\n    Two trees tall and wonderful,\n    Their tops intertwined.\n    High above,\n    In their very tops,\n    Two candles are burning,\n    And from these two candles\n    Three drops are falling,\n    And from these three drops\n    Three rivers have grown--\n    One of wine,\n    One of balsam,\n    And one of pure water.\n    Who bathes in the river of wine?\n    God himself, the good God,\n    Bathes himself,\n    Washes,\n    Cleanses himself in pure limpid water,\n    Changes his clothes,\n    And anoints himself with balsam.\n    Further down the river John--\n    St. John--\n    And old Christmas [6] bathe and wash,\n    And in limpid water cleanse themselves,\n    Change their raiment,\n    Anoint themselves with balsam.\n    And further down, along the river,\n    Other saints bathe and wash,\n    And rinse themselves in pure limpid water,\n    And put on white clothes.\n    Still much further down,\n    This good man bathes,\n    Washes,\n    Rinses himself,\n    In clean water,\n    And puts on clean garments.\n    The good God said:\n    \"To whom, O man, doest thou liken thyself?\n    To me?\n    To the saints?\n    To St. John?\n    Or to old Christmas?\"\n    \"No, O Lord.\n    I do not liken myself\n    Neither to Thee,\n    Nor to the Saints,\n    Nor to St. John,\n    Nor to old Christmas,\n    But to the good deeds which I have performed.\n    I married as a young man,\n    I have built a house\n    On the highroad,\n    I have kept a decked table\n    On the high road.\n    Whosoever passed\n    Sat down at my table.\n    All ate and drank at my table,\n    And all thanked me.\n    I have further built\n    Bridges in dangerous paths.\n    Whosoever passed\n    Thanked me.\n    I have further digged wells\n    In dry lands.\n    Whosoever drank of the water\n    Blessed me.\"\n    The good God then replied:\n    \"May thou therefore be blessed.\n    Thou hast done good deeds\n    In that world.\n    Blessing shalt thou find in this.\n    Enter Paradise without trial.\n    Sit at table not invited,\n    And drink the cup unasked.\"\n    We wish health to this house,\n    To these beautiful courts,\n    To all of us a happy life\n    For many years.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX I.\n\nRUMANIAN INCANTATIONS AGAINST THE ILLNESSES OF ANIMALS.\n\n\nI am adding here a number of incantations or charms, which are used\nby the Rumanians to ward off evil from animals and to save from hurt\nand disease such victims of witchcraft. In the mind of the people,\nthe old conception is still strong that every sickness is caused by\nsome malignant spirit, and that the most potent remedy is the magical\nword of incantation or conjuration. And what holds good for the cure\nof the Evil Eye holds good similarly in the case of a snake bite or\nany other apparently incurable disease.\n\nThe Rumanians resort to magical performances of a peculiarly\nsymbolical and sympathetic nature. Those practices are accompanied by\n\"incantations\" or rather \"disenchantments,\" i.e. chants used for the\npurpose of destroying the spell. This is not the place to discuss at\nany length the history and origin of these charms and the mechanism\nof their composition. I have dealt with them largely in my history\nof Rumanian Folk-Lore (Lit. pop. Rom\u00e2na, 1883, p. 406 ff.). I have\nshown there the similarity between some of these \"incantations\" or\n\"conjurations\" with some Byzantine and medi\u00e6val Latin charms, and\nnot a few ancient oriental incantations of Babylon and Palestine. In\nconnection with the foregoing Tales and Legends, it is of no small\nimportance now to find that similar conjurations are used for the\nprotection of animals. The same procedure is followed as in the case\nof human beings, and practically the same words and images are used\nto free the cattle from sickness. In one or two instances (Nos. 2,\n3) the cow is being bewitched and loses her milk, or the calf does\nnot suck. The \"virtue\" (Rum. mana), the \"abundance\" or \"blessing,\"\nis being taken by some witch, or is waning on account of the Evil\nEye. Even in these cases the formula is almost identical with that\nused in a stereotyped form in human \"incantations.\" Each of these given\nhere could be made the starting-point of discursive explanations. But\nthis must be reserved for a special study of the Rumanian charms and\nincantations. For our purpose here the translation accompanied only\nby a few explanatory foot-notes, is quite sufficient. It proves that\nto the Rumanian peasant, there is no essential difference between\nman and beast. They are both treated alike, and even the Lady Mary\nknows no difference between them. She helps the beast in the same\nmanner as she descends the \"silver ladder\" to help the man. And\nthe evil spirits, who attack man and beast with the same virulence,\nare driven out by precisely the same method: charms and incantations.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI.\n\nAGAINST THE ILLNESS OF POULTRY.\n\n\n    \"Good one\" (Dobritza) went with the broom to sweep the poultry\n    yards, the hens, and the geese runs, with the geese,\n    The turkey yard, with the turkeys,\n    The gardens and the orchards,\n    The hills with the vineyards,\n    The mountains with the forests.\n    Then, Good One! do not go to sweep the gardens and the orchards,\n    the hills and vineyards,\n    The mountains with the forests,\n    The run with the poultry, but come and sweep away the sickness\n    of the hens,\n    The ducks, and the geese of Mr. N. N. Sweep away the sickness\n    with thy broom,\n    And I with my mouth will say the charm (disenchantment).\n    With my hand I will seize it,\n    And beyond the Black Sea I will throw it,\n    That it may perish, truly perish, there,\n    As the foam of the sea,\n    As the dew before the sun,\n    And the birds of Mr. N. N. shall become pure, sweet, clean and\n    shining,\n    As made by God.\n\n\nThis charm is said whilst stirring the \"virgin water\" with a broom.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nII.\n\nCHARM FOR A COW AGAINST THE EVIL EYE.\n\n\n    The Monday cow has gone on her way, on her pathway,\n    On to untrodden grass,\n    With the virtue (Mana) not taken away,\n    And with the dew not yet shaken off,\n    To the field with butter,\n    To the well with cream.\n    She was met by nine evil-eyed ones,\n    Nine witches,\n    And nine takers-away of blessing (abundance mana).\n    The cow lowed and roared;\n    She turned back.\n    The Holy Mother heard her.\n    She came to her with dew under her feet and with \"abundance\"\n    on her back.\n    She took hold of her by the right horn,\n    And led her to green reeds,\n    And sprinkled her with (the branches) of the willow tree and basil.\n    The cream thickened,\n    The eyes sparkled,\n    The hair became smooth,\n    And the milk started running.\n    It spurted like a vein,\n    It issued forth like a well, and ran like a river.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIII.\n\nCHARM FOR A SUCKLING CALF.\n\n\n    I rose up early in the morning.\n    I took the sickle (scythe)\n    In my hand.\n    I went up to the hill of love.\n    I went down into the valley of affection.\n    I cut nine handfuls of flowers,\n    I cut (gathered) love from nine jolly widows,\n    From nine beautiful girls,\n    From nine kings and nine rulers.\n    With the same zest as kings hasten to their kingdom,\n    Rulers to their rule,\n    Ministers to their ministration,\n    Knights to their knighthood,\n    And merchants to their business,\n    So shall the \"Thursday [7] one\"\n    Hasten to the calf,\n    And the calf to her.\n    As the tongue is fast in the mouth,\n    So shall \"Thursday one\" stick to her calf,\n    And the calf on to her.\n    I burnt it (the spell) with fire,\n    I singed it with the flame,\n    I enveloped it with love,\n    With affection I kindled it.\n    As the honey is sweet,\n    So shall the calf long for \"Thursday one.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIV.\n\nCHARM FOR A COW AGAINST SNAKE-BITE.\n\n\n    N. N. rose up,\n    Got up very early,\n    And met the accursed on the way,\n    And he poisoned him as one bitten by the poisoned fly.\n    The Lady Mother heard it from heaven.\n    She took the staff in her hand,\n    And came down upon a silver ladder.\n    Do not cry, and do not low, O \"Thursday one.\"\n    Come with me to that old woman, that she may say the charm\n    (disenchantment) for thee,\n    With water from the well,\n    With three stalks of elder-tree,\n    With twigs of hazelnut tree,\n    With a knife that has been found and with silver coins.\n\n\nThese charms were told in the year 1913 by a woman who was believed\nto be in her 109th year.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nV.\n\nCHARM AGAINST EVIL EYE.\n\n\n    Fly away, evil eye, from the White one.\n    Do not wonder at her.\n    Do not stare at her admiringly\n    Of the milk that is milked,\n    Of the calf that is sucking\n    Her sweet body,\n    That it is sweet to me as honey and yellow as wax; but wonder at,\n    And stare admiringly\n    At that green bush,\n    That it is as green as the ivy,\n    And white as the lily.\n    Fly away, yawn,\n    Fly away, shout,\n    Of the great evil eye.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVI.\n\nCHARM AGAINST EVIL EYE.\n\n\n    The mistress has gone on her way with Joyana (Thursday one)\n    To feed her on the green field.\n    Well she did feed her,\n    Well did she satisfy her,\n    Well did she slake her thirst.\n    She turned her back.\n    In the middle of the way\n    She met an old woman\n    Dressed in a shirt of nettles,\n    With sandals of a black sow on her feet.\n    She broke Joyana's horns,\n    Her eyes she caused to shed tears,\n    Her hair she ruffled (bristled),\n    The tail she cut off,\n    The breasts she squeezed (flattened),\n    The udders she emptied.\n    The cow lowed and the cow moaned.\n    No one saw her;\n    No one heard her;\n    But the Holy Mother saw her.\n    Only she heard.\n    She said to her:\n    \"Thursday one, do not low, do not moan.\"\n    \"How am I not to low?\n    How am I not to moan?\n    As I went with my mistress to feed in pastures green,\n    She fed me well.\n    She slaked my thirst well.\n    Back she did turn me.\n    When in the middle of the way,\n    An old woman met me,\n    Dressed in a shirt of nettles,\n    With sandals of a black sow on her feet.\n    She lopped my horns,\n    She caused my eyes to run over,\n    My hair she made to bristle,\n    My tail she has cut off,\n    She has flattened my breasts,\n    She has emptied my udders.\"\n    \"(Joyana) 'Thursday one,' do not low, do not moan.\n    Go to N. N.\n    He will disenchant thee with the nettle in flour,\n    From the little horns\n    To the little tail,\n    From the little tail to the little horns.\n    The horns will become sharp again.\n    The hair will be smooth,\n    The breasts will be strong,\n    The udder will be full again.\n    Go to thy mistress,\n    And she will milk thee from the pail into the can,\n    From the can into the pail.\"\n\n\n\nThis disenchantment is made with nettles in flour.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVII.\n\nCHARM AGAINST WORMS IN BEASTS.\n\nTake three stalks of madwort. Go to the beast that has worms, touching\nthe wound with the madwort, say:\n\n\n    May there be as many maggots in the wound as there are (popi)\n    priests in Paradise.\n    As many and not even as many.\n\n\nSay it three times, and the worms will fall off.\n\nThe implication is obvious.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVIII.\n\nAGAINST WORMS.\n\nOn a day of Lent, before sunrise, take the beast, which has worms\noutside the village to a place where reeds are growing. Get nine bushes\nof reeds, each with three reeds (stalks) in one root. Stop still at\neach bush, cut the middle reed, shake it three times over the wound,\nand say:\n\n\n    \"Ye three reeds are three brothers,\n    And ye all three are to join together,\n    And drive away the worms from Joyana;\n    For, if not,\n    I come to-morrow at the same time,\n    To cut you off from the root,\n    To take away your peace,\n    And dust and ashes shall you become.\"\n\n\nThen spit aside. Repeat this with each of the reed-bushes. At mid-day,\nwhen the sun stands in \"the balance\" (noontide), repeat the whole\nincantation, and yet a third time shortly before sunset. The cut\nreeds must be tied together by their roots, and you will see the\nworms dropping off when you finish the charm.\n\nThis cure can also be effected when the beast is not present. In this\ncase, go alone, and remember the animal whilst making the operation. It\nwill be found quite effective.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIX.\n\nCHARM AGAINST SNAKE-BITE.\n\n\n    Above it is thundering,\n    Lightning,\n    Speckling, clinging to the skin,\n    Skin to bone,\n    Bone to flesh.\n    The flesh has been bitten,\n    Bitten by a snake.\n    God, send the cure.\n    Holy Mother, overshadow him.\n\n\nThis charm is made with \"virgin water,\" using a hazelnut twig,\nespecially if a snake has been killed with it. The bite is washed\nwith the water, and a mouthful is taken three times.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nX.\n\nCHARM IF BITTEN BY A WEASEL.\n\n\n    Weasel, beautiful girl,\n    There are nine boils.\n    Nine boils have gone down;\n    Eight boils have grown,\n    Eight boils have gone down;\n    Seven boils have grown,\n    Seven boils have gone down;\n    And so on until one boil has grown,\n    And one has gone down.\n    And the cow N. N. shall now remain clean and sweet (strong),\n    as she was made by God.\n\n\nThis charm is said three times over a pail with \"virgin water\";\na cross is made over with the skin of a weasel, or with the twig of\nhazel-nut, or with a found knife.\n\nThe cow is washed with the water, and the rest is poured into running\nwater.\n\nThe charm must be repeated three times daily, and for three consecutive\ndays, if the bite is a bad one and the swelling does not go down.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX II.\n\nTHREE STORIES FROM ARKIR, THE RUMANIAN VERSION OF THE STORY OF AHIKAR.\n\n\nI.\n\nAnd Anadan said: \"Forgive me, my father, and let me be the meanest\nof swineherds, only let me live.\" But Arkirie said: \"No, my son, thou\nhast acted towards me in the same manner as the wolf acted when he went\nto the teacher to be taught; for whilst the teacher said A B C D, the\nwolf said: 'For the lambs' and 'for the sheep' and 'for the goats' and\n'for the kids'; in the same manner hast thou acted towards me, my son.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nII.\n\nAnd he began to beat him. And Anadan said: \"Have mercy on me, and I\nwill be a shepherd.\" And Arkirie said: \"Thou hast acted towards me as\nthe wolf who followed the sheep and met the shepherd, who said to him:\n'Thank thee.' And he asked him: 'Whither art thou going so fast?' And\nthe wolf said: 'I follow the track of the sheep, for an old woman\ntold me that the dust of the sheep was wholesome for the eyes.' In\nthe same manner hast thou acted against me.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIII.\n\nAnd he began again to beat him, but Anadan said: \"Have pity on me,\nand I will groom thy horses.\" But Arkirie said: \"No, my son, thou hast\nacted towards me like a man who, leading an ass on the road, tied it\nwith a loose rope. The ass broke the rope and ran away. On his way he\nmet the wolf, and the wolf said unto him: 'Happy journey unto thee,\nass!' And the ass replied: 'Unhappy it will be, for the man tied me\nup with a rotten rope, so that I broke it and ran away, and he did\nnot tie me with a good rope.'\" And Arkirie continued to beat him\nuntil he died (M. Gaster, Jrnl. Royal Asiatic Society, 1900, p. 309).\n\nA larger number of animal fables are found in the other versions\nof Ahikar, thus in the Armenian (Story of Ahikar, edited by Rendel\nHarris Conybeare, etc., second edition, Cambridge, 1913, p. 51),\nand in the Slavonic (ibid. pp. 21 and 22).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX III.\n\nANIMAL STORIES FROM THE HEBREW ALPHABET OF BEN SIRA.\n\n\nThis seems to be the oldest collection of animal tales which agree\nmost closely with some of the Rumanian. They are of a purely oriental\norigin, and are therefore invaluable in helping to determine that of\nthe latter. They are taken from the Venice edition, 1544, reprinted\npage by page by Steinschneider, Berlin 1858 (f. 24a ff.).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI.\n\nWHY WERE FLIES CREATED WHICH LIVE ONLY ONE DAY?\n\nQ. Why were the flies created which live only one day?\n\nReply. For the sake of the fly which in the future will torture Titus\nthe wicked, and also for the sake of the fledglings of the raven. When\nthey are hatched they are white and the parents fly away and leave\nthem. Then they cry to God, as it is written, \"The young of the raven\nwhich cry unto Him and He brings to them these flies and they are fed\nthereby.\" After three days they become dark; then the parents return\nto them. Thus the Lord, blessed be He, prepares the cure before the\nillness (f. 24a).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nII.\n\nWHY DID GOD CREATE WASPS AND SPIDERS WHICH ARE OF NO USE?\n\nQ. Why did God create wasps and spiders which are of no use?\n\nR. Once upon a time David was sitting in his garden and he saw a wasp\neating a spider, and there came a fool with a stick in his hand, and\nhe drove them away. Then David said, \"O Lord of the Universe, what\nbenefit is there in these creatures? The wasp eats up the honey and\nis destructive; the spider weaves the whole year and there is nothing\nwith which to clothe oneself; the fool only hurts people, and he does\nnot know thy unity and thy greatness, the world has no benefit from\nhim.\" The Lord replied and said, \"David, thou dost scoff at these\ncreatures now, but a time is sure to come when they will be of use\nto thee, and then thou wilt recognise the reason of their creation.\"\n\nIt happened thereafter, when he hid in the cave, being pursued by Saul,\na spider came and made his web across the mouth of the cavern. Saul\ncoming up, saw the web and said, \"Certainly no man has entered this\ncave, as otherwise that web would have been torn to pieces.\" So he went\naway without searching the cave. When David came out, and beheld the\nspider, he kissed it and blessed it and said, \"Lord of the Universe,\nwho can accomplish works like any of thy works? For all thy deeds\nare beautiful.\"\n\nWhen he came to Achish, David simulated the fool before him and his\nmen. The daughter of Achish also was foolish and mad. When they\nbrought David before him, he said to his men, \"Are ye mocking at\nme, considering that my daughter is a fool, or am I in want of\nlunatics?\" So they left him and he fled. When he found himself\nin safety he thanked God for all that he had made, for it was all\nbeautiful.\n\nWhen David (had entered the cave) he found Saul sleeping his noon-day\nsleep. Abner slept across the opening with his legs bent. David tried,\nslipped through the legs, and went in and took the jug of water. When\nhe returned Abner suddenly stretched out and kept David as in a hedge,\nas if two heavy pillars had come down upon him. Then David prayed for\nGod's mercy and said, \"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\" In\nthat hour a miracle was performed for him, for a wasp came and stung\nAbner in his leg. He lifted it up and David was able to escape. Then\nDavid praised and thanked God.\n\nIt is not fit for man to mock or scoff at God's works (f. 24 a-b).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIII.\n\nWHY HAS THE OX NO HAIR ON HIS NOSE?\n\nQ. Why has the ox no hair on his nose?\n\nR. When the Israelites were going round Jericho with Joshua in order\nto destroy it, they brought him successively a horse, an ass, and\na mule to ride upon, but they all died, for Joshua was a very heavy\nman. Then they brought an ox and he carried him on his back. When he\nsaw this Joshua kissed the ox on his nose, and for this reason the\nox has no hair on that spot (f. 25a).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIV.\n\nWHY DOES THE CAT EAT MICE MORE THAN ANY OTHER CREEPING THING?\n\nQ. Why does the cat eat mice more than any other creeping thing?\n\nR. In the beginning the cat and the mouse were friends. At one time\nthe mouse went and accused the cat falsely before God, and said,\n\"Lord of the Universe, the cat and I are companions and we have now\nnothing to eat.\" God replied, \"Thou hast brought a false accusation\nagainst thy friend in order to be able to eat him. Now the reverse is\nto happen, the cat will eat thee and thou shalt serve her as food.\" The\nmouse replied, \"Lord of the Universe, what have I done?\" And God said,\n\"O thou unclean creature! Hast thou not heard what happened to the\nsun and moon which originally were of equal size, but because the\nmoon brought a false accusation against (slandered) the sun, I have\nreduced its size and made it smaller than the sun? So also hast thou\nslandered thy companion in order to eat him, and he therefore will\neat thee.\" \"If that be so,\" the mouse replied, \"then the cat will\nsurely utterly destroy me.\" And God replied, \"I will leave thee a\nremnant as I have done to the moon.\"\n\nThen the mouse went, and springing on the head of the cat began to\nbite it. The cat then threw the mouse on the ground and killed it.\n\nFrom that time on, the fear of the cat fell upon the mice, and for\nthis reason does the cat eat the mouse (f. 25b).\n\n(The Hebrew word used for cat is khatool which originally means\nweasel!)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nV.\n\nWHY DOES THE ASS MIX HIS WATER WITH THAT OF OTHER ASSES, AND SMELL\nTHE DUNG?\n\nQ. Why does the ass mix his water with that of other asses and smell\nthe dung?\n\nR. When God had created all the beings, the ass said to the horse\nand mule, \"Every creature has some time of rest, but we are destined\nto work on continuously without any rest. Let us pray to God to give\nus also some time of respite, and if our prayer be not heard let us\ndecide no longer to procreate so that we may die out.\" So they prayed,\nbut their prayer was not heard. But God said, \"When your water becomes\nrivers to drive mills thereby, and when your dung has the smell of\nperfume, then you will obtain your respite.\" And this is the answer\nto the question (f. 25b).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVI.\n\nWHY DOES THE DOG FIGHT THE CAT?\n\nQ. Why is there enmity between the cat and the dog?\n\nR. When the cat (weasel) was created it became the companion of the\ndog. Both hunted together and ate together of the prey. It so happened\nat one time that two or three days had passed and they had not got\nanything to eat. Then the dog said to the cat, \"Why are we sitting\nhere a hungered? Go to Adam and sit in his house and be fed there,\nand we will go after the creeping things and reptiles and will feed\nupon them, and we shall both be kept alive.\" The cat then replied\nto the dog, \"Let it be so, but we must take an oath that we will\nnot go both together to one master.\" He replied, \"Thou hast spoken\nwell.\" There and then they both took an oath, and the cat went to\nthe house of Adam, where she found mice, which she caught and ate:\nthe rest ran away from her. When Adam saw what had happened, he said,\n\"A great salvation (\"cure\") has God sent me.\"\n\nThen he took the cat into his house and fed it and gave it to drink.\n\nThe dog went to the wolf and said unto him, \"Let me come and spend\nthe night with thee.\" He replied, \"Very well.\" Both went to a cave to\nsleep there. In the night the dog heard the footsteps of the various\nanimals, so he woke the wolf and told him, \"I heard the steps of\nthieves.\" The wolf replied, \"Go out to them and drive them away.\"\n\nThe beasts turned upon him to kill him. The dog fled away and went to\nthe ape, but the ape drove him away. Then he went to the sheep. The\nsheep received him and allowed him to sleep there. He heard the\nnoise of feet and he said to the sheep, \"I hear the footsteps of\nrobbers.\" The sheep replied, \"Go out.\" The dog went out, and began to\nbark. The wolves said, \"Surely sheep are there.\" So they went thither\nand ate the sheep.\n\nThe dog fled away and went from place to place trying to find some\nshelter, but could not find any. At last he came to Adam, who took\nhim in and allowed him to sleep there. In the middle of the night the\ndog said to Adam, \"I hear the noise of footsteps.\" Adam rose at once,\ntook his spear, and going out with the dog drove the wild beasts\naway and returned home with the dog. Then Adam said to the dog,\n\"Come into my house, dwell with me, eat of my food and drink of my\nwater.\" And the dog went with him. When the cat heard the voice of\nthe dog she came out to him and said, \"Why dost thou come thither to\nmy place?\" And he replied, \"Adam has brought me hither.\" Adam said\nto the cat, \"Why dost thou quarrel with him? I have brought him in,\nfor I found him clever and full of courage. Thou needst not grieve,\nthou shalt be kept also as before.\" The cat replied, \"My Lord, he\nis a thief, is it right to dwell in one place with a thief?\" And the\ncat went on to say to the dog, \"Why hast thou broken (transgressed)\nthy oath?\" He replied, \"I will not enter thy dwelling place, I will\nnot eat of anything that belongs to thee, I will not cause thee the\nleast harm.\" But the cat did not listen and began to quarrel.\n\nWhen the dog saw this, he went away from the house of Adam, and going\nto that of Seth, dwelt there. And the dog tried all the time to make\npeace with the cat, but it was all in vain. In that state they have\nremained to this very day, in constant enmity, for the children follow\nthe example of their forebears: as the proverb has it: sheep follow\nsheep (f. 25b, 26a).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVII.\n\nWHY IS IT THAT THE DOG RECOGNISES HIS MASTER AND THE CAT DOES NOT?\n\nQ. Why is it that the dog recognises his master and the cat does not?\n\nR. Whoever eats of anything at which mice have nibbled forgets what\nhe has been taught. It is only natural that he who eats the mouse\nitself should forget his master (f. 26b).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVIII.\n\nWHY IS THERE A SEAM IN THE MOUTH OF THE MOUSE?\n\nQ. Why is there a seam in the mouth of the mouse?\n\nR. At the time of the Flood, all kinds of creeping things and reptiles\nhad come into the Ark, male and female. Once upon a time the mouse\nand its mate were sitting by the cat, when the cat suddenly said,\n\"I remember that in former times my forefathers used to eat yours,\nand what they did then I might as well do now.\" With these words the\ncat sprang at the mouse wishing to eat it. The mouse fled and sought\nfor a hole to hide itself, but could not find any. A miracle happened,\nand a hole appeared which the mouse entered and hid itself. The cat\ncame to the hole and tried to follow the mouse, but could not, as the\nhole was very narrow. So she put her paw into it with the intention\nof dragging it out. The mouse opened its mouth. So the cat cut its\nlower chin open with its nail about half the length of a span. When\nthe cat had gone away the mouse crept out of the hole and running to\nNoah said to him, \"O thou righteous man, do me an act of charity and\nsew up the chin, which my enemy the cat has torn open.\" Noah replied,\n\"Go to the pig and bring me one of the bristles of its tail.\" He went\nand brought it to Noah, who sewed up the chin. To this very day the\nseam can be seen (f. 26b).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIX.\n\nWHY DOES THE RAVEN HOP IN ITS WALK?\n\nQ. Why does the raven hop in its walk?\n\nR. Once upon a time the raven saw how beautiful was the stepping (walk)\nof the dove, more beautiful than that of all the other birds. He liked\nthe walk of the doves very much, and he said to himself, \"I will also\nput my feet in the same step.\" And he nearly broke his bones in the\nattempt to imitate the dove. The other birds laughed and mocked at\nhim. The raven felt ashamed and he said, \"Let me return to my former\nwalk.\" So he tried to walk as before, but he could not, for he had\nforgotten it. Thus he remained with a halting step, like one who is\njumping, neither walking as before, nor being able to walk as the dove\n(f. 26b).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nX.\n\nWHY DOES THE RAVEN MATE DIFFERENTLY FROM ANY OTHER BIRD?\n\nQ. Why does the raven mate differently from any other bird?\n\nR. There are various explanations. One is that he has been punished\nfor his lewdness in the Ark, and for the same reason also the dog\nhas been punished.\n\nOthers say, because he is wicked, a thief, and froward. There is one\nanswer which combines and explains it more satisfactorily. When Noah\nwanted to send the raven to see whether the waters were falling, the\nraven fled and hid himself under the eagle's wing. Noah searched after\nhim and found him there under the wing of the eagle. He said to him,\n\"Go, thou wicked one, and see whether the waters are falling.\" The\nraven replied, \"Hast thou not found any other bird but me.\" Noah\nreplied, \"I can only send one of the two birds whose first letter\nis either Ain or Yod.\" The raven replied, \"Why not the eagle and\ndove\"? (Nun, Yod). Noah said, \"Because there will be a town in\nexistence called Ai whose inhabitants will kill Yair, who will\nforbid the raven and permit the dove (to eat).\" Then the raven\nreplied impudently to Noah, \"The reason why thou hast chosen to\nsend me out is that thou wishest to kill me in order to marry my\nmate, as I belong to those birds of which thou hast introduced into\nthe Ark only one pair.\"\n\nWhen Noah heard these words, he cursed the raven that he should\nmate differently from any other bird, and all the birds in the Ark\nreplied Amen. Then the raven replied, \"Why hast thou cursed me? I\nhave a legal complaint against thee.\" Noah replied, \"Because thou\nart lewd and foolish and dost suspect innocent people. If I do not\napproach my own wife, who is like unto me, whilst we are in the Ark,\nhow can I approach thy wife, who is so different from a human being,\nand moreover is forbidden unto me as a married female?\"\n\nThe raven said, \"Why dost thou call me lewd (fornicator)?\" Noah\nreplied, \"Thine own words prove thine immorality, I have not made\nthee an evil name.\" And thus it has remained according to Noah's curse\n(f. 26b-27a).\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXI.\n\nWHY ARE THERE NO COUNTERPART TO THE FOX AND THE WEASEL AMONG THE\nCREATURES OF THE SEA? AND THE STORY OF THE FOX'S HEART AND THE FISHES.\n\n\nQ. Why are there no counterpart to the fox and weasel in the sea?\nThe story of the fox's heart and the fishes.\n\nR. Because they were cunning. When God had created the angel of death,\nhe saw the creatures, and he said to God, \"Lord of the Universe,\ngrant me permission to kill them.\" God replied, \"Thou shalt have\npower over all the creatures of the earth except the descendants of\nthe bird Milham, who are not to taste the taste of death.\" He said,\n\"O Lord, separate them from the rest if they are so pious, so that\nthey do not learn the evil ways of the others and come to sin.\" God\nat once granted him his request. He built for them a great town\nand he placed them therein, and he sealed up the gate of that town,\nand he said, \"It has been decreed (by God) that neither my sword,\nnor that of anyone else should have power over you unto the end of\nall generations.\" The angel of death returned then to God, who said\nto him, \"Throw the pair of each created being into the sea and over\nthe rest thou shalt have power.\" The angel did as he was told, and\nhe threw into the sea a pair of each created being. When the fox saw\nwhat he was doing, he began crying and weeping. The angel asked him,\n\"Why art thou weeping?\" The fox replied, \"I cry for my friend whom\nthou hast thrown into the sea.\" The angel asked him, \"Where is thy\nfriend?\" The fox then went and stood close to the edge of the water\nand the angel saw his shadow in the water, and he believed that he\nhad indeed thrown a pair of his friends into the sea, and he said to\nthe fox, \"Get thee hence.\" The fox ran quickly away and was thus saved.\n\nOn his way he met the weasel, and he told her all that had happened\nand what he had done. The weasel did likewise and escaped also from\nbeing thrown into the sea.\n\nAfter the lapse of one year since these things had happened, did\nLeviathan gather together before him all the creatures of the sea,\nand it was found that neither fox nor weasel was among them. So he\nsent for them, but he was told what the fox had done to escape from\nbeing thrown into the sea. Moreover, they told Leviathan that the\nfox was very cunning. When Leviathan heard of his great intelligence,\nhe became jealous of him. He sent large fishes to go and fetch him,\nby deceiving him and luring him away, and then to bring the fox to\nhim. They went and found him walking leisurely along the seashore. When\nthe fox saw the fishes approach and play about close to him, he\nentered into conversation with them. When they saw him, they asked him,\n\"Who art thou?\" He answered, \"I am the fox.\" They said to him, \"Dost\nthou not know that great honour is awaiting thee and it is for this\npurpose that we have come hither. He said, \"What is it?\" They replied,\n\"Leviathan is sick unto death, and has left the command that no one\nelse is to rule after him as king but the fox, for he is the most\ncunning of all the beasts. Thereafter, you now come with us, for we\nhave been sent to offer thee this honour.\" He said to them, \"How can\nI go into the sea and not be drowned?\" They replied, \"Ride on the back\nof one of us and we will carry thee safely over the waters of the sea,\nso that not even a drop of water shall touch the tip of thy nose until\nthou reachest the kingly palace. Then we will lower thee down into\nit and there thou wilt rule over all of us, and thou wilt rejoice all\nthe days of thy life, and thou wilt no longer have to search for food,\nand be exposed to be hunted by mighty beasts and to be eaten by them.\"\n\nWhen the fox heard these words, he believed them, and mounting on the\nback of a mighty fish started with them on a journey on the sea. When\nthe waves began to play round him he began to be anxious. His wit\nhad forsaken him. Then he recovered himself and said, \"Woe unto me,\nwhat have I done? The fishes have tricked me worse than I have ever\ntricked all the other beasts. Now that I have fallen into their hands\nhow can I escape?\"\n\nHe then said to them, \"I have come with you and I am now at your\nmercy. You may tell me what is it that you really want of me.\" They\nreplied, \"We will tell thee the truth. Leviathan had heard of thy\nreputation, that thou art very cunning, so he said to himself, I will\ncut his belly open and will eat his heart, and thus shall I become\nalso very wise.\"\n\nThe fox said to them, \"Why did you not tell me the truth, for I would\nthen have brought my heart with me. I would have given it to the\nking Leviathan and he would have shown me honour. You are now going\nto your own destruction.\" They said to him, \"Hast thou not thy heart\nwith thee?\" He replied, \"No, for such is our habit that we leave our\nheart behind and we walk about without it; whenever we want it we\nfetch it, and if there is no necessity for it we leave it where it\nis.\" So they said to him, \"What shall we do now?\"\n\nHe replied, \"My place and my dwelling is close to the seashore,\nif you are willing to do it, bring me back to the place whence you\nhave taken me. I will go and fetch my heart and return with you to\nLeviathan, who is sure to honour me greatly. If you, however, will\nbring me to him without my heart, he will be very angry with you and\neat you up. For I will tell him that you had not told me anything\nbefore you took me away, and that when I heard from you the reason\nof your errand, I told you to carry me back and that you refused to\ndo so.\" The fishes then said at once, \"Thou speakest well,\" and they\nreturned to the place at the seashore whence they had taken him. He\nwent down from the back of the fishes, and jumping and frolicking\nabout he rolled over and over in the sand. The fishes said to him,\n\"Haste thee, do not tarry, for we must depart quickly.\" He replied,\n\"Ye fools, get yourselves away. If I had not had my heart I could not\nhave gone with you into the sea. Is there any creature in existence\nmoving about and not having a heart within?\" They replied, \"Thou hast\nmocked at us.\" He replied, \"If I got the best of the angel of death,\nhow much more likely am I to get it of you?\" They returned full of\nshame to the Leviathan and told him all that had happened. He replied,\n\"He is truly cunning, and ye have proved to be fools. About such as\nyou it is said, 'The stupidity of the fools is the cause of their\ndeath,'\" and so he ate them up.\n\nThus it has remained that although there are creatures in the sea\ncorresponding to those on land, there are none like unto the fox and\nthe weasel.\n\n\n                                THE END.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] The Rumanian word used here is \"ariciu,\" literally hedgehog,\nbut no doubt the mole who burrows under the ground is meant. It is\nfor this reason that I have substituted mole for hedgehog. In the\nBulgarian legend it is the hedgehog, where probably the two animals\nare also confused with one another.\n\n[2] The Rumanian oven.\n\n[3] Sila Samodiva, one of the fairies of the Rumanian popular tales.\n\n[4] Probably a reminiscence of Ler, the old Slavonic God of Love.\n\n[5] The water of death means a water which, poured over a body which\nhas been cut in pieces, causes all these pieces to join together,\nand the wounds to heal. The water of life restores to life the bodies\nthus joined.\n\n[6] Christmas is here taken as a person.\n\n[7] The cows are often called by the names of the days on which they\nwere born. Of these Monday and Thursday seem to be the lucky ones.","title":"Rumanian Bird and Beast Stories Rendered into English","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":109223}