{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_71092/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_71092","id":"gutenberg_71092","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71092","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales","Romanies -- Folklore","Tales -- England"],"text":"GYPSY FOLK-TALES\n\n                                   BY\n                         FRANCIS HINDES GROOME\n\n                       AUTHOR OF \u2018IN GYPSY TENTS\u2019\n                         \u2018TWO SUFFOLK FRIENDS\u2019\n                           \u2018KRIEGSPIEL,\u2019 ETC.\n\n\n                                 LONDON\n                      HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED\n                      13 GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET\n\n                                  1899\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u2018PAZORRHUS\u2019\n\n\nI am no folklorist; I have merely dabbled in folklore as a branch of\nthe great Egyptian Question, which includes also intricate problems of\nphilology, ethnology, craniology, arch\u00e6ology, history, music, and what\nnot besides. But for twenty years I have been trying to interest\nfolklorists in Gypsy folk-tales. Vainly so far; and during those twenty\nyears there have died Dr. Paspati, Dr. Barbu Constantinescu, Dr. Franz\nvon Miklosich, Dr. Isidore Kopernicki, M. Paul Bataillard, and John\nRoberts, the Welsh-Gypsy harper: with them much has perished that\nfolklorists should not have willingly let go. Meanwhile, however, a\nR\u00f3mani Grimm has arisen in Mr. John Sampson, the librarian of\nUniversity College, Liverpool. With unparalleled generosity he has\nplaced his collections at my free disposal\u2014I trust I have not made too\nlavish use of them,\u2014and has read, moreover, every page of the proofs of\nthis volume, enriching it from the depths of his knowledge of \u2018matters\nof Egypt.\u2019 Another, a very old friend, to whom my debt is great, is the\nRev. Thomas Davidson, author of the admirable folklore articles in\nChamber\u2019s Encyclop\u00e6dia; he has lent me scores of scarce works from his\nunrivalled folklore library. Others to whom I owe acknowledgments are:\nMr. Tom Taylor, Mr. W. R. S. Ralston, Mr. W. A. Clouston, Dr. Hyde\nClarke, Professor Bensly (all five also dead), Mrs. Gomme, Mr. H.\nBrowne of Bucharest, Mr. Robert Burns, Lord Archibald Campbell, Mr.\nArchibald Constable, Mr. H. T. Crofton, Professor Dobsch\u00fctz of Jena,\nMr. Fitzedward Hall, Dean Kitchin, Mr. William Larminie, Mr. David\nMacRitchie, M. Omont of the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale, Dr. David Patrick,\nDr. Fearon Ranking, Mr. Rufus B. Richardson of Athens, Professor Sayce,\nand Dr. Rudolf von Sowa of Br\u00fcnn. And, finally, I would thank in\nadvance whoever may send me corrections, additions, or suggestions on\nthe subject of Gypsy folk-tales.\n\n\n    FRANCIS HINDES GROOME.\n\n                                               137 Warrender Park Road,\n                                               Edinburgh.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                                       TO\n\n                      MM. COSQUIN, CLODD, JACOBS, AND LANG\n\n                          AND THEIR FELLOW-FOLKLORISTS\n\n                                  THIS BOOK IS\n\n                             RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nDistribution of Gypsies.\n\nNo race is more widely scattered over the earth\u2019s surface than the\nGypsies; the very Jews are less ubiquitous. Go where one will in\nEurope, one comes upon Gypsies everywhere\u2014from Finland to Sicily, from\nthe shores of the Bosporus to the Atlantic seaboard. Something under a\nmillion is their probable number in Europe; of these Hungary claims\n275,000, Roumania 200,000, Servia 38,000, and Bulgaria 52,000. How many\nGypsies there are in Great Britain I have not the vaguest notion, for\nthere are no statistics of the slightest value to go by. [1] But I have\nnever lived for any length of time in any place\u2014and I have stayed in\nmost parts of both England and Scotland\u2014without lighting sooner or\nlater on nomadic or house-dwelling Gypsies. London and all round\nLondon, the whole Thames valley as high at least as Oxford, the Black\nCountry, Bristol, Manchester, Liverpool, and Yarmouth, it is here I\nshould chiefly look for settled Gypsies. Whilst from study of parish\nregisters, local histories, and suchlike, and from my own knowledge, I\ndoubt if there is the parish between Land\u2019s End and John o\u2019 Groats\nwhere Gypsies have not pitched their camp some time or other in the\ncourse of the last four centuries.\n\nAsia has untold thousands of these wanderers, in Anatolia, Syria,\nArmenia, Persia, Turkestan, and Siberia, perhaps also India and China;\nso, too, has Africa, in Egypt, Algeria, Darf\u00fbr, and Kordofan. We find\nthem in both the Americas, from Pictou in Canada to Rio in Brazil; nor\nare New Zealand and Australia without at least their isolated bands.\n\nTo-day at any rate the sedentary Gypsies must greatly outnumber the\nnomadic: in Hungary only 9000, or less than one-thirtieth of the entire\nnumber, are returned as \u2018constantly on the move.\u2019 Still the race has\nalways been largely a migratory race; its wide distribution is due to\nbygone migrations. Of these the most important known to us is that of\nthe first half of the fifteenth century, whose movements have been so\nlovingly and laboriously traced by the late M. Paul Bataillard in his\nDe l\u2019Apparition et de la Dispersion des Boh\u00e9miens en Europe (1844),\nNouvelles Recherches (1849), and \u2018Immigration of the Gypsies into\nWestern Europe in the Fifteenth Century\u2019 (Gypsy Lore Journal, April\n1889 to January 1890, 101 pages [2]).\n\n\n\nAppearance in West.\n\nLate in 1417 a band of \u2018Secani\u2019 or Tsigans, 300 in number, besides\nchildren and infants, arrived in Germany \u2018from Eastern parts\u2019 or \u2018from\nTartary.\u2019 Their presence is first recorded at L\u00fcneburg; and thence they\npassed on to Hamburg, L\u00fcbeck, Wismar, Rostock, Stralsund, and\nGreifswald. At their head rode a duke and a count, richly dressed, with\nsilver belts, and leading like nobles dogs of chase; next came a motley\ncrew afoot; and women and children brought up the rear in waggons. They\nbore letters of safe-conduct from princes, one of which from the\nEmperor Sigismund they had probably procured that same year at Lindau\non Lake Constance; and they gave out that they were on a seven years\u2019\npilgrimage, imposed by their own bishops as a penance for apostasy from\nthe Christian faith. They encamped in the fields by night outside the\ncity walls, and were great thieves, especially the women, \u2018wherefore\nseveral were taken and slain.\u2019 In 1418 they are heard of at Leipzig, at\nFrankfort-on-Main, and in Switzerland at Zurich, Basel, Berne, and\nSoleure: the contemporary Swiss chronicler, Conrad Justinger, speaks of\nthem as \u2018more than two hundred baptized Heathens from Egypt, pitiful,\nblack, miserable, and unbearable on account of their thefts, for they\nstole all they could.\u2019 At Augsburg they passed for exiles from \u2018Lesser\nEgypt\u2019; at Macon in August 1419 they practised palmistry and\nnecromancy; and at Sisteron in Provence as \u2018Saracens\u2019 they got large\nrations from the terrified townsfolk. In 1420 Lord Andreas, Duke of\nLittle Egypt, and a hundred men, women, and children, came to Deventer\nin the Low Countries; and the aldermen had to pay 19 florins 10 placks\nfor their bread, beer, herrings, and straw, as well as for cleaning out\nthe barn in which they lay. At Tournay in 1421 \u2018Sir Miquiel, Prince of\nLatinghem in Egypt,\u2019 received twelve gold pieces, with bread and a\nbarrel of beer.\n\n\n\nAt Bologna.\n\nNext the Chronica di Bologna tells how \u2018the 18th of July 1422 a duke of\nEgypt, Duke Andrew, arrived at Bologna, with women, children, and men\nfrom his own country. There might be a hundred. This duke having denied\nthe Christian faith, the King of Hungary [the Emperor Sigismund] had\ntaken possession of his lands and person. Then he told the King that he\nwished to return to Christianity, and he had been baptized with about\nfour thousand men; those who refused baptism were put to death. After\nthe King of Hungary had thus taken and rebaptized them, he commanded\nthem to travel about the world for seven years, to go to Rome to see\nthe pope, and then to return to their own country. When they arrived at\nBologna, they had been journeying for five years, and more than half of\nthem were dead. They had a mandate from the King of Hungary, the\nEmperor, permitting them during these seven years to thieve, wherever\nthey might go, without being amenable to justice.\n\n\u2018When they arrived at Bologna, they lodged themselves inside and\noutside the Gate of Galiera, and settled themselves under the\nporticoes, except the duke, who lodged at the King\u2019s Inn (Albergo del\nRe). They remained a fortnight at Bologna. During this time many people\nwent to see them, on account of the duke\u2019s wife, who, it was said,\ncould foretell what would happen to a person during his lifetime, as\nwell as what was interesting in the present, how many children would be\nborn, and other things. Concerning all which she told truly. And of\nthose who wished to have their fortunes told, few went to consult\nwithout getting their purse stolen, and the women had pieces of their\ndress cut off. The women of the band wandered about the town, seven or\neight together; they entered the houses of the inhabitants, and whilst\nthey were telling idle tales, some of them laid hold of what was within\ntheir reach. In the same way they visited the shops under the pretext\nof buying something, but really to steal. Many thefts were thus\ncommitted at Bologna. So it was cried through the town that no one\nshould go to see them under a penalty of fifty pounds and\nexcommunication, for they were the most cunning thieves in all the\nworld. It was even permitted those who had been robbed by them to rob\nthem in return to the amount of their losses. In consequence of which\nseveral of the inhabitants of Bologna slipped during the night into a\nstable where some of their horses were shut up, and stole the best of\nthem. The others, wishing to get back their horses, agreed to restore a\ngreat number of the stolen articles. But seeing that there was nothing\nmore to gain there, they left Bologna and went off towards Rome.\n\n\u2018Observe that they were the ugliest brood ever seen in this country.\nThey were lean and black, and they ate like swine. Their women went in\nsmocks, and wore a pilgrim\u2019s cloak across the shoulder, rings in their\nears, and a long veil on their head. One of them gave birth to a child\nin the market-place, and at the end of three days went on to rejoin her\npeople.\u2019\n\nOn 7th August the same band, now swelled to two hundred, arrived at\nForli, where, writes the city chronicler, \u2018some [3] said they were from\nIndia.\u2019 The Vatican archives may contain some record of the audience\ngranted to these strange penitents by Pope Martin v.; all that we know\nis that later in the same year the \u2018cunning and lazy strange people\ncalled Zigeiner,\u2019 led by Duke Michael, were back in Switzerland with\npapal as well as imperial safe-conducts. And next, after a gap of\nnearly five years, in the August of 1427 there appeared outside Paris,\nthen held by the English, a hundred men, women, and children, \u2018good\nChristians from Lower Egypt, who were headed by a duke, an earl, and\nten other horsemen. They told how the pope, after hearing their\nconfession, gave them as penance to wander seven years without sleeping\nin a bed, and letters enjoining every bishop and mitred abbot to make\nthem one payment of ten livres tournois.\u2019\n\n\n\nAt Paris.\n\nThe Bourgeois of Paris, whose Journal records this visit with a\nPepys-like fidelity, describes how multitudes \u2018came from Paris, from\nSainct Denis, and from the neighbourhood of Paris to see them. And it\nis true that the children, boys and girls, were as clever as could be.\nAnd most or nearly all had both ears pierced, and in each ear a silver\nring, or two in each, and they said it was a sign of nobility in their\nown country. Item, the men were very black, their hair was frizzled;\nthe women, the ugliest that could be seen, and the blackest. All had\ntheir faces covered with wounds (toutes avoient le visage deplai\u00e9),\nhair black as a horse\u2019s tail, for sole dress an old blanket, very\ncoarse, and fastened on the shoulder by a band of cloth or a cord, and\nunderneath a shift, for all covering. In short, they were the poorest\ncreatures ever seen in France in the memory of man. Yet, in spite of\ntheir poverty, there were witches among them who looked into people\u2019s\nhands, and told what had happened to them, or would happen, and sowed\ndiscord in several marriages by saying to the husband, \u201cYour wife has\nplayed you false,\u201d or to the wife, \u201cYour husband has played you false.\u201d\nAnd what was worse, whilst they were speaking to folks, by magic or\notherwise, or by the Enemy in Hell, or by dexterity and skill, it was\nsaid they emptied people\u2019s purses and transferred the coin to their\nown. But in truth I went there three or four times to speak with them,\nyet never perceived that I lost a penny, nor did I ever see them look\ninto a hand. But people said so everywhere, and it came to the ears of\nthe Bishop of Paris, who went there, and took with him a Minorite friar\ncalled Little Jacobin. And he, by command of the bishop, made a fine\npreaching, excommunicating all who had believed them and shown them\ntheir hands. And they were obliged to depart, and departed on the day\nof Our Lady of September, and went away towards Pontoise.\u2019\n\nThree weeks later, at Amiens, Thomas, Earl of Little Egypt, with forty\nfollowers, received pious alms from the mayor and aldermen after\nexhibition of the papal letters; and during the next seven years we\nfind similar scattered bands of Egyptians, Saracens from Egypt, or\nHeidens, at Tournai, Utrecht, Arnhem, Bommel, Middelburg, Metz, Leyden,\nFrankfort, etc. These, according to M. Bataillard, all belonged to the\noriginal band, some four hundred strong, which split up or reunited as\noccasion required, and which had probably started from the Balkan\npeninsula. The thirty tented Cingari or Cig\u00e4wn\u00e4r, who encamped near\nRatisbon in 1424 and 1426, seem on the other hand to have belonged to\nHungary. Their leader had also a safe-conduct granted him at Zips on\n23rd April 1423 by the Emperor Sigismund, and styling him \u2018our faithful\nLadislas, Woiwode of the Cigani\u2019; and they gave out quite a different\nreason for their exile, that it was \u2018in remembrance of the flight of\nour Lord into Egypt.\u2019 The four hundred would-be pioneers, then, sent\nforward to spy out the lands of promise on behalf of vast hordes\nbehind, who in 1438 began to pour over Germany, Italy, and France by\nthousands instead of by hundreds, and headed this time by King Zindl.\nSpain the Gypsies reached in 1447, Sweden by 1512, and Poland and\nRussia about 1501.\n\n\n\nIn England.\n\nThe earliest certain mention of their presence in England is this\nchance allusion in A Dyalog of Syr Thomas More, knyght (1529), bk. iii.\nch. xv. In 1514 the king sent the lords to inquire into the death of\nRichard Hunne in the Lollards\u2019 Tower, and a witness appeared who owned\nto having said \u2018that he knew one who could tell who killed Hunne.\n\u201cWell,\u201d quoth the Lords, \u201cat the last, yet with much work, we come to\nsomewhat. But whereby think you that he can tell?\u201d \u201cNay, forsooth, my\nLord,\u201d quoth he, \u201cit is a woman. I would she were here with your\nLordships now.\u201d \u201cWell,\u201d quoth my Lord, \u201cwoman or man is all one. She\nshall be had wheresoever she be.\u201d \u201cBy my faith, my Lord,\u201d quoth he,\n\u201can\u2019 she were with you, she could tell you wonders, by God. I have wist\nher tell many marvellous things ere now.\u201d \u201cWhy,\u201d quoth the Lords, \u201cwhat\nhave ye heard her tell?\u201d \u201cForsooth, my Lords,\u201d quoth he, \u201cif a thing\nhad been stolen, she would have told who had it. And therefore I think\nshe could as well tell who killed Hunne as who stole a horse.\u201d\n\u201cSurely,\u201d said the Lords, \u201cso think we all, I trow. But how could she\ntell it\u2014by the Devil?\u201d \u201cNay, by my troth, I trow,\u201d quoth he, \u201cfor I\ncould never see her use any worse way than looking into one\u2019s hand.\u201d\nTherewith the Lords laughed, and asked, \u201cWhat is she?\u201d \u201cForsooth, my\nLords,\u201d quoth he, \u201can Egypcyan, and she was lodged here at Lambeth, but\nshe is gone over sea now. Howbeit, I trow she be not in her own country\nyet, for they say it is a great way hence, and she went over little\nmore than a month ago.\u201d\u2019\n\nIt is quite Shakespearian, this scrap of dialogue; well, that is our\nearliest evidence for the presence of Gypsies in England. Eight years\nlater, in 1522, the churchwardens of Stratton in Cornwall received\ntwenty pence from the \u2018Egypcions\u2019 for the use of the church house; and\nsome time between 1513 and 1524 Thomas, Earl of Surrey, entertained\n\u2018Gypsions\u2019 at his Suffolk seat, Tendring Hall. For all which, and\neighty more similar notes of much interest, see Mr. H. T. Crofton\u2019s\n\u2018Early Annals of the Gypsies in England\u2019 (Gypsy Lore Journal, i. 5\u201324).\n\n\n\nIn Scotland.\n\nIn Scotland the accounts of the Lord High Treasurer yield this entry:\n\u20181505, April 22. Item to the Egyptianis be the Kingis command, vij\nlib.\u2019; and Gypsies probably were the overliers and masterful beggars\nwhom an Act of 1449 describes as going about the country with \u2018horses,\nhunds, and other goods.\u2019 In no other country were the Gypsies better\nreceived than in Scotland, where, on 3rd July 1505, James IV. gave\nAnthonius Gagino, Earl of Little Egypt, a letter of commendation to the\nKing of Denmark; where in 1530 the \u2018Egyptianis that dansit before the\nking in Halyrudhous\u2019 received forty shillings, and where that same\nking, James V., subscribed a writ (February 15, 1540) in favour of\n\u2018oure louit Johnne Faw, lord and erle of Litill Egipt,\u2019 to whose son\nand successor, Johnne Wanne, he granted authority to hang and punish\nall Egyptians within the realme (May 26, 1540). Exactly when cannot be\nfixed, but about or soon after 1559, Sir William Sinclair, the Lord\nJustice-General, \u2018delivered ane Egyptian from the gibbet in the Burrow\nMoore, ready to be strangled, returning from Edinburgh to Roslin, upon\nwhich accoumpt the whole body of gypsies were of old accustomed to\ngather in the stanks [marshes] of Roslin every year, where they acted\nseverall plays, dureing the moneth of May and June. There are two\ntowers,\u2019 adds Father Richard Augustine Hay in his Genealogie of the\nSainteclaires of Roslin (written 1700; ed. by Maidment, 1835, p. 136),\n\u2018which were allowed them for their residence, the one called Robin\nHood, the other Little John.\u2019 Roslin seems to have been a Patmos of the\nrace for upwards of fifty years, but in 1623\u201324 they were hunted out,\nand eight of their leaders hanged on the Burgh Muir. Six of those\nleaders were Faas; and eleven years before, on 21st August 1612, four\nother Egyptians of the same well-known surname had been put on trial as\nfar north as Scalloway in Shetland. These were \u2018Johne Fawe, elder,\ncallit mekill Johne Faw, Johne Faw, younger, calit Littill Johne Faw,\nKatherin Faw, spous to umquhill Murdo Broun, and Agnes Faw, sister to\nthe said Litill Johne.\u2019 They were indicted for the murder of the said\nMurdo Brown, and for theft, sorcery, and fortune-telling, \u2018and that\nthey can help or hinder in the proffeit of the milk of bestiale.\u2019 Three\nof them were acquitted; but Katherine, pleading guilty to having slain\nher husband with a \u2018lang braid knyff,\u2019 was sentenced to be \u2018tane to the\nBulwark and cassen over the same in the sey to be drownit to the death,\nand dome given thairupone.\u2019 For all which, and a multitude more of most\ncurious and recondite information, I refer my readers to Mr. David\nMacRitchie\u2019s Scottish Gypsies under the Stewarts (Edinb. 1894, 120\npages), which has done for our northern tribes what Mr. Crofton had\ndone for the southern. Its one omission is this, the earliest mention\nof Gypsies in the Highlands, contained in a news-letter from Dundee of\nJanuary 1, 1651:\u2014\u2018There are about an hundred people of severall\nnations, call\u2019d heere by the name of Egyptians, which doe att this day\nramble uppe and downe the North Highlands, the cheifest of which are\none Hause and Browne: they are of the same nature with the English\nGypsies, and doe after the same manner cheate and cosen the country\u2019\n(C. H. Firth\u2019s Scotland and the Commonwealth, Edinb., Scottish Hist.\nSociety, 1895, p. 29).\n\n\n\nIn North America.\n\nAs to America it was till recently supposed that there were not, had\nnever been, any Gypsies there. In \u2018The Fortune-teller,\u2019 a story\nreprinted in Chambers\u2019s Journal for November 25, 1843, from The Lady\u2019s\nBook, an American publication, a Mrs. Somers is made to exclaim, \u2018An\nEnglish gipsy! Alice, you must be deceived. There never has been a\ngipsy in America.\u2019 And, sure enough, the fortune-teller turns out to be\nno Gypsy. Nay, in a work so well-informed as Appleton\u2019s American\nCyclop\u00e6dia (1874), the writer of the article \u2018Gipsies\u2019 pronounces it\n\u2018questionable whether a band of genuine Gipsies has ever been in\nAmerica.\u2019 Yet in 1665 at Edinburgh the Privy Council gave warrant and\npower to George Hutcheson, merchant, and his co-partners to transport\nto Jamaica and Barbadoes Egyptians and other loose and dissolute\npersons; and on 1st January 1715 nine Border Gypsies, men and women, of\nthe names of Faa, Stirling, Yorstoun, Finnick (Fenwick), Lindsey, Ross,\nand Robertson, were transported by the magistrates of Glasgow to the\nVirginia plantations at a cost of thirteen pounds sterling (Gypsy Lore\nJournal, ii. 60\u201362). That is all, or practically all, we know of the\ncoming of the Gypsies to North America, where, at New York, there were\nhouse-dwelling Gypsies as far back as 1850, and where to-day there must\nbe hundreds or thousands of the race from England, Scotland, Hungary,\nSpain, one knows not whence else besides. Some day somebody will study\nthem and write about them; meanwhile we have merely stray jottings by\nSimson and Leland.\n\n\n\nIn South America.\n\nFor South America our information was, quite recently, even more\nmeagre. Twenty years ago I just knew from Henry Koster\u2019s Travels in\nBrazil (Lond. 1816, p. 399) of the presence of Ciganos there, whom he\ndescribed as \u2018a people of a brownish cast, with features which resemble\nthose of white persons, and tall and handsome. They wander from place\nto place in parties of men, women, and children, exchanging, buying,\nand selling horses, and gold and silver trinkets.... They are said to\nbe unmindful of all religious observances, and never to hear Mass or\nconfess their sins. It is likewise said that they never marry out of\ntheir own nation.\u2019 Since then, however, Mello Moraes has published Os\nCiganos no Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, 1886), which, besides a R\u00f3mani\nglossary, gives a good historical and statistical account of the\nBrazilian Gypsies. They seem to be the descendants of Ciganos\ntransported from Portugal towards the close of the seventeenth and the\nbeginning of the eighteenth century. Thus, by a decree of 27th August\n1685, the Gypsies were henceforth to be transported to Maranh\u00e3o,\ninstead of to Africa; and in 1718, by a decree of 11th April, the\nGypsies were banished from the kingdom to the city of Bahia, special\norders being given to the governor to be diligent in the prohibition of\nthe language and \u2018cant\u2019 (giria), not permitting them to teach it to\ntheir children, that so it might die out. It was about this time,\naccording to \u2018Sr. Pinto Noites, an estimable and venerable Gypsy of\neighty-nine years,\u2019 that his ancestors and kinsfolk arrived at Rio de\nJaneiro\u2014nine families transported hither by reason of a robbery imputed\nto the Gypsies. The heads of these nine families were Jo\u00e3o da Costa\nRamos, called Jo\u00e3o do Reino, with his son, Fernando da Costa Ramos, and\nhis wife, Dona Eugenia; Luis Rabello de Arag\u00e3o; one Ricardo Frago, who\nwent to Minas; Antonio La\u00e7o, with his wife, Jacintha La\u00e7o; the Count of\nCantanhede; Manoel Cabral and Antonio Curto, who settled in Bahia,\naccompanied by daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, and grandchildren, as\nwell as by wife and sons. They applied themselves to metallurgy\u2014were\ntinkers, farriers, braziers, and goldsmiths; the women told fortunes\nand gave charms to avert the evil eye. In the first half of the\nnineteenth century the Brazilian Gypsies seem to have been great\nslave-dealers, just as their brethren on this side of the Atlantic have\nalways been great dealers in horses and asses. We read on p. 40 of\n\u2018M..., afterwards Marquis of B..., belonging to the Bohemian race,\nwhose immense fortune proceeded from his acting as middleman in the\npurchase of slaves for Minas.\u2019 And there are several more indications,\nscattered through the book, that the Brazilian nation, from highest to\nlowest, must be strongly tinctured with R\u00f3mani blood. We know far too\nlittle about the Chingan\u00e9ros or Montan\u00e9ros, wandering minstrels of\nVenezuela, to identify them more or less vaguely with Gypsies (Gypsy\nLore Journal, i. 306, 373); and a like remark applies, even more\nstrongly, to the Lowbeys of Gambia, who have been described as the\n\u2018Gypsies of North-West Africa,\u2019 who never intermarry with another race,\nand who confine themselves almost exclusively to the making of the\nvarious wooden utensils in use by natives generally (ib. i. 54). Still,\nthese Lowbeys may be the descendants of Gypsies transported from\nPortugal, or of the Basque Gypsies, whole bands of whom so lately as\n1802 were caught by night as in a net, huddled on shipboard, and landed\non the coast of Africa (Michel\u2019s Pays Basque, p. 137).\n\n\n\nIn Australia.\n\nTo transportation Australia certainly owed its earliest Gypsies. In\n1880, a few months before his death, Tom Taylor wrote to me:\u2014\u2018The only\nGypsy I ever knew who had travelled among \u201cthe people\u201d was one Jones,\nwho used to drive a knife-grinding wheel at Cambridge. Having \u201cleft his\ncountry for his country\u2019s good\u201d in the old transportation days, he had\nmade his escape from Australia, and, the ship aboard which he had\nstowed himself putting into a Spanish port, had landed, met with some\nof the Zincali, and travelled with them for some time. He was looked on\nas a master of \u201cdeep Rommany\u201d among the Gypsies round Cambridge.\u2019 Mr.\nMacRitchie has a letter containing a longish list of wealthy Australian\nGypsies, whose grandsires were bitchad\u00e9 p\u00e1rdel (\u2018sent over\u2019); yet,\naccording to the Orange Guardian of May 1866:\u2014\u2018The first Gypsies seen\nin Australia passed through Orange the other day en route for Mudgee.\nAlthough they can scarcely be reckoned new arrivals, as they have been\nnearly two years in the colony, they bear about them all the marks of\nthe Gypsy. The women stick to the old dress, and are still as anxious\nas ever to tell fortunes; but they say that this game does not pay in\nAustralia, as the people are not so credulous here as they are at home.\nOld \u201cBrown Joe\u201d is a native of Northumberland, and has made a good deal\nof money even during his short sojourn here. They do not offer\nthemselves generally as fortune-tellers, but, if required and paid,\nthey will at once \u201cread your palm.\u201d At present they obtain a livelihood\nby tinkering and making sealing-wax. Their time during the last week\nhas been principally taken up in hunting out bees\u2019 nests, which are\nvery profitable, as they not only sell the honey, but, after purifying\nand refining the wax, manufacture it into beautiful toys, so rich in\ncolour and transparency that it would be almost impossible to guess the\nmaterial\u2019 (quoted in Notes and Queries, 28th July 1866, p. 65).\n\n\n\nTransportation.\n\nBanishment and transportation have been important factors in the\ndispersion of the Gypsies. They were banished from Germany in 1497,\nSpain in 1499, France in 1504, England in 1531, Denmark in 1536,\nMoravia in 1538, Scotland in 1541, Poland in 1557, Venetia in 1549,\n1558, and 1588, etc.; to such banishment is probably due the fact that\nin 1564 we find in the Netherlands a Gypsy woman, Katarine Mosroesse,\nwho had been born in Scotland. Besides the transportation, already\nnoticed, of Scottish Gypsies to Jamaica, Barbadoes, and Virginia, of\nPortuguese Gypsies to Africa and Brazil, of Basque Gypsies to Africa,\nand of English Gypsies to Botany Bay, we know that some time prior to\n1800 Gitanos were transported from Spain to Louisiana; whilst in 1544\nwe find one large band of Egyptians being sentenced at Huntingdon to be\ntaken to Calais, the nearest English port on the Continent, and another\nbeing shipped at Boston in Lincolnshire and landed somewhere in Norway.\n\n\n\nIn Crete.\n\nFrom the preceding it may be safely deduced that, with our present\nknowledge, or rather lack of knowledge, we can seldom, if ever, fix the\nprecise date when the Gypsies first set foot in any country. Till 1849\nit was almost universally accepted that 1417, the year of their\nappearance at the Hanse cities of the Baltic, was also the date of\ntheir first arrival in Europe. But since then Bataillard, Hopf, and\nMiklosich have collected a number of passages which prove incontestably\nthat long before then there must have been Gypsies in south-eastern\nEurope. Symon Simeonis, a Minorite friar, who made pilgrimage from\nIreland to the Holy Land, tells in his Itinerarium (Camb. 1778, p. 17),\nhow in 1322 near Candia in Crete: \u2018There also we saw a race outside the\ncity, following the Greeks\u2019 rite, and asserting themselves to be of the\nfamily of Chaym [Ham]. They rarely or never stop in one place beyond\nthirty days, but always wandering and fugitive, as though accursed by\nGod, after the thirtieth day remove from field to field with their\noblong tents, black and low, like the Arabs\u2019, and from cave to cave.\nFor after that period any place in which they have dwelt becomes full\nof worms and other nastinesses, with which it is impossible to dwell.\u2019\n[4]\n\n\n\nIn Corfu.\n\nThe Empress Catherine de Courtenay-Valois (1301\u201346), granted to the\nsuzerains of Corfu authority to receive as vassals certain \u2018homines\nvageniti,\u2019 coming from the Greek mainland, and using the Greek rite. By\nthe close of the fourteenth century these vageniti were all of them\nsubject to a single baron, Gianuli de Abitabulo, and formed the nucleus\nof a fief called the fief of Abitabulo or feudum Acinganorum, which\nlasted under various superiors until the abolition of feudal tenures in\nthe beginning of the present century. One of those superiors, about\n1540, was the learned Antonio Eparco, Melanchthon\u2019s correspondent;\nanother, the tyrannical Count Teodoro Michele, who died in 1787. This\nlittle Gypsy colony, numbering about a hundred adults, besides\nchildren, had a tax to pay twice a year to their superior, as also such\nfines as two gold pieces and a couple of fat hens for permission to\nmarry. They were mechanics, smiths, tinkers, and husbandmen; celebrated\na great yearly festival on the first of May; and were amenable only to\nthe jurisdiction of their lord. Carl Hopf, in Die Einwanderung der\nZigeuner in Europa (Gotha, 1870, pp. 17\u201323), tells us much about them,\ncollected from the papers of Count Teodoro Trivoli, who succeeded to\nthe property in 1863. Still we would fain know much more, especially\nsomething as to their language. One point to be noticed is that\nItalians must in Corfu have come early in contact with Gypsies, for the\nisland belonged to Venice from 1401 to 1797.\n\n\n\nIn the Peloponnesus.\n\nFrom a Venetian viceroy, moreover, Ottaviano Buono, the Acingani of\nNauplion in the Peloponnesus received about 1398 a confirmation of the\nprivileges granted them by his predecessors; and Hopf from two facts\ninfers that Gypsies must have been early settled in the peninsula\u2014one,\nthe frequency of ruins called Gyphtokastron (\u2018Gypsy fortress\u2019); the\nother, that in 1414 the Byzantine rhetorician Mazaris [5] reckoned\nEgyptians as one of the seven races dwelling there. Nauplion is on the\neast coast, Modone on the west; and at Modone the Cologne patrician,\nArnold von Harff, who went on pilgrimage 1496\u201399, found a whole suburb\nof \u2018poor naked people in little reed-thatched houses, well on to three\nhundred families, called Suyginer, the same as those whom we call\nHeiden (Heathen) from Egypt, and who wander about in our lands. Here\nthe race plies all sorts of handiwork\u2014shoemaking, cobbling, and also\nthe smith\u2019s craft, which is right curious to behold. The anvil stands\non the ground, the man sat in front of it, like a tailor with us; near\nhim sat his wife, also on the earth, and span. Between them was the\nfire. Near it were two little leather bags, like a bagpipe\u2019s, half in\nthe ground and pointing towards the fire. So the wife, as she sat and\nspan, sometimes lifted up one of the bags and then pressed it down\nagain; this sent wind through the earth to the fire, so that the man\ncould get on with his tinkering.\u2019 Harff then says that the race\noriginates from a country called Gyppe, some forty miles distant from\nModone. \u2018Sixty years ago\u2019 [i.e. about 1436] \u2018the Turkish emperor seized\nthis territory, whereupon some counts and lords, who would not submit\nto his authority, fled to Rome to our spiritual father, and demanded\nhis comfort and succour. So he gave them commendatory letters to the\nRoman emperor and to all princes of the empire, to render them conduct\nand assistance as exiles for the Christian faith. But though they\nshowed the letters to all princes, they found nowhere assistance. So\nthey died in wretchedness, but the letters passed to their servants and\nchildren, who still wander about in our lands, and call themselves from\nLittle Egypt. But that is a lie, for their parents came from the\nterritory of Gyppe, called also Suginia, which is not so far from our\ncity of Cologne as it is from Egypt. But these vagabonds are rascals\nand spy out the lands.\u2019 This passage, modernised from Harff\u2019s narrative\nby Hopf (pp. 14\u201317), is of high interest, though there was no Turkish\noccupation of the Morea about 1436, and though we know of no territory\nthere called Gyppe or Suginia.\n\n\n\nIn Roumania.\n\nIn 1387 Mircea I., woiwode of Wallachia, by a charter still preserved\nin the archives of Bucharest, renewed a grant made about 1370 by his\nuncle Vladislav to the monastery of St Anthony at Voditza of forty\nsalaschi (\u2018tents\u2019 or families) of Atsegane. Which shows that already\nthe Roumanian Gypsies were serfs; and serfs they continued till 1856.\nTo the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society (vol. i., Lond.,\n1857, pp. 37\u201341) Mr. Samuel Gardner, H.M. Consul at Jassy, contributed\nsome interesting \u2018Notes on the Condition of the Gypsy Population of\nMoldavia.\u2019 \u2018The Tzigans,\u2019 he says, \u2018are an intelligent and industrious\nrace, and in their general condition of pr\u00e6dial slavery (for few are in\nreality emancipated) are a reproach to the country and to the\nGovernment. Many of them are taught arts. They are the blacksmiths,\nlocksmiths, bricklayers, masons, farriers, musicians, and cooks\nespecially, of the whole country.... They dwell in winter in\nsubterranean excavations, the roof alone appearing above ground, and in\nsummer in brown serge tents of their own fabric.... The children, to\nthe age of ten or twelve, are in a complete state of nudity; but the\nmen and women, the latter offering frequently the most symmetrical form\nand feminine beauty, have a rude clothing. Their implements and\ncarriages, of a peculiar construction, display much ingenuity. They are\nin fact very able artisans and labourers, industrious and active, but\nare cruelly and barbarously treated. In the houses of their masters\nthey are employed in the lowest offices, live in the cellars, have the\nlash continually applied to them, and are still subjected to the iron\ncollar and a kind of spiked iron mask or helmet, which they are obliged\nto wear as a mark of punishment and degradation for every petty\noffence.\u2019 The Gypsies of Wallachia and Moldavia are referred to in\neleven original documents of the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth\ncenturies. Every one of these documents speaks of them as serfs, but we\nget never a hint of when they were first reduced to serfdom.\n\n\n\nThe Chaltsmide.\n\nIn a free metrical paraphrase of Genesis, made in German about or\nbefore the year 1122 by an Austrian monk, and cited by Freytag in\nBilder aus der deutschen Vergangenheit (1859, ii. 226), occurs this\npassage:\u2014\u2018So she [Hagar] had this child, they named him Ishmael. From\nhim are descended the Ishmaelitish folk. They journey far through the\nworld. We call them chaltsmide [mod. Ger. Kaltschmiede, \u2018workers in\ncold metal\u2019]. Out upon their life and their manners! For whatever they\nhave to sell is never without a defect; whenever he buys anything, good\nor bad, he always wants something in; he never abates on what he sells\nhimself. They have neither house nor country; every place is the same\nto them. They roam about the land, and abuse the people by their\nknaveries. It is thus they deceive folk, robbing no one openly.\u2019 That\nhere, by chaltsmide, Ishmaelites, and descendants of Hagar Gypsies were\nmeant, can scarcely admit of doubt. The smith\u2019s is still the Gypsies\u2019\nleading handicraft; Lusignan in 1573 says of the Gypsies of Cyprus, [6]\n\u2018Les Cinquanes sont peuple d\u2019Egypte dits autrement Agariens\u2019; Agareni\nis one of the numberless names applied to the Gypsies by Fritschius in\n1664; and in German and in Danish thieves\u2019 slang Geshmeilim and Smaelem\n(Ishmaelites) are terms for Gypsies at the present day. One fancies\nthat Austrian monk had somehow been \u2018done\u2019 by the Chaltsmide.\n\n\n\nAthingani.\n\nFrom whatever cause, it seems certain that a confusion did exist\nbetween the \u1f08\u03c4\u03c3\u03af\u03b3\u03ba\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, or Gypsies, and the \u1f08\u03b8\u03af\u03b3\u03b3\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, or heretics\nforming a branch of the Manich\u00e6an sect of the Paulicians, which renders\nit sometimes extremely difficult to determine whom the Byzantine\nhistorians are speaking of in seven passages collected by Dr. Franz von\nMiklosich in his great work, Ueber die Mundarten und die Wanderungen\nder Zigeuner Europa\u2019s (part vi., 1876, Vienna, pp. 57\u201364). It appears\nfrom these that the Athingani, described as magicians, soothsayers, and\nserpent-charmers, first emerge in Byzantine history under Nicephorus I.\n(802\u201311), were banished by Michael I. (811\u201313), and were restored to\nfavour by Michael II. (820\u201329). But Miklosich\u2019s grounds for absolutely\nidentifying them with Gypsies, and positively asserting the latter to\nhave appeared at Byzantium in 810 under Nicephorus, are hard to\nrecognise.\n\n\n\nAtsincan.\n\nFar less dubious seems an extract from the Georgian Life of Giorgi\nMtharsmindel of Mount Athos (St. Petersburg, 1846, p. 241), which was\ndemonstrably composed in the year 1100. We have two French translations\nof that extract\u2014one published by Otto Boehtlingk (Bulletin\nhistorico-philol. de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie de St. Petersbourg, ii. 1853, p. 4),\nand the other by Miklosich (loc. cit., part vi. p. 60). Both\ntranslations agree closely; I follow Miklosich\u2019s:\u2014\u2018Whilst the pious\nking, Bagrat IV. [c. 1048], was in the imperial city of Constantinople,\nhe learnt\u2014a thing marvellous and quite incredible\u2014that there were\ncertain descendants there of the Samaritan race of Simon Magus, called\nAtsincan, wizards and famous rogues. Now there were wild beasts that\nused to come and devour the animals kept, for the monarch\u2019s chase, in\nthe imperial park. The great emperor Monomachus, learning of this, bade\nsummon the Atsincan, to destroy by their magic art the beasts devouring\nhis game. They, in obedience to the imperial behest, killed a quantity\nof wild beasts. King Bagrat heard of it, and summoning the Atsincan,\nsaid, \u201cHow have you killed these beasts?\u201d \u201cSire,\u201d said they, \u201cour art\nteaches us to poison meat, which we put in a place frequented by these\nbeasts; then climbing a tree, we attract them by imitating the cry of\nthe animals; they assemble, eat the meat, and drop down dead. Only\nbeasts born on Holy Saturday obey us not. Instead of eating the\npoisoned meat, they say to us, \u2018Eat it yourselves\u2019; then off they go\nunharmed.\u201d The monarch, wishing to see it with his own eyes, bade them\nsummon a beast of this sort, but they could find nothing but a dog\nwhich they knew had not been born upon that day. The monk, who was\npresent with the king, was moved with the same natural sentiment as we\nhave spoken of above, on the subject of the icons and of the divine\nrepresentation. He was moved, not with pity only, but with the fear of\nGod, and would have no such doings among Christians, above all before\nthe king, in a place where he was himself. He made the sign of the\ncross on the poisoned meat, and the animal had no sooner swallowed it\nthan it brought it up, and so did not drop dead. The dog having taken\nno harm, the baffled wizards begged the king to have the monk, Giorgi,\ntaken into the inner apartments, and to order another dog to be\nbrought. The holy monk gone, they brought another dog, and gave him the\npoisoned meat: he fell dead instantly. At sight of this King Bagrat and\nhis lords rejoiced exceedingly, and told the marvel to the pious\nemperor, Constantine Monomachus [1042\u201354], who shared their\nsatisfaction and thanked God. As to King Bagrat, he said, \u201cWith this\nholy man near me, I fear neither wizards nor their deadly poisons.\u201d\u2019\nThat things fell out precisely as here reported is questionable, but\nGypsies are clearly meant by the Atsincan; the passage attests their\nexistence in Europe in the eleventh century. The poisoning of pigs\u2014for\nwhich compare Borrow\u2019s Romany Rye\u2014has become a lost Gypsy art. But\ntwenty-five years ago I knew English Gypsies who had a most unpleasant\nknowledge of whence to get natural arsenic. One of them dropped down\ndead, and the policeman who examined his body found a quantity of it in\nhis pocket. \u2018Oh! yes,\u2019 explained the survivors, \u2018he used it, you know,\nsir, in his tinkering.\u2019 [7]\n\n\n\nKomodromoi.\n\nWhat it was first directed my attention to the Komodromoi of Byzantine\nwriters I cannot be positive, but I am pretty sure it was something\nsomewhere in Pott. Not in any of the 1034 pages of his Zigeuner in\nEuropa und Asien (2 vols., Halle, 1844\u201345), for I have once more gone\nthrough that stupendous work, but perhaps in a letter, perhaps in a\nconversation, or perhaps in one of his contributions to the Zeitschrift\nder Deutschen Morgenl\u00e4ndischen Gesellschaft. Anyhow, I am sure no work\nhitherto on the Gypsies has cited this extract from Du Cange\u2019s\nGlossarium ad Scriptores Medi\u00e6 et Infim\u00e6 Gr\u00e6citatis (Paris, 1688):\u2014\n\n\n    \u2018\u03ba\u03c9\u03bc\u03bf\u03b4\u03c1\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9, interdum \u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03bf\u03b4\u03c1\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9, Circulatores, atque ade\u00f2 Fabri\n    \u00e6rarij qui per pagos cursitant: ut hodie passim apud nos, quos\n    Chaudroniers dicimus. Lexicon MS. ad Schedographiam:\n\n        \u0392\u03b1\u03b2\u03b1\u1f76, \u03b8\u03b1\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03bd \u1f10\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9, \u0392\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03c5\u03c3\u03bf\u03c2, \u1f41 \u03c7\u03b1\u03bb\u03ba\u03b5\u03cd\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b5,\n        \u039a\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c7\u03c1\u03c5\u03c3\u03bf\u03c7\u03cc\u03bf\u03c2, \u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9, \u1f00\u03bb\u03bb\u1f70 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03ba\u03c9\u03bc\u03bf\u03b4\u03c1\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2.\n\n    Gloss\u00e6 Gr\u00e6cobarb. \u1f08\u03ba\u03bc\u1f7c\u03bd, \u03c3\u03af\u03b4\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd \u1f10\u03c6\u2019 \u1fa7 \u03c7\u03b1\u03bb\u03ba\u03b5\u1f7a\u03c2 \u03c7\u03b1\u03bb\u03ba\u03b5\u03cd\u03b5\u03b9, \u1f24\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\n    \u1f00\u03ba\u03bc\u03cc\u03bd\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41\u03c0\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03bf\u03b4\u03c1\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03cd\u03b5\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03bf\u03b4\u03c1\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2. Alibi, \u1f08\u03ba\u03c1\u03bf\u03c6\u03cd\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1, \u03c4\u1f70 \u1f04\u03ba\u03c1\u03b1\n    \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f00\u03c3\u03ba\u1ff6\u03bd, \u1f10\u03bd \u03bf\u1f37\u03c2 \u03bf\u1f30 \u03c7\u03b1\u03bb\u03ba\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f78 \u03c0\u1fe6\u03c1 \u1f10\u03ba\u03c6\u03c5\u03c3\u1ff6\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 \u03b1\u1f31 \u1f04\u03ba\u03c1\u03b1\u03b9, \u1f24\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd \u1f21\n    \u1f04\u03ba\u03c1\u03b5\u03c2 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f00\u03c3\u03ba\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f24 \u1f00\u03c3\u03ba\u03b9\u1ff6\u03bd, \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u2019 \u03b1\u1f37\u03c2 \u1f41\u03c0\u03bf\u03af\u03b1\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c6\u03c5\u03c3\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03bf\u1f31 \u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03bf\u03b4\u03c1\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\n    \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03c6\u03c9\u03c4\u03af\u03b1\u03bd. Theophanes, an. 17 Justiniani: \u03c4\u1f76\u03c2 \u1f10\u03ba \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f38\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u1ff6\u03bd \u03c7\u1ff6\u03c1\u03b1\u03c2\n    \u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03bf\u03b4\u03c1\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2,\u2014\u1f14\u03c7\u03c9\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u2019 \u1f11\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u0342\u03c5 \u03ba\u03cd\u03bd\u03b1 \u03be\u03b1\u03bd\u03b8\u1f78\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u03c5\u03c6\u03bb\u1f78\u03bd, etc.\n    Constantinus de Adm. Imp. c. 50, p. 182, \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f00\u03c0\u1f78 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03b8\u03ad\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd\n    \u1f08\u03c1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1\u03ba\u1ff6\u03bd \u03b5\u1f30\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f78 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03a7\u03b1\u03c1\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03b8\u03ad\u03bc\u03b1 \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03ad\u03b8\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03b1\u1fe6\u03c4\u03b1 \u03c4\u1f70 \u03b2\u03ac\u03bd\u03b4\u03b1, \u1f24\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\n    \u1f21 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03bf\u03b4\u03c1\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03b5\u03c3\u03af\u03b1 \u03a4\u03b1\u03b2\u03af\u03b1\u03c2, \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03b5\u1f30\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03cd\u03c1\u03bc\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\n    \u03a7\u03b1\u03c1\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03b5\u1f30\u03c1\u03b7\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03b5\u03c4\u03ad\u03b8\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd. Anonymus de Passione Domini:\n    \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f45\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c6\u03b8\u03ac\u03c3\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u1f30\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u03c4\u03cc\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f10\u03bb\u03b8\u1f7c\u03bd \u1f41 \u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03bf\u03b4\u03c1\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f00\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c1\u03ce\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\n    \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1f78\u03bd, etc. Occurrit pr\u00e6terea in Annalib. Glyc\u00e6.\u2019\n\n\nDictionaries are not as a rule lively reading; but every line almost in\nthis extract has its interest. Komodromos, \u2018village-roamer,\u2019 is\ncertainly a vague term, but no vaguer than landlooper, which does in\nDutch stand for \u2018Gypsy,\u2019 as landlouper does for \u2018vagrant\u2019 in Lowland\nScotch. Du Cange\u2019s own definition of komodromoi as roamers\n(circulatores) and coppersmiths who rove about the country, like those\nin our midst whom we call Chaudronniers, must have been meant by him to\napply to Gypsies, and to Gypsies only. The modern Roumanian and\nHungarian Gypsies are divided into certain classes\u2014Caldarari\n(chaudronniers or caldron-smiths), Aurari (gold-workers), etc.; and\nBataillard\u2019s note prefixed to most of his monographs runs\u2014\u2018L\u2019auteur\nrecevrait avec reconnaissance toute communication relative aux\nBoh\u00e9miens hongrois voyageant hors de leur pays (vrais nomades pourvus\nde tentes et de chariots, la plupart chaudronniers).\u2019 Next, the six\npassages quoted by Du Cange show that the komodromos was variously or\nconjointly a coppersmith (chalkeus) and a gold-worker (chrysochoos,\ndefined by Du Cange as \u2018aurifer, aurarius\u2019). The Gypsy Aurari have\npractised gold-washing in Wallachia and Transylvania from time\nimmemorial (Grellmann, Die Zigeuner, 2nd ed. 1787, pp. 105\u2013112); but we\nhave also many indications of the Gypsies as actual goldsmiths. Captain\nNewbold says that the Persian Gypsies \u2018sometimes practise the art of\nthe gold and silver smith, and are known to be forgers of the current\ncoin of Persia. These are the zergars (lit. \u201cworkers in gold\u201d) of the\ntribe\u2019 (Jour. Roy. Asiatic Soc., vol. xvi. 1856, p. 310). The Egyptian\nGypsies, he tells us, at Cairo \u2018carry on the business of tinkers and\nblacksmiths, and vend ear-rings, amulets, bracelets, and instruments of\niron and brass\u2019 (ib. p. 292). The Gypsy bronze and brass founders of\nWestern Galicia and the Bukowina\u2014the only Gypsy metallurgists of whom,\nthanks to Kopernicki, we possess really full information\u2014are called\nZlotars and Dzvonkars, Ruthenian words meaning \u2018goldsmiths\u2019 and\n\u2018bell-makers.\u2019 They are no longer workers in gold, but they do make\nrings, crosses, clasps, ear-rings, etc., of brass and German silver\n(Bataillard, Les Zlotars, 1878, 70 pages). Henri van Elven, in \u2018The\nGypsies in Belgium\u2019 (Gypsy Lore Journal, ii. 139), says: \u2018The women\nwear bracelets and large earrings of gold, copper, or bronze, seldom of\nsilver; while all the Gypsies wear earrings [cf. supra, p. xii.]. It\nappears to me that the Gypsy jewels and the metal-work of their pipes\nhave not yet been sufficiently studied. In the fabrication of these\nobjects they must have preserved something typical and antique, which\nwould contribute to the comparative study of their ancient industries.\nI remember seeing some rings, cast in bronze, of which the setting was\nornamented with a double or a single cross, and whose ornamentation\nrecalled the motifs of the Middle Ages, the style being evidently\nOriental. Their walking-sticks are topped with copper or bronze\nhatchets, but more frequently with round knobs, which are hollow, and\nwhich hold their money, the lid being screwed off and on. These Gypsies\nwere tin-workers, repairing metal utensils, and also basket-makers.\u2019\nThe Gypsies, says Dr. R. W. Felkin, \u2018appear to be on friendly terms\nwith the natives of the country, and curiously enough they are said to\nhave introduced the art of filigree work and gold-beating into Darf\u00fbr\u2019\n(\u2018Central African Gypsies,\u2019 Gypsy Lore Journal, i. 221). Even the\nBrazilian Gypsies of 1816, as we have seen from Koster\u2019s Travels, sold\ngold and silver trinkets.\n\nThe reference to the anvil and to the bellows of skins with which the\nkomodromoi blew up their furnace recalls the passage cited from Arnold\nvon Harff on p. xx., where, about 1497, he described the anvil and the\nbellows of the Modone Gypsies. Gypsy bellows are figured in\nBataillard\u2019s Les Zlotars, in Van Elven\u2019s article, and in Die Metalle\nbei den Naturv\u00f6lkern of Richard Andree (Leip. 1884, p. 83). Arthur J.\nPatterson in The Magyars: their Country and Institutions (1869, ii.\n198) writes: \u2018A curious consequence of their practising the art of the\nsmith is that a Gypsy boy is in Hungary called purde, which is\ngenerally supposed to be the equivalent in the Gypsy language for\n\u201cboy.\u201d It is really the imperative mood of the verb \u201cto blow,\u201d for,\nwhile the Gypsy father is handling the hammer and the tongs, he makes\nhis son manage the bellows.\u2019 Small points enough these, but they must\nbe viewed in relation to the metallurgical monopoly still largely\nenjoyed by the Gypsies in south-east Europe and in Asia Minor. So\nexclusively was the smith\u2019s a Gypsy (and therefore a degrading) craft\nin Montenegro that, when in 1872 the Government established an arsenal\nat Rieka, no natives could be found to fill its well-paid posts. And in\na very long letter of 21st January 1880, the late Mr. Hyde Clarke wrote\nto me that \u2018over more than one sanj\u00e1k of the Aidin viceroyalty the\nGypsies have still a like monopoly of iron-working; the naalband, or\nshoeing-smith, being no smith in our sense at all. He is supplied with\nshoes of various sizes by the Gypsies, and only hammers them on.\u2019 It is\nmost unlikely that, if recent comers to the Levant, the Gypsies should\nhave acquired such a monopoly; it is obvious that, if they possessed\nthat monopoly a thousand years ago, these komodromoi must have been\nGypsies.\n\nFor Du Cange\u2019s first three quotations I can assign no dates, but\nTheophanes Isaurus was born in 758 and died in 818; the seventeenth\nyear of Justinian would be 544 A.D.\u2014a very early date at which to find\na Gypsy from Italy, \u2018having with him a blind yellow dog.\u2019 The dates of\nthe Emperor Constantinus Porphyrogenitus are 905\u2013959; I own I can make\nlittle of this passage from his Liber de administrando Imperio, but\nthema, bandon, topoteresia, and tourma seem all to be words for\nadministrative divisions.\n\n\n\nNails of Crucifixion.\n\nDu Cange\u2019s last passage is by far the most interesting:\u2014\u2018Anonymus de\nPassione Domini: \u201cAnd when they arrive at the place, the komodromos\ncoming to crucify him,\u201d etc.\u2019 \u2018Why so interesting? there does not seem\nmuch in that,\u2019 my readers may exclaim. Why? because there is a\nwidely-spread superstition that a Gypsy forged the nails for the\ncrucifixion, and that henceforth his race has been accursed of heaven.\nThat superstition was first recorded in an article by Dr. B. Bogisic on\n\u2018Die slavisirten Zigeuner in Montenegro\u2019 (Das Ausland, 25th May 1874);\nand in Le Folklore de Lesbos, by G. Georgeakis and L\u00e9on Pineau (Paris,\n1891, pp. 273\u20138), is this \u2018Chant du Vendredi Saint,\u2019 this plaint of Our\nLady:\u2014\n\n\n   \u2018Our Lady was in a grotto\n    And made her prayer.\n    She hears rolling of thunder,\n    She sees lightnings,\n    She hears a great noise.\n    She goes to the window:\n    She sees the heaven all black\n    And the stars veiled:\n    The bright moon was bathed in blood.\n    She looks to right, she looks to left:\n    She perceives St. John;\n    She sees John coming\n    In tears and dejection:\n    He holds a handkerchief spotted with blood.\n   \u201cGood-day, John. Wherefore\n    These tears and this dejection?\n    Has thy Master beaten thee,\n    Or hast thou lost the Psalter?\u201d\n    \u201cThe Master has not beaten me,\n    And I have not lost the Psalter.\n    I have no mouth to tell it thee,\n    Nor tongue to speak to thee:\n    And thine heart will be unable to hear me.\n    These miserable Jews have arrested my Master,\n    They have arrested him like a thief,\n    And they are leading him away like a murderer.\u201d\n    Our Lady, when she heard it,\n    Fell and swooned.\n    They sprinkle her from a pitcher of water,\n    From three bottles of musk,\n    And from four bottles of rose-water,\n    Until she comes to herself.\n    When she was come to herself, she says,\n   \u201cAll you who love Christ and adore him,\n    Come with me to find him,\n    Before they kill him,\n    And before they nail him,\n    And before they put him to death.\n    Let Martha, Magdalene, and Mary come,\n    And the mother of the Forerunner.\u201d\n    These words were still on her lips,\n    Lo! five thousand marching in front,\n    And four thousand following after.\n    They take the road, the path of the Jews.\n    No one went near the Jews except the unhappy mother.\n    The path led them in front of the door of a nail-maker.\n    She finds the nail-maker with his children,\n    The nail-maker with his wife.\n   \u201cGood-day, workman, what art making there?\u201d\n   \u201cThe Jews have ordered nails of me;\n    They have ordered four of me;\n    But I, I am making them five.\u201d\n   \u201cTell me, tell me, workman,\n    What they will do with them.\u201d\n   \u201cThey will put two nails in his feet,\n    Two others in his hands;\n    And the other, the sharpest,\n    Will pierce his lung.\u201d\n    Our Lady, when she heard it,\n    Fell and swooned.\n    They sprinkle her from a pitcher of water\n    From three bottles of musk,\n    And from four bottles of rose;\n    Until she comes to herself.\n    When she had come to herself she says:\n   \u201cBe accursed, O Tziganes!\n    May there never be a cinder in your forges,\n    May there never be bread on your bread-pans,\n    Nor buttons to your shirts!\u201d\n    They take the road,\u2019 etc.\n\n\nAnd M. Georgeakis adds in a footnote, \u2018The Tziganes whom one sees in\nthe island of Mitylene are all smiths.\u2019 It is a far cry from the Greek\nArchipelago to the Highlands of Scotland, but in the Gypsy Lore Journal\n(iii. 1892, p. 190), is this brief unsigned note: \u2018I should be pleased\nto know if you have the tradition in the South [of Scotland], that the\ntinkers are descendants of the one who made the nails for the Cross,\nand are condemned to wander continually without rest.\u2019 No answer\nappeared; and I know of no other hint of the currency of this belief in\nWestern Europe, unless it be the couplet:\u2014\n\n\n   \u2018A whistling maid and a crowing hen\n    Are hateful alike to God and men,\u2019\n\n\n\u2018because,\u2019 according to Lieut.-Col. A. Fergusson (Notes and Queries,\nAugust 1879, p. 93), though he gives no authorities, \u2018a woman stood by\nand whistled while she watched the nails for the Cross being forged.\u2019\n[8]\n\nOn the other hand, the Gypsies of Alsace have a legend of their own,\nopposed to, and probably devised expressly to refute, the ga\u00fajo or\nGentile version. How there were two Jew brothers, Schmul and\nRom-Schmul. The first of them exulted at the Crucifixion; the other\nwould gladly have saved Our Lord from death, and, finding that\nimpossible, did what he could\u2014pilfered one of the four nails. So it\ncame about that Christ\u2019s feet must be placed one over the other, and\nfastened with a single nail. And Schmul remained a Jew, but Rom-Schmul\nturned Christian, and was the founder of the R\u00f3mani race (\u2018Die Zigeuner\nin Elsass und in Deutschlothringen,\u2019 by Dr. G. M\u00fchl, in Der Salon,\n1874). In a letter of 16th December 1880, M. Bataillard wrote: \u2018An\nAlsatian Gypsy woman, one of the Reinhart family, has been at me for\nsome time past to procure a remission of sentence for one of her\nrelations who has been in gaol since 2d October. \u201cThe Manousch\u201d\n[Gypsies], she urges, \u201care not bad; they do not murder.\u201d And on my\nanswering with a smile that unluckily they are only too prone to take\nwhat doesn\u2019t belong to them, and that the judges, knowing this, are\nextra severe towards them, her answer is, \u201cIt is true, it\u2019s in the\nblood. Besides, you surely know, you who know all about the Manousch,\nthey have leave to steal once in seven years.\u201d \u201cHow so?\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s a story\nyou surely must know. They were just going to crucify Jesus. One of our\nwomen passed by, and she whipped up one of the nails they were going to\nuse. She would have liked to steal all four nails, but couldn\u2019t.\nAnyhow, it was always one, and that\u2019s why Jesus was crucified with only\nthree nails, a single one for the two feet. And that\u2019s why Jesus gave\nthe Manousch leave to steal once every seven years.\u201d\u2019 [9] The\nLithuanian Gypsies say, likewise, that \u2018stealing has been permitted in\ntheir favour by the crucified Jesus, because the Gypsies, being present\nat the Crucifixion, stole one of the four nails. Hence when the hands\nhad been nailed, there was but one nail left for the feet; and\ntherefore God allowed them to steal, and it is not accounted a sin to\nthem.\u2019 (\u2018The Lithuanian Gypsies and their Language,\u2019 by Mieczyslaw\nDowojno-Sylwestrowicz, in Gypsy Lore Journal, i. 1889, p. 253.)\n\nThis Gypsy counter-legend offers a possible explanation of the\nhitherto-unexplained transition from four nails to three in crucifixes\nduring the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The change must at first\nhave been hardly less startling than a crucifix now would be in which\nboth hands should be pierced with one nail. Dr. R. Morris discusses it\nin his Introduction to Legends of the Holy Rood (Early Eng. Text Soc.,\n1871). There it appears that while St. Gregory Nazianzen, Nonnus, and\nthe author of the Ancren Riwle speak of three nails only, SS. Cyprian,\nAugustine, and Gregory of Tours, Pope Innocent III., Rufinus,\nTheodoret, and \u00c6lfric speak of four; and that the earliest known\ncrucifix with three nails only is a copper one, of probably Byzantine\nworkmanship, dating from the end of the twelfth century. Now, if the\nByzantine Gypsies possessed at that date a metallurgical monopoly, this\ncrucifix must of course have been fashioned by Gypsy hands, when the\nthree nails would be an easily intelligible protest against the calumny\nthat those nails were forged by the founder of the Gypsy race.\n\nI give the suggestion just for what it is worth; but the occurrence of\nthe legend and the counter-legend in regions so far apart as Lesbos and\nScotland, Alsace and Lithuania, strongly argues their antiquity, and\ncorroborates the idea that the komodromos was a Gypsy who figures in\n\u2018Anonymus de Passione Domini.\u2019 One would like to know the date of that\nGreek manuscript; but Professor R. Bensly, in a long letter of 28th May\n1879, could only conjecturally identify it with \u2018S. Joannis Theologi\nCommentarius Apocryphus MS. de J. C.\u2019 (? No. 929 or 1001, Colbert Coll.\nParis Cat. MSS. [10]). Probably there are many allusions to komodromoi\nin Byzantine writers, if one had leisure and scholarship to hunt them\nup; certainly it is strange that of Du Cange\u2019s six quotations for\nkomodromoi four should seem unmistakably to point to Gypsies. I myself\nhave little doubt of their identity. From which it would follow that\nmore than a thousand years ago south-eastern Europe had its Gypsies,\nand that not as new-comers, but as recognised strollers, like the\nBoswells and Stanleys of our old grassy lanes. The verb k\u014dmodromein\noccurs in Pollux Arch\u00e6ologus (flo. 183 A.D.); and the classic authors\npresent many hints of the possible presence of Gypsies in their midst.\nR\u00f3mani Chals, or Gypsies, would often fit admirably for Chald\u00e6i; and\nthe fact that the water-wagtail is the \u2018Gypsy bird\u2019 of both German and\nEnglish Gypsies reminds one that the Greeks had a saying, as old at\nleast as the fifth century B.C., \u2018Poorer than a kinklos\u2019 (\u03ba\u03af\u03b3\u03ba\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 =\nwater-wagtail), and that peasants in the third century A.D. called\nhomeless wanderers kinkloi. One need not, with Erasmus and Pierius,\nderive Cingarus (Zingaro, Tchinghian\u00e9, Zigeuner, etc.) from kinklos;\nthe words in all likelihood were as distinct originally as Gypsies\n(Egyptians) and vipseys or gipseys (eruptions of water in the East\nRiding of Yorkshire; cf. William of Newburgh\u2019s twelfth century\nChronicle). But the Gypsies may have been led, by the resemblance of\nits name to theirs, to adopt the water-wagtail as their bird; and\nTheognis and Menander may have applied to the water-wagtail the\nepithets \u2018much-wandering\u2019 and \u2018poor,\u2019 because the bird was associated\nin their minds with some poor wandering race.\n\nI do not build on this guesswork, as neither even on the ingenious\ntheories of M. Bataillard, according to which prehistoric Europe gained\nfrom the Gypsies its knowledge of metallurgy, and which may be studied\nin his L\u2019Anciennet\u00e9 des Tsiganes (1877) and other monographs, or in my\nsummaries of them in the articles \u2018Gipsies\u2019 (Encycl. Britannica, vol.\nx. 1879, p. 618), and \u2018Gypsies\u2019 (Chambers\u2019s Encycl., vol. v. 1890, p.\n487). All that I hold for certain is our absolute uncertainty at\npresent whether Gypsies first set foot in Europe a thousand years after\nor a thousand years before the Christian era. We have no certitude even\nfor western Europe. In 1866 a large band of English ball-giving Gypsies\npaid a visit to Edinburgh; Scottish newspapers of that date wrote as\nthough Gypsies had never till then been seen to the north of the\nBorder. That was ridiculous: a similar mistake may have been made by\nthe German, Swiss, Italian, and French chroniclers of 1417\u201334. As it\nis, M. Bataillard has established the presence, before 1400, of\n\u2018foreigners called Bemische\u2019 in the bishopric of W\u00fcrzburg, who may have\nbeen Gypsies, as almost indubitably were certain Bemische at\nFrankfort-on-Main in 1495 (Gypsy Lore Journal, i. 207\u201310). [11] Then \u2018A\nCharter of Edward III. confirming the Privileges of St. Giles\u2019 Fair,\nWinchester, A.D. 1349\u2019 (ed. by Dean Kitchin, 1886), contains this\npassage:\u2014\u2018And the Justiciaries and the Treasurer of the Bishop of\nWolvesey for the time being, and the Clerk of the Pleas, shall yearly\nreceive four basons and ewers, by way of fee (as they have received\nthem of old time) from those traders from foreign parts, called\nDynamitters, who sell brazen vessels in the fair.\u2019 On which passage\nDean Kitchin has this note: \u2018These foreigners were sellers, we are\ntold, of brazen vessels of all kinds. The word may be connected with\nDinant near Namur, where there was a great manufacture of Dinanderie,\ni.e. metal-work (chiefly in copper). A friend suggests Dinant-batteurs\nas the origin. Batteur was the proper title of these workers in metal.\nSee Commines, II. i., \u201cune marchandise de ces \u0153uvres de cuivre, qu\u2019on\nappelle Dinanderie, qui sont en effet pots et pesles.\u201d\u2019\n\n\n\nGypsy Language.\n\nIt is a relief to turn from the thousand and one appellations under\nwhich Gypsies have been known at different times and in different\ncountries, to the sure and unerring light that their language throws on\ntheir history. Though never a chronicler or traveller had written, we\nyet could feel confident from R\u00f3mani that the forefathers of our\nEnglish Gypsies must for a long period have sojourned in a\nGreek-speaking country. Among the Greek loan-words in the Anglo-R\u00f3mani\ndialect are drom, road, (\u03b4\u03c1\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2), ch\u00edrus, time (\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2), \u00e9fta, seven\n(\u1f11\u03c0\u03c4\u03ac), \u00e9nnea, nine (\u1f10\u03bd\u03bd\u03ad\u03b1), f\u00f3ros, market-town (\u03c6\u03cc\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2), f\u00edlisin,\nmansion (\u03c6\u03c5\u03bb\u03b1\u03ba\u03c4\u03ae\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd), kek\u00e1vi, kettle (\u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u03ba\u03ac\u03b2\u03b7), k\u00f3kalo, bone\n(\u03ba\u03cc\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd), k\u00f3li, anger (\u03c7\u03bf\u03bb\u03ae), k\u00fariki, Sunday (\u03ba\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03ba\u03ae), mis\u00e1li, table\n(\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c3\u03ac\u03bb\u03b9), \u00f3chto, eight (\u1f40\u03ba\u03c4\u03ce), p\u00e1pin, goose (\u03c0\u03ac\u03c0\u03c0\u03b9\u03b1), p\u00e1pus,\ngrandfather (\u03c0\u03ac\u03c0\u03c0\u03bf\u03c2), s\u00e1pin, soap (\u03c3\u03b1\u03c0\u03bf\u1fe6\u03bd\u03b9), sh\u00e1mba, frog (\u03b6\u03ac\u03bc\u03c0\u03b1),\ns\u00edma, to pawn (\u03c3\u03b7\u03bc\u03ac\u03b4\u03b9), sk\u00e1min, chair (\u03c3\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03bd\u03af), soliv\u00e1ris, reins\n(\u03c3\u03bf\u03bb\u03b9\u03b2\u03ac\u03c1\u03b9), st\u00e1di, hat (\u03c3\u03ba\u03b9\u03ac\u03b4\u03b9), wag\u00f3ra, fair (\u1f00\u03b3\u03bf\u03c1\u03ac), w\u00e1lin, bottle\n(\u1f51\u03b1\u03bb\u03af), and z\u00edmin, soup (\u03b6\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03af). The total number of Greek loan-words\nin the different Gypsy dialects may be about one hundred; and the same\nloan-words occur in dialects as widely separate as those of Roumania,\nHungary, Bohemia, Poland, Lithuania, Russia, Scandinavia, Germany,\nItaly, the Basque Country, Spain, and Brazil. This is important as\nindicating that the modern Gypsies of Europe are descended not from\nsuccessive waves of Oriental immigration, but all from the self-same\nEuropean-Gypsy stock, whenever that stock may have first been\ntransplanted to Europe. It conclusively negatives the Kounavine theory\nthat the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Basque, and French Gypsies\narrived at their present habitats by way of Africa, and the\nScandinavian Gypsies by way of the Ural Mountains. [12]\n\nSlavonic loan-words come next to the Greek: English R\u00f3mani has some\nthirty of the former, against fifty of the latter. There are also a few\nwords of Persian, Armenian, Roumanian, Magyar, and German origin; but\nthe question of the presence or the absence of Arabic words in European\nR\u00f3mani is hardly yet determined. According to Professor De Goeje (1875;\ntrans. in MacRitchie\u2019s Gypsies of India, 1886, pp. 54\u20135), there are at\nleast ten such words; according to Miklosich (Ueber die Mundarten,\netc., part vi. 1876, pp. 63\u201364), there are none. K\u00f3tor, a piece, for\ninstance, by De Goeje is derived from the Arabic kot\u2019a, by Miklosich\nfrom the Armenian kotor. Neither, however, of the two scholars seems to\nhave recognised the possible importance of the presence or the absence\n(especially the absence) of Arabic elements. R\u00f3mani contains Persian\nwords, e.g. ambr\u00f3l, a pear; would it not have certainly contained also\nArabic words if the ancestors of our modern European Gypsies had\nsojourned in Persia, or even passed through Persia, at a date later\nthan the Arab conquest of Persia? If Miklosich is right in his\ncontention that there are no Arabic words in European R\u00f3mani, it\nfollows almost inevitably that the Gypsies must have passed through\nPersia on their way to Europe at some date prior to the middle of the\nseventh century A.D.\n\nImportant as are the borrowings of R\u00f3mani for helping us to trace the\nGypsies\u2019 wanderings, they can barely amount to a twentieth of the total\nvocabulary (five thousand words rich, perhaps). The words of that\nvocabulary for \u2018water\u2019 and \u2018knife\u2019 are in Persia p\u00e1ni, cheri (1823); in\nSiberia, panji, tschuri (1878); in Armenia, pani, churi (1864); in\nEgypt, p\u00e1ni, ch\u00fari (1856); in Norway, pani, tjuri (1858); in England\npani, churi (1830); in, probably, Belgium, panin, chouri (1597); in\nBrazil, panin, churin (1886)\u2014where spelling and dates are those of the\nworks whence these words have been taken. Over and above the identity\nin every R\u00f3mani dialect of these two selected words\u2014and there are\nhundreds more like them\u2014they are also identical with the Hindustani\npani and churi, familiar to all Anglo-Indians. And to cite but a few\nmore instances, \u2018nose,\u2019 \u2018hair,\u2019 \u2018eye,\u2019 \u2018ear\u2019 are in Turkish R\u00f3mani nak,\nbal, akh, kann; in Hindustani, nak, bal, akh, kan: whilst \u2018Go, see who\nknocks at the door\u2019 in the one language is J\u00e2, dik kon chalav\u00e9la o\nvud\u00e1r, and in the other J\u00e2, dekh kon chal\u00e1ya dv\u00e1r ko. This discovery\nwas not made till long after specimens of R\u00f3mani had been published\u2014by\nAndrew Boorde (1542), whose twenty-six words, jotted down seemingly in\na Sussex alehouse, were intended to illustrate the \u2018speche of Egipt\u2019;\nby Bonaventura Vulcanius (1597), whose vocabulary of seventy-one words,\ncollected apparently in Belgium, fills up some blank pages in a Latin\nwork on the Goths; and by Ludolphus (1691), whose thirty-eight words\nare embedded in his huge Commentarius ad Historiam \u00c6thiopicam. In 1777\nR\u00fcdiger first compared with Hindustani some specimens of R\u00f3mani got\nfrom a Gypsy woman at Halle, and in 1782 he published the result of the\ncomparison in his Neuester Zuwachs der Sprachkunde. In 1783 Grellmann\u2019s\nHistorischer Versuch \u00fcber die Zigeuner reaped all the fruits of\nR\u00fcdiger\u2019s research; and William Marsden the same year was independently\nled to a like discovery (Arch\u00e6ologia, 1785, pp. 382\u20136). Grellmann,\nwhose work has still a high value, leapt naturally enough to the\nconclusion that the Gypsies who showed themselves in western Europe in\n1417 had newly come also to south-eastern Europe, and were a low-caste\nIndian tribe expelled from their native country about 1409 by\nTamerlane. In 1783 the older languages of India were a sealed book to\nEuropeans; and Grellmann\u2019s opinion found almost universal approval for\nupwards of sixty years. Now, however, thanks to the linguistic labours\nof Pott, Ascoli, and Miklosich, combined with the historical researches\nof Bataillard and Hopf, the question has assumed a new aspect. For\nwhile on the one hand it has been demonstrated that south-east Europe\nhad its Gypsies long before 1417, so on the other R\u00f3mani has been shown\nto be a sister, not a daughter\u2014and it may be an elder sister\u2014of the\nseven principal New Indian dialects. Not a few of its forms are more\nprimitive than theirs, or even than those of Pali and the Prakrits\u2014e.g.\nthe Turkish R\u00f3mani vast, hand (Sansk. hasta, Pali hattha), and vusht,\nlip (Sansk. ostha, Pali ottha). In his Beitr\u00e4ge zur Kenntniss der\nZigeunermundarten (iv. 1878, pages 45\u201354) Miklosich collected a number\nof such forms; but Miklosich it was who also pointed out there that\nmany of the seeming archaisms of R\u00f3mani may be matched from the\nless-known dialects of India, especially north-west India\u2014that we find,\nfor example, in Dardu both hast and usht. I have not the faintest\nnotion what was Professor Sayce\u2019s authority for his statement that \u2018the\ngrammar and dictionary of the Romany prove that they started from their\nkindred, the Jats, on the north-western coast of India, near the mouth\nof the Indus, not earlier than the tenth century of the Christian era\u2019\n(The Science of Language, ii. 325). So far as I know, the only\nattempted comparison between R\u00f3mani and J\u00e1t\u00e1ki was made by myself\n(\u2018Gipsies,\u2019 Enc. Brit., x. 618); and its results seemed wholly\nunfavourable to the Jat theory of the Gypsies\u2019 origin.\n\n\n\nGypsies as Nomads.\n\nNo; language, like history, has yielded important results, but on many\npoints we still have almost everything to learn. We do not know within\na thousand years when the Gypsies left India, or when they arrived in\nPersia, Armenia, Africa, Asia Minor, and South-eastern Europe. But we\ndo know that India was their original home, that they must have\nsojourned long in a Greek-speaking region, and that in western and\nnorthern Europe their present dispersion dates mainly if not entirely\nfrom after the year 1417. These three facts will have to be borne in\nmind for understanding what follows; a fourth fact is that a portion,\nif a small portion, of the Gypsy race is still intensely nomadic.\nNothing is commoner than for the English Gypsies of our novels and\nplays to speak familiarly of \u2018sunny Spain\u2019; those of a little anonymous\nstory, The Gipsies (1842), go backwards and forwards to Norway. But as\na rule English Gypsies never stir out of Great Britain, or, if they do\nleave it, leave it only for another English-speaking country\u2014Canada,\nthe United States, or New Zealand. [13] So far, too, as we know, our\npresent Gypsies are all descendants of early Gypsy immigrants; their\nsurnames\u2014Lee, Faa, Baillie, Stanley, Gray, Smith, Heron, Boswell,\netc.\u2014date back to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. And our sole\nhint, until a quite recent date, as to visits to England by Continental\nGypsies is a Bartholomew Fair handbill of 1689 about some German\nGypsies, rope-dancers.\n\n\n\nCaldarari.\n\nMutatis mutandis, the same seems to hold good of the Gypsies of\nGermany, Poland, Norway, etc.; they are apparently the descendants of\nearly immigrants into those different countries. But the case is quite\notherwise with the Caldarari, or coppersmiths, of Hungary, for they\nwill wander forth north, south, east, west, and sometimes stay away a\nwhole seven years. Myself I have met with Caldarari but once, at Halle,\nin 1875; I described that brief meeting thus in my Gypsy Tents (1880,\npp. 43\u201344):\u2014\n\n\u2018I had been paying my first call to Professor Pott, who had told me\nthat only once had he spoken with living Gypsies, somewhere near\nLondon. So I asked him did they never come to Halle, and he answered,\nNo; and presently I came away. I was not two hundred yards from his\ndoorstep, when I saw a curious sort of skeleton waggon, drawn by two\nlittle horses, with their forelegs shackled together. On the top of\nthis waggon sat a woman smoking a big black pipe; and round it three or\nfour children were playing, stark-naked. The waggon was standing\noutside an inn; and entering the inn, I found two Gypsy men seated at\nthe table, eating soup and drinking beer. I greeted them with \u201cL\u00e1tcho\nd\u00edvvus\u201d (Good-day), and they seemed not the least bit surprised, for\nthese were travelled gentlemen. Three years they had been away from\nHungary, in France and Germany; and they could both speak French and\nGerman fluently. We talked of many things, and compared, I remember,\npassports: mine they pronounced an exceeding sh\u00fakar lil (fine\ndocument), the lion and unicorn seeming to take their fancy. Every\nplace they came to, they had to go first thing to the head policeman\nand show their passes, and then he told them where they were to stop.\nThey were allowed three days in every place, and no one could meddle\nwith them all that time.... The women came in, two of them, and some of\nthe children. There was one, a little fellow of nine or ten, as brown\nand pretty a thing as ever I saw, but wild as a fox-cub. His father\ngave him a plate of soup to finish, and he lapped it up just as a\nfox-cub would, looking out at me now and again from behind his mother.\nThen they paid their reckoning, the women climbed up on the waggon, the\nchildren shouted, and the men cracked their whips. \u201cGod go with thee,\nbrother\u201d; and so we parted.\u2019\n\nThere is not much in that, but one cannot learn much in half an hour\u2019s\nchance interview. Nor, indeed, is there very much in all the scattered\nnotes that I have been able thus far to collect respecting the\nCaldarari; some of those notes relate to them only conjecturally. Du\nCange\u2019s definition of komodromoi proves that coppersmiths roamed\nthrough France in 1688; and it is at least highly probable that to this\ncaste belonged the band of forty Gypsies with whom, in the spring of\n1604, Jacques Callot, a boy of twelve, wandered from Nancy to Florence.\nOf the journey itself we know nothing, but he has left an imperishable\nrecord of it in his three matchless engravings of the \u2018Boh\u00e9miens,\u2019\nwhich show them on the march, in their bivouac, and spoiling the\nGentiles. Charles Reade worked a clever description of Callot\u2019s\nengravings into his Cloister and the Hearth, and they were admirably\nreproduced in the Gypsy Lore Journal for January 1890, with a long\narticle on them by Mr. David MacRitchie.\n\nIn his Travels (1763, ii. 157\u20138), under the date 1721, John Bell of\nAntermony has the following passage:\u2014\u2018During our stay at Tobolsky, I\nwas informed, that a large troop of gipsies had been lately at that\nplace, to the number of sixty and upwards, consisting of men, women,\nand children. The Russians call these vagabonds tziggany. Their sorry\nbaggage was carried on horses and asses. The arrival of so many\nstrangers being reported to Mr. Petroff Solovoy, the vice-governor, he\nsent for some of the chief of the gang, and demanded whither they were\ngoing? they answered him, to China; upon which he told them he could\nnot permit them to proceed any farther eastward, as they had no\npassport; and ordered them to return to the place whence they came. It\nseems these people had roamed, in small parties, during the summer\nseason, cross the vast countries between Poland and this place;\nsubsisting themselves on what they could find, and on selling trinkets,\nand telling fortunes to the country people. But Tobolsky, being the\nplace of rendezvous, was the end of their long journey eastwards; and\nthey, with no small regret, were obliged to turn their faces to the\nwest again.\u2019 I fancy these Gypsies also must have been Caldarari. But\nwhether they were or no, the passage remains one of the most curious\nthat we have relating to Gypsy migrations. Taken in its most limited\nsense, it shows that the band had wandered in small detachments from\nPoland to Tobolsk, a distance of two thousand miles or upwards. But it\nsuggests a great deal more than this. There seems no reason to question\nthe statement that China was really the ultimate goal of their\nwanderings. If so, it is probable that they were following in the track\nof former migrations, that Gypsies had been in the habit of passing\nbackwards and forwards between Europe and China, which opens up a vista\nof a possible connection between the West and the farthest East\nundreamed of by all our geographers. But without further evidence this\nmust be mere conjecture. Of Gypsies in China I know nothing whatever,\nexcept that a Russian noble, Prince Galitzin, whom I met three years\nsince in Edinburgh, assured me he had seen a number of them there.\nPhysique, outward appearance, seemed his only test; and his statement,\nthough interesting, needs corroboration.\n\nThe Weserzeitung of 25th April 1851 announced that one hundred Gypsies\nhad passed through Frankfort, on their way from Hungary to Algeria; and\nin the Revue de l\u2019Orient for 20th January 1889 Madame Marlet thus\ndescribed her meeting with a Hungarian Gypsy in North Africa:\u2014\u2018I shall\never remember a scene which I witnessed in Africa. It was one evening\nat the base of the superb mountains of Mustapha Sup\u00e9rieur, just as the\nsetting sun flooded the plain with his last rays of golden and crimson\nlight\u2014the gold and purple of the incomparable majesty of the Eastern\nsky. I observed a caravan of nomads encamped in the plain beneath their\ntents. I drew near, and saw that they were Gypsies, but Gypsies who had\ndwelt under other skies. Some were Spanish Gitanos, with garments of\nmany hues, their shears hanging by their sides, at the end of a\nsilvered chain wound around their blades; the others came from Morocco,\nand wore the simple white attire of the Children of the Desert. They\nreceived me with indifference. By means of my knowledge of Italian I\nmanaged at length to make the Gitanos understand that I came from\nHungary. They were at once alive with interest. \u201cHungaria!\u201d I heard\nthem whisper into one another\u2019s ears; and finally an old Gypsy man\ninformed me, \u201cThere is one of us who comes straight from that very\ncountry.\u201d They ran all at once to seek him out. But the young Gypsy\u2014a\nsuperb, swarthy figure\u2014quite unmoved, maintained a proud and gloomy\nsilence. Did he suspect me of untruth in telling him that I knew that\nHungary, so far away beyond the wide stretch of sea? He may have\nthought so. However, I saw that the old Gitano had told the truth. The\ndress of the young nomad was entirely Hungarian, from his shining boots\nup to his little Magyar calpate. His attire generally was rather rich\nthan poor. Had I conversed with him in Hungarian, perhaps his heart\nwould have softened. But he remained thus, sombre and mistrustful, and\nonly the Gitanos, who, in their fantastic rags, stood around us,\nrepeated vivaciously in Spanish, as they pointed towards him, \u201cPatria\nHungaria!\u201d\u2019\n\n\n\nCiboure.\n\nCiboure, a suburb of St. Jean de Luz, is a sort of Basque Yetholm. Like\nYetholm it has largely lost its Gypsy character. Its \u2018Cascarrotac\u2019 are\nsupposed to be the descendants of Gypsies who came from Spain two\ncenturies ago, but they are now quite mixed up with the Basques of the\nneighbourhood, and have lost the last remnants of R\u00f3mani, though at the\nbeginning of the century they retained a few words, as debla, the sun,\nmambrun, bread, and puro, old man. But Ciboure is still a regular\nhalting-place of Hungarian Gypsies, as appears from this passage in a\nvery valuable article on \u2018The Cascarrots of Ciboure,\u2019 by the Rev.\nWentworth Webster (Gypsy Lore Journal, October 1888, pp. 76\u201384):\u2014\u2018My\nown observations are that the passage of the Hungarian Gypsies, or\nGypsies from Eastern Europe, alluded to in 1868 and 1874 by the former\nmayor of Ciboure, M. Darramboure, is a recurring fact every two or\nthree years. I left St. Jean de Luz in 1881, but for some time before\nthat I had been ill, and a band may easily have passed without my being\naware of it; but there were at least two other bands between 1870 and\n1880\u2014one, I believe, in 1872. [14] Their route seems to be, as far as I\nhave been able to trace it, vi\u00e2 Paris, Bordeaux, Bayonne, St. Jean de\nLuz, Hendaye, through Spain quite to the south, and returning by the\neastern extremity of the Pyrenees, by Barcelona and Perpignan. M. de\nRochas appears to have met one of these bands at Perpignan in July 1875\n(Les Parias de France et d\u2019Espagne, by V. de Rochas; Hachette, Paris,\n1876, p. 259). These bands follow always the same route, and encamp on\nthe same spots. When at St. Jean de Luz they make an apparently useless\nvisit to Ascain, a village about five miles off their road, returning\nto St. Jean de Luz. They are evidently well-off, with good carts,\nwagons, horses, and utensils; many of them wear silver ear-rings and\nornaments. Their trade, mending the copper vessels in the\nneighbourhood, seems to me to be a mere pretence; it cannot pay the\nexpenses of the journey. What is the reason of this migration? Once I\nwas standing with a Basque fisherman, watching their arrival, when the\nchief of the band addressed him in Basque, and the conversation went on\nbetween them in that language. When it had ceased, I asked the\nfisherman, whom I knew well, how the man spoke Basque. The reply was\ncurt:\u2014\u201cHe speaks it as well as I do.\u201d Afterwards I tried to draw out\nthe Gypsy, but he evaded my questions. \u201cWe pick up languages along the\nroad. I was never in the neighbourhood before,\u201d etc. These I believe to\nhave been falsehoods. I must, however, add, that I have known Basque\nscholars learn Magyar, and Hungarians Basque, with unusual facility.\nStill the question remains: What is the object of these journeys?\u2014a\nquestion for your Society to answer.\u2019\n\nAlas! the Gypsy Lore Society is dead; after four years\u2019 most excellent\nwork it died of want of support in 1892. And that question remains\nstill unanswered. In the passage itself, however, there is a good deal\nto be noticed. Ciboure at present has little or nothing to draw foreign\nGypsies to it; but a hundred, two hundred years ago, it was probably a\ngenuine Gypsy quarter: then there would be every reason why Caldarari\nshould make it a regular halting-place. This conjecture, if valid,\nsuggests the antiquity of these strange peregrinations; and Gypsies\nassuredly are the very staunchest conservatives. Another guess is that\nat Ascain Gypsies very likely are buried; that would fully account for\ntheir descendants turning aside thus. Mr. Webster\u2019s remark as to the\nease with which Basque scholars acquire Magyar, and Hungarians Basque,\nwas well worth making; still the fact remains\u2014and it is an important\none for our theory\u2014that the unlettered Gypsies as a race are marvellous\nlinguists. The immigrants of 1417\u201334 must, to tell fortunes as they\ndid, have been able to speak German, French, and Italian; and I could,\nif necessary, adduce many testimonies as to the Gypsies\u2019 faculty for\npicking up foreign languages. I have myself known an English Gypsy\nfamily remove (for family reasons) into Wales, and in three years\u2019 time\nbecome thoroughly Cymricised.\n\nM. Paul Bataillard was for years collecting materials about the\nCaldarari, but he died without publishing his promised monograph on the\nsubject, so we must content ourselves with these stray notes from his\nwritings:\u2014\u2018The Gypsy Caldarari (as they are called in the districts of\nRoumania where they are accustomed to journey), have recommenced in our\nown days, throughout the whole of the west, circuits which have led\nthem sometimes as far as England, as far as Norway, and sometimes, by\nway of France and Spain, as far as Corsica and Algeria. France was\nduring a certain time \u201cinfested\u201d by them, to quote the newspapers of\nthe day, whilst I was rejoicing in the good luck which had thrown them\nin my way.... These exotic Gypsy blacksmiths generally return to the\ncountry whence they came.... They travel sometimes in rather large\nnumbers in waggons which have no resemblance to the houses upon wheels\nof our Gypsies; and wherever they stop they set up large tents, where\neach waggon finds its place. The men have generally long hair, and\nclothes more or less foreign, often ornamented with very large silver\nbuttons; and the chiefs carry a large stick with a silver head. It is\neasy to recognise them at a glance by these signs, and by their\ntrade.... The journeys of these Gypsy blacksmiths had already been\nnoticed in Germany and Italy [15] long before 1866. On the other hand,\nthe edict of Ferdinand and Isabella, published at Medina del Campo in\n1499, mentions the \u201cCalderos estrangeros,\u201d who might well be Gypsies\n(\u201cImmigration of the Gypsies into Western Europe,\u201d Gypsy Lore Journal,\ni. 202\u20133).... The Caldarari, if I am rightly informed, form a\ncorporation, strictly organised, and having its hierarchical chiefs.\nThey always travel in groups, commanded by chiefs of different degrees;\nand the work is done always in common. They even say it is the head\nchief who procures at Temesvar all the copper used by the corporation,\nand supplies the wandering bands with it.... There was certainly an\nintermission in the circular journeys pushed as far as France and\nfarther, since I know of none that date from earlier than 1866; but\nthey may have gone back to a long way beyond that date; and, as a\nmatter of fact, before 1866 the Caldarari made excursions in Germany\nand Italy\u2019 (Les Zlotars, p. 549).... \u2018A fact still stranger is that\nAlgeria has recently received a visit from Hungarian Gypsies, forming\npart of the numerous bands of Danubian Tsigans (for the most part\nchaudronniers), who, for some years (especially since 1866) have been\ntraversing the West. I know for a fact that at Algiers a band of twenty\nto twenty-five persons was seen towards the middle of 1871, and that\nthe same persons, or others like them, reappeared six months later. I\nhave myself seen at Paris Hungarian Gypsies who had a vague idea of\nvisiting Algeria\u2019 (Les Boh\u00e9miens en Alg\u00e9rie, 1874, p. 3, note). Cf.\nalso his L\u2019origine des Tsiganes, pp. 54\u201358.\n\nIn an article on the Lithuanian Gypsies (Gypsy Lore Journal, i. 252) M.\nMieczyslaw Dowojno-Sylwestrowicz says: \u2018Sometimes we are visited also\nby Hungarian, Servian, and Roumanian Gypsies. These last consider\nthemselves to belong to the Orthodox (i.e. the Russian) Church. They\nare mostly tinkers, repairing copper cooking utensils; but of these\nthey are very apt to steal the copper bottoms, substituting an\nimitation of papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9. They differ greatly from our own Gypsies,\nwhom they excel in an incredible amount of obtrusiveness; moreover,\nthey attack and rob wayfarers, and when asked what they are, they say,\n\u201cWe are not Gypsies, sir, we are Magyars.\u201d\u2019\n\nIn an article, already quoted, on the Gypsies of Belgium (ib. iii. 138)\nProfessor Henri van Elven writes of the Caldarari:\u2014\u2018They usually\ntravelled in little two-wheeled carts covered over with tilts of grey\ncloth, and containing straw, baggage, and tinworkers\u2019 tools. They have\na great love for their horses, who are far from being in the miserable\ncondition of horses of wandering mountebanks. I have seen the children\nshare their bread with the horses. They buy and sell\u2014sometimes\nsteal\u2014their horses. They have also dogs, large and well set-up. Their\nclothes are for the most part of Hungarian style, but also often like\nours; notably, of gaudy colours, red and blue. All have long, black,\ncurly hair, well furnished with inhabitants, which renders scratching a\nhabit. [16] The complexion is swarthy; the features are fine and\nstrongly accentuated, both among the men and the women. The nose is\nfairly long, and aquiline; the teeth are yellow, through the use of\ntobacco in all forms among women as well as men, unless in the case of\nsome young girls.... These Gypsies were tin-workers, repairing metal\nutensils, and also basket-makers. The women went from door to door,\nasking work and begging. The women and children usually go barefoot and\nbare-headed, even in bad weather, displaying an astonishing endurance.\nWe have not observed any smelters among the Gypsies, but many\nexhibitors of animals, jugglers, and female fortune-tellers. With\nregard to the young girls given over to vice, they are better attired,\nwearing clothes of the Italian and Hungarian modes of bright colours.\nThey go about in the evening especially, looking about them, or\ncarrying playing-cards, or again with small articles of basket-work for\nsale.\u2019\n\nIn 1879 Sir Henry Howorth encountered in Sweden fez-wearing Gypsies,\nnatives presumably of the Balkan peninsula; and in July 1881 a band of\nGypsy blacksmiths from Corfu landed in Corsica, after having travelled\nover Italy (Gypsy Lore Journal, i. 204, note). Late in the sixties a\ncompany of Caldarari visited England, and encamped at several points\nround London. I know no mention of this visit in print, and I never met\nthem myself, but I have talked with English Gypsies who did, and who\nwere full of their little horses, their big copper vessels, and curious\nR\u00f3mani. Some of the Taylors on Rushmere Heath in 1873 told me these\nforeign Gypsies \u2018came from the Lang\u00e1ri country, and were called\nLangarians.\u2019\n\n\n\n\u2018Greek Gypsies.\u2019\n\nIn July 1886 ninety-nine Gypsies arrived by train at Liverpool. They\nwere called the \u2018Greek Gypsies,\u2019 and had started from Corfu, but\naccording to their passports came from all parts of Greece and European\nTurkey, as also from Servia, Bulgaria, Roumania, even Smyrna. Three\nhundred napoleons their journey had cost them thus far, and they meant\nto take shipping to New York. But America being closed to \u2018pauper\u2019\nimmigrants, no steamboat company would accept them, and they had\nperforce to encamp at Liverpool. Their encampment was visited by Mr.\nDavid MacRitchie and Mr. H. T. Crofton, the joint author with Dr. Bath\nSmart of the admirable Dialect of the English Gipsies (1875); the\nformer wrote an excellent article about them in Chambers\u2019s Journal for\nSeptember 1886. These Gypsies were not Caldarari, though some of them\nwere coppersmiths (designated as \u2018chaudronniers\u2019); others were\nbuilders, bricklayers, and agriculturists. They were typical Gypsies in\nphysique, but not in apparel, \u2018absolutely free from the vice of\ndrunkenness,\u2019 but most inveterate beggars. Their chief spokesman \u2018was\nquite an accomplished linguist, and could speak Greek, Russian,\nRoumanian, and two or three other dialects of south-eastern Europe. The\ncurious thing was, that he never once included in his list his own\nmother tongue, the speech of the Gypsy race. Neither would he admit\nthat he was a Ziganka, not for a long time, at anyrate; but\nsubsequently both he and his comrades answered to the name of Roum, and\nthe cigar was no longer b\u014dn\u2019 but l\u00e1sho.\u2019 After stopping some time at\nLiverpool, these Gypsies crossed over to Hull, but neither there could\nthey get passage to America; about a year later, so an English Gypsy\ninformed me, a showman was exhibiting them, or some of them, through\nYorkshire. Their subsequent fate is unknown to me; perhaps they are in\nprocess of absorption into English Gypsydom.\n\n\n\nEastern Gypsies in Galloway.\n\nI thought at first it must have been some of this band whom my friend\nMr. Robert Burns, the Edinburgh artist, met in Galloway in 1895; but\nhis account of that meeting, written at my request, dispels that\nnotion:\u2014\u2018Two years ago, while walking with my wife near Kirkcudbright,\nI met a large troop of Gypsies, of a type quite different from any I\nhad formerly seen. The first to appear round a corner was a tall,\nswarthy man leading a brown bear. My dog, a big powerful beast,\nimmediately made a rush for the bear, but I managed to catch him in\ntime. On seeing me holding the dog, the man came up, and, in very\nbroken English, said that the bear would not hurt the dog. I explained\nthat my fears were not for the dog but for the bear, an undersized,\nemaciated beast, and strongly muzzled. By this time we were surrounded\nby the whole troop, numbering, I should think, sixteen or seventeen,\nall begging from the \u201cpretty lady\u201d and \u201ckind gentleman,\u201d which seemed\nto be about all the English they knew. A good-looking young woman, with\na baby on her back, asked me in French if I understood that language. I\nsaid I did, and asked her where they came from. \u201cFrom Spain.\u201d Then she\nspoke Spanish also? \u201cOh! yes, and German, and other languages as well.\u201d\nI tried her with a few sentences in German and Spanish, and found that\nshe spoke both languages fluently, although with an accent which made\nit difficult to understand her. While we were talking, the men, not\nhaving stopped, were a considerable distance off. So I gave the woman\nsome silver, while my wife distributed pennies among the children, and\nwith many smiles and thanks they started off to join the others. They\nwere very dark in colour, like Hindoos; the men and the older women\nvery aquiline in feature, some of the younger girls really beautiful,\nwith lithe graceful figures; and all without exception had splendid\nteeth. Their dress, though ragged and dirty, suggested Eastern Europe\nrather than Spain; some cheap brass and silver ornaments seemed to\npoint in the same direction. They had two ponies with panniers, full of\nbabies, cabbages, empty strawberry baskets, and other odds and ends;\none of the ponies had a headstall of plaited cord similar to those used\nin Hungary. I saw them several times about Kirkcudbright and\nGatehouse-on-Fleet; and from mental studies painted the head exhibited\nin the R.S.A. Exhibition of 1896.\u2019\n\nThese must have been Urs\u00e1ri, or bear-wards, and recent arrivals in\nBritain; but what were they doing in that remote corner of Galloway, in\nBilly Marshall\u2019s old kingdom? Frampton Boswell, an English Gypsy of my\nacquaintance, met the very same band, I fancy, near Glasgow in 1896;\nand they were perhaps the foreign Gypsies encamped at Dunfermline in\nthe autumn of 1897\u2014I was lying ill at the time in Edinburgh. Almost\ncertainly they were identical with \u2018a little band of Roumanian Urs\u00e1ri\u2019\nwhom Mr. Sampson met in Lancashire in the latter half of 1897, and who\nwere \u2018travelling in English-Gypsy vans which they had bought in this\ncountry. They stopped for a month or more at Wavertree, quite close to\nus, and I saw a good deal of them. The first time, crossing a field by\nnight and expecting to meet with some of the English breed, I stumbled\namong the six unmuzzled bears, chained to the wheels of the vans, and\ntook them for large dogs till their grunts undeceived me; fortunately I\ngot off with whole legs. They spoke a jumble of tongues\u2014some Slavonic\ndialect (brat = brother), bad French, Italian, no German, and little\nEnglish; but with the help of R\u00f3mani and scraps of other tongues we\nheld some instructive conversations. Their young girls were beautiful,\nhalf-clad, savage, but the older women ugly as sin. When I first spoke\nto them, they replied to a question in R\u00f3mani with an Italian\ndenial:\u2014\u2018We are not Gypsies, we are (\u2720) Christianos.\u2019\n\nOh for three years of health, a thousand pounds sterling, say, and a\ngood capacity for wine and languages! I would pass those three years at\nTemesvar and Ciboure, and also perhaps in Morocco; at their close I\nshould hold the key to Mr. Wentworth Webster\u2019s problem. Fifty years\nhence, very likely, there will no longer be any problem left to solve;\nthe ancient corporation of the Caldarari will have undergone\ndissolution.\n\n\n\nGypsy Folk-tales.\n\nGiven then this wandering race, from time immemorial established in\nEurope, but emigrants originally from India: the interest of their\nfolk-tales, if folk-tales indeed they have, will surely at once be\napparent to every student of Indo-European folklore. Yet folklorists as\na body seem strangely ignorant of the existence of R\u00f3mani folk-tales,\nof the fact that not a few Gypsies are even professional story-tellers.\n\n\n\nCampbell of Islay.\n\nIn the Saturday Review for 22nd August 1856 was an article by, I fancy,\nGrenville Murray, the \u2018Roving Englishman,\u2019 on Alexandri\u2019s Ballades et\nChants Populaires de la Roumanie, where allusion is made to \u2018the\nlong-haired Gypsies who wander about in their snowy tunics and bright\nsashes, the \u1fe5\u03b1\u03c8\u1ff7\u03b4\u03bf\u03b9 of Moldo-Wallachia, as in Russia their brethren are\nthe popular musicians.\u2019 But our earliest account of actual Gypsy\nfolk-tales occurs in vol. iv. p. 431 of Popular Tales of the West\nHighlands, by J. F. Campbell of Islay (4 vols. Edinburgh, 1860\u201362).\nThat eminent collector \u2018picked up two gipsy tinkers in London\u2014William\nand Soloman Johns. [17] They came to the office after hours, and were\ntreated to beer and tobacco. Present, the author of Norse Tales [Sir\nGeorge Dasent]. They were rather hard to start, but, when once set\nagoing, they were fluent. One brother was very proud of the other, who\nplays the fiddle by ear, and is commonly sent for to wakes, where he\nentertains the company with stories. He gave us: (1) A ghost, which\nappeared to himself. Finding that he was on the wrong track, told him a\npopular tale which I had got from another tinker in London, \u201cThe Cutler\nand Tinker.\u201d Got (2) \u201cThe Lad and the Dancing Pigs.\u201d This is the same\nas the \u201cMouse and Bee,\u201d and has something of \u201cHacon Grizzlebeard.\u201d A\nversion of it was told to me by Donald MacPhie in South Uist. It is one\nof the few indecent stories which I have heard in the Highlands. There\nare adventures with a horse, a lion, and a fox, which the London tinker\nhad not got. It savours of the wit which is to be found in Straparola.\n(No. 3) A sailor and others by the help of a magic blackthorn stick, go\nto three underground castles of copper, silver, and gold, and win three\nprincesses. Same as \u201cThe King of Lochlin\u2019s Daughters\u201d [i. 236] and \u201cThe\nKnight of Grianaig\u201d [iii. 1], and several stories in Norse Tales and\nGrimm. (No. 4) \u201cThe Five Hunchbacks.\u201d This story was quite new to both\nof us, but a version of it was subsequently found in a book of\nCruikshank\u2019s. The tinker\u2019s version was much better. (No. 5) A long and\nvery well told story of a Jew, in which there figured a magic strap,\nhat, etc. Same as \u201cBig and Little Peter,\u201d \u201cEoghan Tuarach\u201d [ii. 235], a\nstory in Straparola, etc. [cf. my No. 68]. (No. 6) \u201cThe Art of\nDoctoring\u201d\u2014dirty wit. (No. 7) Poor student and black man travel, dig up\ndead woman, make fire in church, steal sheep, clerk and parson take\nblack man for fiend and bolt. Very well told. See \u201cGoosey Grizzle\u201d and\nseveral Gaelic versions. (No. 8) Poor student, parson, and man with\ncat, which was the fiend in disguise. Well told; new to both of us. The\nmen said that they knew a great many more; that they could neither read\nnor write; that they picked these up at wakes and other meetings, where\nsuch tales are commonly told in England now.\u2019\n\nI hoped that the Campbell MSS. in the Advocates\u2019 Library, Edinburgh,\nmight yield some further notes on these eight folk-tales; but a search,\ninstituted in 1888 through the kindness of Mr. Clark, the librarian,\nproved ineffectual. Of all unlikely places in the world for a\nprofessional story-teller, London seems the unlikeliest; the heroine,\nit may be remembered, of Mr. Hardy\u2019s Hand of Ethelberta prides herself\non the absolute novelty of the notion. What is almost more surprising\nis that two folklorists like Campbell and Dasent should have struck so\nprecious a vein, and not followed it up. Whatever the source of these\nstories, Gypsy, Irish, or English, they were distinctly valuable, and\ntheir value was enhanced by the meagreness forty years ago of the\nfolk-tales collected in England. [18] But it is quite possible that one\nor other of the two brothers may still be living (he need not be\nseventy). At least any folklorist could probably find this out at the\nPotteries, Notting Hill, on Mitcham Common, or in some other of the\nGypsyries in or round London.\n\nAgain in vol. i. p. xlvii., Campbell tells how in February 1860 he \u2018met\ntwo tinkers in St James\u2019s Street, with black faces and a pan of burning\ncoals each. They were followed by a wife, and preceded by a mangy\nterrier with a stiff tail. I joined the party, and one told me a\nversion of \u201cThe Man who travelled to learn what Shivering meant,\u201d while\nwe walked together through the park to Westminster. It was clearly the\npopular tale which exists in Norse, and German, and Gaelic, and it bore\nthe stamp of the class, and of the man, who told it in his own peculiar\ndialect, and who dressed the actors in his own ideas. A cutler and a\ntinker travel together, and sleep in an empty house for a reward. They\nare beset by ghosts and spirits of murdered ladies and gentlemen; and\nthe inferior, the tinker, shows most courage, and is the hero. \u201cHe went\ninto the cellar to draw beer, and there he found a little chap\na-sittin\u2019 on a barrel with a red cap on \u2019is \u2019ed; and sez he, sez he,\n\u2018Buzz.\u2019 \u2018Wot\u2019s buzz?\u2019 sez the tinker. \u2018Never you mind wot\u2019s buzz,\u2019 sez\nhe. \u2018That\u2019s mine; don\u2019t you go for to touch it,\u2019\u201d etc. etc. etc.\u2019 [Cf.\nmy No. 57, \u2018Ashypelt,\u2019 and No. 74, \u2018The Tale of the Soldier.\u2019 [19]] In\nvol. ii. p. 285, Campbell adds that he was never able again to find\nthis London tinker, who \u2018could not read the card which I gave him, with\na promise of payment if he would come and repeat his stock of stories.\nHis female companion, indeed, could both read the card and speak\nFrench. The whole lot seemed to suspect some evil design on my part;\nand I have never seen the one who told the story or the woman since,\nthough I met their comrade afterwards.\u2019\n\nIn enumerating the sources of his Gaelic stories (i. p. xxiv.),\nCampbell gives (a) a West Country fisherman; (b) an old dame of\nseventy; (c) a pretty lass; or (d) \u2018it is an old wandering vagabond of\na tinker who has no roof but the tattered covering of his tent....\nThere he lies, an old man past eighty, who has been a soldier, and \u201chas\nnever seen a school\u201d; too proud to beg, too old to work; surrounded by\nboxes and horn spoons; with shaggy hair and naked feet, as perfect a\nnomad as the wildest Lapp or Arab in the whole world.\u2019 etc. Campbell\ngives four stories of tinker origin, our Nos. 73\u201376. To them and to\ntheir tellers I shall revert in my Introduction.\n\n\n\nDr. F. M\u00fcller.\n\nIn Beitr\u00e4ge zur Kenntniss der Rom-Sprache (Vienna, 1869), Dr. Friedrich\nM\u00fcller, the \u2018leading representative of linguistic ethnology,\u2019 published\nfive Hungarian-Gypsy stories in the original R\u00f3mani, with an\ninterlinear German translation. Taken down by Herr Fialowski from the\nrecitation of a Hungarian-Gypsy soldier, \u0160ipo\u0161 Jano\u0161, quartered at\nVienna, these stories are wholly void of literary merit. They are\nrambling and disconnected, sometimes all but unintelligible, and often\nexcessively gross. At the same time they are genuine folk-tales; the\nsoldier was trying to remember stories he had heard, not weaving them\nout of his own imagination. Four of them offer variants of Gypsy\nstories in other collections; and of these four I give summaries on pp.\n19, 34, 48, 174, and 208. The fifth, \u2018The Wallachian Gypsy,\u2019 after six\nmost Rabelaisian pages, passes on to a Tannh\u00e4user episode. For the\nGypsy, having murdered his father, plants on his grave the stick he\nkilled him with. \u2018And that stick began to blossom. That son went about\non his knees for four-and-twenty years, and carried water in his mouth.\nAnd every evening the tree blossomed, and every evening grew a red\napple.... And once the king came that way,... and as he went to pluck\nan apple, \u201cStay,\u201d said the Gypsy, \u201cdon\u2019t seize it so, but shake the\ntree, and then they will all turn into doves.\u201d The king shook the tree,\nand all the apples then turned into doves. Up they flew, and the poor\nson\u2019s father arose.\u2019 The Gypsy then goes in quest of the Otter King\n(V\u00eddrisko K\u00edr\u0101li). A king gives him a filly that can speak. On the way\nhe is fed by a swineherd (one pail of wine and a whole swine) and a\nneatherd (an ox and two pails); he then meets a shepherd, overcomes a\nwether, and stabs the shepherd at his own request. Come to the Otter\nKing, he eats his grapes, empties the biggest barrel of wine, wrestles\nwith the Otter King on the Golden Bridge, and turns him into stone. He\ninquires of the king\u2019s daughter, \u2018Where is thy father\u2019s strength?\u2019 \u2018My\nfather\u2019s strength is underneath the bridge. There is a besom; draw out\na twig; and if thou with this, if thou with this wilt strike all the\nstones, then they will all turn into men.\u2019 After trying once vainly to\ndestroy him, the maiden pushes him into a fountain. But he ups with the\nfountain, and puts it and a tree under the window of a king, to whom he\nbecomes turkey-keeper. A lady falls with child by him. He is caught,\nand there is a trial. She has had other lovers, and she is adjudged to\nhim to whom she shall throw a red apple. She throws it to the Gypsy. So\nthey marry and have children.\u2014A nightmare kind of story this, which I\ncan match from no other collection; still it offers numerous analogies,\ne.g. for the apple-tree, to Hahn, i. 70 and my No. 17; for turning men\ninto stone, to Hahn, i. 172 and ii. 47; for the besom, to Hahn, ii.\n294; and for throwing the apple, to Hahn, i. 94, 104, and ii. 56; also\nBernhard Schmidt\u2019s Griechische M\u00e4rchen, pp. 85, 228, and Reinhold\nK\u00f6hler in Orient und Occident, ii. 304\u20136.\n\n\n\nDr. Paspati.\n\nAlexander G. Paspati, M.D., who died at Athens in the Christmas week of\n1891, practised long as a doctor at Constantinople, and was an eminent\nByzantine antiquary. His \u00c9tudes sur les Tchinghian\u00e9s ou Boh\u00e9miens de\nl\u2019Empire Ottoman (Cont. 1870, 652 pp.), is one of the very best works\nthat we have on the R\u00f3mani language. It is largely based on\nTurkish-Gypsy folk-tales, of which Dr. Paspati seems to have made a\nhuge collection, but six only of which are published by him as an\nappendix (pp. 594\u2013629), in the original R\u00f3mani with a French\ntranslation. Two of these six stories\u2014\u2018Baldpate,\u2019 No. 2, and \u2018The\nRiddle,\u2019 No. 3\u2014he got from a sedentary Gypsy, \u2018L\u00e9on Zafiri,\nmiddle-aged, by profession mower, musician, and story-teller. Gifted\nwith a prodigious memory, this man has repeated to me a great number of\nfolk-tales (contes fabuleux), portions of which I have inserted in the\ntext of my vocabulary. To test his memory I have made him repeat some\nof these stories, and he has retold them word for word, making only\nvery slight changes. During the long nights of winter his brother\nGypsies invite him to tell his tales, which he also translates into\nTurkish with extreme facility. I have one whose recital would occupy\ntwo hours. These stories are very old. He has heard them from various\nmembers of his race, and has been able to retain them in his marvellous\nmemory. I have written these stories at his dictation. I have several\nvolumes of them among my papers. Several were told by his grandfather,\nlong since dead, who was also a story-teller. In these stories, with\ntheir mixture of truth and fable, I have not hitherto met any token\neither of their Indian origin or of an ancient faith. I say that these\nstories are old, for one finds in them words such as mangh\u00edn, sh\u00e9hi,\netc., which to-day are quite forgotten by the Tchinghian\u00e9s. This\nilliterate man is not only familiar with the dialect of the Sedentary\nGypsies, but he knows also that of the Nomads, in whose midst he sings\nhis songs and tells his stories. One is sorry to see a man of such\nintelligence, so superior to the mass of his race, dragging out a\npitiful existence and clad in rags\u2019 (pp. 34\u201335).\n\nPaspati was, obviously, no folklorist; the folk-tales to him were\nvaluable solely as so much linguistic material. But every word almost\nof the above deserves the closest consideration. I have tried, but in\nvain hitherto, to recover some trace of those \u2018several volumes\u2019; their\ndestruction would be a grievous loss to the science of folklore. [20]\nStill, from passages cited in the vocabulary, one can guess at in some\ncases, and in others actually identify, a portion of their contents.\nThus, when one finds, \u2018The Sun said to her, \u201cThou art pretty, and thou\nart good; thou art not as pretty as Makl\u00edtcha\u201d\u2019 (p. 580), one may feel\nsure that the Tchinghian\u00e9s must possess some such version of Grimm\u2019s\n\u2018Little Snow-white\u2019 (No. 53) as \u2018Marietta et la Sorci\u00e8re, sa Mar\u00e2tre,\u2019\nin Carnoy and Nicolaides\u2019 Traditions Populaires de l\u2019Asie Mineure (p.\n91), where the stepmother asks, not a mirror, but the Sun, \u2018Hast thou\nseen any woman fairer than I?\u2019 and the Sun answers, \u2018I am fair, thou\nart fair, but not so fair as Marietta.\u2019 Three passages point as clearly\nto Bernhard Schmidt\u2019s \u2018Die Sch\u00f6nste\u2019 (Griechische M\u00e4rchen, p. 88), or\nsome other version of \u2018Beauty and the Beast\u2019:\u2014\u2018In those days there was\na man with three daughters. He said, \u201cI am going to the city, I ask you\nwhat your souls desire me to bring you\u201d\u2019 (p. 394); \u2018The eldest daughter\nsaid, \u201cO father, bring me a thousand pieces of linen, to make dresses\nof\u201d\u2019 (p. 410); and \u2018The middle daughter came, and she said, \u201cBring me,\nO father, the heaven with the stars, the sea with the fishes, the\nforest with the flowers\u201d\u2019 (p. 535). \u2018My daughter, if your husband goes\nhome, and one of his people kisses him, he will forget you, and you\nwill remain in the forest\u2019 (p. 555) must be an excerpt from a \u2018Forsaken\nBride\u2019 tale; and in \u2018He became a church, and the girl turned into a\npriest\u2019 (p. 580) one recognises a widespread episode, which recurs in\nour No. 34, \u2018Made over to the Devil,\u2019 and No. 50, \u2018The Witch.\u2019\nSimilarly, our No. 21, \u2018The Deluded Dragon,\u2019 a Bukowina-Gypsy version\nof \u2018The Valiant Little Tailor,\u2019 is foreshadowed by\u2014\u2018I am looking for\nthe biggest mountain, to seize you, and fling you there, that not a\nbone of you may remain whole,\u2019 on which Paspati observes that \u2018this\nstory relates the combat of a young man with a dragon, and the speaker\nhere is the young man\u2019 (p. 576). \u2018She stuck a pin in her head; as soon\nas she had done so, the young girl turned into a pretty and beautiful\nbird\u2019 (p. 514), may be matched from India (infra, p. 271); and \u2018He gave\nthe old man a feather, and said to the old man, \u201cTake it and carry it\nto the maiden. I will come when she burns it,\u201d\u2019 is discussed on our p.\n167. The \u2018Beauty of the World\u2019 (pp. 347, 511, 569) is familiar through\nHahn; and with Hahn i. p. 90, compare \u2018The mare was pregnant, and his\nwife, the queen, also was pregnant\u2019 (p. 195). \u2018The king said, \u201cCome, my\nbrother, and restore her to human shape\u201d (a story of a woman punished\nby being turned into an ass),\u2019 on p. 351, must belong to a variant of\nour No. 25, \u2018The Hen that laid Diamonds\u2019; and our No. 7, \u2018The Snake who\nbecame the King\u2019s Son-in-law,\u2019 is suggested by two passages on pp. 262,\n266: \u2018He said to his mother, \u201cI want the king\u2019s daughter to wife\u201d\u2019 and\n\u2018\u201cHow am I to plant trees, and make them grow up, and gather their\nfruits?\u201d (from a story in which, as the price of his daughter\u2019s hand,\nthe father requires the suitor to plant trees in the morning and gather\ntheir fruits in the evening).\u2019 One can almost reconstruct a story out\nof \u2018We are forty cats; three are black, one is white\u2019 (p. 411), ...\n\u2018\u201cVery early we go to the bath, and we strip ourselves naked, we take\noff our skins, and we become human beings\u201d (a story of forty pretty\nwomen turned into cats),\u2019 (p. 367), and \u2018\u201cWhen we are in the bath take\nthe skins and fling them in the fire\u201d\u2019 (p. 368; cf. also p. 537). That\nstory should belong to the husk-myth or swan-maiden type, as should\nalso perhaps this passage on p. 381\u2014\u2018\u201cWhy did you go off?\u201d \u201cThere was a\nman.\u201d \u201cThere was no man: a stick fell from the tree\u201d (a story in which\na man surprises three maidens at the bath. Two go off, but the third,\nwhom the man is in love with, remains behind, and she holds this\ndiscourse with her sisters as they go home).\u2019 Cats are pretty often\nreferred to\u2014e.g. \u2018The cat found a shop where they sold honey. She\ndipped her tail in it, and then rolled it in the ashes\u2019 (p. 344); \u2018The\ncat sat down near them; she sees they are flinging away the precious\nstone with the guts of the fish that had swallowed it\u2019 (p. 189); \u2018The\nqueen said to the lame cat\u2019 (p. 195); and \u2018The lame cat said to the\nlad, \u201cI\u2019ll give you a bit of advice\u201d\u2019 (p. 245). To the same\nstory\u2014perhaps a version of the well-known \u2018Silly Women\u2019\u2014certainly\nbelong \u2018His wife said, \u201cWait a bit till they put him in the coffin\u201d\u2019\n(p. 295) and \u2018They put him in the coffin; he rose up in the coffin; and\nhis wife said, \u201cHold! my husband who was in the coffin, is alive\u201d\u2019 (p.\n227); and to the same story (? \u2018Ali Baba\u2019) doubtfully, these two\npassages: \u2018He packed the riches on his horses, and brought them at\nmidnight to his house, and he became a rich man\u2019 (p. 349) and \u2018He sat\ndown and sewed up the belly of his brother, whom the robbers had\nkilled\u2019 (p. 422). Finally, some passages picked almost at random, to\nillustrate the wealth of Paspati\u2019s collections, are, on p. 472, \u2018He is\nthe son of the King of the Serpents\u2019; on p. 582, \u2018I pray you earnestly,\nO my wise king, have all the doors shut, and let no man come in, and\nnone go out\u2019 (? \u2018Master Thief\u2019); on p. 195, \u2018The King of India said, \u201cI\nhave no son\u201d\u2019; on p. 564, \u2018She went into the forest, she found a\nshepherd, and she changed clothes with the shepherd, and took the road:\nshe went walking on a whole month\u2019; on p. 505, \u2018One taper burnt at her\nhead, the other at her feet\u2019 (? a \u2018Sleeping Beauty\u2019 story); on p. 170,\n\u2018I heard him, and I became a devil\u2019; on p. 302, \u2018She took a sword and\nan arrow, and set off. She did not wish any one, even her sisters, to\nknow of her departure\u2019; on p. 250, \u2018The girl dressed herself, mounted\nher horse, and took her sword\u2019; on p. 251, \u2018I become a bird for thee, O\napple of my eyes\u2019; on p. 291, \u2018I shall become a swallow, I shall sit on\nthy neck, to kiss the freckle upon thy cheek\u2019; on p. 259, \u2018Said the\nlad, \u201cWho has taken my black bird?\u201d\u2019; on p. 356, \u2018They lay down: the\nlad placed the sword between himself and the maiden\u2019 (cf. Grimm\u2019s No.\n60, i. 262); on p. 421, \u2018The old man said, \u201cI give you forty days to\nfind me\u201d\u2019; on p. 310, \u2018The ass said, \u201cAll these years we have been with\nyou, and to me you give bones to eat, and the dog has had to eat\nstraw\u201d\u2019 [21]; and on p. 362, \u2018The dead man goes last, the khodja goes\nin front.\u2019\n\nThey are not very lively reading, these little scraps; still, they\nconsiderably extend our knowledge of Tchinghian\u00e9 folk-tales. Of the six\nstories given in full by Paspati I have had to omit two. One of these,\ntold by Christian nomads in the mixed style, is mixed indeed, more\nincoherent than the tale of the Great Panjandrum, as witness this\nsample:\u2014\u2018The godfather sees her with flowers on her head. Song, \u201cThe\nwolf will eat the lamb; The wolf will eat the turkey; The cat hit the\nbear; A stranger was alarmed.\u201d\u2019 The other story, told by one of the\nwild Zap\u00e1ris, opens with a boon granted by an old man to the youngest\nof a king\u2019s five sons, to possess all the holes in the country. \u2018He\nwent; in the forest he went; he found a hole. He stooped down over the\nhole. \u201cCome out of the hole, whoever is inside.\u201d A woman came out; he\nasked her, \u201cWhat are you doing down there?\u201d \u201cThere are two wolves; I\nfeed them.\u201d \u201cFeed them well; God be with you.\u201d \u201cAnd with you also.\u201d\nAgain he went and went; he found a hole, and stooped down over that\nhole. \u201cCome out of the hole.\u201d Out came a blackamoor,\u2019 etc. It is not a\nbad opening, but the story wanders off into drivel and obscenity. Even\nof the four tales I do give, one, the \u2018Story of the Bridge,\u2019 is\nvaluable solely for its theme, of the master-builder Man\u00f3li and his\nwife; if it is as old as it is corrupt, it should be of hoary\nantiquity. But the three others are really good folk-tales, versions of\n\u2018The Grateful Dead,\u2019 \u2018Faithful John,\u2019 and Campbell of Islay\u2019s \u2018Knight\nof Riddles.\u2019 As always wherever possible, my translations are made\ndirect from the original R\u00f3mani.\n\n\n\nDr. Barbu Constantinescu.\n\nProbe de Limba si Literatura Tiganilor din Rom\u00e2nia, by Dr. Barbu\nConstantinescu (Bucharest, 1878; 112 pp.), is an admirable collection\nof seventy-five Roumanian-Gypsy songs and thirteen folk-tales, in the\noriginal R\u00f3mani, with a Roumanian translation. The thirteen tales were\ngot from thirteen different Gypsies, and naturally they vary in merit,\nthe best to my thinking being \u2018The Red King and the Witch,\u2019 \u2018The\nVampire,\u2019 and \u2018The Prince and the Wizard.\u2019 I have given eleven of them,\nwith full annotations; of \u2018The Stolen Ox\u2019 and \u2018The Prince who ate Men\u2019\nthere are summaries on pp. 66 and 219. Dr. Barbu Constantinescu, who\nwas latterly a professor at Crajova, is, I learn, dead; he must have\nknown R\u00f3mani thoroughly, and may have left large collections.\n\n\n\nMiklosich.\n\nIn part iv. of his great work, Ueber die Mundarten und die Wanderungen\nder Zigeuner Europa\u2019s (Vienna, 1874), Dr. Franz von Miklosich published\nfifteen Gypsy folk-tales and nine songs from the Bukowina, in the\noriginal R\u00f3mani, with an interlinear Latin translation. They were\ncollected by Professor Leo Kirilowicz, of Czernowicz, but when, where,\nor from whom is not told; and they, alone of Gypsy folk-tales, have\nbeen utilised by M. Emmanuel Cosquin to illustrate his admirable Contes\nde Lorraine (2 vols. 1886). I have given them all in full, except \u2018The\nRivals,\u2019 part only of which is cited under No. 48, p. 181. \u2018Tropsyn,\u2019\n\u2018The Enchanted City,\u2019 and \u2018The Jealous Husband\u2019 are perhaps the best;\nthe last has a special interest through its relation to Cymbeline. In\nhis Beitr\u00e4ge zur Kenntniss der Zigeunermundarten (part iv., Vienna\n1878), Miklosich published three more folk-tales, communicated by\nProfessor Kirilowicz, Herr J. Kluch, and Dr. M. Gaster\u2014the first a\nLying Story from the Bukowina (No. 35), the second, \u2018The Three\nBrothers,\u2019 from the Hungarian Carpathians (No. 31), and the third, a\nmere fragment, from Roumania. This fragment is on the familiar theme of\nan emperor who till old age has had no heir; then his empress bears him\na son; but just as the child is being shown to the people, two eagles\ncarry it off. \u2018Men,\u2019 cries the empress, \u2018if you will find my boy, I\nwill become your servant, to wait on you, to wash your feet, to drink\nthe water they are washed in, to quit my greatness, to make you king in\nmy stead, if only you will find my boy.\u2019 After which the story becomes\nhopeless nonsense, then suddenly stops\u2014I fancy the Gypsy story-teller\nhad got too drunk to continue.\n\n\n\nWlislocki.\n\nM\u00e4rchen und Sagen der Transilvanischen Zigeuner (Berlin, 1886, 157\npages), by Dr. Heinrich von Wlislocki, differs from all other\nContinental collections of R\u00f3mani folk-tales in this, that its\nsixty-three stories are published for their intrinsic interest, not\nsolely as linguistic curiosities. They are given in German only, not in\nthe original. Hence they are open to a suspicion of having been here\nand there touched up, a suspicion somewhat confirmed in the rare cases\nwhere the original is appended in a footnote, as on p. 88. They are\ninteresting, but only as a \u2018restored\u2019 building may be interesting; one\ndoubts, one can never feel quite sure of anything. At the same time, I\nbelieve that such \u2018improvements\u2019 apply solely to the language, not to\nthe subject-matter, of these stories. Their general genuineness is\nattested by their occasional lacun\u00e6, as in \u2018Godfather Death,\u2019 which is\nclosely identical with Grimm\u2019s No. 44, but lacks the entire episode of\nthe sick princess. Besides, except that his work is dedicated to\nLiebrecht, Dr. von Wlislocki gives no indication of acquaintance with\nthe subject of folk-tales, whilst he has approved himself a master of\nR\u00f3mani by his Grammar of the Dialect of the Transylvanian Gypsies\n(Leipzig, 1884). He tells us in the preface to his M\u00e4rchen that for\nseveral months of the summer of 1883 he wandered with a band of tented\nGypsies through Transylvania and south-east Hungary, and that during\nhis wanderings he collected these sixty-three stories, every one of\nwhich he was careful to verify from the lips of a second member of the\nrace. His little work is easily accessible to every folklorist, so to\nthe folklorists I leave the task of analysing its stories in detail,\npremising merely that, like their predecessors, they offer numerous\nanalogies to non-Gypsy folk-tales, but that fourteen of them bear a\ndistinctively Gypsy character, especially Nos. 15, 24, 31, 36, 51, 55.\nHaltrich also gives some Transylvanian-Gypsy stories (Zur Volkskunde\nder siebenb\u00fcrgischen Sachsen, Vienna, 1885); and Vladislav Kornel,\nRitter von Zielinski, contributed four Hungarian-Gypsy ones to the\nGypsy Lore Journal for April 1890, pp. 65\u201373.\n\n\n\nDr. R. von Sowa.\n\nDie Mundart der Slovakischen Zigeuner (G\u00f6ttingen, 1887), by Dr. Rudolf\nvon Sowa, of Br\u00fcnn, is based on nineteen Slovak-Gypsy stories which he\ncollected at Teplicz in 1884\u201385, and nine of which are given in the\noriginal R\u00f3mani without a translation. Dr. von Sowa also contributed\nfour Gypsy folk-tales\u2014Slovak and Moravian\u2014to the Gypsy Lore Journal;\nand the Bohemian-Gypsy story of \u2018The Three Dragons\u2019 he sent me in\nmanuscript. His stories have a high value for the purposes of\ncomparison, but are inferior as stories to those of several other\ncollections. I have given eight of them\u2014Nos. 12, 19, 22, 41, 42, 43,\n44, 60.\n\n\n\nDr. Kopernicki.\n\nIsidore Kopernicki, M.D. (1825\u201391), published in 1872 a German\nmonograph on Gypsy craniology, and, called from Bucharest to Cracow in\n1870, collected thirty Polish-Gypsy folk-tales in 1875\u201377. A year or\ntwo before his death he put out a prospectus of a projected work on\nR\u00f3mani stories and songs, with a French translation; but the work never\nfound a publisher. Six, however, of his stories appeared in the Gypsy\nLore Journal, and are reproduced here, Nos. 45\u201350. They are one and all\nso admirable as stories and valuable as folklore that I cannot but hope\nsome folklore society or some individual folklorist may purchase and\npublish the entire collection\u2014Madame Kopernicki, I believe, is still a\nresident of Cracow.\n\n\n\nJohn Roberts.\n\nTwenty to thirty years ago I knew hundreds of Gypsies in most parts of\nEngland and Wales. But the R\u00f3mani dialect was in those days my\nall-in-all; I would walk or ride thirty miles, and feel richly rewarded\nif I came back with two or three new words, such as morm\u00fassi, midwife,\nor taltor\u00e1iro, crow. I knew little or nothing about folklore, and cared\nless; the few stray odds and ends of it that I picked up among the\npeople are scattered mostly through my In Gypsy Tents (Edinb. 1880). At\nVirginia Water, in 1872, I remember old Matty Cooper telling me how the\nplaice went about calling out, \u2018I\u2019m the King of the Fishes,\u2019 which was\nwhy her mouth was made crooked (cf. Grimm\u2019s No. 172, \u2018The Sole\u2019); and\nfrom a Boswell in, I think, 1875, I got the lying story of \u2018Happy\nBoz\u2019ll,\u2019 which I give here, No. 36. But my one great find was my\nlighting on the Welsh-Gypsy harper, John Roberts (1815\u201394), of Newtown\nin Montgomeryshire. In Gypsy Tents contains a great deal about him and\nby him (pp. 78\u201381, 94\u201399, 149\u2013158, 197\u2013216, 269\u2013278, 290\u2013294, 299\u2013319,\n372\u2013377); here, then, it may suffice to say that, though not a\nfull-blooded Gypsy, he could speak R\u00f3mani, yes, and write R\u00f3mani, as no\nother Gypsy I have ever met at home or on the Continent. I know,\nindeed, of no other instance where the teller of folk-tales has also\nbeen able himself to transcribe them. He wrote out for me the two long\nfolk-tales reprinted here (Nos. 54 and 55), and he had a wealth of\nothers: I fear that many of them have perished with him. He was one of\nthe finest of Welsh harpers; he spoke Welsh, English, and R\u00f3mani with\nequal fluency; and he was a man besides of rare intelligence. His\ntales, he would have it, were all derived from the Arabian Nights,\n\u2018leastwise if it was not from my poor old mother, or else from my\ngrandmother, and she was a wonderful woman for telling stories.\u2019\n\n\n\nMr. John Sampson.\n\nI may regret my own missed opportunities the less, as English and Welsh\nGypsy folk-tales have found at length an ideal collector in my friend,\nMr. John Sampson, the librarian of University College, Liverpool. No\nman could be better equipped for the task than he, as the nineteen\nstories here of his collecting will amply prove. Long a master of\nEnglish R\u00f3mani, he has also during the last few years been making a\nprofound study of the \u2018deep\u2019 Welsh dialect, the best-preserved of all\nthe Gypsy dialects with the doubtful exception of that of the Turkish\nTchinghian\u00e9. His promised work on the subject is anxiously looked for.\nBut, more than this, he possesses the rare gift of being able to take\ndown a story in the very words, the very accents even, of its teller.\nHundreds of times have I listened to Gypsies\u2019 talk, and in these\nstories of his I seem to hear it again: a phonograph could not\nreproduce it more faithfully. His \u2018Tales in a Tent\u2019 (Gypsy Lore\nJournal, April 1892, pp. 199\u2013211) contained in a charming setting, from\nwhich, indeed, it has seemed a sin to wrench them, the three\nEnglish-Gypsy stories of \u2018Bobby Rag,\u2019 \u2018De Little Fox,\u2019 and \u2018De Little\nBull-calf,\u2019 given here as Nos. 51, 52, 53. They were got near\nLiverpool\u2014the middle one from Wasti Gray, and the two others from her\nhusband, Johnny Gray, who also told Mr. Sampson the story of \u2018The Horse\nthat coined Golden Guineas.\u2019 [22] Then in 1896 from Matthew Wood,\nfelling trees upon Cader Idris, and in 1897 from Cornelius Price in\nLancashire, Mr. Sampson heard twenty-seven Welsh-Gypsy stories, about\nwhich he writes thus in letters:\u2014\n\n\u2018On the slopes of Cader I have laboured for days together taking down\nthese things in a sort of phrenzy. No work could be more exhausting. To\nnote every accent, to follow the story, and to keep the wandering wits\nof my R\u00f3mani raconteur to the point, all helped to make it trying work.\nFor days together I have heard no English spoken, the Woods always\ntalking R\u00f3mani, and the Gentiles Welsh. It is as well I did so at the\ntime, for Matthew Wood has cleared his mountain of trees, and departed,\nGod knows whither. Three journeys into Wales, and many letters to\npost-offices and police-stations, have failed to find him. Nor can I\nchance upon his mother again. Matthew got these stories from his\ngrandmother, Black Ellen, who, he says, knew two hundred stories, many\nof them so long that their narration occupied four or five hours. In\nlistening to these tales, I think what struck me most was the severity\nof their style, reminiscent of Paspati\u2019s and other Continental\ncollections. A single word serves often as a sentence\u2014\u201dChal\u00e9,\u201d they\nate; \u201cRat\u00ed,\u201d it was night. The latter beats for compression the\nVirgilian \u201cNox erat.\u201d ... I have added lately to my tales to the number\nof five or six, taken down chiefly in English from a South Welsh Gypsy\nnamed Cornelius Price.... I have Cornelius\u2019s pedigree somewhere among\nmy papers. The Prices are a South Wales family, not of the purest\ndescent, who entered Wales from Hereford some generations ago. Some of\nthem intermarried with the Ingrams. Cornelius is a son of Amos Price,\nfrom whom my old tinker Murray got most of his R\u00f3mani lore, including\nthe version of the old ballad \u2018Lord Barnard and Little Musgrave\u2019 which\nI sent to MacRitchie, and which he sent to Professor Child. It has\nbeautiful lines, like\u2014\n\n\n   \u201cShe lifted up his dying head,\n    And kissed his cheek and chin,\u201d\n\n\nside by side with others like\u2014\n\n\n   \u201cAnd when he came to his brother dear,\n    He was in a hell of a fright.\u201d\n\n\nIt is printed in Child\u2019s collection. Cornelius got his stories from\nNebuchadn\u0113zar Price, his uncle. I met him at Wavertree, near Liverpool,\nbut he has since left for Chester way, returning south. He is a man of\nmiddle age, or rather younger, perhaps, say thirty-five, a pleasant,\nharum-scarum fellow. His younger brother, he tells me, knows many more\ntales than he himself.... Some of the best tales Price forgets, or only\nremembers interesting fragments. Such as a story of a bull who fights a\n\u2014\u2014 query, what? If he conquers, he tells the hero, the stream will flow\ndown to him blood one side only, but, if he is defeated, blood each\nside. The bull is defeated, and, following his instructions, the hero\ncuts a thong from his tail upwards, finds in his body a \u201cSword of\nSwiftness,\u201d and makes a belt of the hide. Of what tale is this a\nfragment? Cornelius assures me that his youngest brother knows thirty\nto fifty very long tales.... Had I time, I believe I could collect\nhundreds of such tales from English and Welsh Gypsies.\u2019\n\n(Three or four years ago I found myself in a library\u2014I would not for\nworlds say where\u2014alone with a complete set of the forty Reports of the\nChallenger Expedition. I drew out a volume reverently\u2014its pages had\nnever been opened. Tastes differ, and I own that myself I should be\nquite as much interested by the discovery (say) of a Welsh-Gypsy\nversion of the \u2018Grateful Dead,\u2019 as by eight hundred and odd pages on\nthe \u2018Abdominal Secretions of the Lower Gasteropoda.\u2019 Nay, I would even\nventure to suggest that a fraction, a very small fraction, of the money\nyearly devoted to the Endowment of Research by government, by our\ncolleges, and by individual generosity, might well be apportioned to\nthe collecting and preserving of English and Welsh Gypsy folk-tales.\nEvery year will make the task harder; but, as it is, I believe Mr.\nSampson could bag the whole lot in a couple of three months\u2019 summer\nholidays. Holidays, quotha! I wonder what Mr. Sampson would say to my\nnotion of holidays.)\n\n\n\nCampbell of Islay.\n\nOf the four stories which I cite (No. 73\u201376) from J. F. Campbell\u2019s\nPopular Tales of the West Highlands (4 vols. 1860\u201362), three were told\nby John MacDonald, travelling tinker, and the fourth by his old father.\n\u2018John,\u2019 Hector Urquhart writes, \u2018wanders all over the Highlands, and\nlives in a tent with his family. He can neither read nor write. He\nrepeats some of his stories by heart fluently, and almost in the same\nwords. I have followed his recitation as closely as possible, but it\nwas exceedingly difficult to keep him stationary for any length of\ntime.\u2019 To which Campbell himself adds:\u2014\u2018The tinker\u2019s comments on \u201cThe\nBrown Bear of the Green Glen\u201d I got from the transcriber. John himself\nis a character. He is about fifty years of age. His father, an old\nsoldier, is alive and about eighty; and there are numerous younger\nbranches; and they were all encamped under the root of a tree in a\nquarry close to Inverary, at Easter 1859. The father tells many\nstories, but his memory is failing. The son told me several, and I have\na good many of them written down. They both recite; they do not simply\ntell the story, but act it with changing voice and gesture, as if they\ntook an interest in it, and entered into the spirit and fun of the\ntale. They belong to the race of \u201cCairds,\u201d and are as much nomads as\nthe gipsies are. The father, to use the son\u2019s expression, \u201cnever saw a\nschool.\u201d He served in the 42d in his youth. One son makes horn spoons,\nand does not know a single story; the other is a sporting character, a\nfamous fisherman, who knows all the lochs and rivers in the Highlands,\nmakes flies, and earns money in summer by teaching Southerns to fish.\nHis ambition is to become an under-keeper\u2019 (i. 174\u20135).\n\nThere are three points to be specially noticed here. First, if I\nmistake not, these two tinkers, father and son, are the only Gaelic\nstory-tellers whom Campbell describes as reciting and acting their\nstories; he repeats the same of the son in a passage which I quote on\np. 288. Secondly, the father told \u2018many stories,\u2019 but one does not\nlearn what they were, except that Campbell got from him a version of\n\u2018Osean after the Feen\u2019 (ii. 106), that the son \u2018argued points\u2019 in the\nstory of \u2018Conal Crovi\u2019 (i. 142), and that he knew the story of the\n\u2018Shifty Lad,\u2019 though not well enough to repeat it (i. 353). \u2018Many\nstories\u2019 should mean more than these three and the four of our text.\nLastly, these MacDonalds are said to \u2018belong to the race of \u201cCairds,\u201d\nand to be as much nomads as the gipsies are.\u2019 But the question arises,\nAre they not Gypsies, or half-breed Gypsies, or quarter-breed Gypsies\nat any rate? To the Gypsy Lore Journal for January 1891, pp. 319\u201320, D.\nFearon Ranking, LL.D., contributed this paper:\u2014\n\n\n\nBoat-dwelling Tinkers.\n\n\u2018I spent the month of August this year (1890) at Crinan Harbour, in\nArgyllshire, and there came for a few moments across a family of\n\u201cTinklers,\u201d who are, I fancy, worth following up for the sake of\ngetting from them a stock of words. I was one morning on my way to the\npost-office at Crinan, and, lying at the slip in front of the office, I\nsaw a good-sized boat, which I knew did not belong to the place. I\ncrossed the road, and went down to see who the owners were. To my\nsurprise, I found they were a party of \u201cTinklers.\u201d On questioning them\nthey told me that they always went about in this manner, sailing from\nplace to place on the West Coast and among the Islands, and making and\nmending pots and pans. They had just put in for provisions, and were on\nthe point of sailing for Scarba. The boat was a good-sized fishing\nsmack, three-quarter decked, rigged, if I remember rightly, with a big\nlug-sail and jib, and a small lug aft, but on this point I am not quite\ncertain. The party consisted of three men and two women, with two or\nthree children. They were stunted in appearance, and quite young; the\nwomen reddish-haired, the men rather darker.\n\n\u2018On a venture, I asked whether they spoke \u201cShelta,\u201d [23] as I was\nanxious to learn something of this language, of which I knew nothing.\nOne of the men said that they did speak it, and, on being questioned,\ngave the names of several common objects mentioned by me.\nUnfortunately, I had neither pencil nor paper with me, and was\ntherefore unable to make any notes, and, the words being entirely\nstrange to me, I could not retain them. The only word I can remember is\nyergan = \u201ctin.\u201d\n\n\u2018One of the men suddenly said, \u201cBut we have another language, which I\ndo not think any one knows but ourselves; it is not in any books.\u201d\n\u201cWhat do you call a \u2018boat\u2019 in your language?\u201d I said. To my great\nastonishment, he replied, \u201cBero.\u201d On my then asking for the words for\n\u201cman,\u201d \u201cwoman,\u201d and \u201cchild,\u201d he gave mush or gairo, monisha, and chavo.\nFeeling now tolerably sure of my ground, I said, \u201cKushto bero se duvo.\u201d\nHe stared at me as if I had been a ghost, and, on my continuing with a\nfew more words, he called to one of the women in the boat and said,\n\u201cCome here, I never saw anything like this. Here is a gentleman who\nknows our language as well as we know it ourselves.\u201d I continued asking\nthe names of various common objects, such as \u201cfire,\u201d \u201cwater,\u201d the names\nof animals, parts of the body, etc., and soon noticed that for each\nthey had two or three names, one being always good \u201cRommanis,\u201d the\nother, I presume, \u201cShelta.\u201d But my surprise was greatest when, on\nasking the name for a \u201chen,\u201d the answer was \u201cmoorghee,\u201d and then, as an\nafterthought, \u201ckanni.\u201d Now, can any one tell me where they got this\nword \u201cmoorghee\u201d from? I have never met with it among any \u201cRommani foki\u201d\nof my acquaintance, but know it only as the common Hindustani name for\na fowl. Is it an old word which has been lost by others, but retained\nby this family? Or have they picked it up from some one of their number\nwho has been in India soldiering?\n\n\u2018Another surprise was in store for me. On asking them where they got\nthis language from, one of the men said, \u201cWe got it from our\ngrandfather. He could speak it much better than we can,\u201d and then\nvolunteered the information that this grandfather was a keeper to the\nDuke of Argyll, and had supplied Campbell of Islay with many of the\nSgeulachdan in his Highland Tales. This must be either the John\nM\u2019Donald, travelling tinker, referred to by Mr. MacRitchie in his\narticle on the \u201cIrish Tinkers and their Language\u201d (Oct. 1889, p. 354),\nor a relation of his. An account of this family will be found in the\nnotes to the tale of the \u201cBrown Bear of the Green Glen\u201d (Popular Tales,\nvol. i. pp. 174\u2013175). It mentions that the father had served in the\nForty-Second. Had he brought back this word moorghee with him from\nIndia? One of the sons is mentioned as being a keen sportsman. No hint\nis given, however, of their knowing any language but Gaelic. It would\nprobably have astonished Campbell of Islay to find that they were\nmasters of four tongues\u2014Gaelic, Shelta, English, and Rommanis. It may\nbe noticed that the accounts of occupation do not quite tally, as these\ntinklers distinctly stated that their grandfather was one of Argyll\u2019s\nkeepers. I should like to know whether any of the sons did actually\nhold such a post. This is all I could learn in an interview of, at the\nmost, twenty minutes.\u2019\n\nDr. Ranking, my friend for a quarter of a century, has a thorough\nknowledge of R\u00f3mani; I would trust his judgment as I would trust my\nown. I have never myself come across any Tinklers of the West Coast,\nbut I have met scores in the Lothians and in the Border Country, and my\nobservations on these tally closely with Dr. Ranking\u2019s. The Lowland\nTinklers have little or nothing of the Gypsy type, though they have a\nmarked type of their own\u2014a bleached, washed-out, mongrel type; their\nlanguage has sunk to a mere gibberish, without the least trace of\ninflection, as different from the Welsh-Gypsy dialect as Pidgin-English\nfrom the English of Tennyson. None the less, side by side with such\nthieves\u2019 cant as mort, woman, dell, girl, beenlightment, daylight,\nruffie, devil, and patri, clergyman, that gibberish contains two or\nthree hundred good enough R\u00f3mani words, as ch\u00fari, knife, drom, road,\npa\u00fani, water, gad, shirt, and d\u00fasta l\u00f3vo, plenty money. Nay, a curious\npoint is that it retains a few R\u00f3mani words which have been almost or\nwholly lost in the English and Welsh Gypsy dialects\u2014sh\u00fakar, beautiful,\nh\u00e1ro, sword, kl\u00edsti, soldier, k\u00e1lshes, breeches, and p\u00f3wiski, gun. On\nthe other hand, Scottish thieves\u2019 cant shows a much larger admixture of\nwords of R\u00f3mani origin than does the English. We possess no early\nspecimens of Scottish R\u00f3mani, but Scotland two centuries since would\nseem to have had as true Gypsies as any Stanleys or Boswells or Herons\nsouth of the Border. But the persecution of the race as a race lasted a\nhundred years longer in Scotland than in England, and it is probable\nthat, whilst many of its chief members were hanged or drowned or\ntransported to America, others fled southward\u2014one finds to-day the\nGaelic Gilderoy (\u2018red lad\u2019) a Christian name among English Gypsies, and\nsuch surnames as Baillie, Gregory, and Marshall. Those who remained\nbehind must have intermarried largely with Scottish vagrants, Irish\nvagrants, gangrel bodies generally: the Gypsy stream broadened out, and\nbecame correspondingly shallow. Nowadays, then, it is difficult to say\nof the Faa-Blyths, Taits, Norrises, Baillies, Douglases, or any other\nof the Tinklers I have met, whether they are more Gypsies or Gentiles;\nEnglish Gypsies assuredly would not regard them as Gypsies. Still, they\nhave all a dash of the Gypsy, stronger or weaker; and with these\nboat-dwelling Tinklers, whom Dr. Ranking describes, the dash was\ndecidedly stronger. There can hardly be any doubt that the grandfather\nwhom they spoke of as a keeper to the Duke of Argyll, was John\nMacDonald the younger, who at Inverary in 1859 had an ambition to\nbecome an underkeeper. [24]\n\n\n\nKounavine.\n\nLastly, in the Gypsy Lore Journal for April and July 1890, were two\nlong articles by Dr. A. B. Elysseeff\u2014\u2018Kounavine\u2019s Materials for the\nStudy of the Gypsies.\u2019 According to these, Michael Ivanovitch Kounavine\n(1820\u201381) studied medicine at Moscow, and then having passed as doctor,\nfor the thirty-five years 1841\u201376 wandered from Gypsy camp to Gypsy\ncamp in Europe, Northern Africa, and Asia. Eight of those years were\npassed amongst the Gypsies of Germany, Austria, Southern France, Italy,\nEngland, and Spain; twelve amongst those of Asia Minor, Armenia,\nMesopotamia, Kurdistan, Iran, Hindustan, and the Deccan; ten amongst\nRussian Gypsies; and then from the Caucasus \u2018the indefatigable\ntraveller followed the transition of the European Gypsies into those of\nKurdistan, and all along the Ural Mountains into those of Central Asia\nand Turan, on this occasion revisiting India and the ranges of\nTian-Shan and the Himalayas.\u2019 Meanwhile he collected an \u2018immense store\nof materials, consisting of 123 tales, 80 traditions and legends, 62\nritual songs, and 120 smaller products of Gypsy poetry.... In the\nancient legends the mythological elements assert themselves most\nstrongly, and the characteristic features of the Hindu mythology are\nthere so evident, that even the names in these tales recall the\nanalogous divinities of the Hindu theology. These are Baramy, the\nproto-divinity, Jandra, the sun-god, Laki, Matta, Anromori, and others,\nin which one cannot fail to recognise the Hindu Brama, Indra, Lakshmi,\nM\u00e1ta (Prithik, earth-mother), as well as the Zendic name of Ariman....\nIn the traditions and historical narratives one meets with classic\nnames of towns known to the Greek geographers, such as Batala, Pourini,\nEspadi, Rikoi, Bikin, and Babili, in which it is not difficult to\nrecognise the ancient towns Pattala, Poura, Aspadana (Ispahan), Rhag\u00e6,\nBeikind, and Babylon, cited by Arrian and other historians and\ngeographers.\u2019\n\nThese are the merest pickings from Dr. Kounavine\u2019s \u2018colossal\u2019\ncollections, which perished, alas! with him somewhere in Siberia, and\nare known to us only through an elaborate abstract drawn up in 1878 by\nDr. Elysseeff, since himself also dead. First printed in the\nTransactions of the Russian Geographical Society (1882), that abstract,\nthanks to Dr. Kopernicki, appeared in English in the Gypsy Lore\nJournal, where it occupied twenty-five pages. It was quite right it\nshould appear there; still, I cannot feel absolutely certain that there\never was any Dr. Kounavine at all. If there was, I am certain that\nnine-tenths of the discoveries claimed for him are the merest\nmoonshine. To maintain that the Gypsies of England, France, Spain, and\nItaly arrived at their present habitats from Africa by way of Sicily,\nis, as has been shown, to evince a crass ignorance of the R\u00f3mani\nlanguage. Equally absurd is it to maintain that \u2018every Gypsy dialect\ncontains a large number of words of non-Aryan origin: Aramaic, Semitic,\nand even Mongol words form 25 per cent. of the Gypsy vocabulary taken\nin its largest sense.\u2019 For this implies that Aramaic is non-Semitic, as\nthough one should speak of Gaelic and Celtic, or of German and\nTeutonic. Again, what of the sketch-map, according to which Dr.\nKounavine seems to have found \u2018fragmentary and confused traces of a\nprimitive mythology\u2019 somewhere about Newtown in Montgomeryshire and\nround the Cambridgeshire Wash? Newtown is a Welsh-Gypsy centre (I had\nshown it be such in 1880); but unquestionably its Gypsies would have\nretained some recollection of a visit from a mysterious R\u00f3mani-speaking\nforeigner, even after the lapse of thirty or forty years.\n\n\n\nTheory as to Gypsy Folk-tales.\n\nSo there the folklorists have all that is essential\u2014or rather all that\nI can give of the essential\u2014for the right understanding of the\nfollowing seventy-six folk-tales. And there I should have been quite\ncontent to leave them, did I not wish to disavow the theory imputed to\nme mistakenly by my friend, Mr. Joseph Jacobs. In his More English\nFairy Tales (1894), p. 232, he speaks of \u2018Mr. Hindes Groome\u2019s\ncontention (in Transactions Folk-Lore Congress) for the diffusion of\nall folk-tales by means of Gypsies as colporteurs.\u2019 The paper I read\nbefore the Folklore Congress of 1891 was not on folk-tales at all, but\non English popular superstitions; I certainly never contended that\ntheir diffusion was solely due to the Gypsies. Whilst as to Gypsy\nfolk-tales, the first thing I ever wrote about them was forty-three\nlines in the Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica (vol. x. 1879, p. 615), which,\nwith but forty stories to go by, concluded:\u2014\u2018At present our information\nis far too scanty to warrant any definite conclusion; but, could it\nonce be shown that the Asiatic possess the same stories as the European\nGypsies, it might be necessary to admit that Europe owes a portion of\nits folklore to the Gypsies.\u2019 And the last thing I wrote on the subject\nwas twenty-seven lines in Chambers\u2019s Encyclop\u00e6dia (vol. v. 1892, p.\n489), and they wound up:\u2014\u2018According to Benfey, Reinhold K\u00f6hler,\nRalston, Cosquin, Clouston, and other folklorists, most of the popular\nstories of Europe are traceable to Indian sources. But how? by what\nchannels? One channel, perhaps, was the Gypsies.\u2019\n\n\n\nGypsy Variants.\n\nThat seven years ago was my theory, if it may be dignified with so\nhigh-sounding a title; and that is my theory still. And it seems to me\neven now, that, though now we possess 160 Gypsy folk-tales, our store\nis still far too scanty to warrant any definite conclusion. We want the\nunpublished materials of Paspati and Kopernicki; we want Dr. von Sowa\nand Mr. Sampson to complete their collections; and we want, too, the\nGypsy folk-tales, if such there be, of Spain, Portugal, Brazil, the\nBasque Country, Italy, Alsace, Germany, Scandinavia, Russia, and\nGreece\u2014above all, of Africa and Asia. [25] If a word like p\u00e1ni, water,\nis found in every Gypsy dialect from Persia to South America, from\nFinland to Egypt, one reasonably regards it as a true R\u00f3mani word, as\none that the Gypsies have brought from their eastern home. Similarly,\nif a folk-tale could be shown to have an equally wide distribution\namong the Gypsies, we might reasonably believe that the Gypsies had\nbrought it with them. But at present we know of no such wide\ndistribution. We have five Gypsy versions of \u2018The Master Thief\u2019 (Nos.\n11, 12), one from Roumania, two from Hungary, and two from Wales; and\ntwo of the cognate story, \u2018Tropsyn\u2019 (Nos. 27, 28), from the Bukowina\nand Wales. We have two of \u2018The Vampire\u2019 (No. 5), Roumanian and\nHungarian; three of \u2018The Bad Mother\u2019 (Nos. 8, 9), Roumanian,\nBukowinian, and Hungarian; two of \u2018Mare\u2019s Son\u2019 (Nos. 20, 58),\nBukowinian and Welsh; three of \u2018It all comes to Light\u2019 (Nos. 17, 18,\n19), Bukowinian, Roumanian, and Slovak; two of \u2018The Rich and the Poor\nBrother\u2019 (Nos. 30, 31), Bukowinian and Hungarian; three of \u2018The Robber\nBridegroom\u2019 (No. 47), Polish, Hungarian, and Welsh; three of \u2018The\nMaster Smith\u2019 (Nos. 59, 60), Welsh, Catalonian, and Slovak; two of \u2018The\nGolden Bush and the Good Hare\u2019 (Nos. 49, 75), Polish and Scotch; and\nfour of \u2018The Deluded Dragon\u2019 (Nos. 21, 22), Bukowinian, Slovak,\nTransylvanian, and Turkish. It is something to have established this\nmuch; and it will be seen how enormously Mr. Sampson has extended the\narea of Gypsy folk-tales since 1896. But it still needs much greater\nextension.\n\n\n\nUnique Features.\n\nAn absolutely unique story or incident is a very rare find in folklore.\nA few stories in the present collection I have not been able to match,\ne.g. \u2018The Three Princesses and the Unclean Spirit\u2019 (No. 10), \u2018The Red\nKing and the Witch\u2019 (14), \u2018The Prince and the Wizard\u2019 (15),\n\u2018Pretty-face\u2019 (29), \u2018A Girl who was sold to the Devil\u2019 (46), and \u2018The\nBlack Dog of the Wild Forest\u2019 (72). Then as to incidents, I have met\nwith no non-Gypsy parallel to the somersault that in Gypsy stories\nalmost invariably precedes a transformation (cf. footnote 2 on p. 16).\nI have met with none to the striking ordeal in \u2018Mare\u2019s Son\u2019 (No. 20):\u2014\n\n\n   \u2018He went to his brothers. \u201cGood-day to you, brothers. You fancied I\n    should perish. If you acted fairly by me, toss your arrows up in\n    the air, and they will fall before you; but if unfairly, then they\n    will fall on your heads.\u201d All four tossed up their arrows, and they\n    stood in a row. His fell right before him, and theirs fell on their\n    heads, and they died.\u2019\n\n\n\u2018The Seer\u2019 (No. 23) offers a variant:\u2014\n\n\n   \u2018And he said, \u201cGood-day to you, brothers. You fancied I had\n    perished. You have pronounced your own doom. Come out with me, and\n    toss your swords up in the air. If you acted fairly by me, it will\n    fall before you; but if unfairly, it will fall on your head.\u201d The\n    three of them tossed up their swords, and that of the youngest fell\n    before him, but theirs fell on their head, and they died.\u2019\n\n\nThen there is the fine conception, of frequent occurrence in\nWlislocki\u2019s Transylvanian-Gypsy stories, that the sun in the morning\nsets forth as a little child, by noon has grown to a man, and comes\nhome at eventide weary, old, and grey. [26] And this again, from \u2018The\nHen that laid Diamonds\u2019 (No. 25):\u2014\n\n\n   \u2018The emperor there was dead, and they took his crown and put it in\n    the church; whosever head the crown falls on, he shall be emperor.\n    And men of all ranks came into the church; and the three boys came.\n    And the eldest went before, and slipped into the church; and the\n    crown floated on to his head \u201cWe have a new emperor.\u201d They raised\n    him shoulder-high, and clad him in royal robes.\u2019\n\n\nThe episode is reminiscent of \u2018Excalibur\u2019 in the old Arthurian legend.\nThe story in which it occurs is identical with Hahn\u2019s No. 36, but there\nthe episode is wholly wanting. The multiplication of such seemingly\nunique Gypsy stories and incidents would certainly favour a belief in\nthe originality of the Gypsies, would suggest that some at least of\ntheir stories are at first-hand, and not derived from Greeks, Roumans,\nSlavs, Teutons, or Celts.\n\nStill, nothing would surprise me less than to come on non-Gypsy\nversions of one or all of these stories or incidents. The great mass of\nthe collection can be paralleled from Grimm, Asbj\u00f6rnsen, Hahn,\nCampbell, Cosquin, etc. Thus my No. 63 is Grimm\u2019s \u2018Our Lady\u2019s Child\u2019\n(No. 3); No. 57 his \u2018Youth who went forth to learn what Fear was\u2019 (No.\n4); No. 2 his \u2018Faithful John\u2019 (No. 6); No. 21 his \u2018Valiant Little\nTailor\u2019 (No. 20); No. 38 his \u2018Devil with the Three Golden Hairs\u2019 (No.\n29); No. 47 his \u2018Robber Bridegroom\u2019 (No. 40); No. 70 his \u2018Frederick and\nCatherine\u2019 (No. 59); No. 25 his \u2018Two Brothers\u2019 (No. 60); No. 68 his\n\u2018Little Peasant\u2019 (No. 61); No. 59 his \u2018Brother Lustig\u2019 (No. 81) and\n\u2018Old Man made Young again\u2019 (No. 147); No. 32 his \u2018King of the Golden\nMountains\u2019 (No. 92); No. 17 his \u2018Three Little Birds\u2019 (No. 96); Nos. 55\nand 73 his \u2018Water of Life\u2019 (No. 97); No. 43 his \u2018Skilful Huntsman\u2019 (No.\n111); No. 25 his \u2018Ferdinand the Faithful\u2019 (No. 126); No. 41 his \u2018Shoes\nthat were danced to Pieces\u2019 (No. 133); Nos. 20 and 58 his \u2018Strong Hans\u2019\n(No. 166); and Nos. 11 and 12 his \u2018Master Thief\u2019 (No. 192); besides\nwhich his \u2018Cinderella\u2019 (No. 21), \u2018Godfather Death\u2019 (No. 44), and \u2018The\nSole\u2019 (No. 172) are known to be current among the Gypsies. The Gypsies,\nthen, by the showing even of our present meagre store of Gypsy\nfolk-tales, have over ten per cent. of Grimm\u2019s entire collection.\n\nWhich are the better, the Gypsy versions, or the non-Gypsy versions,\ncan only be definitely determined when we can feel pretty sure of\npossessing the best Gypsy versions procurable. Take, for example, our\nstory of \u2018The Vampire\u2019 (No. 5). The wretched Hungarian-Gypsy version of\nDr. Friedrich M\u00fcller (1869) could not for a moment compare with\nRalston\u2019s fine Russian story of \u2018The Fiend,\u2019 but the Roumanian-Gypsy\nversion of Barbu Constantinescu (1878) quite well can. The standard of\nGypsy folk-tales should clearly be taken from the best, not the\npoorest, specimens; and the standard by that rule is high. Indeed, \u2018The\nRed King and the Witch\u2019 to me appears as good as anything in the whole\nfield of folklore; and \u2018Ashypelt,\u2019 \u2018The Jealous Husband,\u2019 and half a\ndozen more of my collection seem only less good than it. But, of\ncourse, one\u2019s own geese are all swans.\n\n\n\nLiterary Sources.\n\nA curious point about these Gypsy stories is that in three or four of\nthem one recognises an incident or a whole plot which, unless it be\nGypsy, the Gypsies would seem to have derived from books. Here, for\ninstance, are two parallel passages from No. 120 of the Gesta Romanorum\nand from the Bukowina-Gypsy story of \u2018The Seer\u2019 (No. 23):\u2014\n\n\n          GESTA.                               GYPSY TALE.\n\nWhere to bend his steps he knew      The youngest went into the woods,\nnot, but arising, and fortifying     and he was hungry, and he found an\nhimself with the sign of the         apple-tree with apples, and he ate\nCross, he walked along a certain     an apple, and two stag\u2019s horns\npath until he reached a deep         grew. And he said, \u2018What God has\nriver, over which he must pass.      given me I will bear.\u2019 And he went\nBut he found it so bitter and hot,   onward, and crossed a stream, and\nthat it even separated the flesh     the flesh fell away from him. And\nfrom the bones. Full of grief, he    he kept saying, \u2018What God has\nconveyed away a small quantity of    given me I will bear. Thanks be to\nthat water, and when he had          God.\u2019 And he went further, and\nproceeded a little further, felt     found another apple-tree. And he\nhungry. A tree, upon which hung      said, \u2018I will eat one more apple,\nthe most tempting food, incited      even though two more horns shall\nhim to eat; he did so, and           grow.\u2019 When he ate it, the horns\nimmediately became a leper. He       dropped off. And he went further,\ngathered also a little of the        and again found a stream. And he\nfruit, and conveyed it with him.     said, \u2018God, the flesh has fallen\nAfter travelling for some time, he   from me, now my bones will waste\narrived at another stream, whose     away; but even though they do, yet\nvirtue was such that it restored     will I go.\u2019 And he crossed the\nthe flesh to his feet; and eating    stream; his flesh grew fairer than\nof a second tree, he was cleansed    ever.\nof his leprosy.\n\n\nWhich is the better here, the nearer the original\u2014the Geste of the\nRomans, or that of the Romanies? It is hard to determine; but of this I\nfeel pretty sure, that, if any one were asked to say which of these two\npassages was monkish and which Gypsy, he would decide wrongly: there is\nsuch a tone of pious fortitude about \u2018The Seer.\u2019 The Welsh-Gypsy story\nof \u2018The Three Wishes\u2019 (No. 65) looks as though it were taken straight\nfrom Giambattista Basile\u2019s tale of \u2018Peruonto,\u2019 i. 3, in the Pentamerone\n(1637)\u2014a none too accessible work, one would fancy, and a tale that has\nnot passed into popular folklore. Then there is the fine Bukowina-Gypsy\nstory of \u2018The Jealous Husband\u2019 (No. 33), derived apparently from the\nnovella ii. 9 of Boccaccio\u2019s Decamerone (1358), the prototype of\nShakespeare\u2019s Cymbeline. Except that the Gypsy story is localised on\nthe Danube, the plot is almost identical\u2014the wager, the chest, the\ntheft of the ring, the mole. It sounds unlikely that Gypsies, the most\nilliterate race in Europe, should have enriched their stock of\nfolk-tales from Boccaccio. Still, that is how folklorists would\nprobably account for the identity of the two stories, if those stories\nstood alone. But they do not; there are also four folk-tales at least\nto account for\u2014Roumanian, German, Scottish Gaelic, and Irish Gaelic.\nAnd Campbell\u2019s Gaelic story of \u2018The Chest,\u2019 whilst like Boccaccio\u2019s, is\nin some points still liker that of the Bukowina Gypsies. On the whole,\nit seems easier to suppose that Boccaccio got his story directly or\nindirectly from the Gypsies, than that they got theirs from Boccaccio.\nBut Gypsies, it will be urged, were unknown in Italy in Boccaccio\u2019s\nday. That is by no means so certain. There was the komodromos with the\nblind yellow dog, who came from Italy in 544 A.D.; and there was the\nNeapolitan painter, Antonio Solario, \u2018lo Zingaro,\u2019 who was born about\n1382. [27] And even though Boccaccio himself could never have seen\nGypsies, many of his countrymen must have come across them outside of\nItaly\u2014in Greece, in Corfu, in Crete, and in other parts of the Levant.\n\n\n\nQuestions of Date.\n\nSometimes, however, a date does seem to preclude the notion that the\ndissemination of this or that folk-tale can have been due to Gypsies.\nThe \u2018Grateful Dead,\u2019 the first of our collection, is a case in point.\nThe Turkish-Gypsy version is excellent\u2014as good, indeed, as any known to\nme; but the story seems to have been current in England as early, at\nany rate, as 1420\u2014the date assigned to the metrical romance of \u2018Sir\nAmadas.\u2019 Again, according to Mr. Jacobs\u2019 More Celtic Fairy Tales, p.\n229, \u2018the most curious and instructive parallel to Campbell\u2019s West\nHighland tale of \u201cMac Iain Direach\u201d [= our No. 75] is that afforded by\nthe Arthurian romance of Walewein or Gawain, now only extant in Dutch,\nwhich, as Professor W. P. Ker has pointed out in Folk-Lore, v. 121,\nexactly corresponds to the popular tale, and thus carries it back in\nCeltdom to the early twelfth century at the latest.\u2019 Only, how from\nCeltdom has the story wandered to the Polish Gypsies of Galicia, whose\ntale of \u2018The Golden Bush and the Good Hare\u2019 (No. 49) is clearly\nidentical?\n\n\n\nIndian Parallels.\n\nI raise these objections myself, knowing that, if I did not, some one\nelse would certainly do so, with the gleeful remark, \u2018Down goes the\nsilly theory of the dispersion of folk-tales by Gypsies.\u2019 By no means,\nnecessarily. The theory may be inapplicable in these and in other\ncases; but what will the folklorists make of another Polish-Gypsy\nstory, the \u2018Tale of a Foolish Brother and of a Wonderful Bush\u2019 (No.\n45)? Of it we find a variant in the Welsh-Gypsy story of \u2018The Dragon\u2019\n(No. 61), and a most unmistakable version in the Indian fairy-tale of\n\u2018The Monkey Prince\u2019 (Maive Stokes, No. 10, p. 41). The connection,\nindeed, between the Gypsy and the Indian folk-tale seems scarcely less\nobvious than that between p\u00e1ni, water, in R\u00f3mani, and p\u00e1ni, water, in\nHindustani. This, I think, must be granted; but what, then, of the\nnon-Gypsy versions, cited on p. 161, from Russia, Norway, and Sicily?\nOr take the Turkish-Gypsy story of \u2018Baldpate\u2019 (No. 2). It is identical,\non the one hand, with Grimm\u2019s \u2018Faithful John\u2019 (No. 6) and many more\nEuropean versions, and, on the other hand, with the latter half of\n\u2018Phakir Chand\u2019 (Lal Behari Day\u2019s Folk-tales of Bengal, pp. 39\u201352). Is\nit not possibly the link between them? And may not similar links be\ndiscernible in these eight parallels, where the notes on the Gypsy\ntales will supply the exact references:\u2014\n\n\n        INDIAN.                 GYPSY.                  EUROPEAN.\n\n1. The Son of Seven      = The Bad Mother (No.   = The Blue Belt\n   Mothers, etc.           8), etc.                (Norse), etc.\n2. The Boy with the Moon = It all comes to Light = Grimm\u2019s Three Little\n   on his Forehead, etc.   (No. 17), etc.          Birds, etc.\n3. Prince Lionheart,     = Mare\u2019s Son (No. 20),  = Grimm\u2019s Strong Hans,\n   etc.                    etc.                    etc.\n4. Valiant Vicky, the    = The Deluded Dragon    = Grimm\u2019s Valiant\n   Brave Weaver, etc.      (No. 21), etc.          Little Tailor, etc.\n5. The Two Brothers,     = The Hen that laid     = Grimm\u2019s Two Brothers,\n   etc.                    Diamonds (No. 25).      etc.\n6. The Weaver as Vishnu  = The Winged Hero (No.  = Andersen\u2019s Flying\n   (Sansk.).               26).                    Trunk, etc.\n7. The Two Bh\u00fbts, etc.   = The Rich and the Poor = Grimm\u2019s Two\n                           Brother (No. 30),       Travellers, etc.\n                           etc.\n8. Story cited by        = The Witch (No. 50),   = Cosquin\u2019s Chatte\n   Ralston.                etc.                    Blanche, etc.\n\n\nThere is also a frequent identity of incident in Gypsy and Indian\nfolk-tales. Thus, in the Hungarian-Gypsy version of \u2018The Vampire\u2019 (No.\n5), the king sends his coachman to pluck the flower that has grown from\nthe maiden\u2019s grave; the coachman cannot, but the king himself can, and\ntakes the flower home. Just so the Bel-Princess, thrown into a well,\nturns into a lotus-flower, which recedes from the villager who tries to\npluck it, but floats into the prince\u2019s hand (Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian\nFairy Tales, p. 145; also p. 10). Fruits causing pregnancy are common\nin Gypsy as in Indian folk-tales (cf. Notes to No. 16); and God sends\nSt. Peter with them in the former just as Mah\u00e1deo does an old fak\u00edr in\nthe latter. The sleeping beauty in \u2018The Winged Hero\u2019 (No. 26) lies\nlifeless on the bed, and is awakened only by the removal of the candle\nfrom her head; in \u2018The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead\u2019 (Lal Behari\nDay\u2019s Folk-tales of Bengal, p. 251) it is two little sticks of gold and\nsilver that revive the suspended animation of the young lady sleeping\non the golden bedstead. The rescue of the eaglets from the dragon in\n\u2018Mare\u2019s Son\u2019 (No. 20) exactly matches the rescue of the two birds from\nthe huge serpent in the Bengal \u2018Story of Prince Sobur\u2019 (p. 134); and\nthe princess in the tree in that same Bengal story (p. 126) comes very\nnear the wife in the oak in the Polish-Gypsy \u2018Tale of a Girl who was\nsold to the Devil\u2019 (No. 46). The robbers in a Moravian-Gypsy story (No.\n43) break through the wall of a castle like the robbers of Scripture\nand of Indian folk-tales; and one very curious feature, which we can\ntrace across two continents, is the feather, hair, or wing of a bird,\nbeast, or insect, the burning of which, or sometimes the mere thinking\non which, summons its former possessor to the hero\u2019s aid. It occurs in\nthis passage from an unpublished Turkish-Gypsy story (Paspati, p.\n523):\u2014\u2018He gave the old man a feather, and he said to the old man, \u201cTake\nit and carry it to your daughter, and if she puts it in the fire I will\ncome.\u201d\u2019 It occurs, too, in the Roumanian-Gypsy story of \u2018The Three\nPrincesses and the Unclean Spirit\u2019 (No. 10), in the Bukowina-Gypsy\nstory of \u2018The Enchanted City\u2019 (No. 32), and in the Polish-Gypsy \u2018Tale\nof a Girl who was sold to the Devil\u2019 (No. 46). It is by no means a\ncommon feature in Western folklore, but it occurs in Basile\u2019s\nPentamerone, iv. 3, and in the Irish story of \u2018The Weaver\u2019s Son and the\nGiant of the White Hill\u2019 (Curtin, pp. 64\u201377) the hero gets a bit of\nwool from the ram, a bit of fin from the salmon, and a feather from the\neagle, with injunctions to take them out when in any difficulty, and so\nsummon all the rams, salmon, or eagles of the world to his assistance.\nAs I show in the notes to No. 46, the idea is of frequent occurrence in\nthe folk-tales of the Levant [28] and of India. In Mrs. Steel\u2019s\nWide-awake Stories, p. 32, the demon says to the Faithful Prince, \u2018Take\nthis hair with you, and, when you need help, burn it, then I will come\nimmediately to your assistance.\u2019 And in the Arabian Nights (\u2018Conclusion\nof the Story of the Ladies of Baghdad\u2019) the Jinneeyeh gives the first\nlady a lock of her hair, and says, \u2018When thou desirest my presence,\nburn a few of these hairs, and I will be with thee quickly, though I\nshould be beyond Mount Kaf.\u2019\n\nThe list, I expect, of identical plots and incidents could be largely\nextended even from my collection by M. Cosquin or any one else well\nversed in Indian folklore. Yet, as it stands, that list goes some way\nto corroborate my theory. One obvious objection may be anticipated. A\nfolk-tale, as told to-day in India, need not be more primitive, more\nfaithful to the original, than the same folk-tale as told to-day in\nGreece or Germany. The same wear and tear may have affected the story\nthat stayed at home as has affected the story that wandered westward a\nthousand or two thousand years ago; it may have affected it in a very\nmuch greater degree. That is just what we find in language; the R\u00f3mani\nvast, hand, comes much nearer the Sanskrit hasta than does the\nHindustani h\u0101th. Another point may also be illustrated from language.\nThe same word, or two kindred words, may have reached the same\ndestination by different routes and at widely different periods. The\nGypsies brought with them p\u00e1ni, water, to England, whither centuries\nafter came the \u2018brandy-pawnee\u2019 of Anglo-Indians; p\u00e1ni is a far-away\ncousin of ae, aqueous, aquarium, etc. Brother and fraternal, [29] foot\nand pedestrian, are two out of hundreds of similar instances. In much\nthe same way, it need not be any positive objection to the late\ntransmission of a folk-tale to Norway or England, that an earlier form\nof that folk-tale already existed there. Because in the Nibelungenlied\none finds a striking parallel to an episode in the Bukowina-Gypsy story\nof \u2018The Prince, his Comrade, and Nastasa the Fair\u2019 (No. 24), it does\nnot follow that that story is necessarily derived from the\nNibelungenlied. Still, the difficulty of discriminating between the\nearlier and the more recent forms of a folk-tale must be enormous\u2014it\nmay be, insuperable.\n\n\n\nTokens of Recent Diffusion.\n\nSometimes, however, it seems to me, we get sure tokens of recent\ndiffusion. Thus in the folk-tales to which Sir George Cox, Professor de\nGubernatis, and their fellow-mythologists assign a prehistoric\nantiquity, one of the commonest incidents is where the hero and\nheroine, flying from a demon, magician, or ogre (the heroine\u2019s father\noften), transform themselves into a church and priest. We find the\nincident in Lorraine, Brittany, Picardy, many parts of both Germany and\nItaly, the Tyrol, Transylvania, Hungary, Croatia, Russia, Spain,\nPortugal, and Brazil, as well as among the Gypsies of Turkey, the\nBukowina, and Galicia (cf. Cosquin, i. 106; and my own pp. 127, 196).\nWhat was the prehistoric form of the church? Was it a tope, a stone\ncircle, something of the kind? That well may be. But how comes it that\nthe development of the prehistoric form has in all these\nwidely-separated countries reached exactly the same stage, and there\nstopped? Why has not the stone circle become in one case a stone-heap\nwith a stone-breaker, in another a pound with a horse in it, in a third\na field with a rubbing-post? Why always the modern Christian notion of\na church? But the difficulty vanishes if one may suppose that the\nGypsies, starting from the Balkan Peninsula at a date when churches\nwere familiar objects, which a pursuer would naturally pass, carried\nwith them the modern version of the story to Russia, Spain, and the\nother countries in which it is told to-day. Similarly, in Gypsy\nstories, and in stories current in countries wide apart, one finds such\nincidents as the hero falling in love through a portrait, the hero\nplaying cards with the devil, the hero carrying a Bellerophon letter,\nthe hero looking through an all-seeing telescope. Such stories in their\noriginal form may be of indefinable antiquity; but the recurrence of\ntheir developed form amongst Slavs and Teutons and Celts would seem to\nbe due to recent transmission, unless one is prepared to maintain that\nour prim\u00e6val Aryan ancestors were acquainted with portrait-painting,\nwith playing-cards, with the art of writing, and with telescopes.\n\n\n\nThe Anthropological Theory.\n\nIn his Introduction to Mrs. Hunt\u2019s admirable translation of Grimm, Mr.\nAndrew Lang thus expounded his \u2018Anthropological\u2019 theory of folk-tales:\u2014\n\n\n   \u2018As to the origin of the wild incidents in Household Tales, let any\n    one ask himself this question: Is there anything in the frequent\n    appearance of cannibals, in kinship with animals, in magic, in\n    abominable cruelty, that would seem unnatural to a savage?\n    Certainly not; all these things are familiar to his world. Do all\n    these things occur on almost every page of Grimm? Certainly they\n    do. Have they been natural and familiar incidents to the educated\n    German mind during the historic age? No one will venture to say so.\n    These notions, then, have survived in peasant tales from the time\n    when the ancestors of the Germans were like Zulus or Maoris or\n    Australians.\u2019\n\n\n\nGypsy Savagery.\n\nIt is an interesting, the most interesting theory; still I cannot\nforbear pointing out that many of Mr. Lang\u2019s survivals of dead Teutonic\nsavagery are living realities in Gypsy tents. Matty Cooper, discoursing\nto his \u2018dear little wooden bear,\u2019 and offering it beer to drink; \u2018Gypsy\nMary,\u2019 who \u2018washed herself away from God Almighty\u2019; Riley Smith and\nEmily Pinfold, who both \u2018sold their blood to the Devil\u2019; Mrs. Draper,\nwho vowed that, sooner than touch beer or spirits, she would go to\nLoughton churchyard, and drink the blood of her dead son lying there;\nRiley Bosville with his two wives, and old Charles Pinfold with his\nthree; Lementina Lovell, who heard the fairy music; her grandson,\nDimiti, who lay awake once in Snaky Lane, and watched the little\nfairies in the oak-tree; and Ernest Smith (1871\u201398), who one July night\nin the grounds of the Edinburgh Electrical Exhibition of 1890 saw \u2018two\ndear little teeny people, about two feet high, and he upp\u2019d and flung\nstones at \u2019em\u2019\u2014I myself have known eight of these Gypsies, and kinsfolk\nof the two others. It is not sixteen years since an English Gypsy girl,\nto work her vengeance on her false Gentile lover, cut the heart out of\na living white pigeon, and flung the poor bird, yet struggling, on the\nfire. It is barely fifty years since old Mrs. Smith was buried at\nTroston, near Ixworth, after travelling East Anglia for half a century\nwith a sparrow, which, like the raven in Grimm\u2019s story, told her all\nmanner of secrets. (Cf. Mr. Lang\u2019s \u20184. Savage idea.\u2014Animals help\nfavoured men and women.\u2019) Then, there is the Gypsy system of tabu, by\nwhich wife and child renounce for ever the favourite food or drink of\nthe dead husband or father, or the name of the deceased is dropped\nclean out of use, any survivors who happen to bear it adopting another.\nThere is the belief in the evil eye; there are caste-like rules of\nceremonial purity; and on the Continent there is, or was lately, actual\nidolatry\u2014tree-worship among German Gypsies, and the worship of the\nmoon-god, Alako, among their brethren of Scandinavia. [Cannibalism.]\nNor even for cannibalism need Mr. Lang go far back or far afield. In\n1782 in Hungary, next door to Germany, forty-five Gypsies, men and\nwomen, were beheaded, broken on the wheel, quartered alive, or hanged,\nfor cannibalism. Arrested first by way of wise precaution, they were\nracked till they confessed to theft and murder, then were brought to\nthe spot where they said their victims should be buried, and, no\nvictims forthcoming, were promptly racked again. \u2018We ate them,\u2019 at last\nwas their despairing cry, and straightway the Gypsies were hurried to\nthe scaffold; straightway the newspapers all over Europe rang with\nblood-curdling narratives of \u2018Gypsy cannibalism.\u2019 Then, when it all was\nover, the Emperor Joseph sent a commission down, the outcome of whose\ninvestigations was that nobody was missing, that no one had been\nmurdered\u2014but the Gypsies. That was in Hungary, a century ago; but even\nin England, in 1859, a judge seems to have entertained a similar\nsuspicion. In that year, at the York assizes, a Gypsy lad, Guilliers\nHeron, was tried for a robbery, of which, by the bye, he was innocent.\n\u2018One of the prisoner\u2019s brothers\u2019 (I quote from the Times of Thursday,\n10th March, p. 11), \u2018said they were all at tea with the prisoner at\nfive o\u2019clock in their tent, and, when asked what they had to eat, he\nsaid they had a \u201chodgun\u201d cooked, which is the provincial name for a\nhedgehog. His Lordship (Mr. Justice Byles): \u201cWhat do you say you\nhad\u2014cooked urchin?\u201d Gypsy: \u201cYes, cooked hodgun. I\u2019m very fond of cooked\nhodgun\u201d (with a grin). His Lordship\u2019s mind seemed to be filled with\nhorrible misgivings, when the meaning of the provincialism was\nexplained amid much laughter.\u2019 Cannibalism is a common feature of Gypsy\nfolk-tales, as this collection will show; but it is far commoner, and\non a far grander scale, in the folk-tales of India, where a rakshasi\nmakes nothing of polishing off the entire population of a city, plus\nthe goats and sheep, horses and elephants. How does Mr. Lang account\nfor this, for Germany remained savage long ages after India? I rather\nfancy, though I cannot be certain, that cannibalism in folk-tales\ntapers off pretty regularly westward from India. [30]\n\n\n\nGypsy Migrations.\n\nIn the Academy for 11th June 1887 Mr. Lang objected: \u2018Can M. Cosquin\nshow that South Siberia and Zanzibar got their contes by oral\ntransmission from India within the historical period? This is doubtful;\nbut it seems still more unlikely that tales which originated in India\ncould have reached Barra and Uist in the Hebrides, and Zululand, and\nthe Samoyeds\u2014not to mention America\u2014by oral transmission, and all\nwithin the historical period.\u2019 My pp. xv\u2013xviii and xxxv\u2013xlv furnish a\nfairly good answer to much of this objection, for they show that during\nthe last three centuries recent immigrants from India, possessed of\nfolk-tales, have been passing to and fro between Lorraine and Italy,\nScotland and North America, Portugal and Africa and Brazil, Poland and\nSiberia, Spain and Louisiana, the Basque Country and Africa, Hungary\nand Italy, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, and Algeria, the Balkan\nPeninsula and Scandinavia, Italy and Asia Minor, Corfu and Corsica, the\nLevant and Liverpool, Hungary and Scotland. But, indeed, Mr. Lang\u2019s\nobjection was, in part at least, answered already, by the discovery in\nScandinavia, Orkney, and Lancashire of thousands of Cufic coins of the\nninth and tenth centuries. For where coins could journey from Bagdad,\nso also of course could folk-tales.\n\nI remember once in an English parsonage being shown a \u2018cannibal fork.\u2019\nI do not think I rushed to the conclusion that the parson\u2019s grandmother\nhad been a ghoul; no, I rather fancy there was talk of a son or a\nbrother who was a missionary somewhere, perhaps in the South Sea\nIslands. And I remember also how a Suffolk vicar unearthed a\nRomano-British cemetery. One of his most treasured finds was a pair of\nbrass compasses: \u2018Marvellous,\u2019 he would point out, \u2018how like they are\nto our own.\u2019 \u2018As well they may be,\u2019 old Mrs. C\u2014\u2014 remarked to me (she\nwas the daughter of a former vicar), \u2018for I can quite well remember my\npoor brother John losing them.\u2019\n\n\n\nGypsy Originality.\n\nSometimes, I scarce know why, the eloquence and the ingenuity of\nfolklorists suggest these reminiscences; anyhow, I doubt if to\nfolklorists my theory is likely to commend itself. From solar myths,\nsavage philosophy, arch\u00e6an survivals, polyonymy, relics of Druidism,\npolygamous frameworks, and such-like high-sounding themes, it is a\nterrible come-down to Gypsies=gipsies=tramps. [31] So I look for most\nfolklorists to scout my theory, and to maintain that the Turkish\nGypsies picked up their folk-tales from Turks or Greeks, the Roumanian\nGypsies theirs from Roumans, the Hungarian Gypsies theirs from Magyars,\nthe English and Welsh Gypsies theirs from the English and Welsh, the \u2014\u2014\nHold! hold! pray where are the English or Welsh originals of our Gypsy\nversions of \u2018The Master Thief,\u2019 \u2018The Little Peasant,\u2019 \u2018Frederick and\nCatherine,\u2019 \u2018Ferdinand the Faithful,\u2019 \u2018The Master Smith,\u2019 \u2018The Robber\nBridegroom,\u2019 or \u2018Strong Hans\u2019? where those of such English and Welsh\nGypsy stories as \u2018The Black Dog of the Wild Forest,\u2019 \u2018De Little\nBull-calf,\u2019 \u2018Jack and his Golden Snuff-box,\u2019 or \u2018An Old King and his\nThree Sons in England\u2019? It may be answered that the last three are in\nMr. Joseph Jacobs\u2019 English Fairy Tales (2 vols. 1890\u201394). I know those\nstories are there; they form nearly ten per cent. of Mr. Jacobs\u2019 entire\ncollection; but have they any business to be there? I have John\nRoberts\u2019 manuscript of \u2018An Old King\u2019 before me now; it opens\u2014\u2018Adoi ses\nyecker porro koreelish, ta ses les trin chavay.\u2019 You may render that,\nas I rendered it, into English, \u2018There was once an old king, and he had\nthree sons\u2019; but that does not make the story an English one. No; so\nfar as our present information goes, \u2018An Old King\u2019 is a Welsh-Gypsy\nfolk-tale. [32]\n\nThere is at least one other story in Mr. Jacobs\u2019 collection that may be\nGypsy, not English. This is \u2018The Three Feathers,\u2019 which, Mrs. Gomme\ntells me, was collected from some Deptford hop-pickers by a lady now in\nAmerica. Not all hop-pickers are Gypsies, but a goodly proportion are,\nas I know from old walks among Kentish and Surrey hop-gardens. \u2018The\nThree Feathers\u2019 is a variant of Laura Gonzenbach\u2019s Sicilian story of\n\u2018Feledico and Epomata\u2019 (No. 55, i. 251), of an incident in Campbell\u2019s\nGaelic story of \u2018The Battle of the Birds\u2019 (No. 2, i. 36, 50), of one in\nKennedy\u2019s Irish story of \u2018The Brown Bear of Norway\u2019 (p. 63), and of one\nin the Norse story of \u2018The Master-maid.\u2019\n\n\n\nGaelic and Welsh-Gypsy Stories.\n\nNow, of \u2018The Battle of the Birds\u2019 we have a Welsh-Gypsy version, \u2018The\nGreen Man of Noman\u2019s Land\u2019 (No. 62), lacking, it is true, this episode,\nwhich may be an interpolation in the Gaelic story, but unmistakably\nidentical with the Gaelic story, of which, however, it forms only a\nfragment. In the Gaelic version the hero is set four tasks by the\nheroine\u2019s father, in the Gypsy version five tasks, as follows:\u2014\n\n\n           GAELIC.                            WELSH-GYPSY.\n\nTo cleanse a byre, uncleansed      To clean a stable. Heroine does it.\nfor seven years. Heroine does      Father accuses him of receiving\nit. Father taxes him with having   help. He denies it.\nbeen helped.\nWanting.                           To fell a forest before mid-day (cf.\n                                   Polish-Gypsy story of \u2018The Witch,\u2019\n                                   p. 188). Heroine does it. Same\n                                   denial.\nTo thatch byre with birds\u2019         To thatch barn with one feather only\ndown\u2014birds with no two feathers    of each bird. Heroine does it.\nof one colour. Heroine does it.\nHe denies help.\nTo climb a very lofty fir-tree     To climb glass mountain in middle of\nbeside a loch, and fetch down      lake, and fetch egg of bird that\nmagpie\u2019s five eggs. He climbs it   lays one only. He wishes heroine\u2019s\non a ladder of heroine\u2019s           shoe a boat, and they reach\nfingers, but in his haste her      mountain. He wishes her finger a\nlittle finger is left on top of    ladder, but steps over the last\ntree.                              rung, and her finger is broken. She\n                                   warns him to deny help.\nTo select at the dance the         To guess which of the three\nyoungest of the three sisters      daughters is which, as they fly\nall dressed alike. He knows her    three times over castle in form of\nby the absence of the little       birds. Forewarned by heroine, he\nfinger.                            names them correctly.\n\n\nThe story, of course, is a very widespread one. We have a Sanskrit\nversion of it on the one hand, and on the other an African Negro\nversion from Jamaica, with many more referred to in the notes on two\nother Gypsy versions\u2014one from the Bukowina, \u2018Made over to the Devil\u2019\n(No. 34), and the other from Galicia, \u2018The Witch\u2019 (No. 50). But in the\nGaelic and in the Gypsy version there are two special points to be\nnoted. The first is that the almost absolute identity of the tasks\nimposed seems to preclude the idea that the likeness between the two\nversions can be explained by their being derived from a common\noriginal, three or four thousand years old. The second point is that in\nsome respects the Gypsy version is decidedly the better of the two: the\nfir-tree beside a loch cannot compare with the glass mountain in the\nmiddle of the lake; and the selection of the youngest daughter at the\ndance is inferior to the selection of her as she flies in bird-shape\nover the castle.\n\n\n\nOther Parallels.\n\nResemblances only less strongly marked are observable between\nCampbell\u2019s two stories of \u2018The Shifty Lad\u2019 and \u2018The Three Widows\u2019 and\nthe Welsh-Gypsy story of \u2018Jack the Robber\u2019 (No. 68), between his \u2018Tale\nof the Soldier\u2019 (given here as a tinker story, No. 74), and my\n\u2018Ashypelt\u2019 (No. 57), and between his \u2018Brown Bear of the Green Glen\u2019\n(No. 73 here) and my \u2018Old King his Three Sons\u2019 (No. 55). There is also\nsometimes a striking similarity of phrase and idea in Gaelic and\nWelsh-Gypsy stories. Thus, in Campbell we get: \u2018The dun steed would\ncatch the swift March wind that would be before, and the swift March\nwind could not catch her\u2019; \u2018He went much further than I can tell or you\ncan think\u2019; and \u2018Whether dost thou like the big half of the bannock and\nmy curse, or the little half and my blessing?\u2019 For which John Roberts\ngives: \u2018Off he went as fast as the wind, which the wind behind could\nnot catch the wind before\u2019; \u2018Now poor Jack goes ... further than I can\ntell you to-night or ever intend to tell you\u2019; and \u2018Which would you\nlike best for me to make you\u2014a little cake and to bless you, or a big\ncake and to curse you?\u2019 This last feature\u2014of the big cake and curse, or\nthe little cake and blessing\u2014is found, to the best of my knowledge, in\nno folk-tale outside the British Isles; but it occurs also in the\nAberdeenshire story of \u2018The Red Etin\u2019 (Chambers\u2019s Popular Rhymes of\nScotland, p. 90), and in Kennedy\u2019s \u2018Jack and his Comrades\u2019 and \u2018The\nCorpse-Watchers\u2019 (Fictions of the Irish Celts, pp. 5, 54).\n\n\n\nIrish and Gypsy Folk-tales.\n\nIt is hard to conceive how stories told by Welsh Gypsies should have\nbeen derived from West Highland folk-tales; of the alternative notion\nthat the West Highland folk-tales may have originally been derived from\nGypsies we get one pretty strong confirmation\u2014the identity of\nCampbell\u2019s \u2018Knight of Riddles\u2019 (No. 22) and the Turkish-Gypsy story of\n\u2018The Riddle\u2019 (No. 3). Reinhold K\u00f6hler, in Orient und Occident, ii. 320,\nfailed to find in all Europe\u2019s folklore any parallel to the latter, the\nessential, half of the Gaelic story; but the knight\u2019s daughter\u2019s plaid\nthere is clearly the Highland version of the princess\u2019s chemise in the\nGypsy story. Campbell, too, is sore put to it how the Rhampsinitus\nstory can have found its way to Dumbartonshire (i. 352), or a tale from\nBoccaccio to Islay (ii. 14), or one from Straparola to Barra (ii. 238).\nBut all three stories are known to the Gypsies; there, then, is a\nsolution of Campbell\u2019s perplexities. So that if Campbell\u2019s stories and\nthe Welsh-Gypsy stories had stood alone, I should, I believe, have\nurged that alternative notion. But they do not, for in several cases\nthe Welsh-Gypsy stories resemble Irish Gaelic versions a great deal\nmore closely than they do the Scottish ones. Thus, in Mr. Curtin\u2019s\nMyths and Folklore of Ireland [33] (1890) is \u2018The Son of the King of\nErin and the Giant of Loch Lein,\u2019 pp. 32\u201349, a variant of Campbell\u2019s\n\u2018Battle of the Birds\u2019; the following brief abstract of it will show how\nexactly it tallies with our \u2018Green Man of Noman\u2019s Land\u2019 (No.\n62):\u2014Prince plays cards with giant, and wins two estates. Plays again,\nand wins golden-horned cattle. Plays again, and loses his head, so has\nto give himself up to giant in a year and a day. On his way to giant\u2019s\nhe lodges with three old women, sisters, each of whom gives him a ball\nof thread for guide. Near the giant\u2019s castle he comes on a lake, in\nwhich giant\u2019s three daughters are bathing. He seizes the clothes of the\nyoungest one, and to get them back she promises to save him from\ndanger. The giant sets him tasks\u2014to clean stable, to thatch stable with\nbirds\u2019 feathers (no two alike), and to bring down crow\u2019s one egg from a\ntree covered with glass, nine hundred feet high. The youngest daughter\nhelps him in all three tasks, for the third task making him strip the\nflesh from her bones, and use the bones as steps for climbing. Coming\ndown, he misses the last bone, and she loses her little toe. The prince\ngoes home, and is to be married to the daughter of the King of Lochlin\n[Denmark], but the giant and his daughter are invited to the wedding.\nThen, as in Campbell\u2019s tale, the giant\u2019s daughter \u2018threw two grains of\nwheat in the air, and there came down on the table two pigeons. The\ncock pigeon pecked at the hen and pushed her off the table. Then the\nhen called out to him in a human voice, \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t do that to me the\nday I cleaned the stable for you.\u201d\u2019 So, too, the hen reminds the cock\nof the second and third tasks [34]; and, awakened at last to\nremembrance, the prince weds the giant\u2019s daughter.\n\nClearly, the readiest explanation of the likeness between \u2018The Green\nMan of Noman\u2019s Land\u2019 and the Scottish and Irish stories would be that\nthese last are both derived from Gypsies; but then of Gypsies in\nIreland our knowledge is almost nil. In a letter of 8th February 1898,\nMr. William Larminie, of Bray, Co. Wicklow, the author of West Irish\nFolk-tales (1893), writes:\u2014\u2018I have never heard of Irish Gypsies proper.\nThey seem never to have settled in the country for some reason.\u2019 On the\nother hand, three or four English-Gypsy families of my acquaintance\nhave certainly travelled Ireland during the last thirty years; Simson\u2019s\nHistory of the Gipsies (1865) contains allusions on pp. 325\u20138, 356\u20138,\netc., to visits of \u2018Irish Gipsies\u2019 to Scotland; and, according to a\nnote by Mr. Ffrench of Donegal in the Gypsy Lore Journal for April\n1890, p. 127, \u2018there are two tribes of Gypsy-folk in Ireland. The first\nare real Gypsies; the second are what are called \u201cGilly Goolies,\u201d and\nare only touched on the Gypsies, i.e. have a strain of Gypsy blood in\ntheir veins, and follow the mode of life followed by the Gypsies.\u2019\nMoreover, the Irish novelist, William Carleton (1794\u20131869), in his\nAutobiography (1896), i. 212, shows that \u2018Scottish gipsies\u2019 did visit\nmid-Ireland about 1814 and earlier. \u2018My eldest married sister, Mary,\u2019\nhe writes, \u2018lived (about the period when I, having been set apart for\nthe Church, commenced my Latin) in the townland of a place called\nBallagh, Co. Roscommon, remarkable for the beauty of its lough. It was\nduring the Easter holidays, and I was on a visit to her. At that time\nit was not unusual for a small encampment of the Scottish gipsies to\npass over to the north of Ireland, and indeed I am not surprised at it,\nconsidering the extraordinary curiosity, not to say enthusiasm, with\nwhich they were received by the people. The men were all tinkers, and\nthe women thieves and fortune-tellers\u2014but in their case the thief was\nalways sunk in the fortune-teller.\u2019 And he goes on to describe how he\nhad his own fortune told with a pack of cards by one of the women, \u2018a\nsallow old pythoness.\u2019\n\nOne may not build upon so slight a superstructure, though at the same\ntime it should be borne in mind that nothing, absolutely nothing, was\nknown of the Welsh Gypsies till 1875. Where, however, as in England,\nGypsies have certainly been roaming to and fro for centuries, nothing\nseems to me likelier than the transmission by them of folk-tales. For I\nknow by frequent journeyings with them how the Gypsy camp is the\nfavourite nightly rendezvous of the lads and lasses from the\nneighbouring village. All the amusement they can give their guests, the\nGypsies give gladly; and stories and songs are among their best\nstock-in-trade.\n\n\n\nGypsy Story-tellers.\n\nCampbell of Islay has shown us a Gypsy professional story-teller in\nLondon, and Paspati has shown us a Gypsy professional story-teller, the\ngrandson of one at Constantinople. That is not much, perhaps; but there\nare several more indications of the transmission of folk-tales by\nGypsies. Bakht, the R\u00f3mani word for \u2018luck\u2019 or \u2018fortune,\u2019 has passed,\nnot merely into Albanian folk-tales, but into the Greek and Turkish\nlanguages, as I show in a footnote on p. 53; and a good many of the\nfollowing seventy-six stories seem to show unmistakable tokens of the\npractised raconteur\u2019s art. \u2018Let us leave the dogs, and return to the\ngirl,\u2019 in No. 47; \u2018Now we\u2019ll leave the master to stand a bit, and go\nback to the mother,\u2019 in No. 68; \u2018And I came away, told the story,\u2019 in\nNos. 6, 7, 8, and 15; \u2018And I left them there, and came and told my\nstory to your lordships,\u2019 in No. 10; \u2018I was there, and heard everything\nthat happened,\u2019 in No. 12; \u2018Away I came, the tale have told,\u2019 in No.\n18; \u2018Now you\u2019ve got it,\u2019 in No. 28; \u2018If they are not dead, they are\nstill alive,\u2019 in Nos. 41 and 42, and also in Hungarian-Gypsy stories;\n\u2018The floor there was made of paper, and I came away here,\u2019 in No. 43;\n\u2018So if they are not dead, they are living together,\u2019 in No. 44; \u2018Excuse\nme for saying it,\u2019 in No. 55; \u2018She was delivered (pray, excuse me) of a\nboy,\u2019 in No. 46; \u2018And the last time I was there I played my harp for\nthem, and got to go again,\u2019 in No. 54\u2014these all sound like tags or\nformulas of the professional story-teller. L\u00e9on Zafiri\u2019s usual wind-up,\nsays Paspati (p. 421), ran: \u2018And I too, I was there, and I ate, and I\ndrank, and I have come to tell you the story.\u2019\n\n\n\nStory-telling a living Gypsy art.\n\nA tree can never be quite dead as long as it puts forth shoots; I fancy\nthe very latest shoot in the whole Yggdrasil of European folk-tales is\nthe episode in \u2018The Tinker and his Wife\u2019 (No. 70), where the tinker\nbuys a barrel of beer, and says, \u2018Now, my wench, you make the biggest\npenny out of it as ever you can,\u2019 and she goes and sells the whole\nbarrel to a packman for one of the old big pennies. That episode cannot\nbe earlier than the introduction of the new bronze coinage in 1861; it\nlooks as though it must itself be a recent coinage of Cornelius Price,\nor of Nebuchadn\u0113zar, his uncle. But, there, I have known a Gypsy girl\ndash off what was almost a folk-tale impromptu. She had been to a\npic-nic in a four-in-hand, with \u2018a lot o\u2019 real tip-top gentry\u2019; and\n\u2018Re\u00eda,\u2019 she said to me afterwards, \u2018I\u2019ll tell you the comicalest thing\nas ever was. We\u2019d pulled up, to put the brake on; and there was a p\u00faro\nhotchiw\u00edtchi (old hedgehog) come and looked at us through the hedge,\nlooked at me hard. I could see he\u2019d his eye upon me. And home he\u2019d go,\nthat old hedgehog, to his wife, and \u201cMissus,\u201d he\u2019d say, \u201cwhat d\u2019 ye\nthink? I seen a little Gypsy gal just now in a coach and four hosses\u201d;\nand \u201cD\u00e1bla!\u201d she\u2019d say, \u201csawk\u00famni \u2019as vard\u00e9 ken\u00e1w\u201d\u2019 (Bless us! every\none now keeps a carriage).\n\n\n\nPossible Gypsy influences.\n\nI have told English Gypsies Grimm\u2019s tale of \u2018The Hare and the\nHedgehog,\u2019 and they always pronounce that it must be a R\u00f3mani story\n(\u2018Who else would have gone for to make up a tale about hedgehogs?\u2019)\n[35] But the question whether in many non-Gypsy collections there are\nnot a number of folk-tales that present strong internal evidence of\ntheir Gypsy origin is a difficult question; it would take us too far\nafield, and could lead to no really definite results. Still, I must say\na word or two. In Hahn\u2019s fine variant (ii. 267) of our \u2018Mare\u2019s Son\u2019\nfrom the island of Syra a vizier travels from town to town, seeking a\nlad as handsome as the prince. At last he is passing through a Gypsy\nquarter, [36] when he hears a boy singing: \u2018his voice was beautiful as\nany nightingale\u2019s.\u2019 He looks through a door, and sees a boy, who is\nevery whit as handsome as the prince, so he purchases this boy, and the\nboy plays a leading part in the story. The abject contempt in which\nGypsies are held throughout the whole of south-eastern Europe renders\nit probable that none but a Gypsy would thus have described a member of\nthe race. The story, too, from its opening clause, a greeting to the\n\u2018goodly company,\u2019 would seem to have been told by a professional\nstory-teller\u2014a kinsman, possibly, of L\u00e9on Zafiri. Krauss\u2019s Croatian\nstory (No. 98) of \u2018The Gypsy and the Nine Franciscans\u2019 is just \u2018Les\nTrois Bossus\u2019 of the trouv\u00e8re Durant (Liebrecht\u2019s Dunlop, p. 209); yet\nit has, to my thinking, a thoroughly R\u00f3mani ring. In Campbell\u2019s Gaelic\nstory of \u2018The Young King of Easaidh Ruadh\u2019 (No. 1) the hero\u2019s young\nwife is carried off by a giant, and, following their track, he comes\nthrice on the site of a fire. If I were telling that story to Gypsies,\nI should say, not site of a fire, but fireplace: I fancy I can hear the\nGypsies\u2019 exclamations\u2014\u2018Dere! my blessed! following de fireplaces.\nCourse he\u2019d know den which way de giant had gone.\u2019 I could cite a good\nscore of similar instances; but I will content myself with this\nfootnote from Scott\u2019s Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (ed. 1873, iv.\n102):\u2014\u2018Besides the prophetic powers ascribed to the Gypsies in most\nEuropean countries, the Scottish peasants believe them possessed of the\npower of throwing upon bystanders a spell, and causing them to see the\nthing that is not.... The receipt to prevent the operation of these\ndeceptions was to use a sprig of four-leaved clover. I remember to have\nheard (certainly very long ago, for at that time I believed the\nlegend), that a Gypsy exercised his glamour over a number of persons at\nHaddington, to whom he exhibited a common dunghill cock, trailing what\nappeared to the spectators a massy oaken trunk. An old man passed with\na cart of clover; he stopped, and picked out a four-leaved blade; the\neyes of the spectators were opened,\u2014and the oaken trunk appeared to be\na bulrush.\u2019 But that is just Grimm\u2019s No. 149, \u2018The Beam\u2019: what\nfolklorist has ever associated \u2018The Beam\u2019 with the Gypsies?\n\n\n\nTheory.\n\nTo recapitulate, my theory, then, is this:\u2014The Gypsies quitted India at\nan unknown date, probably taking with them some scores of Indian\nfolk-tales, as they certainly took with them many hundreds of Indian\nwords. By way of Persia and Armenia, they arrived in the Greek-speaking\nBalkan Peninsula, and tarried there for several centuries, probably\ndisseminating their Indian folk-tales, and themselves picking up Greek\nfolk-tales, as they certainly gave Greek the R\u00f3mani word bakht,\n\u2018fortune,\u2019 and borrowed from it param\u00edsi, \u2018story,\u2019 and about a hundred\nmore terms. From the Balkan Peninsula they have spread since 1417, or\npossibly earlier, to Siberia, Norway, Scotland, Wales, Spain, Brazil,\nand the countries between, everywhere probably disseminating the\nfolk-tales they started with and those they picked up by the way, and\neverywhere probably adding to their store. Thus, I take it, they picked\nup the complete Rhampsinitus story in the Balkan Peninsula, and carried\nit thence to Roumania and Scotland; in Scotland, if John MacDonald was\nany sort of a Gypsy, they seem to have picked up \u2018Osean after the\nFeen.\u2019\n\nIt is not so smooth and rounded a theory as I hoped to be able to\npresent to folklorists, or as I might easily have made it by\nsuppressing a little here and filling out somewhat there. But at least\nI have pointed out a few fresh parallels; I have, thanks to Mr.\nSampson\u2019s generosity, enriched our stock, not of English folk-tales,\nbut of folk-tales collected in England and Wales; [37] and I have, I\nhope, stimulated a measure of curiosity in the strange, likeable,\nuncanny race, whom \u2018Hans Breitmann\u2019 has happily designated \u2018the\nColporteurs of Folklore.\u2019 I let my little theory go reluctantly, but\ninvite the fullest argument and discussion. There is nothing like\nargument. I was once at a meeting of a Learned Society, where a friend\nof mine read a most admirable paper. Then uprose another member of that\nLearned Society, and challenged his every contention. In a rich,\nsonorous voice he thus began: \u2018Max M\u00fcller has said (and I agree with\nMax M\u00fcller), that Sanskrit in dying left twins\u2014Chinese and Semitic.\u2019\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGYPSY FOLK-TALES\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nTURKISH-GYPSY STORIES\n\n\nNO. 1.\u2014THE DEAD MAN\u2019S GRATITUDE [38]\n\nA king had three sons. He gave the youngest a hundred thousand\npiastres; he gave the same to the eldest son and to the middle one. The\nyoungest arose, he took the road; wherever he found poor folk he gave\nmoney; here, there, he gave it away; he spent the money. His eldest\nbrother went, had ships built to make money. And the middle one went,\nhad shops built. They came to their father.\n\n\u2018What have you done, my son?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have built ships.\u2019\n\nTo the youngest, \u2018You, what have you done?\u2019\n\n\u2018I? every poor man I found, I gave him money; and for poor girls I paid\nthe cost of their marriage.\u2019\n\nThe king said, \u2018My youngest son will care well for the poor. Take\nanother hundred thousand piastres.\u2019\n\nThe lad departed. Here, there, he spent his money; twelve piastres\nremained to him. Some Jews dug up a corpse and beat it.\n\n\u2018What do you want of him, that you are beating him?\u2019\n\n\u2018Twelve piastres we want of him.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll give you them if you will let him be.\u2019\n\nHe gave the money, they let the dead man be. He arose and departed. As\nthe lad goes the dead man followed him. \u2018Where go you?\u2019 the dead man\nasked.\n\n\u2018I am going for a walk.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll come too; we\u2019ll go together; we will be partners.\u2019\n\n\u2018So be it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come, I will bring you to a certain place.\u2019\n\nHe took and brought him to a village. There was a girl, takes a\nhusband, lies with him; by dawn next day the husbands are dead.\n\n\u2018I will hide you somewhere; I will get you a girl; but we shall always\nbe partners.\u2019\n\nHe found the girl (a dragon came out of her mouth).\n\n\u2018And this night when you go to bed, I too will lie there.\u2019\n\nHe took his sword, he went near them. The lad said, \u2018That will never\ndo. If you want her, do you take the girl.\u2019\n\n\u2018Are we not partners? You, do you sleep with her; I also, I will sleep\nhere.\u2019\n\nAt midnight he sees the girl open her mouth; the dragon came forth; he\ndrew his sword; he cut off its three heads; he put the heads in his\nbosom; he lay down; he fell asleep. Next morning the girl arose, and\nsees the man her husband living by her side. They told the girl\u2019s\nfather. \u2018To-day your daughter has seen dawn break with her husband.\u2019\n\n\u2018That will be the son-in-law,\u2019 said the father.\n\nThe lad took the girl; he is going to his father.\n\n\u2018Come,\u2019 said the dead man, \u2018let\u2019s divide the money.\u2019\n\nThey fell to dividing it.\n\n\u2018We have divided the money; let us also divide your wife.\u2019\n\nThe lad said, \u2018How divide her? If you want her, take her.\u2019\n\n\u2018I won\u2019t take her; we\u2019ll divide.\u2019\n\n\u2018How divide?\u2019 said the lad.\n\nThe dead man said, \u2018I, I will divide.\u2019\n\nThe dead man seized her; he bound her knees. \u2018Do you catch hold of one\nfoot, I\u2019ll take the other.\u2019\n\nHe raised his sword to strike the girl. In her fright the girl opened\nher mouth, and cried, and out of her mouth fell a dragon. The dead man\nsaid to the lad, \u2018I am not for a wife, I am not for any money. These\ndragon\u2019s heads are what devoured the men. Take her; the girl shall be\nyours, the money shall be yours. You did me a kindness; I also have\ndone you one.\u2019\n\n\u2018What kindness did I do you?\u2019 asked the lad.\n\n\u2018You took me from the hands of the Jews.\u2019\n\nThe dead man departed to his place, and the lad took his wife, went to\nhis father.\n\n\n    In his introduction to the Pantschatantra (Leip. 1859), i. 219\u2013221,\n    Benfey cites an Armenian version of this story that is practically\n    identical. Compare also the English \u2018Sir Amadas\u2019 (c. 1420), first\n    printed in Weber\u2019s Metrical Romances (Edinb. 1810, iii. 243\u2013275);\n    Straparola (1550) XI. 2 (\u2018The Simpleton,\u2019 summarised in Grimm, ii.\n    480); \u2018The Follower\u2019 or \u2018The Companion\u2019 of Asbj\u00f6rnsen (Dasent\u2019s\n    Tales from the Fjeld, p. 68), on which Andersen founded his\n    \u2018Travelling Companion\u2019; \u2018The Barra Widow\u2019s Son\u2019 (Campbell\u2019s Tales\n    of the West Highlands, No. 32, ii. 110); Hahn, ii. 320; Cosquin, i.\n    208, 214; Hinton Knowles\u2019 Folk-tales of Kashmir, pp. 39\u201340;\n    Wratislaw\u2019s Sixty Slavonic Folk-tales, No. 18 (Polish); and\n    especially Reinhold K\u00f6hler in Orient und Occident (1864, ii. 322\u20139,\n    and iii. 93\u2013103). What should be of special interest to English\n    folklorists, is that Asbj\u00f6rnsen\u2019s \u2018Follower\u2019 forms an episode in\n    our earliest version (Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1711) of \u2018Jack the\n    Giant-killer.\u2019 Cf. pp. 67\u201371 of J. O. Halliwell\u2019s Popular Rhymes\n    and Nursery Tales (1849), where we get the redemption of a dead\n    debtor (who is not grateful), a witch-lady who visits an evil\n    spirit, and the cutting off of that evil spirit\u2019s head by a comrade\n    clad in a coat of darkness. The resemblance has never been noticed\n    between the folk-tale and the Book of Tobit, where Tobit shows his\n    charity by burying the dead; the archangel Raphael plays the part\n    of the \u2018Follower\u2019 (in both \u2018Sir Amadas\u2019 and the Russian version the\n    Grateful Dead returns as an angel); Sara, Tobias\u2019s bride, has had\n    seven husbands slain by Asmodeus, the evil spirit, before they had\n    lain with her; Raguel, Sara\u2019s father, learns of Tobias\u2019s safety on\n    the morning after their marriage; Tobias offers half his goods to\n    Raphael; and Raphael then disappears. The story of Tobit has\n    certainly passed into Sicilian folklore, borrowed straight, it\n    would seem, from the Apocrypha, as \u2018The History of Tobi\u00e0 and\n    Tobi\u00f2la\u2019 (Laura Gonzenbach\u2019s Sicil. M\u00e4rchen, No. 89, ii. 177); but\n    the Apocryphal book itself is plainly a corrupt version of the\n    original folk-tale.\n\n    Madame Darmesteter\u2019s Life of Renan (1897), contains at p. 251 the\n    following passage:\u2014\u2018That night he told us the story of the\n    Babylonian Tobias. Rash and young, this Chald\u00e6an brother of our\n    Tobit, discouraged by the difficult approaches of prosperity, had\n    entered into partnership with a demi-god or Demon, who made all his\n    schemes succeed and pocketed fifty per cent. upon the profits. The\n    remaining fifty sufficed to make Tobias as rich as Oriental fancy\n    can imagine. The young man fell in love, married his bride, and\n    brought her home. On the threshold stood the Demon: \u201cHow about my\n    fifty per cent?\u201d The Venus d\u2019Ille, you see, was not born yesterday.\n    From the dimmest dawn of time sages have taught us not to trust the\n    gods too far.\u2019\n\n    Unluckily there seems to be no authority whatever for this alleged\n    Chald\u00e6an version, which should obviously come closer to the\n    folk-tale than to the Book of Tobit. At least, Professor Sayce\n    writes word:\u2014\u2018The passage in Madame Darmesteter\u2019s Life of Renan\n    must be based on an error, for no such story\u2014so far as I know\u2014has\n    ever been found on a cuneiform tablet. It may have originated in a\n    mistranslation of one of the contract-tablets; but if so, the\n    mistranslation must have appeared in some obscure French\n    publication, perhaps a newspaper, which I have not seen.\u2019 Alack!\n    and yet our folk-tale remains perhaps the oldest current folk-tale\n    in the world.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 2.\u2014BALDPATE\n\nIn those days there was a man built a galleon; he manned her; he would\ngo from the White Sea to the Black Sea. He landed at a village to take\nin water; there he saw four or five boys playing. One of them was bald.\nHe called him. \u2018Where\u2019s the water?\u2019 he asked. Baldpate showed him; he\ntook in water.\n\n\u2018Wilt come with me?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will, but I\u2019ve a mother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let\u2019s go to your mother.\u2019 They went to her.\n\n\u2018Will you give me this boy?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will.\u2019\n\nThe captain paid a month\u2019s wages; he took the lad. They weighed anchor;\nthey came to a large village; they landed to take in water.\n\nThe king\u2019s son went out for a walk, and he sees a dervish with a girl\u2019s\nportrait for sale. The king\u2019s son bought it; it was very lovely. The\ngirl\u2019s father had been working at it for seven years. The king\u2019s son\nset it on the fountain, thinking, Some one of those who come to drink\nthe water will say, \u2018I\u2019ve seen that girl.\u2019 The captain came ashore; he\ntook in water; he lifted up his eyes, and saw the portrait. \u2018What a\nbeauty!\u2019 He went aboard, and said to his crew, \u2018There\u2019s a beauty\nyonder, I\u2019ve never seen her like.\u2019\n\nBaldpate said, \u2018I\u2019m going to see.\u2019\n\nBaldpate went. The moment he saw the portrait, he burst out laughing.\n\u2018It\u2019s the dervish\u2019s daughter. How do they come by her?\u2019\n\nHardly had he said it when they seized him and brought him to the\npalace. Baldpate lost his head the moment they seized him. But two days\nlater they came to him: \u2018This girl, do you know her?\u2019\n\n\u2018Know her? why, we were brought up together. Her mother is dead; she\nsuckled both her and me.\u2019\n\n\u2018If they bring you before the king, fear not.\u2019\n\nHe came before the king.\n\n\u2018This girl, do you know her, my lad?\u2019\n\n\u2018I do, we grew up together.\u2019\n\n\u2018Will you bring her here?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will. Build me a gilded galleon; give me twenty musicians; let me\ntake your son with me; and let no one gainsay whatever I do. Then I\nwill go. I shall take seven years to go and come.\u2019\n\nThey took their bread, their water for seven years; they set out. They\nwent to the maiden\u2019s country. At break of day Baldpate brought the\ngalleon near the maiden\u2019s house; the maiden\u2019s house was close to the\nsea. Baldpate said, \u2018I\u2019ll go upon deck for a turn; don\u2019t any of you\nshow yourselves.\u2019 He went up; he paced the deck.\n\nThe dervish\u2019s daughter arose from her sleep. The sun struck on the\ngalleon; it struck, too, on the house. The girl went out, rubs her\neyes. A man pacing up and down. She bowed forward and saw our Baldpate.\nShe knew him: \u2018What wants he here?\u2019\n\n\u2018What seek you here?\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ve come for you, come to see you; it is so many years since I\u2019ve\nseen you. Come aboard. Your father, where\u2019s he gone to?\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t you know that my father has been painting my portrait? He\u2019s gone\nto sell it; I\u2019m expecting him these last few days.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come here, and let\u2019s have a little talk.\u2019\n\nThe girl went to dress. Baldpate went to his crew. \u2018Hide yourselves;\ndon\u2019t let a soul be seen; but the moment I get her into the cabin, do\nyou cut the ropes; I shall be talking with her.\u2019\n\nShe came into the cabin; they seated themselves; they talk; the galleon\ngets under weigh. He privily brought in the king\u2019s son.\n\n\u2018Who is this?\u2019 said the girl. \u2018I am off.\u2019\n\n\u2018Are you daft, my sister? Let\u2019s have some sweetmeats.\u2019\n\nHe gave her some; they intoxicated the girl.\n\n\u2018A little music to play to you,\u2019 said Baldpate.\n\nHe went, brought the musicians; they began to play. The girl said, \u2018I\u2019m\nup, I\u2019m off; my father\u2019s coming.\u2019\n\n\u2018Sit down a bit, and let them play to you.\u2019 They play their music; she\nhears not the departure of the galleon.\n\n\u2018I\u2019m off,\u2019 said the girl to Baldpate.\n\nShe went on deck and saw where her home was. \u2018Ah! my brother, what have\nyou done to me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Done to you! he who sits by you is the son of the king, and I\u2019m come\nto fetch you for him.\u2019\n\nShe wept and said, \u2018What shall I do? shall I fling myself into the\nsea?\u2019 No, she went and sat down by the king\u2019s son. Plenty of music and\nvictuals and drink. Baldpate is sitting up aloft by himself; he is\ncaptain. They eat, they drink; he stirred not from his post.\n\nTwo or three days remained ere they landed. At break of dawn three\nbirds perched on the galleon; no one was near him. The birds began\ntalking: \u2018O bird, O bird, what is it, O bird? The dervish\u2019s daughter\neats, drinks with the son of the king; she knows not what will befall\nthem.\u2019\n\n\u2018What will?\u2019 the other birds asked.\n\n\u2018As soon as he arrives, a little boat will come to take them off. The\nboat will upset, and the dervish\u2019s daughter and the king\u2019s son will be\ndrowned; and whoever hears it and tells will be turned into stone to\nhis knees.\u2019\n\nBaldpate listens; he is alone.\n\nEarly next morning the birds came back again. They began talking\ntogether: \u2018O bird, O bird, what is it, O bird? The dervish\u2019s daughter\nand the king\u2019s son eat, drink; they know not what will befall them. As\nsoon as they land, as soon as they enter the gate, the gate will tumble\ndown, it will crush them and kill them; and whoever hears it and tells\nwill be turned into stone to the back.\u2019\n\nDay broke; the birds came back. \u2018O bird, O bird, what is it, O bird?\nThe dervish\u2019s daughter eats, drinks; she knows not what will befall\nher.\u2019\n\n\u2018What will?\u2019 the other birds asked.\n\n\u2018The marriage night a seven-headed dragon will come forth, and he will\ndevour the king\u2019s son and the dervish\u2019s daughter; and whoever hears it\nand tells them will be turned into stone to the head.\u2019\n\nBaldpate says, all to himself, \u2018I shan\u2019t let any boats come.\u2019 He arose;\nhe came opposite the palace; some boats came to take off the maiden.\n\n\u2018I want no boats.\u2019 Instead he spread his sails. The galleon backed, the\ngalleon went ahead. One and all looked: \u2018Why, he will strand the\ngalleon!\u2019\n\n\u2018Let him be,\u2019 said the king, \u2018let him strand her.\u2019\n\nHe stranded the galleon.\n\nBaldpate said to the king, \u2018When I started to fetch this girl, did I\nnot tell you you must let me do as I would? No one must interfere.\u2019\n\nHe took the girl and the prince; he came to the gate. \u2018Pull it down.\u2019\n\n\u2018Pull it down, why?\u2019 they asked.\n\n\u2018Did I not tell you no one must interfere?\u2019\n\nThey set to and pulled it down. They went up, sat down, ate, drank,\nlaugh, and talk.\n\nThe worm gnaws Baldpate within.\n\nNight fell; they will bed the pair. Baldpate said, \u2018Where you sleep I\nalso will sleep there.\u2019\n\n\u2018The bridegroom and bride will sleep there; you can\u2019t.\u2019\n\n\u2018What\u2019s our bargain?\u2019\n\n\u2018Thou knowest.\u2019\n\nThey went, they lay down; Baldpate took his sword, he lay down, he\ncovered his head. At midnight he hears a dragon coming. He draws his\nsword; he cuts off its heads; he puts them beneath his pillow. The\nking\u2019s son awoke, and sees his sword in his hands. He cried, \u2018Baldpate\nwill kill us.\u2019\n\nThe father came and asked, \u2018What made you call out, my son?\u2019\n\n\u2018Baldpate will kill us,\u2019 he answered.\n\nThey took and bound Baldpate\u2019s arms.\n\nDay broke; the king summoned him. \u2018Why have you acted thus? Seven years\nyou have gone, you have journeyed, and brought the maiden; and now you\nhave risen to slay them.\u2019\n\n\u2018What could I do?\u2019\n\n\u2018You would kill my son, then will I kill you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thou knowest.\u2019\n\nThey bind his arms, they lead him to cut off his head. As he went,\nBaldpate said to himself, \u2018They will cut off my head. If I tell, I\nshall be turned into stone. Come, bring me to the king; I have a couple\nof words to say to him.\u2019\n\nThey brought him to the king.\n\n\u2018Why have you brought him here?\u2019\n\n\u2018He has a couple of words to say to you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Say them, my lad.\u2019\n\n\u2018I, when I went to fetch the dervish\u2019s daughter, I was sitting alone on\nthe galleon; your son was eating, drinking with the maiden. One morning\nthree birds came; they began talking: \u201cO bird, O bird, what is it, O\nbird? The dervish\u2019s daughter eats, drinks with the son of the king; she\nknows not what will befall her. And whoever hears it and tells will be\nturned into stone to his knees.\u201d No one but I was there; I heard it.\u2019\n\nAs soon as Baldpate had said it, he was turned into stone to his knees.\nThe king, seeing he was turned into stone, said, \u2018Prithee, my lad, say\nno more.\u2019\n\n\u2018But I will,\u2019 Baldpate answered, and went on to tell of the gate; he\nwas turned into stone to his back.\n\n\u2018The third time the birds came and talked together again, and I heard\n(that was why I wished to sleep with them): \u201cA seven-headed dragon will\ncome forth; he will devour them.\u201d And if you believe it not, look under\nthe pillow.\u2019\n\nThey went there; they saw the heads.\n\n\u2018It was I who killed him. Your son saw the sword in my hands, and he\nthought I would kill them. I could not tell him the truth.\u2019\n\nHe was turned into stone to his head. They made a tomb for him.\n\nThe king\u2019s son arose; he took the road; he departed. \u2018Seven years has\nhe wandered for me, I am going to wander seven years for him.\u2019\n\nThe king\u2019s son went walking, walking. In a certain place there was\nwater; he drank of it; he lay down. Baldpate came to him in a dream:\n\u2018Take a little earth from here, and go and sprinkle it on the tomb. He\nwill rise from the stone.\u2019\n\nThe king\u2019s son slept and slept. He arose; he takes some of the earth;\nhe went to the tomb; he sprinkled the earth on it. Baldpate arose. \u2018How\nsound I\u2019ve been sleeping!\u2019 he said.\n\n\u2018Seven years hast thou wandered for me, and seven years I have wandered\nfor thee.\u2019\n\nHe takes him, he brings him to the palace, he makes him a great one.\n\n\n    Miklosich\u2019s Bukowina-Gypsy story, \u2018The Prince, his Comrade, and\n    Nastasa the Fair\u2019 (No. 24) presents analogies; but \u2018Baldpate\u2019 is\n    identical with Grimm\u2019s No. 6, \u2018Faithful John,\u2019 i. pp. 23 and 348,\n    where in the variant the third peril is a seven-headed dragon. Cf.\n    also Wolf\u2019s Hausm\u00e4rchen (G\u00f6tt. 1851), p. 383; Basile\u2019s Pentamerone\n    (1637), iv. 9; Hahn, i. 201\u2013208, and ii. 267\u2013277; and especially\n    the Rev. Lal Behari Day\u2019s Folk-tales of Bengal (London, 1883), pp.\n    39\u201352, the latter half of \u2018Phakir Chand.\u2019 Here two immortal birds\n    warn the minister\u2019s son of four perils threatening the king\u2019s\n    son:\u2014(1) riding an elephant; (2) from fall of gate; (3) choking by\n    fish-head; (4) cobra. Penalty of telling, to be turned into statue.\n    Another Indian version is \u2018Rama and Luxman; or, the Learned Owl,\u2019\n    in Mary Frere\u2019s Old Deccan Days, No. 5, pp. 66\u201378, whose ending is\n    very feeble. See also Reinhold K\u00f6hler\u2019s Aufs\u00e4tze \u00fcber M\u00e4rchen und\n    Volkslieder (Berlin, 1894), pp. 24\u201335.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 3.\u2014THE RIDDLE\n\nIn those days there was a rich man. He had an only son, and the mother\nand the father loved him dearly. He went to school; all that there is\nin the world, he learned it. One day he arose; took four, five purses\nof money. Here, there he squandered it. Early next morning he arose\nagain and went to his father. \u2018Give me more money.\u2019 He got more money,\narose, went; by night he had spent it. Little by little he spent all\nthe money.\n\nAnd early once more he arose, and says to his father and mother, \u2018I\nwant some money.\u2019\n\n\u2018My child, there is no money left. Would you like the stew-pans? take\nthem, go, sell them, and eat.\u2019\n\nHe took and sold them: in a day or two he had spent it.\n\n\u2018I want some money.\u2019\n\n\u2018My son, we have no money. Take the clothes, go, sell them.\u2019\n\nIn a day or two he had spent that money. He arose, and went to his\nfather, \u2018I want some money.\u2019\n\n\u2018My son, there is no money left us. If you like, sell the house.\u2019\n\nThe lad took and sold the house. In a month he had spent the money; no\nmoney remained. \u2018Father I want some money.\u2019\n\n\u2018My son, no riches remain to us, no house remains to us. If you like,\ntake us to the slave-market, sell us.\u2019\n\nThe lad took and sold them. His mother and his father said, \u2018Come this\nway, that we may see you.\u2019 The king bought the mother and father.\n\nWith the money for his mother the lad bought himself clothes, and with\nthe money for his father got a horse.\n\nOne day, two days the father, the mother looked for the son that comes\nnot; they fell a-weeping. The king\u2019s servants saw them weeping; they\nwent, told it to the king. \u2018Those whom you bought weep loudly.\u2019\n\n\u2018Call them to me.\u2019 The king called them. \u2018Why are you weeping.\u2019\n\n\u2018We had a son; for him it is we weep.\u2019\n\n\u2018Who are you, then?\u2019 asked the king.\n\n\u2018We were not thus, my king; we had a son. He sold us, and we were\nweeping at his not coming to see us.\u2019\n\nJust as they were talking with the king, the lad arrived. The king\nset-to, wrote a letter, gave it him into his hand. \u2018Carry this letter\nto such and such a place.\u2019 In it the king wrote, \u2018The lad bearing this\nletter, cut his throat the minute you get it.\u2019\n\nThe lad put on his new clothes, mounted his horse, put the letter in\nhis bosom, took the road. He rode a long way; he was dying of thirst;\nand he sees a well. \u2018How am I to get water to drink? I will fasten this\nletter, and lower it into the well, and moisten my mouth a bit.\u2019 He\nlowered it, drew it up, squeezed it into his mouth.\n\n\u2018Let\u2019s see what this letter contains.\u2019\n\nSee what it contains\u2014\u2018The minute he delivers the letter, cut his\nthroat.\u2019 The lad stood there fair mesmerised. [39]\n\n\n\nIn a certain place there was a king\u2019s daughter. They go to propound a\nriddle to her. If she guesses it, she will cut off his head; and if she\ncannot, he will marry the maiden.\n\nThe lad arose, went to the king\u2019s palace.\n\n\u2018What are you come for, my lad?\u2019\n\n\u2018I would speak with the king\u2019s daughter.\u2019\n\n\u2018Speak with her you shall. If she guesses your riddle, she will cut off\nyour head; and if she cannot, you will get the maiden.\u2019\n\n\u2018That\u2019s what I\u2019m come for.\u2019\n\nHe sat down in front of the maiden. The maiden said, \u2018Tell your\nriddle.\u2019\n\nThe lad said, \u2018My mother I wore her, my father I rode him, from my\ndeath I drank water.\u2019\n\nThe maiden looked in her book, could not find it. \u2018Grant me a three\ndays\u2019 respite.\u2019\n\n\u2018I grant it you,\u2019 said the lad. The lad arose, went to an inn, goes to\nsleep there.\n\nThe maiden saw she cannot find it out. The maiden set-to, had an\nunderground passage made to the place where the lad lies sleeping. At\nmidnight the maid arose, went to him, took the lad in her arms.\n\n\u2018I am thine, thou art mine, only tell me the riddle.\u2019\n\n\u2018Not likely I should tell you. Strip yourself,\u2019 said the lad to the\nmaiden. The maiden stripped herself.\n\n\u2018Tell me it.\u2019 Then he told her.\n\nThe maiden clapped her hands; her servants came, took the maiden, and\nlet her go. The maiden was wearing the lad\u2019s sark, and the lad was\nwearing the maiden\u2019s.\n\nDay broke. They summoned the lad. The lad mounted his horse, and rides\nto the palace. The people see the lad. \u2018\u2019Tis a pity; they\u2019ll kill him.\u2019\n\nHe went up, and stood face to face with the king.\n\n\u2018My daughter has guessed your riddle,\u2019 said the king.\n\n\u2018How did she guess it, my king? At night when I was asleep, there came\na bird to my breast. I caught it, I killed it, I cooked it. Just as I\nwas going to eat it, it flew away.\u2019\n\nThe king says, \u2018Kill him; he\u2019s wandering.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am not wandering, my king. I told your daughter the riddle. Your\ndaughter had an underground passage made, and she came to where I was\nsleeping, came to my arms. I caught her, I stripped her, I took her to\nmy bosom, I told her the riddle. She clapped her hands; her servants\ncame and took her. And if you don\u2019t believe, I am wearing her sark, and\nshe is wearing mine.\u2019\n\nThe king saw it was true.\n\nForty days, forty nights they made a marriage. He took the maiden,\nwent, bought back his father, his mother.\n\n\n    When I translated this story, I deemed it unique, though the\n    Bellerophon letter is a familiar feature in Indian and European\n    folk-tales, and so too is the princess who guesses or propounds\n    riddles for the wager of her hand to the suitors\u2019 heads. She occurs\n    in \u2018The Companion\u2019 of Asbj\u00f6rnsen (Dasent\u2019s Tales from the Fjeld, p.\n    68, and so in our \u2018Jack the Giant-killer,\u2019 cf. p. 3), and in\n    Ralston\u2019s \u2018The Blind Man and the Cripple\u2019 (p. 241), of both of\n    which there are Gypsy versions, our Nos. 1 and 24. In Ralston\u2019s\n    story, as here, the princess takes her magic book, her grimoire,\n    and turns over the leaves to find out the answer (cf. also the\n    Welsh-Gypsy tale of \u2018The Green Man of Noman\u2019s Land,\u2019 No. 62). Maive\n    Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy Tales has a story, \u2018R\u00e1j\u00e1 Harichand\u2019s\n    Punishment,\u2019 No. 29, p. 225, where a r\u00e1ni is \u2018very wise and clever,\n    for she had a book, which she read continually, called the Kop\n    sh\u00e1stra; and this book told her everything.\u2019 I know myself of a\n    Gypsy woman who told fortunes splendidly out of her \u2018magic book\u2019\u2014it\n    was really a Treatise on Navigation, with diagrams. Fortune-tellers\n    with \u2018sacred book\u2019 occur in Mary Frere\u2019s Old Deccan Days, p. 261.\n    Now, since translating this story, I find it is largely identical\n    with Campbell\u2019s West Highland tale, \u2018The Knight of Riddles,\u2019 No. 22\n    (ii. p. 36), with which cf. Grimm\u2019s \u2018The Riddle,\u2019 No. 22 (i. 100,\n    368). See also Reinhold K\u00f6hler in Orient und Occident (ii. 1864),\n    p. 320.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 4.\u2014STORY OF THE BRIDGE\n\nIn olden days there were twelve brothers. And the eldest brother, the\ncarpenter Manoli, was making the long bridge. One side he makes; one\nside falls. The twelve brothers had one mistress, and they all had to\ndo with her. They called her to them, \u2018Dear bride.\u2019 On her head was the\ntray; in her hands was a child. Whoseso wife came first, she will come\nto the twelve brothers. Manoli\u2019s wife, L\u00e9nga, will come to the twelve\nbrothers. Said his wife, \u2018Thou hast not eaten bread with me. What has\nbefallen thee that thou eatest not bread with me? My ring has fallen\ninto the water. Go and fetch my ring.\u2019 Her husband said, \u2018I will fetch\nthy ring out of the water.\u2019 Up to his two breasts came the water in the\ndepth of the bridge there. He came into the fountain, he was drowned.\nBeneath he became a talisman, the innermost foundation of the bridge.\nManoli\u2019s eyes became the great open arch of the bridge. \u2018God send a\nwind to blow, that the tray may fall from the head of her who bears it\nin front of L\u00e9nga.\u2019 A snake crept out before L\u00e9nga, and she feared, and\nsaid, \u2018Now have I fear at sight of the snake, and am sick. Now is it\nnot bad for my children?\u2019 Another man seized her, and sought to drown\nher, Manoli\u2019s wife. She said, \u2018Drown me not in the water. I have little\nchildren.\u2019 She bowed herself over the sea, where the carpenter Manoli\nmade the bridge. Another man called Manoli\u2019s wife; with him she went on\nthe road. There, when they went on the road, he went to the tavern, he\nwas weary; the man went, drank the juice of the grape, got drunk.\nBefore getting home, he killed Manoli\u2019s wife, L\u00e9nga.\n\n\n    I hesitated whether to give this story; it is so hopelessly\n    corrupt, it seems such absolute nonsense. Yet it enshrines beyond\n    question, however confusedly, the widespread and ancient belief\n    that to ensure one\u2019s foundation one should wall up a human victim.\n    So St. Columba buried St. Oran alive in the foundation of his\n    monastery; in Western folklore, however, the victim is usually an\n    infant\u2014a bastard sometimes, in one case (near G\u00f6ttingen) a\n    deaf-mute. But in south-eastern Europe it is almost always a\n    woman\u2014the wife of the master-builder, whose name, as here, is\n    Manoli. Reinhold K\u00f6hler has treated the subject admirably in his\n    Aufs\u00e4tze \u00fcber M\u00e4rchen und Volkslieder (Berlin, 1894, pp. 36\u201347);\n    there one finds much to enlighten the darkness of our original.\n    \u2018God send a wind,\u2019 etc., is the husband\u2019s prayer as he sees his\n    wife coming towards him, and hopes to avert her doom; \u2018My ring has\n    fallen into the water,\u2019 etc., must also be his utterance, when he\n    finds that it is hopeless, that she has to die. The Gypsy story is\n    probably of high antiquity, for two at least of the words in it\n    were quite or almost meaningless to the nomade Gypsy who told it\n    (Paspati, p. 190). The masons of south-eastern Europe are, it\n    should be noticed, largely Gypsies; and a striking Indian parallel\n    may be pointed out in the Santal story of \u2018Seven Brothers and their\n    Sister\u2019 (Campbell\u2019s Santal Folk-tales, pp. 106\u2013110). Here seven\n    brothers set to work to dig a tank, but find no water, so, by the\n    advice of a yogi, give their only sister to the spirit of the tank.\n    \u2018The tank was soon full to the brim, and the girl was drowned.\u2019 And\n    then comes a curious mention of a Dom, or Indian vagrant musician,\n    whose name is probably identical with Doum, Lom, or Rom, the Gypsy\n    of Syria, Asia Minor, and Europe.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nROUMANIAN-GYPSY STORIES\n\n\nNO. 5.\u2014THE VAMPIRE\n\nThere was an old woman in a village. And grown-up maidens met and span,\nand made a \u2018bee.\u2019 [40] And the young sparks came and laid hold of the\ngirls, and pulled them about and kissed them. But one girl had no\nsweetheart to lay hold of her and kiss her. And she was a strapping\nlass, the daughter of wealthy peasants; but three whole days no one\ncame near her. And she looked at the big girls, her comrades. And no\none troubled himself with her. Yet she was a pretty girl, a prettier\nwas not to be found. Then came a fine young spark, and took her in his\narms and kissed her, and stayed with her until cock-crow. And when the\ncock crowed at dawn he departed. The old woman saw he had cock\u2019s feet.\n[41] And she kept looking at the lad\u2019s feet, and she said, \u2018Nita, my\nlass, did you see anything?\u2019\n\n\u2018I didn\u2019t notice.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then didn\u2019t I see he had cock\u2019s feet?\u2019\n\n\u2018Let be, mother, I didn\u2019t see it.\u2019\n\nAnd the girl went home and slept; and she arose and went off to the\nspinning, where many more girls were holding a \u2018bee.\u2019 And the young\nsparks came, and took each one his sweetheart. And they kissed them,\nand stayed a while, and went home. And the girl\u2019s handsome young spark\ncame and took her in his arms and kissed her and pulled her about, and\nstayed with her till midnight. And the cock began to crow. The young\nspark heard the cock crowing, and departed. What said the old woman who\nwas in the hut, \u2018Nita, did you notice that he had horse\u2019s hoofs?\u2019\n\n\u2018And if he had, I didn\u2019t see.\u2019\n\nThen the girl departed to her home. And she slept and arose in the\nmorning, and did her work that she had to do. And night came, and she\ntook her spindle and went to the old woman in the hut. And the other\ngirls came, and the young sparks came, and each laid hold of his\nsweetheart. But the pretty girl looks at them. Then the young sparks\ngave over and departed home. And only the girl remained neither a long\ntime nor a short time. Then came the girl\u2019s young spark. Then what will\nthe girl do? She took heed, and stuck a needle and thread in his back.\nAnd he departed when the cock crew, and she knew not where he had gone\nto. Then the girl arose in the morning and took the thread, and\nfollowed up the thread, and saw him in a grave where he was sitting.\nThen the girl trembled and went back home. At night the young spark\nthat was in the grave came to the old woman\u2019s house and saw that the\ngirl was not there. He asked the old woman, \u2018Where\u2019s Nita?\u2019\n\n\u2018She has not come.\u2019\n\nThen he went to Nita\u2019s house, where she lived, and called, \u2018Nita, are\nyou at home?\u2019\n\nNita answered, [\u2018I am\u2019].\n\n\u2018Tell me what you saw when you came to the church. For if you don\u2019t\ntell me I will kill your father.\u2019\n\n\u2018I didn\u2019t see anything.\u2019\n\nThen he looked, [42] and he killed her father, and departed to his\ngrave.\n\nNext night he came back. \u2018Nita, tell me what you saw.\u2019\n\n\u2018I didn\u2019t see anything.\u2019\n\n\u2018Tell me, or I will kill your mother, as I killed your father. Tell me\nwhat you saw.\u2019\n\n\u2018I didn\u2019t see anything.\u2019\n\nThen he killed her mother, and departed to his grave.\n\nThen the girl arose in the morning. And she had twelve servants. And\nshe said to them, \u2018See, I have much money and many oxen and many sheep;\nand they shall come to the twelve of you as a gift, for I shall die\nto-night. And it will fare ill with you if you bury me not in the\nforest at the foot of an apple-tree.\u2019\n\nAt night came the young spark from the grave and asked, \u2018Nita, are you\nat home?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am.\u2019\n\n\u2018Tell me, Nita, what you saw three days ago, or I will kill you, as I\nkilled your parents.\u2019\n\n\u2018I have nothing to tell you.\u2019\n\nThen he took and killed her. Then, casting a look, he departed to his\ngrave.\n\nSo the servants, when they arose in the morning, found Nita dead. The\nservants took her and laid her out decently. They sat and made a hole\nin the wall and passed her through the hole, and carried her, as she\nhad bidden, and buried her in the forest by the apple-tree.\n\nAnd half a year passed by, and a prince went to go and course hares\nwith greyhounds and other dogs. And he went to hunt, and the hounds\nranged the forest and came to the maiden\u2019s grave. And a flower grew out\nof it, the like of which for beauty there was not in the whole kingdom.\n[43] So the hounds came on her monument, where she was buried, and they\nbegan to bark and scratched at the maiden\u2019s grave. Then the prince took\nand called the dogs with his horn, and the dogs came not. The prince\nsaid, \u2018Go quickly thither.\u2019\n\nFour huntsmen arose and came and saw the flower burning like a candle.\nThey returned to the prince, and he asked them, \u2018What is it?\u2019\n\n\u2018It is a flower, the like was never seen.\u2019\n\nThen the lad heard, and came to the maiden\u2019s grave, and saw the flower\nand plucked it. And he came home and showed it to his father and\nmother. Then he took and put it in a vase at his bed-head where he\nslept. Then the flower arose from the vase and turned a somersault,\n[44] and became a full-grown maiden. And she took the lad and kissed\nhim, and bit him and pulled him about, and slept with him in her arms,\nand put her hand under his head. And he knew it not. When the dawn came\nshe became a flower again.\n\nIn the morning the lad rose up sick, and complained to his father and\nmother, \u2018Mammy, my shoulders hurt me, and my head hurts me.\u2019\n\nHis mother went and brought a wise woman and tended him. He asked for\nsomething to eat and drink. And he waited a bit, and then went to his\nbusiness that he had to do. And he went home again at night. And he ate\nand drank and lay down on his couch, and sleep seized him. Then the\nflower arose and again became a full-grown maiden. And she took him\nagain in her arms, and slept with him, and sat with him in her arms.\nAnd he slept. And she went back to the vase. And he arose, and his\nbones hurt him, and he told his mother and his father. Then his father\nsaid to his wife, \u2018It began with the coming of the flower. Something\nmust be the matter, for the boy is quite ill. Let us watch to-night,\nand post ourselves on one side, and see who comes to our son.\u2019\n\nNight came, and the prince laid himself in his bed to sleep. Then the\nmaiden arose from the vase, and became there was never anything more\nfair\u2014as burns the flame of a candle. And his mother and his father, the\nking, saw the maiden, and laid hands on her. Then the prince arose out\nof his sleep, and saw the maiden that she was fair. Then he took her in\nhis arms and kissed her, and lay down in his bed, slept till day.\n\nAnd they made a marriage and ate and drank. The folk marvelled, for a\nbeing so fair as that maiden was not to be found in all the realm. And\nhe dwelt with her half a year, and she bore a golden boy, two apples in\nhis hand. [45] And it pleased the prince well.\n\nThen her old sweetheart heard it, the vampire who had made love to her,\nand had killed her. He arose and came to her and asked her, \u2018Nita, tell\nme, what did you see me doing?\u2019\n\n\u2018I didn\u2019t see anything.\u2019\n\n\u2018Tell me truly, or I will kill your child, your little boy, as I killed\nyour father and mother. Tell me truly.\u2019\n\n\u2018I have nothing to tell you.\u2019\n\nAnd he killed her boy. And she arose and carried him to the church and\nburied him.\n\nAt night the vampire came again and asked her, \u2018Tell me, Nita, what you\nsaw.\u2019\n\n\u2018I didn\u2019t see anything.\u2019\n\n\u2018Tell me, or I will kill the lord whom you have wedded.\u2019\n\nThen Nita arose and said, \u2018It shall not happen that you kill my lord.\nGod send you burst.\u2019 [46]\n\nThe vampire heard what Nita said, and burst. Ay, he died, and burst for\nvery rage. In the morning Nita arose and saw the floor swimming two\nhand\u2019s-breadth deep in blood. Then Nita bade her father-in-law take out\nthe vampire\u2019s heart with all speed. Her father-in-law, the king,\nhearkened, and opened him and took out his heart, and gave it into\nNita\u2019s hand. And she went to the grave of her boy and dug the boy up,\napplied the heart, and the boy arose. And Nita went to her father and\nto her mother, and anointed them with the blood, and they arose. Then,\nlooking on them, Nita told all the troubles she had borne, and what she\nhad suffered at the hands of the vampire.\n\n\n    The word c\u012dohan\u00f3, which throughout I have rendered \u2018vampire,\u2019 is of\n    course identical with Paspati\u2019s Turkish-Romani tchovekhano, a\n    \u2018revenant\u2019 or spectre, which, according to Miklosich, is an\n    Armenian loan-word, and in other Gypsy dialects of Europe means\n    \u2018wizard, witch.\u2019 This vampire story is a connecting link between\n    the two meanings [47]; but whether the story itself is of Gypsy or\n    of non-Gypsy origin is a difficult question. We have four versions\n    of it\u2014two of them Gypsy, viz., this from Roumania, and one in\n    Friedrich M\u00fcller\u2019s Beitr\u00e4ge; and two non-Gypsy, viz., Ralston\u2019s\n    \u2018The Fiend\u2019 (Russian Folk-tales, pp. 10\u201317), and one from Croatia\n    (Krauss\u2019s Sagen und M\u00e4rchen der S\u00fcdslaven, i. 293). Hahn\u2019s\n    \u2018Lemonitza\u2019 (ii. 27) also offers analogies. Krauss\u2019s and M\u00fcller\u2019s\n    are both much inferior to Ralston\u2019s and our Roumanian-Gypsy one;\n    and of them, although Ralston\u2019s opens best, yet its close is\n    immeasurably inferior. For in it, as in the Hungarian-Gypsy\n    variant, the flower transforms itself merely to eat and drink. But\n    Ralston\u2019s story, it will probably be urged, is a typical Russian\n    story, so must needs be of Russian origin. To which I answer,\n    Irish-wise, with the question, How then did it travel to Croatia,\n    to the Gypsies of Hungary and Roumania? That the Gypsies, with\n    never a church, should make church bells might seem unlikely, did\n    we not know that at Edzell, in Forfarshire, there is a church bell\n    that was cast by Gypsies in 1726. So Gypsy story-tellers may well\n    have devised some domestic narratives for their auditors, not for\n    themselves. And this story is possibly theirs who tell it best.\n\n    The merest glance at Ralston or Krauss will suffice to show that\n    the Gypsy and Gentile stories are identical, that the likeness\n    between them is no chance one, but that there has been\n    transmission\u2014either the Gypsies have borrowed from the Gentiles, or\n    the Gentiles have borrowed from the Gypsies. Ralston and Krauss are\n    readily accessible to the general folklorist; of Friedrich M\u00fcller\u2019s\n    version I append this brief r\u00e9sum\u00e9. It is compounded of the first\n    half of his No. 4, which drifts off into quite another story about\n    a dove and a soldier, and of the second half of his number No. 2,\n    which opens with a variant of Grimm\u2019s \u2018Robber Bridegroom\u2019 (cf.\n    infra, No. 47, notes):\u2014\n\n    The Holy Maid will not marry. The devil creeps in at window. \u2018\u201cNow,\n    thou fair maiden, wilt thou come to me or no?\u201d \u201cNo\u201d\u2014this said the\n    maiden\u2014\u201cto a dead one say I it, but to a living one No.\u201d\u2019 Devil\n    kills first her father, next her mother; lastly threatens herself.\n    She tells the gravedigger, \u2018Bear me not over the door [this\n    supplies a lacuna in the Roumanian-Gypsy version], but bury me in a\n    grave under the threshold, and take me not out from there.\u2019 The\n    girl then dies and is buried. Flower grows out of grave. King sees\n    it and sends coachman to pluck it. He cannot [supplies lacuna], but\n    king does, and takes it home. At night the flower turns into a girl\n    and eats. Servant sees and tells. King watches next night. The girl\n    bids him pluck the flower with a clean white cloth with the left\n    hand, [48] then she will never change back into a rose, but remain\n    a maiden [supplies lacuna]. King does so, and she marries him on\n    condition he will never force her to go to church [supplies\n    lacuna]. He rues his promise when he sees the other kings going to\n    church with their wives. She consents: \u2018But now, as thou wilt, I\n    go. Thy God shall be also my God.\u2019 When she comes into church,\n    there are the twelve robbers [story reverts here to the first half\n    of No. 2]. The robber cuts her throat and she dies. \u2018If she is not\n    dead, she is still alive.\u2019\n\n    It will be seen that, rude and corrupt as these two fragments are,\n    they supply some details wanting in the Roumanian-Gypsy version.\n    They cannot, then, be borrowed from it, but it and they are clearly\n    alike derived from some older, more perfect original.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 6.\u2014GOD\u2019S GODSON\n\nThere was a queen. From youth to old age that queen never bore but one\nson. That son was a hero. So soon as he was born, he said to his\nfather, \u2018Father, have you no sword or club?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, my child, but I will order one to be made for you.\u2019\n\nThe son said, \u2018Don\u2019t order one, father: I will go just as I am.\u2019\n\nSo the son took and departed, and journeyed a long while, and took no\nheed, till he came into a great forest. So in that forest he stretched\nhimself beneath a tree to rest a bit, for he was weary. And he sat\nthere a while. Then the holy God and St. Peter came on the lad; and he\nwas unbaptized. So the holy God asked him, \u2018Where are you going, my\nlad?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going in quest of heroic achievements, old fellow.\u2019\n\nThen the holy God thought and thought, and made a church. And he caused\nsleep to fall on that lad, and bade St. Peter lift him, and went with\nhim to the church, and gave him the name Handak. And the holy God said\nto him, \u2018Godson, a hero like you there shall never be any other; and do\nyou take my god-daughter.\u2019\n\nFor there was a maiden equally heroic, and equally baptized by God. And\nshe was his god-daughter, and he told his godson to take her. And he\ngave him a wand of good fortune and a sword. And he endowed him with\nstrength, and set him down. And his godfather departed to heaven, like\nthe holy God that he was.\n\nAnd Handak perceived that God had endowed him with strength, and he set\nout in quest of heroic achievements, and journeyed a long while, and\ntook no heed. So he came into a great forest. And there was a dragon\nthree hundred years old. And his eyelashes reached down to the ground,\nand likewise his hair. And the lad went to him and said, \u2018All hail.\u2019\n\n\u2018You are welcome.\u2019\n\nSoon as that hero [the dragon] heard his voice, he knew that it was\nGod\u2019s godson.\n\nAnd the lad, Handak, asked him, \u2018Does God\u2019s god-daughter dwell far\nhence?\u2019\n\n\u2018She dwells not far; it is but a three days\u2019 journey.\u2019\n\nAnd the lad took and departed, and journeyed three days until he came\nto the maiden\u2019s. Soon as the maiden saw him, she recognised him for her\ngodfather\u2019s godson. And she let him into her house, and served up food\nto him, and ate with him and asked him, \u2018What seek you here, Handak?\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018I have come on purpose to marry you.\u2019\n\n\u2018With whom?\u2019\n\n\u2018With myself an you will.\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018I will not have it so without a fight.\u2019\n\nAnd the lad said, \u2018Come let us fight.\u2019\n\nAnd they fell to fighting, and fought three days; and the lad\nvanquished her. And he took her, and went to their godfather. And he\ncrowned them and made a marriage. And they became rulers over all\nlands. And I came away, and told the story.\n\n\n    This story, though poor as a story, is yet sufficiently curious.\n    Tweedledum and Tweedledee, in Alice in Wonderland, are suggested by\n    the \u2018not without a fight\u2019; but I can offer no real variant or\n    analogue of \u2018God\u2019s Godson.\u2019 It is noteworthy, however, that the\n    holy God and St. Peter occur in another of Barbu Constantinescu\u2019s\n    Roumanian-Gypsy stories, \u2018The Apples of Pregnancy,\u2019 No. 16, and\n    baptize another boy in Miklosich\u2019s Gypsy story from the Bukowina,\n    No. 9, \u2018The Mother\u2019s Chastisement\u2019; whilst we get Christ and St.\n    Peter in a Catalonian-Gypsy story (cited under No. 60). For the\n    nuptial crown in the last line but two, cf. Ralston\u2019s Songs of the\n    Russian People, pp. 198, 270, 306. See also the Roumanian-Gypsy\n    story of \u2018The Prince and the Wizard,\u2019 No. 15, for an heroic hero,\n    nought-heeding, who sets out in quest of heroic achievements.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 7.\u2014THE SNAKE WHO BECAME THE KING\u2019S SON-IN-LAW\n\nThere were an old man and an old woman. From their youth up to their\nold age they had never had any children (lit. \u2018made any children of\ntheir bones\u2019). So the old woman was always scolding with the old\nman\u2014what can they do, for there they are old, old people? The old woman\nsaid, \u2018Who will look after us when we grow older still?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, what am I to do, old woman?\u2019\n\n\u2018Go you, old man, and find a son for us.\u2019\n\nSo the old man arose in the morning, and took his axe in his hand, and\ndeparted and journeyed till mid-day, and came into a forest, and sought\nthree days and found nothing. Then the old man could do no more for\nhunger. He set out to return home. So as he was coming back, he found a\nlittle snake and put it in a handkerchief, and carried it home. And he\nbrought up the snake on sweet milk. The snake grew a week and two days,\nand he put it in a jar. The time came when the snake grew as big as the\njar. The snake talked with his father, \u2018My time has come to marry me.\nGo, father, to the king, and ask his daughter for me.\u2019\n\nWhen the old man heard that the snake wants the king\u2019s daughter, he\nsmote himself with his hands. \u2018Woe is me, darling! How can I go to the\nking? For the king will kill me.\u2019\n\nWhat said he? \u2018Go, father, and fear not. For what he wants of you, that\nwill I give him.\u2019\n\nThe old man went to the king. \u2018All hail, O king!\u2019\n\n\u2018Thank you, old man.\u2019\n\n\u2018King, I am come to form an alliance by marriage.\u2019\n\n\u2018An alliance by marriage!\u2019 said the king. \u2018You are a peasant, and I am\na king.\u2019\n\n\u2018That matters not, O king. If you will give me your daughter, I will\ngive you whatever you want.\u2019\n\nWhat said the king? \u2018Old man, if that be so, see this great forest.\nFell it all, and make it a level field; and plough it for me, and break\nup all the earth; and sow it with millet by to-morrow. And mark well\nwhat I tell you: you must bring me a cake made with sweet milk. Then\nwill I give you the maiden.\u2019\n\nSaid the old man, \u2018All right, O king.\u2019\n\nThe old man went weeping to the snake. When the snake saw his father\nweeping he said, \u2018Why weepest thou, father?\u2019\n\n\u2018How should I not weep, darling? For see what the king said, that I\nmust fell this great forest, and sow millet; and it must grow up by\nto-morrow, and be ripe. And I must make a cake with sweet milk and give\nit him. Then he will give me his daughter.\u2019\n\nWhat said the snake? \u2018Father, don\u2019t fear for that, for I will do what\nyou have told me.\u2019\n\nThe old man: \u2018All right, darling, if you can manage it.\u2019\n\nThe old man went off to bed.\n\nWhat did the snake? He arose and made the forest a level plain, and\nsowed millet, and thought and thought, and it was grown up by daybreak.\nWhen the old man got up, he finds a sack of millet, and he made a cake\nwith sweet milk. The old man took the cake and went to the king.\n\n\u2018Here, O king, I have done your bidding.\u2019\n\nWhen the king saw that, he marvelled. \u2018My old fellow, hearken to me. I\nhave one thing more for you to do. Make me a golden bridge from my\npalace to your house, and let golden apple-trees and pear-trees grow on\nthe side of this bridge. Then will I give you my daughter.\u2019\n\nWhen the old man heard that, he began to weep, and went home.\n\nWhat said the snake? \u2018Why weepest thou, father?\u2019\n\nThe old man said, \u2018I am weeping, darling, for the miseries which God\nsends me. The king wants a golden bridge from his palace to our house,\nand apple and pear-trees on the side of this bridge.\u2019\n\nThe snake said, \u2018Fear not, father, for I will do as the king said.\u2019\nThen the snake thought and thought, and the golden bridge was made as\nthe king had said. The snake did that in the night-time. The king arose\nat midnight; he thought the sun was at meat [i.e. it was noon]. He\nscolded the servants for not having called him in the morning.\n\nThe servants said, \u2018King, it is night, not day\u2019; and, seeing that, the\nking marvelled.\n\nIn the morning the old man came. \u2018Good-day, father-in-law.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thank you, father-in-law. Go, father-in-law, and bring your son, that\nwe may hold the wedding.\u2019\n\nHe, when he went, said, \u2018Hearken, what says the king? You are to go\nthere for the king to see you.\u2019\n\nWhat said the snake? \u2018My father, if that be so, fetch the cart, and put\nin the horses, and I will get into it to go to the king.\u2019\n\nNo sooner said, no sooner done. He got into the cart and drove to the\nking. When the king saw him, he trembled with all his lords. One lord\nolder than the rest, said, \u2018Fly not, O king, it were not well of you.\nFor he did what you told him; and shall not you do what you promised?\nHe will kill us all. Give him your daughter, and hold the marriage as\nyou promised.\u2019\n\nWhat said the king? \u2018My old man, here is the maiden whom you demand.\nTake her to you.\u2019\n\nAnd he gave him also a house by itself for her to live in with her\nhusband. She, the bride, trembled at him.\n\nThe snake said, \u2018Fear not, my wife, for I am no snake as you see me.\nBehold me as I am.\u2019\n\nHe turned a somersault, and became a golden youth, in armour clad; he\nhad but to wish to get anything. The maiden, when she saw that, took\nhim in her arms and kissed him, and said, \u2018Live, my king, many years. I\nthought you would eat me.\u2019\n\nThe king sent a man to see how it fares with his daughter. When the\nking\u2019s servant came, what does he see? The maiden fairer, lovelier than\nbefore. He went back to the king. \u2018O king, your daughter is safe and\nsound.\u2019\n\n\u2018As God wills with her,\u2019 said the king. Then he called many people and\nheld the marriage; and they kept it up three days and three nights, and\nthe marriage was consummated. And I came away and told the story.\n\n\n    Cf. Hahn\u2019s No. 31, \u2018Schlangenkind\u2019 (i. 212) and notes, but the\n    stories are not identical; and his No. 100, especially the note\n    (ii. 313) for Indian version. Wratislaw\u2019s Croatian story, No. 54,\n    \u2018The Wonder-3working Lock,\u2019 p. 284 (see under No. 54), offers\n    striking analogies. Cf. too for cobra palace, Mary Frere\u2019s Old\n    Deccan Days, p. 21.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 8.\u2014THE BAD MOTHER\n\nThere was an emperor. He had been married ten years, but had no\nchildren. And God granted that his empress conceived and bore a son.\nNow that son was heroic; there was none other found like him. And the\nfather lived half a year longer, and died. Then what is the lad to do?\nHe took and departed in quest of heroic achievements. And he journeyed\na long while, and took no heed, and came into a great forest. In that\nforest there was a certain house, and in that house were twelve\ndragons. Then the lad went straight thither, and saw that there was no\none. He opened the door and went in, and he saw a sabre on a nail and\ntook it, and posted himself behind the door, and waited for the coming\nof the dragons. They, when they came, did not go in all at once, but\nwent in one by one. The lad waited, sabre in hand; and as each one went\nin, he cut off his head, flung it on the floor. So the lad killed\neleven dragons, and the youngest dragon remained. And the lad went out\nto him, and took and fought with him, and fought half a day. And the\nlad vanquished the dragon, and took him and put him in a jar, and\nfastened it securely.\n\nAnd the lad went to walk, and came on another house, where there was\nonly a maiden. And when he saw the maiden, how did she please his\nheart. As for the maiden, the lad pleased her just as well. And the\nmaiden was yet more heroic than the lad. And they formed a strong love.\nAnd the lad told the maiden how he had killed eleven dragons, and one\nhe had left alive and put in a jar.\n\nThe maiden said, \u2018You did ill not to kill it; but now let it be.\u2019\n\nAnd the lad said to the maiden, \u2018I will go and fetch my mother, for she\nis alone at home.\u2019\n\nThen the maiden said, \u2018Fetch her, but you will rue it. But go and fetch\nher, and dwell with her.\u2019\n\nSo the lad departed to fetch his mother. He took his mother, and\nbrought her into the house of the dragons whom he had slain. And he\nsaid to his mother, \u2018Go into every room; only into this chamber do not\ngo.\u2019\n\nHis mother said, \u2018I will not, darling.\u2019\n\nAnd the lad departed into the forest to hunt.\n\nAnd his mother went into the room where he had told her not to go. And\nwhen she opened the door, the dragon saw her and said to her, \u2018Empress,\ngive me a little water, and I will do you much good.\u2019\n\nShe went and gave him water and he said to her, \u2018Dost love me, then\nwill I take thee, and thou shalt be mine empress.\u2019\n\n\u2018I love thee,\u2019 she said.\n\nThen the dragon said to her, \u2018What will you do, to get rid of your son,\nthat we may be left to ourselves? Make yourself ill, [49] and say you\nhave seen a dream, that he must bring you a porker of the sow in the\nother world; that, if he does not bring it you, you will die; but that,\nif he brings it you, you will recover.\u2019\n\nThen she went into the house, and tied up her head, and made herself\nill. And when the lad came home and saw her head tied up, he asked her,\n\u2018What\u2019s the matter, mother?\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018I am ill, darling. I shall die. But I have seen a dream, to\neat a porker of the sow in the other world.\u2019\n\nThen the lad began to weep, for his mother will die. And he took [50]\nand departed. Then he went to his sweetheart, and told her. \u2018Maiden, my\nmother will die. And she has seen a dream, that I must bring her a\nporker from the other world.\u2019\n\nThe maiden said, \u2018Go, and be prudent; and come to me as you return.\nTake my horse with the twelve wings, and mind the sow does not seize\nyou, else she\u2019ll eat both you and the horse.\u2019\n\nSo the lad took the horse and departed. He came there, and when the sun\nwas midway in his course he went to the little pigs, and took one, and\nfled. Then the sow heard him, and hurried after him to devour him. And\nat the very brink (of the other world), just as he was leaping out, the\nsow bit off half of the horse\u2019s tail. So the lad went to the maiden.\nAnd the maiden came out, and took the little pig, and hid it, and put\nanother in its stead. Then he went home to his mother, and gave her\nthat little pig, and she dressed it and ate, and said that she was\nwell.\n\nThree or four days later she made herself ill again, as the dragon had\nshown her.\n\nWhen the lad came, he asked her, \u2018What\u2019s the matter now, mother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am ill again, darling, and I have seen a dream that you must bring\nme an apple from the golden apple-tree in the other world.\u2019\n\nSo the lad took and departed to the maiden; and when the maiden saw him\nso troubled, she asked him, \u2018What\u2019s the matter, lad?\u2019\n\n\u2018What\u2019s the matter! my mother is ill again. And she has seen a dream\nthat I am to bring her an apple from the apple-tree in the other\nworld.\u2019\n\nThen the maiden knew that his mother was compassing his destruction\n(lit. \u2018was walking to eat his head\u2019), and she said to the lad, \u2018Take my\nhorse and go, but be careful the apple-tree does not seize you there.\nCome to me, as you return.\u2019\n\nAnd the lad took and departed, and came to the brink of the world. And\nhe let himself in, and went to the apple-tree at mid-day when the\napples were resting. And he took an apple and ran away. Then the leaves\nperceived it and began to scream; and the apple-tree took itself after\nhim to lay its hand on him and kill him. And the lad came out from the\nbrink, and arrived in our world, and went to the maiden. Then the\nmaiden took the apple, stole it from him, and hid it, and put another\nin its stead. And the lad stayed a little longer with her, and departed\nto his mother. Then his mother, when she saw him, asked him, \u2018Have you\nbrought it, darling?\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ve brought it, mother.\u2019\n\nSo she took the apple and ate, and said there was nothing more the\nmatter with her.\n\nIn a week\u2019s time the dragon told her to make herself ill again, and to\nask for water from the great mountains. So she made herself ill.\n\nWhen the lad saw her ill, he began to weep and said, \u2018My mother will\ndie, God. She\u2019s always ill.\u2019 Then he went to her and asked her, \u2018What\u2019s\nthe matter, mother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am like to die, darling. But I shall recover if you will bring me\nwater from the great mountains.\u2019\n\nThen the lad tarried no longer. He went to the maiden and said to her,\n\u2018My mother is ill again; and she has seen a dream that I must fetch her\nwater from the great mountains.\u2019\n\nThe maiden said, \u2018Go, lad; but I fear the clouds will catch you, and\nthe mountains there, and will kill you. But do you take my horse with\ntwenty-and-four wings; and when you get there, wait afar off till\nmid-day, for at mid-day the mountains and the clouds set themselves at\ntable and eat. Then do you go with the pitcher, and draw water quickly,\nand fly.\u2019\n\nThen the lad took the pitcher, and departed thither to the mountains,\nand waited till the sun had reached the middle of his course. And he\nwent and drew water and fled. And the clouds and the mountains\nperceived him, and took themselves after him, but they could not catch\nhim. And the lad came to the maiden. Then the maiden went and took the\npitcher with the water, and put another in its stead without his\nknowing it. And the lad arose and went home, and gave water to his\nmother, and she recovered.\n\nThen the lad departed into the forest to hunt. His mother went to the\ndragon and told him, \u2018He has brought me the water. What am I to do now\nwith him?\u2019\n\n\u2018What are you to do! why, take and play cards with him. You must say,\n\u201cFor a wager, as I used to play with your father.\u201d\u2019\n\nSo the lad came home and found his mother merry: it pleased him well.\nAnd she said to him at table, as they were eating, \u2018Darling, when your\nfather was alive, what did we do? When we had eaten and risen up, we\ntook and played cards for a wager.\u2019\n\nThen the lad: \u2018If you like, play with me, mother.\u2019\n\nSo they took and played cards; and his mother beat him. And she took\nsilken cords, and bound his two hands so tight that the cord cut into\nhis hands.\n\nAnd the lad began to weep, and said to his mother, \u2018Mother, release me\nor I die.\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018That is just what I was wanting to do to you.\u2019 And she\ncalled the dragon, \u2018Come forth, dragon, come and kill him.\u2019\n\nThen the dragon came forth, and took him, and cut him in pieces, and\nput him in the saddle-bags, and placed him on his horse, and let him\ngo, and said to the horse, \u2018Carry him, horse, dead, whence thou didst\ncarry him alive.\u2019\n\nThen the horse hurried to the lad\u2019s sweetheart, and went straight to\nher there. Then, when the maiden saw him, she began to weep, and she\ntook him and put piece to piece; where one was missing, she cut the\nporker, and supplied flesh from the porker. So she put all the pieces\nof him in their place. And she took the water and poured it on him, and\nhe became whole. And she squeezed the apple in his mouth, and brought\nhim to life.\n\nSo when the lad arose, he went home to his mother, and drove a stake\ninto the earth, and placed both her and the dragon on one great pile of\nstraw. And he set it alight, and they were consumed. And he departed\nthence, and took the maiden, and made a marriage, and kept up the\nmarriage three months day and night. And I came away and told the\nstory.\n\n\n    Of this Roumanian-Gypsy story Miklosich furnishes a Gypsy variant\n    from the Bukowina, which I will give in full at the risk of seeming\n    repetition, italicising such words and phrases as show the most\n    marked correspondence:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 9.\u2014THE MOTHER\u2019S CHASTISEMENT\n\nThere was an emperor\u2019s son, and he went to hunt. And he departed from\nthe hunters by himself. And by a certain stack there was a maiden. He\npassed near the stack, and heard her lamenting. He took that maiden,\nand brought her home.\n\n\u2018See, mother, what I\u2019ve found.\u2019\n\nHis mother took her to the kitchen to the cook to bring her up. She\nbrought her up twelve years. The empress dressed her nicely, and put\nher in the palace to lay the table. The prince loved her, for she was\nso fair that in all the world there was none so fair as she. The prince\nloved her three years, and the empress knew it not.\n\nOnce he said, \u2018I will take a wife, mother.\u2019\n\n\u2018From what imperial family?\u2019\n\n\u2018I wish to marry her who lays the table.\u2019\n\n\u2018Not her, mother\u2019s darling!\u2019\n\n\u2018If I don\u2019t take her, I shall die.\u2019\n\n\u2018Take her.\u2019\n\nAnd he took her; he married her. And an order came for him to go to\nbattle. He left her big with child.\n\nThe empress called two servants. \u2018Take her into the forest and kill\nher, and bring me her heart and little finger.\u2019\n\nThey put her in the carriage, and drove her into the forest; after them\nran a whelp. And they brought her into the forest, and were going to\nkill her, and she said, \u2018Kill me not, for I have used you well.\u2019\n\n\u2018How are we to take her the heart, then?\u2019\n\n\u2018Kill the whelp, for its heart is just like a human one, and cut off my\nlittle finger.\u2019\n\nThey killed the whelp, and cut off her little finger, and took out the\nwhelp\u2019s heart.\n\nAnd she cried, \u2018Gather wood for me, and make me a fire; and strip off\nbark for me, and build me a hut.\u2019\n\nThey built her a hut, and made her a fire, and went away home, bringing\nthe heart and the little finger.\n\nShe brought forth a son. God and St. Peter came and baptized him; [51]\nand God gave him a gun that he should become a hunter. Whatever he saw\nhe would kill with the gun. And God gave him the name Silvester. And\nGod made a house of the hut, and the fire no longer died. And God gave\nthem a certain loaf; they were always eating, and it was never\nfinished.\n\nThe boy grew big, and he took his gun in his hand, and went into the\nforest. And what he saw he killed, carried to his mother, and they ate.\nWalking in the forest, he came upon the dragons\u2019 palace, and sat before\nthe door. At mid-day the dragons were coming home. He saw them from\nafar, eleven (sic) in number; and eleven he shot with his gun, and one\nhe merely stunned. And he took them, and carried them into the palace,\nand shut them up in a room; and he went to his mother, and said, \u2018Come\nwith me, mother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Where am I to go to, mother\u2019s darling?\u2019\n\n\u2018Come with me, where I take you to.\u2019\n\nHe went with her to the palace. \u2018Take to thee, mother, twelve keys. Go\ninto any room you choose, but into this room do not go.\u2019\n\nHe went into the forest to hunt.\n\nShe said, \u2018Why did my son tell me not to go in here? But I will go to\nsee what is there.\u2019\n\nShe opened the door.\n\nThe dragon asked her, \u2018If thou art a virgin, be my sister; but if thou\nart a wife, be my wife.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am a wife.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then be my wife.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will; but will you do the right thing by me?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will.\u2019\n\n\u2018Swear, then.\u2019\n\n\u2018I swear.\u2019\n\nThe dragon swore. The dragon said to her, \u2018Swear also thou.\u2019\n\nShe also swore. They kissed one another on the mouth. She brought him\nto her into the house; they drank and ate, and loved one another.\n\nHer son came from the forest. She saw him. She said, \u2018My son is coming;\ngo back into the room.\u2019\n\nHe went back, and she shut him in.\n\nIn the morning her son went again into the forest to hunt. She admitted\nthe dragon again to her. They drank and ate. He said to her, \u2018How shall\nwe kill your son? Then we\u2019ll live finely. Make yourself ill, and say\nthat you have seen a dream, that he must bring milk from the she-bear\nfor you to drink. Then you\u2019ll have nothing to trouble you, for the\nshe-bear will devour him.\u2019\n\nHe came home from the forest. \u2018What\u2019s the matter with you, mother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I shall die, but I saw a dream. Bring me milk from the she-bear.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll bring it you, mother.\u2019\n\nHe went into the forest, and found the she-bear. He was going to shoot\nher.\n\nShe cried, \u2018Stop, man. What do you want?\u2019\n\n\u2018You to give me milk.\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018I will give it you. Have you a pail?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come and milk.\u2019\n\nHe milked her, and brought it to his mother.\n\n\u2018Here, mother.\u2019\n\nShe pretended to drink, but poured it forth.\n\nIn the morning he went again into the forest, and met the Moon. \u2018Who\nart thou?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am the Moon.\u2019\n\n\u2018Be a sister to me.\u2019\n\n\u2018But who art thou?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am Silvester.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then thou art God\u2019s godson, for God takes care of thee. I also am\nGod\u2019s.\u2019\n\n\u2018Be a sister to me.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will be a sister to thee.\u2019\n\nHe went further; he met Friday. \u2018Who art thou?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am Friday, but who art thou?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am Silvester.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thou art God\u2019s godson; I also am God\u2019s.\u2019\n\n\u2018Be a sister to me.\u2019\n\nHe went home. His mother saw him. \u2018My son is coming.\u2019\n\n\u2018Send him to the wild sow to bring thee milk, for she will devour him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Always sick, mother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am. I have seen a dream. Bring me milk from the wild sow.\u2019\n\n\u2018I know not whether or no I shall bring it, but I will try.\u2019\n\nHe went; he found the sow; he was going to shoot her with his gun. She\ncried, \u2018Don\u2019t, don\u2019t shoot me. What do you want?\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me milk.\u2019\n\n\u2018Have you a pail? come and milk.\u2019\n\nHe brought it to his mother. She pretended to drink, but poured it\nforth. He went again into the forest.\n\nShe admitted the dragon to her. \u2018In vain, for the sow has not devoured\nhim.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then send him to the Mountains of Blood, that butt at one another like\nrams, to bring thee water, the water of life and the water of healing.\nIf he does not die there, he never will.\u2019\n\n\u2018I have seen a dream, that you bring me water from the Mountains of\nBlood, which butt at one another like rams, for then there will be\nnothing the matter with me.\u2019\n\nHe went to the Moon.\n\n\u2018Whither away, brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going to the mountains to fetch water for my mother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t go, brother; you will die there.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bah! I will go there.\u2019\n\n\u2018Take thee my horse when thou goest, for my horse will carry thee\nthither. And take thee a watch, for they butt at one another from\nmorning till noon, and at noon they rest for two hours. So when you\ncome there at the twelfth hour, draw water in two pails from the two\nwells.\u2019\n\nHe came thither at mid-day, and dismounted, and drew water in two\npails, the water of life and the water of healing. And he came back to\nthe Moon; and the Moon said, \u2018Lie down and sleep, and rest, for you are\nworn out.\u2019\n\nShe hid that water, and poured in other.\n\nHe arose. \u2018Come, sister, I will depart home.\u2019\n\n\u2018Take my horse, and go riding. Take the saddle-bags.\u2019\n\nHe went home to his mother. His mother saw him coming on horseback, and\nsaid to the dragon, \u2018My son is coming on horseback.\u2019\n\n\u2018Tell him that you have seen a dream, that you bind his fingers behind\nhis back with a silken cord; and that if he can burst it he will become\na hero, and you will grow strong.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bind away, mother.\u2019\n\nShe made a thick silken cord, and bound his fingers behind his back. He\ntugged, and grew red in the face; he tugged again, he grew blue; he\ntugged the third time, he grew black.\n\nAnd she cried, \u2018Come, dragon, and cut his throat.\u2019\n\nThe dragon came to him. \u2018Well, what shall I do to you now?\u2019\n\n\u2018Cut me all in bits, and put me in the saddle-bags, and place me on my\nhorse. Thither, whence he carried me living, let him carry me dead.\u2019\n\nHe cut him in pieces, put him in the saddle-bags, and placed him on the\nhorse. \u2018Go, whence thou didst carry him living, carry him dead.\u2019\n\nThe horse went straight to the Moon. The Moon came out, and saw him,\nand took him in, and called Wednesday, and called Friday; and they laid\nhim in a big trough, and washed him brawly, and placed him on a table,\nand put him all together, bit by bit; and they took the water of\nhealing, and sprinkled him, and he became whole; and they took the\nwater of life, and sprinkled him, and he came to life.\n\n\u2018Ah! I was sleeping soundly.\u2019 [52]\n\n\u2018You would have slept for ever if I had not come.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will go, sister, to my mother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go not, brother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bah! I will.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, go, and God be with thee. Take thee my sword.\u2019\n\nHe went to his mother. His mother was singing and dancing with the\ndragon. He went in to the dragon. \u2018Good day to you both.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thanks.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come, what shall I do to you, dragon?\u2019\n\n\u2018Cut me in little pieces, and put me in the saddle-bags, and place me\non my horse. Whence he carried me living, let him carry me also dead.\u2019\n\nHe cut him in little pieces, put him in the saddle-bags, placed him on\nhis horse, and dug out the horse\u2019s eyes. \u2018Go whither thou wilt.\u2019\n\nAway went the horse, and kept knocking his head against the trees; and\nthe pieces of flesh kept falling from the saddle-bags. The crows kept\neating the flesh.\n\nSilvester shot a hare, and skinned it, and spitted it, and roasted it\nat the fire. And he said to his mother, \u2018Mother, look straight at me.\u2019\n\nHis mother looked at him. He struck her in the eyes, and her eyes leapt\nout of her head. And he took her by the hand, led her to a jar, said to\nher, \u2018Mother, when thou hast filled this jar with tears, then God\npardon thee; and when thou hast eaten a bundle of hay, and filled the\njar with tears, then God pardon thee, and restore thee thine eyes.\u2019\n\nAnd he bound her there, and departed, and left her three years. In\nthree years she came back to his recollection. \u2018I will go to my mother,\nand see what she is doing.\u2019\n\nNow she has filled the jar, and eaten the bundle of hay.\n\n\u2018Now may God pardon thee; now I also pardon thee. Depart, and God be\nwith thee.\u2019\n\n\n    A third Gypsy version, from Hungary, the first half of Friedrich\n    M\u00fcller\u2019s No. 5, may be summarised thus:\u2014Two children, driven from\n    home by mother, wander thirty-five years, and come to a forest so\n    dense the birds cannot fly through it. They come to a castle so\n    high they cannot see the top of it. Twelve robbers dwell here. Lad\n    kills eleven as they come home, but only wounds the twelfth. He\n    goes forth to hunt, spares lives of twelve wild animals, and brings\n    them home. The sister meanwhile has restored the twelve robbers to\n    life. She suggests that her brother shall have a warm bath (cf. De\n    Gubernatis\u2019 Zool. Myth. i. 213), saying that thereby their father\n    had been so healthy. In the bath she binds his hands and feet. She\n    summons twelve robbers. They permit him to play his father\u2019s air on\n    his pipe; it calls up the twelve animals. They rend the robbers,\n    and loose the lad, who packs his sister into the great empty jar\n    (here first mentioned), and leaves her to die of hunger.\n\n    This last is a poorly-told story; still, not without its features\n    of interest. It will be noticed that in it, as in many non-Gypsy\n    variants, the dragons are rationalised into robbers (sometimes\n    blackamoors). Of the Roumanian and the Bukowina-Gypsy versions the\n    former seems to me the better on the whole. The opening of the\n    Bukowina version cannot properly belong to the story, for it\n    arouses an interest in the mother, who yet turns out a bad lot.\n    [53] Its close, however, is decidedly superior. What a picture is\n    that of the mother and the dragon singing and dancing, and what a\n    one that of the blinded horse and the crows! In both versions there\n    is the same omission\u2014the inquiry into the seat of the hero\u2019s\n    strength; and in the Bukowina one no use is made of the milk from\n    the she-bear and the wild sow, nor are we told of the hero\u2019s first\n    meeting with Wednesday. Plainly the Roumanian version is not\n    derived from the Bukowina one, nor the Bukowina one from the\n    Roumanian; but they point to an unknown, more perfect original.\n    Even as they stand, however, both are better than any of the\n    non-Gypsy variants known to me. These include five from Hahn\u2019s\n    Greek collection (i. 176, 215; ii. 234, 279, 283); one in Roumanian\n    Fairy Tales, by E. B. M. (Lond. 1884, pp. 81\u201389), resembling the\n    Hungarian-Gypsy version; three German and one Lithuanian, cited by\n    Hahn (ii. 236); one Russian, summarised by Ralston (p. 235); the\n    well-known \u2018Blue Belt\u2019 in Dasent\u2019s Tales from the Norse (p. 178);\n    and Laura Gonzenbach\u2019s No. 26, \u2018Vom tapfern K\u00f6nigssohn\u2019 (Sicil.\n    M\u00e4r, i. 158\u2013167), where the hero is cut in pieces by his supposed\n    stepfather, the robber-chieftain, packed into a saddle-bag, and\n    carried by his ass to a hermit, who revives him, after which the\n    story drifts off into our No. 45.\n\n    I have annotated the Gypsy stories very fully; my notes cover\n    several pages. Here, however, it must suffice to indicate some of\n    the more striking parallels from non-Gypsy sources. In Hahn, i.\n    267, God gives a house to a woman abandoned in a forest (cf. also\n    i. 73; ii. 26). For the heart and little finger, a very common\n    incident, compare the English-Gypsy story of \u2018Bobby Rag\u2019 (No. 51),\n    and Hahn, i. 258 and ii. 231. In Grimm, No. 111, a hunter gives the\n    hero a gun which never misses. For the formula, \u2018If thou art a\n    virgin,\u2019 etc., cf. Ralston, pp. 75\u201376. For the mountains that butt\n    together, cf. Ralston, p. 236; Tylor\u2019s Primitive Culture, pp.\n    313\u2013316; Hahn, ii. 46\u201347; and Grimm, No. 97. For the water of\n    healing and the water of life, cf. Ralston, pp. 17, 91, 230, 255.\n    For \u2018Ah! I was sleeping soundly,\u2019 cf. Ralston, pp. 91\u201392; Hahn, ii.\n    274; and our No. 29. In Campbell\u2019s Santal Folk-tales, p. 92, a\n    father, restored to life, says, \u2018O my son, what a lengthened sleep\n    I have had!\u2019 For the sow biting off half of the horse\u2019s tail, cf.\n    Hahn, i. 312; Krauss, ii. 94; Ralston, p. 235; and Burns\u2019s \u2018Tam o\u2019\n    Shanter.\u2019 For the leaves beginning to scream, cf. Hahn, i. 270 and\n    ii. 171. In a variant from Afanasief, vi. 52, cited by De\n    Gubernatis (Z.M., i. 215), the sister for punishment is placed near\n    some hay and some water, and a vessel which she is to fill with her\n    tears. It is just worth noting that Silvester is a common\n    English-Gypsy name.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 10.\u2014THE THREE PRINCESSES AND THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT\n\nThere was a king; and from youth to old age he had no son. In his old\nage three daughters were born to him. And the very morning of their\nbirth the Unclean Spirit came and took them, the three maidens. And he\nfought to win a woman, the Serpent-Maiden; and half his moustache\nturned white, and half all the hair on his head, for the sake of the\nSerpent-Maiden. Time passed by, and he had no son; and his daughters\nthe Unclean Spirit had carried away.\n\nThen he took and thought. \u2018What am I to do, wife? I will go for three\nyears (sic); and, when I return, let me find a son born of you. If in a\nyear\u2019s time I find not one, I will kill you.\u2019\n\nHe went and journeyed a year and a day. His wife took and thought. As\nshe was a-thinking, a man went by with apples: whoso eats one of his\napples shall conceive. Then she went, and took an apple, and ate the\napple, and she conceived. The time came that she should bring forth.\nAnd she brought forth a son, and called his name Cosmas. So her king\ncame that night, and sent a messenger to ask his wife.\n\nShe said, \u2018Your bidding is fulfilled.\u2019\n\nThen he went in, and, when he saw the lad, his heart was full.\n\nAnd the time came when the lad grew big, and he looked the very picture\nof his father. The time came that his father died. By that time he felt\nhimself a man, and he put forth his little finger, and lifted the\npalace up. Then he came back from hunting, and he lifted the foundation\nof the palace, and told his mother to place her breast beneath it. Then\nhis mother placed her breast beneath the foundation, and he left it\npressing upon her. Then she cried aloud.\n\nThe lad said to her, \u2018Mother, tell me, why was my father\u2019s moustache\nhalf white?\u2019\n\nThen she said to him, \u2018Why, darling, your father fought nine years to\nwin the Serpent-Maiden, and never won her.\u2019\n\nThen he asked, \u2018And have I no brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 she said; \u2018but you have three sisters, and the Unclean Spirit\ncarried them away.\u2019\n\nAnd he asked, \u2018Whither did he carry them?\u2019\n\nThen she said he had carried them to the Land of the Setting Sun.\n\nThen he took his father\u2019s saddle and his bridle and likewise his\nfather\u2019s colt, and set out in quest of his sisters, and arrived at his\nsister\u2019s house, and hurled his mace, and smashed the plum-trees.\n\nThen his sister came out and said to him, \u2018Why have you smashed the\nplum-trees? For the Unclean Spirit will come and kill you.\u2019\n\nThen he said, \u2018I would not have you think ill of me; but kindly come\nand give me a draught of wine and a morsel of bread.\u2019\n\nThen she brought bread and wine. As she was handing him the bread and\nwine, she noticed her father\u2019s colt, and recognised it. Then she said,\n\u2018This must be my father\u2019s horse.\u2019\n\n\u2018Take notice then that I also am his.\u2019\n\nThen she fell on his neck, and he on hers.\n\nThen she said to him, \u2018My brother, the Unclean Spirit will come from\nthe Twelfth Region. And he will come and destroy you.\u2019\n\nThen the Unclean Spirit came, and hurled his mace; and it opened twelve\ndoors, and hung itself on its peg. Then Cosmas took it, and hurled it\ntwelve regions away from him. Then the Unclean Spirit took it, and came\nhome with it in his hand, and asked, \u2018Wife, I smell mortal man?\u2019\n\n(Meanwhile she had turned her brother into an ear-ring, and put him in\nher ear.)\n\nThen she said, \u2018You\u2019re for ever eating corpses, and are meaning to eat\nme, too, for I also am mortal.\u2019\n\nThen he said to her, \u2018Don\u2019t tell lies; my brother-in-law has come.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, then, and if your brother-in-law has come, will you eat him?\u2019\n\nThen he said, \u2018I will not.\u2019\n\n\u2018Swear it on your sword that you will not eat him.\u2019\n\nThen she took him out of her ear, and set him at table. He ate at table\nwith the Unclean Spirit.\n\nThen the lad went outside, [54] and creeps into the fetlock of his\ncolt, and hid himself there. Then the Unclean Spirit arose, and hunted\neverywhere, and failed to light on him. And he set his bugle to his\nmouth, and blew a blast, and summoned all the birds upon the horse, and\nthey searched every hair of the horse. And just as he was coming to the\nfetlock, then the cocks crowed, and he fell.\n\nCosmas came forth, and went to him. \u2018Good day, brother-in-law.\u2019\n\nThen he asked him, \u2018Where were you?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, I was in the hay, before the horse.\u2019\n\nThen Cosmas took leave of them, and went to his other sisters, and did\nwith them just as with this one.\n\nThen his little sister asked him, \u2018Where are you going, my brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going to tend the white mare, and get one of her colts, and I am\ngoing to win the Serpent-Maiden.\u2019\n\nThen she said to him, \u2018Go, my brother, and if you get the colt, come to\nme.\u2019\n\nHe went.\n\nNow some peasants were hunting a wolf to slay it. The wolf said,\n\u2018Cosmas, don\u2019t abandon me. Send the peasants the wrong way, that they\nmay not kill me; and take one of my hairs, [55] and put it in your\npocket. And whenever you think of me, there I am, wherever you may be.\u2019\n\nGoing further, he came on a crow that had broken its wing, and it said,\n\u2018Don\u2019t pass me by, Cosmas; bind my wing up; and I will give you a\nfeather to put in your pocket, and whenever you are in any difficulty,\nI\u2019ll be with you.\u2019\n\nGoing still further, he came on a fish, which said, \u2018Cosmas, don\u2019t pass\nme by. Tie me to your horse\u2019s tail, and put me in the water, for I will\ndo you much good.\u2019\n\nHe did so, and put it in the water.\n\nThen he came to the old woman who owned the white mare; and she sat\nbefore her door; and he said to her, \u2018Will you give me a colt of the\nwhite mare, old one?\u2019\n\nThe old wife said, \u2018If you can find her three days running, one of her\ncolts is yours. But if you can\u2019t find her, I will cut off your head,\nand stick it on yonder stake.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll find her,\u2019 he said.\n\nAnd she gave him the white mare, and away he went with her to try and\nfind her. So the mare ran in among the sheep, and took and hid herself\nin the earth. And the lad arose and searched for the mare, and failed\nto light on her. And the wolf came into his mind; and he thought of\nhim.\n\nAnd the wolf came and asked him, \u2018What\u2019s the matter, lad?\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018I can\u2019t find the white mare.\u2019\n\nThe wolf said, \u2018Do you see this one, the biggest of the sheep? that is\nshe. Go, and give her a taste of the stick.\u2019\n\nSo the lad took and called her, and she became a horse. And he went\nwith her to the old woman.\n\nAnd the old woman said, \u2018You have two more days.\u2019\n\n\u2018All right, old lady,\u2019 said the lad.\n\nSo next day also he took and went off with the mare, to try and find\nher. (The old woman had thrashed the mare for not hiding herself\nproperly, so that he could not have found her. And the white mare had\nsaid, \u2018Forgive me, old woman. This time I will hide in the clouds, and\nhe never will find me.\u2019)\n\nSo the lad went off with her, to try and find her; and she went into\nthe clouds. So the lad set to work, and searched from morning till\nnoon. And the crow came into his mind; and, as he thought of it, the\ncrow came and asked him, \u2018What\u2019s the matter, lad?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, I have lost the white mare, and cannot light on her.\u2019\n\nSo the crow summoned all the crows, and they searched upon every side,\ntill they lighted on her. So they took her in their beaks, and brought\nher to the lad. So the lad took her, and led her to the old woman.\n\n\u2018You have one day more,\u2019 said the old woman.\n\nSo the day came when the lad had to find the mare once more. (That\nnight the old woman had thrashed the white mare and pretty nigh killed\nit. And the mare had said to the old woman, \u2018If he lights on me this\ntime, old woman, you may know I have burst, for I will go right into\nthe sea.\u2019)\n\nSo when the lad departed with her, she went into the sea. And the lad\nsearched for her, and it wanted but little of night. And the fish came\ninto his mind. So the fish emerged before him and said, \u2018What\u2019s the\nmatter, lad?\u2019\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t know where the white mare has gone to.\u2019\n\nAnd the fish went and summoned all the fishes; and they gave up the\nwhite mare with her colt behind her. And the lad took her. He went with\nher to the old wife, and she said to him, \u2018Take, deary, whichever\npleases you.\u2019\n\nThe lad chose the youngest colt.\n\nAnd the old wife said, \u2018Don\u2019t take that one, my lad; it isn\u2019t a good\none. Take a handsomer.\u2019\n\nAnd the lad said, \u2018Let be.\u2019\n\nAnd the lad went further; and the colt turned a somersault, [56] and\nbecame golden, with twenty-and-four wings. And the Serpent had none\nlike his. And he went to his sisters, and took the three of them, and\ntook too the Serpent-Maiden, and went with them home. Neither the\nUnclean Spirit nor the dragon could catch him. And he went home. So he\nmade a marriage; and they ate and drank. And I left them there, and\ncame and told my tale to your lordships.\n\n\n    A valuable story, but confused and imperfect. Who the dragon was is\n    left to conjecture; and the serpent-maiden\u2014she must have been a\n    real old (serpent) maid\u2014is barely mentioned. In no collection can I\n    find any exact parallel to this story; but it offers many\n    analogies, e.g. to \u2018Childe Rowland\u2019 (J. Jacobs\u2019 English Fairy\n    Tales, i. 117\u2013124, 238\u2013245); and to Von Sowa\u2019s Bohemian-Gypsy story\n    of \u2018The Three Dragons\u2019 (infra. No. 44). The \u2018Apples of Pregnancy\u2019\n    form the theme of another Roumanian-Gypsy story (No. 16). The\n    hurling the mace occurs in Miklosich\u2019s Bukowina-Gypsy story,\n    \u2018Pretty-face\u2019 (No. 29), and in \u2018Sir Peppercorn\u2019 (Denton\u2019s Serbian\n    Folklore, p. 124). For \u2018the cocks crowed, and he fell,\u2019 cf.\n    Ralston, p. 316; and for blowing a blast and summoning all the\n    birds, the Welsh-Gypsy story of \u2018The Green Man of Noman\u2019s Land\u2019\n    (No. 62). For the latter part of the story reference should be made\n    to Ralston, pp. 92, 98, 103\u20134; Krauss, i. 362; and especially the\n    close of the Bulgarian story of \u2018The Golden Apples and the Nine\n    Peahens\u2019 (Wratislaw\u2019s Sixty Slavonic Folk-tales, pp. 193\u2013198),\n    where we get the watching of a mare for three successive days, and\n    the finding of her by the help of a grateful fish, fox, and crow.\n    Cf. too, Wratislaw\u2019s Croatian story, \u2018The Daughter of the King of\n    the Vilas\u2019 (No. 53, pp. 278\u2013283).\n\n\n\n\nNO. 11.\u2014THE TWO THIEVES\n\nThere was a time when there was. There were two thieves. One was a\ncountry thief, and one a town thief. So the time came that the two met,\nand they asked one another whence they are and what they are.\n\nThen the country thief said to the town one, \u2018Well, if you\u2019re such a\nclever thief as to be able to steal the eggs from under a crow, then I\nshall know that you are a thief.\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018See me, how I\u2019ll steal them.\u2019\n\nAnd he climbed lightly up the tree, and put his hand under the crow,\nand stole the eggs from her, and the crow never felt it. Whilst he is\nstealing the crow\u2019s eggs, the country thief stole his breeches, and the\ntown thief never felt him. And when he came down and saw that he was\nnaked, he said, \u2018Brother, I never felt you stealing my breeches; let\u2019s\nbecome brothers.\u2019\n\nSo they became brothers.\n\nThen what are they to do? They went into the city, and took one wife\nbetween them. And the town thief said, \u2018Brother, it is a sin for two\nbrothers to have one wife. It were better for her to be yours.\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018Mine be she.\u2019\n\n\u2018But, come now, where I shall take you, that we may get money.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come on, brother, since you know.\u2019\n\nSo they took and departed. Then they came to the king\u2019s, and considered\nhow to get into his palace. And what did they devise?\n\nSaid the town thief, \u2018Come, brother, and let us break into the palace,\nand let ourselves down one after the other.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come on.\u2019\n\nSo they got on the palace, and broke through the roof; and the country\nthief lowered himself, and took two hundred purses of money, and came\nout. And they went home.\n\nThen the king arose in the morning, and looked at his money, and saw\nthat two hundred purses of money were missing. Straightway he arose and\nwent to the prison, where was an old thief. And when he came to him, he\nasked him, \u2018Old thief, I know not who has come into my palace, and\nstolen from me two hundred purses of money. And I know not where they\nwent out by, for there is no hole anywhere in the palace.\u2019\n\nThe old thief said, \u2018There must be one, O king, only you don\u2019t see it.\nBut go and make a fire in the palace, and come out and watch the\npalace; and where you see smoke issuing, that was where the thieves\nentered. And do you put a cask of molasses just there at that hole, for\nthe thief will come again who stole the money.\u2019\n\nThen the king went and made a fire, and saw the hole where the smoke\nissues in the roof of the palace. And he went and got a cask of\nmolasses, and put it there at the hole. Then the thieves came again\nthere at night to that hole. And the thief from the country let himself\ndown again; and as he did so he fell into the cask of molasses. And he\nsaid to his brother, \u2018Brother, it is all over with me. But, not to do\nthe king\u2019s pleasure, come and cut off my head, for I am as good as\ndead.\u2019\n\nSo his comrade lowered himself down, and cut off his head, and went and\nburied it in a wood.\n\nSo, when the king arose, he arose early, and went there, where the\nthief had fallen, and sees the thief there in the cask of molasses, and\nwith no head. Then what is he to do? He took and went to the old thief,\nand told him, \u2018Look you, old thief, I caught the thief, and he has no\nhead.\u2019\n\nThen the old thief said, \u2018There! O king, this is a cunning thief. But\nwhat are you to do? Why, take the corpse, and hang it up outside at the\ncity gate. And he who stole his head will come to steal him too. And do\nyou set soldiers to watch him.\u2019\n\nSo the king went and took the corpse, and hung it up, and set soldiers\nto watch it.\n\nThen the thief took and bought a white mare and a cart, and took a jar\nof twenty measures of wine. And he put it in the cart, and drove\nstraight to the place where his comrade was hanging. He made himself\nvery old, and pretended the cart had broken down, and the jar had\nfallen out. And he began to weep and tear his hair, and he made himself\nto cry aloud, that he was a poor man, and his master would kill him.\nThe soldiers guarding the corpse said one to another, \u2018Let\u2019s help to\nput this old fellow\u2019s jar in the cart, mates, for it\u2019s a pity to hear\nhim.\u2019\n\nSo they went to help him, and said to him, \u2018Hullo! old chap, we\u2019ll put\nyour jar in the cart; will you give us a drop to drink?\u2019\n\n\u2018That I will, deary.\u2019\n\nSo they went and put the jar in the cart. And the old fellow took and\nsaid to them, \u2018Take a pull, deary, for I have nothing to give it you\nin.\u2019\n\nSo the soldiers took and drank till they could drink no more. And the\nold fellow made himself to ask, \u2018And who is this?\u2019\n\nThe soldiers said, \u2018That is a thief.\u2019\n\nThen the old man said, \u2018Hullo! deary, I shan\u2019t spend the night here,\nelse that thief will steal my mare.\u2019\n\nThen the soldiers said, \u2018What a silly you are, old fellow! How will he\ncome and steal your mare?\u2019\n\n\u2018He will, though, deary. Isn\u2019t he a thief?\u2019\n\n\u2018Shut up, old fellow. He won\u2019t steal your mare; and if he does, we\u2019ll\npay you for her.\u2019\n\n\u2018He will steal her, deary; he\u2019s a thief.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, old boy, he\u2019s dead. We\u2019ll give you our written word that if he\nsteals your mare we will pay you three hundred groats for her.\u2019\n\nThen the old man said, \u2018All right, deary, if that\u2019s the case.\u2019\n\nSo he stayed there. He placed himself near the fire, and a drowsy fit\ntook him, and he pretended to sleep. The soldiers kept going to the jar\nof wine, and drank every drop of the wine, and got drunk. And where\nthey fell there they slept, and took no thought. The old chap, the\nthief, who pretended to sleep, arose and stole the corpse from the\ngallows, and put it on his mare, and carried it into the forest and\nburied it. And he left his mare there and went back to the fire, and\npretended to sleep.\n\nAnd when the soldiers arose, and saw that neither the corpse was there\nnor the old man\u2019s mare, they marvelled, and said, \u2018There! my comrades,\nthe old man said rightly the thief would steal his mare. Let\u2019s make it\nup to him.\u2019\n\nSo by the time the old man arose they gave him four hundred groats, and\nbegged him to say no more about it.\n\nThen when the king arose, and saw there was no thief on the gallows, he\nwent to the old thief in the prison, and said to him, \u2018There! they have\nstolen the thief from the gallows, old thief. What am I to do?\u2019\n\n\u2018Did not I tell you, O king, that this is a cunning thief? But do you\ngo and buy up all the joints of meat in the city. And charge a ducat\nthe two pounds, so that no one will care to buy any, unless he has come\ninto a lot of money. But that thief won\u2019t be able to hold out three\ndays.\u2019\n\nThen the king went and bought up all the joints, and left one joint;\nand that one he priced at a ducat the pound. So nobody came to buy that\nday. Next day the thief would stay no longer. He took a cart and put a\nhorse in it, and drove to the meat-market. And he pretended he had\ndamaged his cart, and lamented he had not an axe to repair it with.\nThen a butcher said to him, \u2018Here, take my axe, and mend your cart.\u2019\nThe axe was close to the meat. As he passed to take the axe, he picked\nup a big piece of meat, and stuck it under his coat. And he handed the\naxe back to the butcher, and departed home.\n\nThe same day comes the king, and asks the butchers, \u2018Have you sold any\nmeat to any one?\u2019 They said, \u2018We have not sold to any one.\u2019\n\nSo the king weighed the meat, and found it twenty pounds short. And he\nwent to the old thief in prison, and said to him, \u2018He has stolen twenty\npounds of meat, and no one saw him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Didn\u2019t I tell you, O king, that this is a cunning thief?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, what am I to do, old thief?\u2019\n\n\u2018What are you to do? Why, make a proclamation, and offer in it all the\nmoney you possess, and say he shall become king in your stead, merely\nto tell who he is.\u2019\n\nThen the king went and wrote the proclamation, just as the old thief\nhad told him. And he posted it outside by the gate. And the thief comes\nand reads it, and thought how he should act. And he took his heart in\nhis teeth and went to the king, and said, \u2018O king, I am the thief.\u2019\n\n\u2018You are?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am.\u2019\n\nThen the king said, \u2018If you it be, that I may believe you are really\nthe man, do you see this peasant coming? Well, you must steal the ox\nfrom under the yoke without his seeing you.\u2019\n\nThen the thief said, \u2018I\u2019ll steal it, O king; watch me.\u2019 And he went\nbefore the peasant, and began to cry aloud, \u2018Comedy of Comedies!\u2019\n\nThen the peasant said, \u2018See there, God! Many a time have I been in the\ncity, and have often heard \u201cComedy of Comedies,\u201d and have never gone to\nsee what it is like.\u2019\n\nAnd he left his cart, and went off to the other end of the city; and\nthe thief kept crying out till he had got the peasant some distance\nfrom the oxen. Then the thief returns, and takes the ox, and cuts off\nits tail, and sticks it in the mouth of the other ox, and came away\nwith the first ox to the king. Then the king laughed fit to kill\nhimself. The peasant, when he came back, began to weep; and the king\ncalled him and asked, \u2018What are you weeping for, my man?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, O king, whilst I was away to see the play, one of the oxen has\ngone and eaten up the other.\u2019\n\nWhen the king heard that, he laughed fit to kill himself, and he told\nhis servant to give him two good oxen. And he gave him also his own ox,\nand asked him, \u2018Do you recognise your ox, my man?\u2019\n\n\u2018I do, O king.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, away you go home.\u2019\n\nAnd he went to the thief. \u2018Well, my fine fellow, I will give you my\ndaughter, and you shall become king in my stead, if you will steal the\npriest for me out of the church.\u2019\n\nThen the thief went into the town, and got three hundred crabs and\nthree hundred candles, and went to the church, and stood up on the\npavement. And as the priest chanted, the thief let out the crabs one by\none, each with a candle fastened to its claw; he let it out.\n\nAnd the priest said, \u2018So righteous am I in the sight of God that He\nsends His saints for me.\u2019\n\nThe thief let out all the crabs, each with a candle fastened to its\nclaw, and he said, \u2018Come, O priest, for God calls thee by His\nmessengers to Himself, for thou art righteous.\u2019\n\nThe priest said, \u2018And how am I to go?\u2019\n\n\u2018Get into this sack.\u2019\n\nAnd he let down the sack; and the priest got in; and he lifted him up,\nand dragged him down the steps. And the priest\u2019s head went tronk,\ntronk. And he took him on his back, and carried him to the king, and\ntumbled him down. And the king burst out laughing. And straightway he\ngave his daughter to the thief, and made him king in his stead.\n\n\n    Good as this version is, the last episode is much better told in\n    the Slovak-Gypsy variant from Dr. Rudolf von Sowa\u2019s Mundart der\n    Slovakischen Zigeuner (G\u00f6tt. 1887), No. 8, p. 174:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 12.\u2014THE GYPSY AND THE PRIEST\n\nThere was a very poor Gypsy, and he had many little children. And his\nwife went to the town, begged herself a few potatoes and a little\nflour. And she had no fat.\n\n\u2018All right,\u2019 she thought; \u2018wait a bit. The priest has killed a pig;\nI\u2019ll go and beg myself a bit of fat.\u2019\n\nWhen she got there, the priest came out, took his whip, thrashed her\nsoundly. She came home, said to her husband, \u2018O my God, I did just get\na thrashing!\u2019\n\nAnd the Gypsy is at work. Straightway the hammer fell from his hand.\n\u2018Now, wait a bit till I show him a trick, and teach him a lesson.\u2019\n\nThe Gypsy went to the church, and took a look at the door, how to make\nthe key to the tower. He came home, sat down at his anvil, set to work\nat once on the key. When he had made it, he went back to try to open\nthe door. It opened it as though it had been made for it.\n\n\u2018Wait a bit, now,\u2019 he thinks to himself; \u2018what shall I need next?\u2019\n\nHe went straight off to the shop, and bought himself some fine paper,\njust like the fine clothes the priests wear for high mass. When he had\nbought it, he went to the tailor, told him to make him clothes like an\nangel\u2019s; he looked in them just like a priest. He came home, told his\nson (he was twenty years old), \u2018Hark\u2019ee, mate, come along with me, and\nbring the pot. Catch about a hundred crabs. Ha! they shall see what\nI\u2019ll do this night; the priest won\u2019t escape with his life.\u2019\n\nAll right!\n\nMidnight came. The Gypsy went to the church, lit all the lights that\nwere in the church. The cook goes to look out. \u2018My God! what\u2019s the\nmatter? the whole church is lighted up.\u2019\n\nShe goes to the priest, wakes him up. \u2018Get up! Let\u2019s go and see what it\nis. The whole church is blazing inside. What ever is it?\u2019\n\nThe priest was in a great fright. He pulled on his vestment, and went\nto the church to see. The Gypsy chants like a priest performing service\nin the great church where the greatest folks go to service. \u2018Oh!\u2019 the\nGypsy was chanting, \u2018O God, he who is a sinful man, for him am I come;\nhim who takes so much money with him will I fetch to Paradise, and\nthere it shall be well with him.\u2019\n\nWhen the gentleman heard that, he went home, and got all the money he\nhad in the house.\n\nAll right!\n\nThe priest came back to the church. The Gypsy chants to him to make\nhaste, for sooner or later the end of all things approaches.\nStraightway the Gypsy opened the sack, and the priest got into it. The\nGypsy took all the priest\u2019s money, and hid it in his pocket.\n\n\u2018Good! now you are mine.\u2019\n\nWhen he closed the sack, the priest was in a great fright. \u2018My God!\nwhat will become of me? I know not what sort of a being that is,\nwhether God Himself or an angel.\u2019\n\nThe Gypsy straightway drags the priest down the steps. The priest cries\nthat it hurts him, that he should go gently with him, for he is all\nbroken already; that half an hour of that will kill him, for his bones\nare all broken already.\n\nWell, he dragged him along the nave of the church, and pitched him down\nbefore the door; and he put a lot of thorns there to run into the\npriest\u2019s flesh. He dragged him backwards and forwards through the\nthorns, and the thorns stuck into him. When the Gypsy saw that the\npriest was more dead than alive, he opened the sack, and left him\nthere.\n\nThe Gypsy went home, and threw off his disguise, and put it on the\nfire, that no one might say he had done the deed. The Gypsy had more\nthan eight hundred silver pieces. So he and his wife and his children\nwere glad that they had such a lot of money; and if the Gypsy has not\ndied with his wife and his children, perhaps he is living still.\n\nIn the morning when the sexton comes to ring the bell, he sees a sack\nin front of the church. The priest was quite dead. When he opened it\nand saw the priest, he was in a great fright. \u2018What on earth took our\npriest in there?\u2019 He runs into the town, made a great outcry, that so\nand so has happened. The poor folks came and the gentry to see what was\nup: all the candles in the church were burning. So they buried the\nparson decently. If he is not rotten he is whole. May the devils still\nbe eating him. I was there, and heard everything that happened.\n\n\n    The briefest epitome will serve of our third Gypsy version, from\n    Hungary, Dr. Friedrich M\u00fcller\u2019s No. 1, which is very coarse and\n    very disconnected:\u2014\u2018Somewhere was, somewhere was not, lucky, Golden\n    God! somewhere was, somewhere was not, a poor Gypsy.\u2019 An old woman\n    tells him, \u2018Go into yonder castle, and there is the lady; and take\n    from her the ring, and put it on thine own hand, and turn it\n    thrice, then so much meal and bread will be to thee that thou wilt\n    not know what to do with it.\u2019... He wins twenty-four wagon-loads of\n    money for seducing the nobleman\u2019s wife, which he achieves by luring\n    away the nobleman with a corpse. The Gypsy then kills his children\n    and his wife; cheats an old woman of her money; cures and marries\n    the king\u2019s daughter; leaves her, because she will not go and sell\n    the nails he manufactures; and finally marries a Gypsy girl, who\n    pleases him much better.\n\n    Our next version, \u2018Jack the Robber,\u2019 is from South Wales, told to\n    Mr. Sampson by Cornelius Price. It is as good as the last one is\n    bad, but like it somewhat Rabelaisian. The following is a summary\n    of the first half, the latter (our No. 68) being a variant of\n    Dasent\u2019s \u2018Big Peter and Little Peter\u2019:\u2014A poor widow has a son,\n    Jack, who \u2018took to smoking when he was twelve, and got to robbing\n    the master\u2019s plough-socks to take \u2019em to the blacksmith\u2019s to sell\n    \u2019em to rise bacca.\u2019 So the farmer makes the mother send Jack away\n    from home; and Jack comes to a big gentleman\u2019s hall. This gentleman\n    is the head of eleven robbers, and Jack, after cunningly relieving\n    one of them of \u00a311, joins the band, and in six months \u2018got a\n    cleverer robber than what the master hisself was.\u2019 So, with the\n    money he has made, he sets off for his mother\u2019s, meets the farmer,\n    tells him he has been prentice to a robber, and, to test his skill,\n    is set to steal two sheep in succession. He does so by the familiar\n    expedients of, first, a boot here and a boot there, and, next,\n    baaing like a lost sheep. Then Jack is set to take the middlemost\n    sheet from underneath the farmer and his missus, and achieves it by\n    \u2018loosing a dead body down the chimley,\u2019 which the farmer shoots\n    dead, as he fancies, and goes off to bury.\n\n    The fifth and last version, \u2018The Great Thief,\u2019 is from North Wales,\n    told by Matthew Wood, and is thus summarised by Mr. Sampson:\u2014\u2018Hard\n    by a parson lived a thief. The parson told the thief, \u201cTo-morrow my\n    man goes to the butcher with a sheep. Steal it, and you shall have\n    such and such money.\u201d Thief gets a pair of new boots, and places\n    one on one stile, the other on another further on. Man sees first\n    boot and leaves it, finds other, ties up sheep, and goes back for\n    the first. Thief steals sheep. The parson says again, \u201cI want you\n    to steal my wife\u2019s ring from her finger and the sheet from under\n    her. If you can\u2019t, I shall behead you.\u201d Thief makes dummy man, and\n    props it against wall. Parson shoots it, comes out, and buries it\n    in well. Meanwhile thief visits wife, pretending to be parson, and\n    takes her ring and sheet for safety. Parson returns and discovers\n    the trick.\u2019\n\n    Though not, at least but very conjecturally, a Gypsy version, the\n    following version is still worth citing. It is from Henry Mayhew\u2019s\n    London Labour and the London Poor, vol. iii. (1861), pp.\n    388\u2013390:\u2014\u2018An intelligent-looking boy, aged 16, a native of Wisbech\n    in Cambridgeshire; at 13 apprenticed to a tailor; in three months\u2019\n    time ran away; went home again for seven months, then ran away\n    again, and since a vagrant. Had read Windsor Castle, Tower of\n    London, etc. He gives account of amusements in casual wards:\u2014\n\n    \u2018\u201cWe told stories sometimes, romantic tales some; others blackguard\n    kind of tales, about bad women; and others about thieving and\n    roguery; not so much about what they\u2019d done themselves, as about\n    some big thief that was very clever and could trick anybody. Not\n    stories such as Dick Turpin or Jack Sheppard, or things that\u2019s in\n    history, but inventions. I used to say when I was telling a\n    story\u2014for I\u2019ve told one story that I invented till I learnt it. [I\n    give this story to show what are the objects of admiration with\n    these vagrants [57]]:\u2014\n\n\n    \u2018\u201cYou see, mates, it was once upon a time, and a very good time it\n    was, a young man, and he runned away, and got along with a gang of\n    thieves, and he went to a gentleman\u2019s house, and got in because one\n    of his mates sweethearted the servant, and got her away, and she\n    left the door open. And the door being left open, the young man got\n    in, and robbed the house of a lot of money, \u00a31000, and he took it\n    to their gang at the cave. Next day there was a reward out to find\n    the robber. Nobody found him. So the gentleman put two men and a\n    horse in a field, and the men were hidden in the field, and the\n    gentleman put out a notice that anybody that could catch the horse\n    should have him for his cleverness, and a reward as well; for he\n    thought the man that got the \u00a31000 was sure to try to catch that\n    there horse, because he was so bold and clever, and then the two\n    men hid would nab him. This here Jack (that\u2019s the young man) was\n    watching, and he saw the two men, and he went and caught two live\n    hares. Then he hid himself behind a hedge, and let one hare go, and\n    one man said to the other, \u2018There goes a hare,\u2019 and they both ran\n    after it, not thinking Jack\u2019s there. And while they were running he\n    let go t\u2019other one, and they said, \u2018There\u2019s another hare,\u2019 and they\n    ran different ways, and so Jack went and got the horse, and took it\n    to the man that offered the reward, and got the reward; it was\n    \u00a3100; and the gentleman said, \u2018D\u2014\u2014 it, Jack\u2019s done me this time.\u2019\n    The gentleman then wanted to serve out the parson, and he said to\n    Jack, \u2018I\u2019ll give you another \u00a3100 if you\u2019ll do something to the\n    parson as bad as you\u2019ve done to me.\u2019 Jack said, \u2018Well, I will\u2019; and\n    Jack went to the church and lighted up the lamps and rang the\n    bells, and the parson he got up to see what was up. Jack was\n    standing in one of the pews like an angel; when the parson got to\n    the church, Jack said, \u2018Go and put your plate in a bag; I\u2019m an\n    angel come to take you up to heaven.\u2019 And the parson did so, and it\n    was as much as he could drag to church from his house in a bag; for\n    he was very rich. And when he got to church Jack put the parson in\n    one bag, and the money stayed in the other; and he tied them both\n    together, and put them across his horse, and took them up hill and\n    through water to the gentleman\u2019s, and then he took the parson out\n    of the bag, and the parson was wringing wet. Jack fetched the\n    gentleman, and the gentleman gave the parson a horsewhipping, and\n    the parson cut away, and Jack got all the parson\u2019s money and the\n    second \u00a3100, and gave it all to the poor. And the parson brought an\n    action against the gentleman for horsewhipping him, and they were\n    both ruined. That\u2019s the end of it. That\u2019s the sort of story that\u2019s\n    liked best, sir.\u201d\u2019\n\n\n\n    Dasent, \u2018The Master Thief\u2019 (Tales from the Norse, p. 255). He takes\n    service with robbers. Steals three oxen, the first one by a shoe\n    here and a shoe there, the third by imitating lost ox. He steals\n    the squire\u2019s roast, first catching three hares alive. He steals\n    Father Laurence in a sack, but not out of church, posing as an\n    angel, and bidding him lay out all his gold and silver. N.B. No\n    crabs, no lighting of candles.\n\n    Grimm, No. 192, \u2018The Master Thief\u2019 (ii. 324). He steals horse from\n    under rider. Steals sheet from under count\u2019s wife, first luring\n    count away by means of corpse. Disguised like monk, he steals\n    parson and clerk out of church in sack, bumping them against steps,\n    and dragging them through puddles\u2014\u2018mountains\u2019 and \u2018clouds.\u2019 No\n    mention of plate or money. Neither of these two versions can be the\n    original of Mayhew\u2019s English vagrant one.\n\n    Straparola (Venice, 1550), No. 2, \u2018The Knave.\u2019 First, he steals\n    from the provost the bed on which he is lying; next, horse on which\n    stable-boy is sitting; and thirdly, an ecclesiastical personage in\n    sack.\n\n    De Gubernatis (Zool. Myth., i. 204) alludes to the famous robber\n    Klimka, in Afanasief, v. 6, who, by means of a drum (in Indian\n    tales a trumpet) terrifies his accomplices, the robbers, and then\n    steals from a gentleman his horse, his jewel-casket, even his wife.\n\n    \u2018Les Deux Voleurs\u2019 (Dozon\u2019s Contes Albanais, p. 169) has two\n    thieves with the same mistress, as in Barbu Constantinescu. One of\n    them, posing as the angel Gabriel, steals the cadi in a chest at\n    the instigation of a pasha whom the cadi has ridiculed.\n\n    Much more striking are the analogies offered by \u2018Voleur par Nature\u2019\n    (Legrand\u2019s Contes Grecs, p. 205) from Cyprus. Here we get the\n    stealing of two sheep, first by a boot here and a boot there, and\n    next by baaing like a lost sheep. Then we have the stealing of one\n    of a yoke of oxen, the robbery of the king\u2019s treasure-house, the\n    consulting a robber in prison, a caldron of pitch, the headless\n    robber, the exposure of his corpse, and, lastly, the marriage of\n    the surviving thief and the princess.\n\n    For heroic form of \u2018The Master Thief\u2019 see Hahn\u2019s No. 3, \u2018Von dem\n    Sch\u00f6nen und vom Drakos.\u2019 Hero has to steal winged horse of the\n    dragon, coverlet of dragon\u2019s bed, and the dragon himself. He steals\n    him in a box, and marries the king\u2019s daughter. In Laura\n    Gonzenbach\u2019s most curious Sicilian story, No. 83, \u2018Die Geschichte\n    von Caruseddu\u2019 (ii. 142\u2013145), the hero steals the horse of the\n    \u2018dragu\u2019 (? dragon, rather than cannibal), next his bed-cover, and\n    lastly the \u2018dragu\u2019 himself; with which compare the Bukowina-Gypsy\n    story, \u2018Tropsyn,\u2019 No. 27. In Hahn, ii. p. 182, we have mention of\n    sack, in variant 4 of ring of the dragon. Cf. infra, p. 109.\n\n    Finally, three little points connecting the Gypsies and the \u2018Master\n    Thief\u2019 may be noted. Mrs. Carlyle\u2019s \u2018mother\u2019s mother was a\n    grand-niece of Matthew Baillie,\u2019 a famous Scottish Gypsy, who, as\n    she said, \u2018could steal a horse from under the owner, if he liked,\n    but left always the saddle and bridle.\u2019 John MacDonald, travelling\n    tinker, \u2018knew the story of the \u201cShifty Lad,\u201d though not well enough\n    to repeat it\u2019 (Campbell\u2019s Tales of the West Highlands, i. 142,\n    356). An English Gypsy once said to me, \u2018The folks hereabouts are a\n    lot of r\u00e1tfalo heathens; they all think they\u2019re going to heaven in\n    a sack.\u2019\n\n    Dr. Barbu Constantinescu\u2019s \u2018Two Thieves\u2019 is so curious a\n    combination of the \u2018Rhampsinitus\u2019 story in Herodotus and of Grimm\u2019s\n    \u2018Master Thief,\u2019 that I am more than inclined to regard it as the\n    lost original which, according to Campbell of Islay, \u2018it were vain\n    to look for in any modern work or in any modern age.\u2019 The\n    \u2018Rhampsinitus\u2019 story and the \u2018Master Thief\u2019 have both been made\n    special subjects of study\u2014the former by Reinhold K\u00f6hler in Orient\n    und Occident, 1864, pp. 303\u2013316, by Clouston in his Popular Tales\n    and Fictions (1887, ii. 115\u2013165), and by Sir George Cox in Fraser\u2019s\n    Magazine (July 1880, pp. 96\u2013111); the latter by M. Cosquin in\n    Contes Populaires de Lorraine (1887; ii. 271\u2013281, 364\u20135). With\n    their help and that of the above jottings, we can analyse the Gypsy\n    story of the \u2018Two Thieves\u2019 detail by detail, and see in how many\n    and how widely-separated non-Gypsy versions some of those details\n    have to be sought:\u2014\n\n    (1) A town thief meets a country thief, and is challenged by him to\n    steal the eggs of a magpie without her noticing it.\u2014Grimm, No. 129,\n    and Kashmir and Kabyle versions. (2) Whilst doing so, he is himself\n    robbed unawares of his breeches by the country thief. The stealing\n    of the labourer\u2019s paij\u00e1mas in Kashmir version is analogous. (3)\n    They enter into partnership, and have one wife.\u2014Albanian version.\n    (4) They go to the king\u2019s palace, and, making a hole in the roof,\n    descend and steal money. The king, discovering his loss, takes\n    counsel with an old robber in prison.\u2014So in Dolopathos, modern\n    Greek, and Cypriote versions. (5) By his advice the king finds out\n    hole by lighting a fire in the treasure-house, and noticing where\n    the smoke escapes.\u2014Dolopathos, Pecorone, old French, Breton, old\n    Dutch, Danish, Kabyle. (6) Under the hole he sets a cask of\n    molasses.\u2014Snare in \u2018Rhampsinitus,\u2019 Tyrolese, Kabyle; pitch in old\n    English, modern Greek, Cypriote, old French, Gaelic, old Dutch,\n    Danish. (7) The country thief is caught, and his comrade cuts off\n    his head.\u2014\u2018Rhampsinitus,\u2019 Pecorone, old English, old French,\n    Breton, Gaelic, Tyrolese, Danish, Kabyle, Tibetan, Cinghalese. (8)\n    The headless trunk is exposed, and the comrade steals it by\n    intoxicating the guards.\u2014\u2018Rhampsinitus,\u2019 Sicilian, Breton, Gaelic,\n    old Dutch, Russian. (9) He further cheats them of 400 groats as\n    payment for his horse, which he pretends the dead thief has\n    stolen.\u2014Wanting elsewhere. (10) The king then puts a prohibitive\n    price on all the meat in the city, thinking the thief will betray\n    himself by alone being able to pay it; but the thief steals a\n    joint.\u2014Italian (Pecorone, 1378, ix. 1; and Prof. Crane\u2019s Italian\n    Popular Tales, p. 166). (11) The king finally makes a proclamation,\n    offering his daughter to the thief, who plucks up courage and\n    reveals himself.\u2014\u2018Rhampsinitus,\u2019 Pecorone, Sicilian, modern Greek,\n    Tyrolese, Kabyle. (12) To exhibit his skill, he steals one of a\n    yoke of oxen.\u2014Russian (De Gubernatis, Zoological Mythology, i. 186,\n    from Afanasief). (13) As a further test he steals the priest out of\n    the church in a sack, out of which he has just let 300 crabs, each\n    with a lighted taper fastened to its claw. According to Cosquin,\n    the complete crab episode occurs only in Grimm (he of course knows\n    nothing of our Gypsy version). But herein he for once is wrong,\n    since we find it also in Krauss\u2019s Croatian version of the \u2018Master\n    Thief\u2019 (No. 55), which bears the title of \u2018The Lad who was up to\n    Gypsy Tricks\u2019; its hero, indeed, is generally styled \u2018the Gypsy.\u2019\n    He is a Gypsy in Dr. Friedrich M\u00fcller\u2019s Gypsy variant, and in Dr.\n    von Sowa\u2019s. In the latter version, as in several non-Gypsy ones,\n    the hero, it will be noticed, catches crabs, but makes no use\n    whatever of them afterwards.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 13.\u2014THE WATCHMAKER\n\nThere was once a poor lad. He took the road, went to find himself a\nmaster. He met a priest on the road.\n\n\u2018Where are you going, my lad?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going to find myself a master.\u2019\n\n\u2018Mine\u2019s the very place for you, my lad, for I\u2019ve another lad like you,\nand I have six oxen and a plough. Do you enter my service and plough\nall this field.\u2019\n\nThe lad arose, and took the plough and the oxen, and went into the\nfields and ploughed two days. Luck [58] and the Ogre came to him. And\nthe Ogre said to Luck, \u2018Go for him.\u2019 Luck didn\u2019t want to go for him;\nonly the Ogre went. When the Ogre went for him, he laid himself down on\nhis back, and unlaced his boots, and took to flight across the plain.\n\nThe other lad shouted after him, \u2018Don\u2019t go, brother; don\u2019t go,\nbrother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bah! God blast your plough and you as well.\u2019\n\nThen he came to a city of the size of Bucharest. Presently he arrived\nat a watchmaker\u2019s shop. And he leaned his elbows on the shop-board and\nwatched the prentices at their work. Then one of them asked him, \u2018Why\ndo you sit there hungry?\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018Because I like to watch you working.\u2019\n\nThen the master came out and said, \u2018Here, my lad, I will hire you for\nthree years, and will show you all that I am master of. For a year and\na day,\u2019 he continued, \u2018you will have nothing to do but chop wood, and\nfeed the oven fire, and sit with your elbows on the table, and watch\nthe prentices at their work.\u2019\n\nNow the watchmaker had had a clock of the emperor\u2019s fifteen years, and\nno one could be found to repair it; he had fetched watchmakers from\nParis and Vienna, and not one of them had managed it. The time came\nwhen the emperor offered the half of his kingdom to whoso should repair\nit; one and all they failed. The clock had twenty-four tunes in it. And\nas it played, the emperor grew young again. Easter Sunday came; and the\nwatchmaker went to church with his prentices. Only the old wife and the\nlad stayed behind. The lad chopped the wood up quickly, and went back\nto the table that they did their work at. He never touched one of the\nlittle watches, but he took the big clock, and set it on the table. He\ntook out two of its pipes, and cleaned them, and put them back in their\nplace; then the four-and-twenty tunes began to play, and the clock to\ngo. Then the lad hid himself for fear; and all the people came out of\nthe church when they heard the tunes playing.\n\nThe watchmaker, too, came home, and said, \u2018Mother, who did me this\nkindness, and repaired the clock?\u2019\n\nHis mother said, \u2018Only the lad, dear, went near the table.\u2019\n\nAnd he sought him and found him sitting in the stable. He took him in\nhis arms: \u2018My lad, you were my master, and I never knew it, but set you\nto chop wood on Easter Day.\u2019 Then he sent for three tailors, and they\nmade him three fine suits of clothes. Next day he ordered a carriage\nwith four fine horses; and he took the clock in his arms, and went off\nto the emperor. The emperor, when he heard it, came down from his\nthrone, and took his clock in his arms and grew young. Then he said to\nthe watchmaker, \u2018Bring me him who mended the clock.\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018I mended it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t tell me it was you. Go and bring me him who mended it.\u2019\n\nHe went then and brought the lad.\n\nThe emperor said, \u2018Go, give the watchmaker three purses of ducats; but\nthe lad you shall have no more, for I mean to give him ten thousand\nducats a year, just to stay here and mind the clock and repair it when\nit goes wrong.\u2019\n\nSo the lad dwelt there thirteen years.\n\nThe emperor had a grown-up daughter, and he proposed to find a husband\nfor her. She wrote a letter, and gave it to her father. And what did\nshe put in the letter? She put this: \u2018Father, I am minded to feign to\nbe dumb; and whoso is able to make me speak, I will be his.\u2019\n\nThen the emperor made a proclamation throughout the world: \u2018He who is\nable to make my daughter speak shall get her to wife; and whoso fails\nhim will I kill.\u2019\n\nThen many suitors came, but not one of them made her speak. And the\nemperor killed them all, and by and by no one more came.\n\nNow the lad, the watchmaker, went to the emperor, and said, \u2018Emperor,\nlet me also go to the maiden, to see if I cannot make her speak.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, this is how it stands, my lad. Haven\u2019t you seen the proclamation\non the table, how I have sworn to kill whoever fails to make her\nspeak?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, kill me also, Emperor, if I too fail.\u2019\n\n\u2018In that case, go to her.\u2019\n\nThe lad dressed himself bravely, and went into her chamber. She was\nsewing at her frame. When the lad entered, he said, \u2018Good-day, you\nrogue.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thank you, watchmaker. Well, sit you down since you have come, and\ntake a bite.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, all right, you rogue.\u2019\n\nHe only was speaking. [59] Then he tarried no longer, but came out and\nsaid, \u2018Good-night, rogue.\u2019\n\n\u2018Farewell, watchmaker.\u2019\n\nNext evening the emperor summoned him, to kill him. But the lad said,\n\u2018Let me go one more night.\u2019 Then the lad went again, and said,\n\u2018Good-evening, rogue.\u2019\n\n\u2018Welcome, watchmaker. And since you have come, brother, pray sit down\nto table.\u2019\n\nOnly he spoke, so at last he said, \u2018Good-night, rogue.\u2019\n\n\u2018Farewell, watchmaker.\u2019\n\nNext night the emperor summoned him. \u2018I must kill you now, for you have\nreached your allotted term.\u2019\n\nThen said the lad, \u2018Do you know, emperor, that there is thrice\nforgiveness for a man?\u2019\n\n\u2018Then go to-night, too.\u2019\n\nThen the lad went that night, and said, \u2018How do you do, rogue?\u2019\n\n\u2018Thank you, watchmaker. Since you have come, sit at table.\u2019\n\n\u2018So I will, rogue. And see you this knife in my hand? I mean to cut you\nin pieces if you will not answer my question.\u2019\n\n\u2018And why should I not answer it, watchmaker?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, rogue, know you the princess?\u2019\n\n\u2018And how should I not know her?\u2019\n\n\u2018And the three princes, know you them?\u2019\n\n\u2018I know them, watchmaker.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well and good, if you know them. The three brothers had an intrigue\nwith the princess. They knew not that the three had to do with her. But\nwhat did the maiden? She knew they were brothers. The eldest came at\nnightfall, and she set him down to table and he ate. Then she lay with\nhim and shut him up in a chamber. The middle one came at midnight, and\nshe lay with him also and shut him up in another chamber. And that same\nnight came the youngest, and she lay with him too. Then at daybreak she\nlet them all out, and they sprang to slay one another, the three\nbrothers. The maiden said, \u201cHold, brothers, do not slay one another,\nbut go home and take each of you to himself ten thousand ducats, and go\ninto three cities; and his I will become who brings me the finest piece\nof workmanship.\u201d So the eldest journeyed to Bucharest, and there found\na beautiful mirror. Now look you what kind of mirror it was. \u201cHere,\nmerchant, [60] what is the price of your mirror?\u201d \u201cTen thousand ducats,\nmy lad.\u201d \u201cIndeed, is that not very dear, brother?\u201d \u201cBut mark you what\nkind of mirror it is. You look in it and you can see both the dead and\nthe living therein.\u201d Now let\u2019s have a look at the middle brother. He\nwent to another city and found a robe. \u201cYou, merchant, what is the\nprice of this robe?\u201d \u201cTen thousand ducats, my son.\u201d\u2019\n\n\u2018What are you talking about, watchmaker? A robe cost ten thousand\nducats!\u2019 [61]\n\n\u2018But look you, you rogue, what sort of robe it is. For when you step on\nit, it will carry you whither you will. So you may fancy he cries\n\u201cDone!\u201d Meanwhile the youngest also arrived in a city and found a Jew,\nand bought an apple from him. And the apple was such that when a dead\nman ate it he revived. He took it and came to his brothers. And when\nthey were all come home they saw their sweetheart dead. And they gave\nher the apple to eat and she arose. And whom then did she choose? She\nchose the youngest. What do you say?\u2019\n\nAnd the emperor\u2019s daughter spoke. And the watchmaker took her to wife.\nAnd they made a marriage.\n\n\n    This story, though well enough told, is very defective. Of course,\n    by rights the eldest brother looks in his mirror, and sees the\n    princess dead or about to die; then the middle brother transports\n    the three of them on his travelling robe; and only then can the\n    youngest brother make use of his apple of life. \u2018The Watchmaker\u2019 is\n    a corrupt version of \u2018The Golden Casket\u2019 in Geldart\u2019s Folk-lore of\n    Modern Greece, pp. 106\u2013125, which should be carefully compared with\n    it, to render it intelligible. Compare also Clouston\u2019s chapter on\n    \u2018The Four Clever Brothers\u2019 (i. 277\u2013288), where he cites with others\n    a Sanskrit version, and Grimm\u2019s No. 129 (ii. 165, 428). Apropos of\n    the magic mirror here, and of the telescope in European folk-tales,\n    Burton has this note on the ivory tube bought by Prince Ali in the\n    Arabian tale of \u2018Prince Ahmad and the Peri B\u00e1n\u00fa\u2019:\u2014\u2018The origin of\n    the lens and its applied use to the telescope and the microscope\n    \u201care lost\u201d (as the Castle guides of Edinburgh say) \u201cin the gloom of\n    antiquity.\u201d Well-ground glasses have been discovered amongst the\n    finds in Egypt and Assyria; indeed, much of the finer work of the\n    primeval artist could not have been done without such aid. In\n    Europe the \u201cspy-glass\u201d appears first in the Opus Majus of the\n    learned Roger Bacon (circa A.D. 1270); and his \u201coptic tube\u201d (whence\n    his saying, \u201cAll things are known by perspective\u201d) chiefly\n    contributed to make his widespread fame as a wizard. The telescope\n    was popularised by Galileo, who, as mostly happens, carried off and\n    still keeps amongst the vulgar all the honours of the invention.\u2019\n    With the travelling robe compare the saddle in the Polish-Gypsy\n    \u2018Tale of a Girl who was sold to the Devil\u2019 (No. 46) and the wings\n    in the Bukowina-Gypsy \u2018Winged Hero\u2019 (No. 26); and with the apple of\n    life, which occurs also in the Icelandic version of this story, the\n    other-world apple in the Roumanian-Gypsy \u2018Bad Mother\u2019 (No. 8). See\n    also Clouston on \u2018Prince Ahmad\u2019 in his Variants of Sir R. F.\n    Burton\u2019s Supplemental Arabian Nights, pp. 600\u2013616.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 14.\u2014THE RED KING AND THE WITCH\n\nIt was the Red King, and he bought ten ducats\u2019 worth of victuals. He\ncooked them, and he put them in a press. And he locked the press, and\nfrom night to night posted people to guard the victuals.\n\nIn the morning, when he looked, he found the platters bare; he did not\nfind anything in them. Then the king said, \u2018I will give the half of my\nkingdom to whoever shall be found to guard the press, that the victuals\nmay not go amissing from it.\u2019\n\nThe king had three sons. Then the eldest thought within himself, \u2018God!\nWhat, give half the kingdom to a stranger! It were better for me to\nwatch. Be it unto me according to God\u2019s will.\u2019\n\nHe went to his father. \u2018Father, all hail. What, give the kingdom to a\nstranger! It were better for me to watch.\u2019\n\nAnd his father said to him, \u2018As God will, only don\u2019t be frightened by\nwhat you may see.\u2019\n\nThen he said, \u2018Be it unto me according to God\u2019s will.\u2019\n\nAnd he went and lay down in the palace. And he put his head on the\npillow, and remained with his head on the pillow till towards dawn. And\na warm sleepy breeze came and lulled him to slumber. And his little\nsister arose. And she turned a somersault, and her nails became like an\naxe and her teeth like a shovel. And she opened the cupboard and ate up\neverything. Then she became a child again and returned to her place in\nthe cradle, for she was a babe at the breast. The lad arose and told\nhis father that he had seen nothing. His father looked in the press,\nfound the platters bare\u2014no victuals, no anything. His father said, \u2018It\nwould take a better man than you, and even he might do nothing.\u2019\n\nHis middle son also said, \u2018Father, all hail. I am going to watch\nto-night.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go, dear, only play the man.\u2019\n\n\u2018Be it unto me according to God\u2019s will.\u2019\n\nAnd he went into the palace and put his head on a pillow. And at ten\no\u2019clock came a warm breeze and sleep seized him. Up rose his sister and\nunwound herself from her swaddling-bands and turned a somersault, and\nher teeth became like a shovel and her nails like an axe. And she went\nto the press and opened it, and ate off the platters what she found.\nShe ate it all, and turned a somersault again and went back to her\nplace in the cradle. Day broke and the lad arose, and his father asked\nhim and said, \u2018It would take a better man than you, and even he might\ndo nought for me if he were as poor a creature as you.\u2019\n\nThe youngest son arose. \u2018Father, all hail. Give me also leave to watch\nthe cupboard by night.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go, dear, only don\u2019t be frightened with what you see.\u2019\n\n\u2018Be it unto me according to God\u2019s will,\u2019 said the lad.\n\nAnd he went and took four needles and lay down with his head on the\npillow; and he stuck the four needles in four places. When sleep seized\nhim he knocked his head against a needle, so he stayed awake until ten\no\u2019clock. And his sister arose from her cradle, and he saw. And she\nturned a somersault, and he was watching her. And her teeth became like\na shovel and her nails like an axe. And she went to the press and ate\nup everything. She left the platters bare. And she turned a somersault,\nand became tiny again as she was; went to her cradle. The lad, when he\nsaw that, trembled with fear; it seemed to him ten years till daybreak.\nAnd he arose and went to his father. \u2018Father, all hail.\u2019\n\nThen his father asked him, \u2018Didst see anything, Peterkin?\u2019\n\n\u2018What did I see? what did I not see? Give me money and a horse, a horse\nfit to carry the money, for I am away to marry me.\u2019\n\nHis father gave him a couple of sacks of ducats, and he put them on his\nhorse. The lad went and made a hole on the border of the city. He made\na chest of stone, and put all the money there and buried it. He placed\na stone cross above and departed. And he journeyed eight years and came\nto the queen of all the birds that fly.\n\nAnd the queen of the birds asked him, \u2018Whither away, Peterkin?\u2019\n\n\u2018Thither, where there is neither death nor old age, to marry me.\u2019\n\nThe queen said to him, \u2018Here is neither death nor old age.\u2019\n\nThen Peterkin said to her, \u2018How comes it that here is neither death nor\nold age?\u2019\n\nThen she said to him, \u2018When I whittle away the wood of all this forest,\nthen death will come and take me and old age.\u2019\n\nThen Peterkin said, \u2018One day and one morning death will come and old\nage, and take me.\u2019\n\nAnd he departed further, and journeyed on eight years and arrived at a\npalace of copper. And a maiden came forth from that palace and took him\nand kissed him. She said, \u2018I have waited long for thee.\u2019\n\nShe took the horse and put him in the stable, and the lad spent the\nnight there. He arose in the morning and placed his saddle on the\nhorse.\n\nThen the maiden began to weep, and asked him, \u2018Whither away, Peterkin?\u2019\n\n\u2018Thither, where there is neither death nor old age.\u2019\n\nThen the maiden said to him, \u2018Here is neither death nor old age.\u2019\n\nThen he asked her, \u2018How comes it that here is neither death nor old\nage?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, when these mountains are levelled, and these forests, then death\nwill come.\u2019\n\n\u2018This is no place for me,\u2019 said the lad to her. And he departed\nfurther.\n\nThen what said his horse to him? \u2018Master, whip me four times, and twice\nyourself, for you are come to the Plain of Regret. And Regret will\nseize you and cast you down, horse and all. So spur your horse, escape,\nand tarry not.\u2019\n\nHe came to a hut. In that hut he beholds a lad, as it were ten years\nold, who asked him, \u2018What seekest thou, Peterkin, here?\u2019\n\n\u2018I seek the place where there is neither death nor old age.\u2019\n\nThe lad said, \u2018Here is neither death nor old age. I am the Wind.\u2019\n\nThen Peterkin said, \u2018Never, never will I go from here.\u2019 And he dwelt\nthere a hundred years and grew no older.\n\nThere the lad dwelt, and he went out to hunt in the Mountains of Gold\nand Silver, and he could scarce carry home the game.\n\nThen what said the Wind to him? \u2018Peterkin, go unto all the Mountains of\nGold and unto the Mountains of Silver; but go not to the Mountain of\nRegret or to the Valley of Grief.\u2019\n\nHe heeded not, but went to the Mountain of Regret and the Valley of\nGrief. And Grief cast him down; he wept till his eyes were full.\n\nAnd he went to the Wind. \u2018I am going home to my father, I will not stay\nlonger.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go not, for your father is dead, and brothers you have no more left at\nhome. A million years have come and gone since then. The spot is not\nknown where your father\u2019s palace stood. They have planted melons on it;\nit is but an hour since I passed that way.\u2019\n\nBut the lad departed thence, and arrived at the maiden\u2019s whose was the\npalace of copper. Only one stick remained, and she cut it and grew old.\nAs he knocked at the door, the stick fell and she died. He buried her,\nand departed thence. And he came to the queen of the birds in the great\nforest. Only one branch remained, and that was all but through.\n\nWhen she saw him she said, \u2018Peterkin, thou art quite young.\u2019\n\nThen he said to her, \u2018Dost thou remember telling me to tarry here?\u2019\n\nAs she pressed and broke through the branch, she, too, fell and died.\n\nHe came where his father\u2019s palace stood and looked about him. There was\nno palace, no anything. And he fell to marvelling: \u2018God, Thou art\nmighty!\u2019 He only recognised his father\u2019s well, and went to it. His\nsister, the witch, when she saw him, said to him, \u2018I have waited long\nfor you, dog.\u2019 She rushed at him to devour him, but he made the sign of\nthe cross and she perished.\n\nAnd he departed thence, and came on an old man with his beard down to\nhis belt. \u2018Father, where is the palace of the Red King? I am his son.\u2019\n\n\u2018What is this,\u2019 said the old man, \u2018thou tellest me, that thou art his\nson? My father\u2019s father has told me of the Red King. His very city is\nno more. Dost thou not see it is vanished? And dost thou tell me that\nthou art the Red King\u2019s son?\u2019\n\n\u2018It is not twenty years, old man, since I departed from my father, and\ndost thou tell me that thou knowest not my father?\u2019 (It was a million\nyears since he had left his home.) \u2018Follow me if thou dost not believe\nme.\u2019\n\nAnd he went to the cross of stone; only a palm\u2019s breadth was out of the\nground. And it took him two days to get at the chest of money. When he\nhad lifted the chest out and opened it, Death sat in one corner\ngroaning, and Old Age groaning in another corner.\n\nThen what said Old Age? \u2018Lay hold of him, Death.\u2019\n\n\u2018Lay hold of him yourself.\u2019\n\nOld Age laid hold of him in front, and Death laid hold of him behind.\n\nThe old man took and buried him decently, and planted the cross near\nhim. And the old man took the money and also the horse.\n\n\n    In these days, when one is called upon to admire Maeterlinck and\n    not for the world to admire Scott\u2019s Marmion, it is hard to know\n    what is really good and what bad. Else this story of \u2018The Red King\n    and the Witch\u2019 to me seems the finest folk-tale that we have. It is\n    like Albert D\u00fcrer\u2019s \u2018Knight,\u2019 it is like the cs\u00e1rd\u00e1s of some great\n    Gypsy maestro. But is it original? Well, that\u2019s the question. There\n    are several non-Gypsy stories that offer most striking analogies.\n    There is Ralston\u2019s \u2018The Witch and the Sun\u2019s Sister\u2019 (pp. 170\u2013175,\n    from the Ukraine), and there is Ralston\u2019s \u2018The Norka\u2019 (pp. 73\u201380\n    from the Chernigof government). Then there is Wratislaw\u2019s\n    \u2018Transmigration of the Soul\u2019 (pp. 161\u2013162, Little Russian), of a\n    baby that gobbles up victuals. And there are Grimm\u2019s No. 57 and\n    Hahn\u2019s No. 65. From these it would not be difficult to patch\n    together a story that should almost exactly parallel our Gypsy one;\n    but not one of them, I feel certain, can rightly be deemed its\n    original.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 15.\u2014THE PRINCE AND THE WIZARD\n\nThere was a king, and he had an only son. Now, that lad was heroic,\nnought-heeding. And he set out in quest of heroic achievements. And he\nwent a long time nought-heeding. And he came to a forest, and lay down\nto sleep in the shadow of a tree, and slept. Then he saw a dream, that\nhe arises and goes to the hill where the dragon\u2019s horses are, and that\nif you [62] keep straight on you will come to the man with no kidneys,\nscreaming and roaring. So he arose and departed, and came to the man\nwith no kidneys. And when he came there, he asked him, \u2018Mercy! what are\nyou screaming for?\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018Why, a wizard has taken my kidneys, and has left me here in\nthe road as you see me.\u2019\n\nThen the lad said to him, \u2018Wait a bit longer till I return from\nsomewhere.\u2019\n\nAnd he left him, and journeyed three more days and three nights. And he\ncame to that hill, and sat down, and ate, and rested. And he arose and\nwent to the hill. And the horses, when they saw him, ran to eat him.\nAnd the lad said, \u2018Do not eat me, for I will give you pearly hay [63]\nand fresh water.\u2019\n\nThen the horses said, \u2018Be our master. But see you do as you\u2019ve\npromised.\u2019\n\nThe lad said, \u2018Horses, if I don\u2019t, why, eat me and slay me.\u2019\n\nSo he took them and departed with them home. And he put them in the\nstable, and gave them fresh water and pearly hay. And he mounted the\nsmallest horse, and set out for the man with no kidneys, and found him\nthere. And he asked him what was the name of the wizard who had taken\nhis kidneys.\n\n\u2018What his name is I know not, but I do know where he is gone to. He is\ngone to the other world.\u2019\n\nThen the lad took and went a long time nought-heeding, and came to the\nedge of the earth, and let himself down, and came to the other world.\nAnd he went to the wizard\u2019s there, and said, \u2018Come forth, O wizard,\nthat I may see the sort of man you are.\u2019\n\nSo when the wizard heard, he came forth to eat him and slay him. Then\nthe lad took his heroic club and his sabre; and the instant he hurled\nhis club, the wizard\u2019s hands were bound behind his back. And the lad\nsaid to him, \u2018Here, you wizard, tell quick, my brother\u2019s kidneys, or I\nslay thee this very hour.\u2019\n\nAnd the wizard said, \u2018They are there in a jar. Go and get them.\u2019\n\nAnd the lad said, \u2018And when I\u2019ve got them, what am I to do with them?\u2019\n\nThe wizard said, \u2018Why, when you\u2019ve got them, put them in water and give\nhim them to drink.\u2019\n\nThen the lad went and took them, and departed to him. And he put the\nkidneys in water, and gave him to drink, and he drank. And when he had\ndrunk he was whole. And he took the lad, and kissed him, and said, \u2018Be\nmy brother till my death or thine, and so too in the world to come.\u2019\n\nSo they became brothers. And having done so, they took and journeyed in\nquest of heroic achievements. So they set out and slew every man that\nthey found in their road. Then the man who had had no kidneys said he\nwas going after the wizard, and would pass to the other world. Then\nthey took and went there to the edge of the earth, and let themselves\nin. And they came there, and went to the wizard. And when they got\nthere, how they set themselves to fight, and fought with him two whole\ndays. Then when the lad, his brother, took and hurled his club, the\nwizard\u2019s hands were bound behind his back. And he cut his throat, and\ntook his houses, made them two apples. [64]\n\nAnd they went further, and came on a certain house, and there were\nthree maidens. And the lad hurled his club, and carried away half their\nhouse. And when the maidens saw that, they came out, and saw them\ncoming. And they flung a comb on their path, and it became a forest\u2014no\nneedle could thread it. So when the lad saw that, he flung his club and\nhis sabre. And the sabre cut and the club battered. And it cut all the\nforest till nothing was left.\n\nAnd when the maidens saw that they had felled the forest, they flung a\nwhetstone, and it became a fortress of stone, so that there was no\ngetting further. And he flung the club, and demolished the stone, and\nmade dust of it. And when the maidens saw that they had demolished the\nstone, they flung a mirror before them, and it became a lake, and there\nwas no getting over. And the lad flung his sabre, and it cleft the\nwater, and they passed through, and went there to the maidens. When\nthey came there they said, \u2018And what were you playing your cantrips on\nus for, maidens?\u2019\n\nThen the maidens said, \u2018Why, lad, we thought that you were coming to\nkill us.\u2019\n\nThen the lad shook hands with them, the three sisters, and said to\nthem, \u2018There, maidens, and will you have us?\u2019\n\nAnd they took them to wife\u2014one for himself, and one for him who had\nlost his kidneys, and one they gave to another lad. And he went with\nthem home. And they made a marriage.\n\nAnd I came away, and I have told the story.\n\n\n    And a very quaint story it is; to the best of my knowledge, that\n    rarest of all things, a new one. \u2018God\u2019s Godson,\u2019 No. 6, also offers\n    an instance of an heroic hero, nought-heeding, who sets out in\n    quest of heroic achievements; and we find the same notion in a good\n    many folk-tales of South-east Europe, e.g. in the Croatian story of\n    \u2018Kraljevitch Marko\u2019 (Wratislaw, No. 52, p. 266). For the comb,\n    whetstone, and mirror, cf. Ralston, p. 142, and the Bukowina-Gypsy\n    story, \u2018Made over to the Devil\u2019 (No. 34), where it is a whetstone,\n    a comb, and a towel.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 16.\u2014THE APPLES OF PREGNANCY\n\nThere were where there were a king and a queen. Now for sixteen years\nthat king and that queen had had no sons or daughters. So he thought\nthey would never have any. And he was always weeping and lamenting, for\nwhat would become of them without any children? Then the king said to\nthe queen, \u2018O queen, I will go away and leave you, and if I do not find\na son born of you by my return, know that either I will kill you with\nmy own hands, or I will send you away, and live no longer with you.\u2019\n\nThen another king sent a challenge to him to go and fight, for, if he\ngoes not, he will come and slay him on his throne. Then the king said\nto his queen, \u2018Here, O queen, is a challenge come for me to go and\nfight. If I had had a son, would he not have gone, and I have remained\nat home?\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018How can I help it, O king, if God has not chosen to give us\nany sons? What can I do?\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018Prate not to me of God. If I come and don\u2019t find a son born\nof you, I shall kill you.\u2019\n\nAnd the king departed.\n\nThen the holy God and St. Peter fell to discussing what they should do\nfor the queen. So God said to Peter, \u2018Here, you Peter, go down with\nthis apple, and pass before her window, and cry, \u201cI have an apple, and\nwhoso eats of it will conceive.\u201d She will hear you. For it were a pity,\nPeter, for the king to come and kill her.\u2019\n\nSo St. Peter took the apple, and came down, and did as God had told\nhim. He cried in front of the queen\u2019s window. She heard him, and came\nout, and called him to her, and asked, \u2018How much do you want for that\napple, my man?\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018I want much; give me a purse of money.\u2019\n\nAnd the queen took the purse of money, and gave it him, and took the\napple and ate it. And when she had eaten it, she conceived. And St.\nPeter left her the purse of money there. So the time drew near for her\nto bear a child. And the very day that she brought forth her son, his\nfather came from the war, and he had won the fight. So when he came\nhome and heard that the queen had borne him a son, he went to the\nwine-shop and drank till he was drunk. And as he was coming home from\nthe wine-shop, he reached the door, and fell down, and died. Then the\nboy heard it, and rose up out of his mother\u2019s arms, and went to the\nvintner, and killed him with a blow. And he came home. And the people,\nthe nobles, beheld him, what a hero he was, and wondered at him. But an\nevil eye fell on him, and for three days he took to his bed. And he\ndied of the evil eye.\n\n\n    Two other Roumanian-Gypsy stories may be compared with this one\u2014No.\n    10 and \u2018The Prince who ate Men,\u2019 where, likewise, a king has no\n    son, threatens the queen with death, and goes off to the war. The\n    queen goes out driving, and meets a little bit of a man who follows\n    her home, gives her a glass of medicine, and vanishes. She\n    conceives, and bears a son, \u2018half dog, half bear, and half man.\u2019\n    The father returns victorious, and is going to slay this monster,\n    till he learns who he is. Afterwards the monster takes to eating\n    sentinels, until he himself is slain by a hero. Fruits of pregnancy\n    are very common in Indian folk-tales, and God plays much the same\n    part there. For instance, in \u2018Chandra\u2019s Vengeance\u2019 (Mary Frere\u2019s\n    Old Deccan Days, pp. 253\u20134), Mahadeo gives a mango-fruit to a\n    sterile woman, and she bears a child. Cf. also Maive Stokes\u2019s\n    Indian Fairy Tales, pp. 42, 91; Knowles\u2019s Folk-tales of Kashmir, p.\n    416 note; Hahn, Nos. 4, 6, etc.; and the English-Gypsy story, \u2018De\n    Little Fox,\u2019 No. 52.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nBUKOWINA-GYPSY STORIES\n\n\nNO. 17.\u2014IT ALL COMES TO LIGHT\n\nThere was a man with as many children as ants in an anthill. And three\nof the girls went to reap corn, and the emperor\u2019s son came by. And the\neldest girl said, \u2018If the emperor\u2019s son will marry me, I will clothe\nhis whole army with one spindleful of thread.\u2019 And the middle girl\nsaid, \u2018I will feed his army with a single loaf.\u2019 And the youngest girl\nsaid, \u2018If he will marry me, I will bear him twins clever and good, with\nhair of gold and teeth like pearls.\u2019\n\nHis servant heard them. \u2018Emperor, the eldest girl said, if you will\nmarry her, she will clothe your army with one spindleful of thread; the\nmiddle girl said, if you will marry her, she will feed your army with a\nsingle loaf; the youngest girl said, if you will marry her, she will\nbear you twins clever and good, with golden hair.\u2019\n\n\u2018Turn back,\u2019 he cried, \u2018take the youngest girl, put her in the\ncarriage.\u2019\n\nHe brought her home; he lived with her half a year; and they summoned\nhim to the army to fight. He remained a year at the war. His empress\nbrought forth two sons. The servant took them, and flung them into the\npigstye; and she put two whelps by the mother.\n\nAt evening the pigs came home, and the eldest sow cried, \u2018Hah! here are\nour master\u2019s sons; quick, give them the teat to suck, and keep them\nwarm.\u2019\n\nThe pigs went forth to the field. The servant came, saw that the boys\nare well, not dead; she flung them into the stable. At evening the\nhorses came home, and the eldest mare cried, \u2018Hah! here are our\nmaster\u2019s sons; quick, give them the teat to suck.\u2019\n\nIn the morning the horses went forth to the field. The servant took\nthem, and buried them in the dunghill. And two golden fir-trees grew.\n\nThe emperor came from the war. The servant went to meet him. \u2018Emperor,\nthe empress has borne you a couple of whelps.\u2019\n\nThe emperor buried the empress behind the door up to the waist, and set\nthe two whelps to suck her. He married the servant. This servant said\nto the emperor, \u2018Fell these fir-trees, and make me a bed.\u2019\n\n\u2018Fell them I will not; they are of exquisite beauty.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you don\u2019t, I shall die.\u2019\n\nThe emperor set men to work, and felled the firs, and gathered all the\nchips, and burned them with fire. He made a bed of the two planks, and\nslept with his new empress in the bed.\n\nAnd the elder boy said, \u2018Brother, do you feel it heavy, brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I don\u2019t feel it heavy, for my father is sleeping on me; but you,\ndo you feel it heavy, brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I do, for my stepmother is sleeping on me.\u2019\n\nShe heard, she arose in the morning. \u2018Emperor, chop up this bed, and\nput it in the fire, that it be burnt.\u2019\n\n\u2018Burn it I will not.\u2019\n\n\u2018But you must put it in the fire, else I shall die.\u2019\n\nThe emperor bade them put it in the fire. She bade them block up the\nchimney, that not a spark should escape. But two sparks escaped, and\nfell on a couple of lambs: the lambs became golden. She saw, and\ncommanded the servants to kill the lambs. She gave the servants the\nchitterlings to wash them, and gave the chitterlings numbered. They\nwere washing them in the stream; two of the chitterlings fell into the\nwater. They cut two chitterlings in half, and added them to the number,\nand came home. From those two chitterlings which fell into the water\ncame two doves; and they turned a somersault, [65] and became boys. And\nthey went to a certain lady. This lady was a widow, and she took the\nboys in, and brought them up seven years, and clothed them.\n\nAnd the emperor made proclamation in the land that they should gather\nto him to a ball. All Bukowina assembled. They ate and drank. The\nemperor said, \u2018Guess what I have suffered.\u2019 Nobody guessed. These two\nboys also went, and sat at the gate. The emperor saw them. \u2018Call also\nthese two boys.\u2019\n\nThey called them to the emperor. \u2018What are you come for, boys?\u2019\n\n\u2018We came, emperor, to guess.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, guess away.\u2019\n\n\u2018There was a man with children as many as ants in an anthill. And three\nof the girls went to reap corn, and the emperor\u2019s son came by. And the\neldest girl said, \u201cIf this lad will marry me, I will clothe his army\nwith one spindleful of thread.\u201d The middle girl said, \u201cIf he will marry\nme, I will feed his army with a single loaf.\u201d The youngest girl said,\n\u201cIf this emperor\u2019s son will marry me, I will bear him twins clever and\ngood, with hair of gold and teeth like pearls.\u201d His servant said to the\nemperor, \u201cEmperor, the eldest girl said that, if you will marry her,\nshe will clothe your army with one spindleful of thread; and the middle\ngirl said, if you will marry her, she will feed your army with a single\nloaf; and the youngest girl said, if you will marry her, she will bear\nyou twins clever and good, with hair of gold and teeth like pearls.\u201d\nCome forth, pearl. [66] The emperor lived with her half a year, and\ndeparted to war, and remained a year. The empress brought forth two\nsons. The servant took them, flung them into the pigstye, and put two\nwhelps by her. At evening the pigs came home, and the eldest sow cried,\n\u201cHah! here are our master\u2019s sons; you must give them the teat.\u201d In the\nmorning the pigs went forth to the field. The servant came, saw that\nthey are well, flung them into the stable. At evening the horses came;\nthe eldest horse cried, \u201cHah! here are our master\u2019s sons; you must give\nthem the teat.\u201d In the morning the horses went forth to the field. She\ncame and saw that they are well. She buried them in the horses\u2019\ndunghill, and two golden fir-trees grew. The emperor came from the\narmy. The servant went to meet him. \u201cEmperor, the empress has borne a\ncouple of whelps.\u201d The emperor buried her behind the door, and set the\ntwo whelps to suck. The emperor married the servant. The new empress\nsaid, \u201cFell the fir-trees, and make a bed.\u201d \u201cFell them I will not, for\nthey are beautiful.\u201d \u201cIf you don\u2019t fell them, I shall die.\u201d The emperor\ncommanded, and they felled them, and he gathered all the chips and\nflung them in the fire, and he made a bed. And the emperor was sleeping\nin the bed with the servant. And the elder brother said, \u201cDo you feel\nit heavy, brother?\u201d \u201cNo, I don\u2019t feel it heavy, for my true father is\nsleeping on me; but do you feel it heavy, brother?\u201d \u201cI do, for my\nstepmother is sleeping on me.\u201d She heard, she arose in the morning.\n\u201cEmperor, chop up this bed, and put it in the fire.\u201d \u201cChop it up I will\nnot, for it is fair.\u201d \u201cIf you don\u2019t, I shall die.\u201d The emperor\ncommanded, and chopped up the bed, and they put it in the fire; and she\ntold them to block up the chimney. But two sparks jumped out on two\nlambs, and the lambs became golden. She saw, and commanded the servants\nto kill them, and gave the chitterlings to two girls to wash. And two\nchitterlings escaped, and they cut two chitterlings, and made up the\nproper number. From those chitterlings came two doves; and they turned\na somersault, and became two boys. And they went to a certain widow\nlady, and she took them in, and brought them up seven years. The\nemperor gathered Bukowina to a ball, and they ate and drank. The\nemperor told them to guess what he had suffered. Nobody guessed, but I\nhave. And if you believe not, we are your sons, and our mother is\nburied behind the door.\u2019\n\nThen came his mother into the hall. \u2018Good-day to you, my sons.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thank you, mother.\u2019\n\nAnd they took that servant, and bound her to a wild horse, and gave him\nhis head, and he smashed her to pieces.\n\n\n    Dr. Barbu Constantinescu furnishes this Roumanian-Gypsy variant:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 18.\u2014THE GOLDEN CHILDREN\n\nThere were three princesses, and they vaunted themselves before the\nthree princes. One vaunted that she will make him a golden boy and\ngirl. And one vaunted that she will feed his army with one crust of\nbread. And one vaunted that she will clothe the whole army with a\nsingle spindleful of thread. The time came that the princes took the\nthree maidens. So she who had vaunted that she will bear the golden boy\nand girl, the time came that she grew big with child, and she fell on\nthe hearth in the birth-pangs. The midwife came and his mother, and she\nbrought forth a golden boy and girl. And her man was not there. And the\nmidwife and his mother took a dog and a bitch, and put them beneath\nher. And they took the boy and the girl, and the midwife threw them\ninto the river. And they went floating on the river, and a monk found\nthem.\n\nSo their father went a-hunting, and their father found the lad. \u2018Let me\nkiss you.\u2019 For, he thought, My wife said she would bear a golden lad\nand girl like this. And he came home and fell sick; and the midwife\nnoticed it and his mother.\n\nThe midwife asked him, \u2018What ails you?\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018I am sick, because I have seen a lad like my wife said she\nwould bear me.\u2019\n\nThen she sent for the children, did his mother; and the monk brought\nthem; and she asked him, \u2018Where did you get those children?\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018I found them both floating on the river.\u2019\n\nAnd the king saw it must be his children; his heart yearned towards\nthem. So the king called the monk, and asked him, \u2018Where did you get\nthose children?\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018I found them floating on the river.\u2019\n\nHe brought the monk to his mother and the midwife, and said, \u2018Behold,\nmother, my children.\u2019\n\nShe repented and said, \u2018So it is.\u2019 She said, \u2018Yes, darling, the midwife\nput them in a box, and threw them into the water.\u2019\n\nThen he kindled the furnace, and cast both his mother and also the\nmidwife into the furnace. And he burnt them; and so they made\natonement. He gathered all the kings together, for joy that he had\nfound his children. Away I came, the tale have told.\n\n\n    And a very poor tale it is, most clearly defective; we never, for\n    instance, hear what becomes of the mother. Non-Gypsy versions of\n    this story are very numerous and very widely spread, almost as\n    widely spread as the Gypsies. We have them from Iceland, Brittany,\n    Brazil, Catalonia, Sicily, Italy, Lorraine, Germany, Tyrol,\n    Transylvania, Hungary, Servia, Roumania, Albania, Syria, White\n    Russia, the Caucasus, Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Bengal, as\n    well as in Dolopathos (c. 1180) and Straparola. Special studies of\n    this story have been made by Cosquin (vol. i. p. lxiii. and p.\n    190), and W. A. Clouston in his Variants and Analogues of the Tales\n    in vol. iii. of Sir R. F. Burton\u2019s Supplemental Arabian Nights\n    (1887), pp. 617\u2013648. Reference may also be made to Grimm, No. 96,\n    \u2018The Three Little Birds\u2019; Wratislaw\u2019s, No. 23, \u2018The Wonderful\n    Lads\u2019; Grenville-Murray\u2019s Doine; or, Songs and Legends of Roumania\n    (1854), pp. 106\u2013110; Denton\u2019s Serbian Folklore, p. 238; Hahn, i.\n    272; ii. 40, 287, 293; \u2018The Boy with the Moon on his Forehead,\u2019 in\n    the Rev. Lal Behari Day\u2019s Folk-tales of Bengal (No. 19, p. 236);\n    and \u2018The Boy who had a Moon on his Forehead and a Star on his\n    Chin,\u2019 in Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy Tales (No. 20, p. 119; cf.\n    also, No. 2, pp. 7 and 245). \u2018Chandra\u2019s Vengeance\u2019 in Mary Frere\u2019s\n    Old Deccan Days (No. 22, p. 225), offers some curious analogies.\n    There the heroine is born with two golden anklets on her ankles,\n    \u2018dazzling to look at like the sun.\u2019 She is put in a golden box,\n    floated down the river, saved by a fisherman, etc. Cosquin acutely\n    remarks that in the original story the king, of course, marries the\n    three sisters, and the two elder, jealous, are the prime workers of\n    the mischief.\n\n\n    Yet a third Gypsy version, a Slovak one, is furnished by Dr. von\n    Sowa. It is plainly corrupt and imperfect:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 19.\u2014THE TWO CHILDREN\n\nSomewhere there was a hunter\u2019s son, a soldier; and there was also a\nshoemaker\u2019s daughter. She had a dream that if he took her to wife, and\nif she fell pregnant by him, she would bring forth twins\u2014the boy with a\ngolden star upon his breast, and the girl with a golden star upon the\nbrow. And he presently took her to wife. And she was poor, that\nshoemaker\u2019s daughter; and he was rich. So his parents did not like her\nfor a daughter-in-law. She became with child to him; and he went off to\nserve as a soldier. Within a year she brought forth. When that befell,\nshe had twins exactly as she had said. She bore a boy and a girl; the\nboy had a golden star upon his breast, and the girl had a golden star\nupon her brow. But his parents threw the twins into diamond chests,\nwrote a label for each of them, and put it in the chest. Then they let\nthem swim away down the Vah river. [67]\n\nThen my God so ordered it, that there were two fishers, catching fish.\nThey saw those chests come swimming down the river; they laid hold of\nboth of them. When they had done so, they opened the chests, and there\nwere the children alive, and on each was the label with writing. The\nfishers took them up, and went straight to the church to baptize them.\n\nSo those children lived to their eighth year, and went already to\nschool. And the fishers had also children of their own, and used to\nbeat them, those foundlings. He, the boy, was called Jankos; and she,\nMarishka.\n\nAnd Marishka said to Jankos, \u2018Let us go, Jankos mine, somewhere into\nthe world.\u2019\n\nThen they went into a forest, there spent the night. There they made a\nfire, and Marishka fell into a slumber, whilst he, Jankos, kept up the\nfire. There came a very old stranger to him, and he says to him, says\nthat stranger, \u2018Come with me, Jankos, I will give you plenty of money.\u2019\n\nHe brought him into a vault; there a stone door opened before him; the\nvault was full, brim full of money. Jankos took two armfuls of money.\nIt was my God who was there with him, and showed him the money. He took\nas much as he could carry, then returned to Marishka. Marishka was up\nalready and awake; she was weeping\u2014\u2018Where, then, is Jankos?\u2019\n\nJankos calls to her, \u2018Fear not, I am here; I am bringing you plenty of\nmoney.\u2019\n\nMy God had told him to take as much money as he wants; the door will\nalways be open to him. Then they, Jankos and Marishka, went to a city;\nhe bought clothes for himself and for her, and bought himself a fine\nhouse. Then he bought also horses and a small carriage. Then he went to\nthe vault for that money, and helped himself again. With the shovel he\nflung it on the carriage; then he returned home with so much money that\nhe didn\u2019t know what to do with it.\n\nThen he ordered a band to play music, and arranged for a ball. Then he\ninvited all the gentry in that country, invited all of them; and his\nparents too came. This he did that he might find out who were his\nparents. Right enough they came; and he, Jankos, at once knew his\nmother\u2014my God had ordained it, that he at once should know her. Then he\nasks his mother, [68] does Jankos, what a man deserved who ruins two\nsouls, and is himself alive.\n\nAnd she says, the old lady, \u2018Such a one deserves nothing better than to\nhave light set to the fagot-pile, and himself pitched into the fire.\u2019\n\nThat was just what they did to them, pitched them into the fire; and he\nremained there with Marishka. And the gentleman cried then, \u2018Hurrah!\nbravo! that\u2019s capital.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nNO. 20.\u2014MARE\u2019S SON\n\nA priest went riding on his mare to town. And ... he led her into the\nforest, and left her there. The mare brought forth a son. And God came\nand baptized him, and gave him the name \u2018Mare\u2019s Son.\u2019 He sucked one\nyear, and went to a tree, and tries to pluck it up, and could not.\n\n\u2018Ah! mother, I\u2019ll suck one year more.\u2019\n\nHe sucked one year more; he went to the tree; he plucked it up.\n\n\u2018Now, mother, I shall go away from you.\u2019\n\nAnd he went into the forests, and found a man. \u2018Good day to you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thanks.\u2019\n\n\u2018What\u2019s your name?\u2019\n\n\u2018Tree-splitter.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hah! let\u2019s become brothers. Come with me.\u2019\n\nThey went further; they found another man. \u2018Good day.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thanks.\u2019\n\n\u2018What\u2019s your name?\u2019\n\n\u2018Rock-splitter.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hah! let\u2019s become brothers.\u2019\n\nThey became brothers.\n\n\u2018Come with me.\u2019\n\nThey went further; they found yet another man. \u2018Good day to you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thanks.\u2019\n\n\u2018What\u2019s your name?\u2019\n\n\u2018Tree-bender.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come with me.\u2019\n\nThe four went further, and they found a robbers\u2019 den. The robbers had\nkilled a heifer. When the robbers saw them, they fled. They went away,\nand left the meat untouched. They cooked the meat and ate. They passed\nthe night. In the morning Mare\u2019s Son said, \u2018Let three of us go to hunt,\nand one stay at home to cook.\u2019 They left Tree-splitter at home to cook,\nand he cooked the food nicely. And there came an old man to him, a\nhand\u2019s-breadth tall, with a beard a cubit in length.\n\n\u2018Give me to eat.\u2019\n\n\u2018Not I. For they\u2019ll come from hunting, and there\u2019ll be nothing to give\nthem.\u2019\n\nThe old man went into the wood, and cut four wedges, and threw him,\nTree-splitter, on the ground, and fastened him to the earth by the\nhands and feet, and ate up all the food. Then he let him go, and\ndeparted. He put more meat in the pot to cook. They came from hunting\nand asked, \u2018Have you cooked the food?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ever since you\u2019ve been away I\u2019ve had the meat at the fire, but it\nisn\u2019t cooked properly.\u2019\n\n\u2018Dish it up as it is, for we\u2019re hungry.\u2019\n\nHe dished it up as it was, and they ate it. They passed the night. The\nnext day they left another cook, and the three of them went off to\nhunt. The old man came again.\n\n\u2018Give me something to eat.\u2019\n\n\u2018Not I, for they\u2019ll come from hunting, and there\u2019ll be nothing to give\nthem to eat.\u2019\n\nHe went into the wood, and cut four wedges, and fastened him to the\nearth by the hands and feet, and ate up all the food, and let him go,\nand departed. He put more meat in the pot to cook. They came from\nhunting. \u2018Have you cooked the food?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ever since you\u2019ve been away I\u2019ve had it at the fire, but it isn\u2019t\ncooked, for it\u2019s old meat.\u2019\n\nThey passed the night. The third day they left another cook. The three\nof them went to hunt; and those two never told what they had undergone.\nAgain the old man came, demanded food.\n\n\u2018Not a morsel, for they\u2019ll come from hunting, and I should have nothing\nto give them.\u2019\n\nHe went into the wood, and cut four wedges, and fastened him to the\nearth by the hands and feet, and ate up all the food, and let him go.\nThey came from hunting. \u2018Have you cooked the food?\u2019\n\n\u2018The minute you went away I put the meat in the pot; but it isn\u2019t\ncooked, for it\u2019s old.\u2019\n\nThe fourth day Mare\u2019s Son remained as cook, and he cooked the food\nnicely.\n\nThe old man came. \u2018Give me something to eat, for I\u2019m hungry.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come here, and I\u2019ll give you some.\u2019\n\nHe called him into the house, and caught him by the beard, and led him\nto a beech-tree, and drove his axe into the beech, and cleft it, and\nput his beard in the cleft, and drew out the axe, and drove in wedges\nby the beard, and left him there. They came from hunting; he gave them\nto eat. \u2018Why didn\u2019t you cook as good food as I?\u2019\n\nThey ate.\n\nThe old man pulled the tree out of the earth on to his shoulders, and\ndragged it after him, and departed into a cave in the other world.\n\nSaid Mare\u2019s Son to them, \u2018Come with me, and you shall see what I\u2019ve\ncaught.\u2019\n\nThey went, and found only the place.\n\nSaid Mare\u2019s Son, \u2018Come with me, for I\u2019ve got to find him.\u2019\n\nThey went, following the track of the tree to his cave.\n\n\u2018This is where he went in. Who\u2019ll go in to fetch him out?\u2019\n\nThey said, \u2018Not we, we\u2019re afraid. Do you go in, for it was you who\ncaught him.\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018I\u2019ll go in, and do you swear that you will act fairly by me.\u2019\n\nThey swore that they will act fairly by him. They made a basket, and he\nlowered himself into the cave, and went to the other world. There was a\npalace under the earth, and he found the old man with his beard in the\ntree, put him in the basket, and they drew him up. He found a big\nstone, and put it in the basket. \u2018If they pull up the stone, they will\npull up me.\u2019 They pulled it up half-way, and cut the rope. He fell\na-weeping. \u2018Now I am undone.\u2019\n\nHe journeyed under the earth, and came to a house. There was an old man\nand an old woman, both blind, for the fairies [69] had put out their\neyes. Mare\u2019s Son went to them and said, \u2018Good day.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thanks. And who are you?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am a man.\u2019\n\n\u2018And old or young?\u2019\n\n\u2018Young.\u2019\n\n\u2018Be a son to us.\u2019\n\n\u2018Good.\u2019\n\nThe old man had ten sheep. \u2018Here take the sheep, and graze them,\ndaddy\u2019s darling. And don\u2019t go to the right hand, else the fairies will\ncatch you and put out your eyes; that\u2019s their field. But go to the left\nhand, for they\u2019ve no business there; that\u2019s our field.\u2019\n\nHe went three days to the left hand, until he bethought himself, and\nmade a flute, and went to the right hand with his sheep.\n\nAnd there met him a fairy, and said to him, \u2018Son of a roarer, [70] what\nare you wanting here?\u2019\n\nHe began to play on the flute. \u2018Dance a bit for me.\u2019\n\nHe began to play, and she danced. Just as she was dancing her very\nbest, he broke the flute with his teeth.\n\nThe fairy said, \u2018What are you doing, why did you break it, when I was\ndancing my very best?\u2019\n\n\u2018Come with me to that tree, that maple, that I may take out its heart\nand make a flute. And I will play all day, and you shall dance. Come\nwith me.\u2019\n\nHe went to the maple, and drove his axe into the maple, and cleft it.\n\u2018Put your hand in, and take out the heart.\u2019\n\nShe put in her hand; he drew out the axe, and left her hand in the\ntree.\n\nShe cried, \u2018Quick, release my hand; it will be crushed.\u2019\n\nAnd he said, \u2018Where are the old man\u2019s and the old woman\u2019s eyes? For if\nyou don\u2019t tell me, I shall cut your throat.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go to the third room. They\u2019re in a glass. The larger are the old\nman\u2019s, the smaller the old woman\u2019s.\u2019\n\n\u2018How shall I put them in again?\u2019\n\n\u2018There is water in a glass there, and moisten them with the water, and\nput them in, and they will adhere. And smear with the water, and they\nwill see.\u2019\n\nHe cut her throat, and went and got the eyes of the old man and the old\nwoman, and took the water, and moistened them with the water, and put\nthem in, and they adhered. He smeared with the water, and they saw.\n\nThe old man and the old woman said, \u2018Thank you, my son. Be my son for\never. I will give all things into your hand, and I will go to my\nkinsfolk, for it is ten years since I have seen them.\u2019\n\nAnd the old man mounted a goat, and the old woman mounted a sheep; and\nhe said to his son, \u2018Daddy\u2019s darling, walk, eat, and drink.\u2019 Away went\nthe old man and the old woman to their kinsfolk.\n\nHe too set out, and went walking in the forest. In a tree were young\neagles, and a dragon was climbing up to devour them. And Mare\u2019s Son saw\nhim, and climbed up, and killed him.\n\nAnd the young eagles said to him, \u2018God will give you good luck for\nkilling him. For my mother said every year she was hatching chicks, and\nthis dragon was always devouring them. But where shall we hide you? for\nour mother will come and devour you. But put yourself under us, and we\nwill cover you with our wings.\u2019\n\nTheir mother came. \u2018I smell fresh man.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, mother, you just fancy it. You fly aloft, and the reek mounts up\nto you.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019m certain there\u2019s a man here. And who killed the dragon?\u2019\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t know, mother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Show him, that I may see him.\u2019\n\n\u2018He\u2019s among us, mother.\u2019\n\nThey produced him, and she saw him; and the minute she saw him, she\nswallowed him. The eaglets began to weep and to lament: \u2018He saved us\nfrom death, and you have devoured him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Wait a bit; I\u2019ll bring him up again.\u2019\n\nShe brought him up, and asked him, \u2018What do you want for saving my\nyoung ones from death?\u2019\n\n\u2018I only want you to carry me to the other world.\u2019\n\n\u2018Had I known that, I\u2019d have let him devour my young ones, for to carry\nyou up is mighty difficult. Do you know how I shall manage it? Bake\ntwelve ovenfuls of bread, and take twelve heifers and twelve jars of\nwine.\u2019\n\nIn three days he had them ready.\n\nShe said, \u2018Put them on me; and when I turn my head to the left, throw a\nheifer into my mouth and an ovenful of bread; and when I turn to the\nright, pour a jar of wine into my mouth.\u2019\n\nShe brought him out; he went to his brothers. \u2018Good day to you,\nbrothers. You fancied I should perish. If you acted fairly by me, toss\nyour arrows up in the air, and they will fall before you; but if\nunfairly, then they will fall on your heads.\u2019\n\nAll four tossed up their arrows, and they stood in a row. His fell\nright before him, and theirs fell on their heads, and they died.\n\n\n    I have excised the opening of this tale as far too Rabelaisian; in\n    fact, it leaves the very priest ashamed. Its hero is called \u2018Mare\u2019s\n    Son,\u2019 and is suckled by a mare like Milosh Obilich in a Croatian\n    ballad. But the story is clearly identical with Grimm\u2019s \u2018Strong\n    Hans\u2019 (No. 166, ii. 253, 454) and \u2018The Elves\u2019 (No. 91, ii. 24,\n    387), in one or other of which, or of their variants, almost every\n    detail, sometimes to the minutest, will be found. Cosquin\u2019s \u2018Jean\n    de l\u2019Ours\u2019 (No. 1, i. 1\u201327) should also be carefully studied, and\n    Hahn\u2019s \u2018Das B\u00e4renkind\u2019 (No. 75, ii. 72). The Gypsy version is in\n    one respect clearly defective: it has no heroine\u2014a lack that might\n    be supplied from Miklosich\u2019s Gypsy story of \u2018The Seer\u2019 (No. 23).\n    The episode of the fairies that blind occurs in \u2018The Scab-pate\u2019\n    (Geldart\u2019s Folklore of Modern Greece, p. 158; cf. also Hahn, i.\n    222); and in Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy Tales, p. 57, one finds a\n    similar restoration of their eyes to seven blinded mothers, with\n    salve, however, not water, for application. Cf. Krauss, i. 181, for\n    a flute that obliges to dance; and a blind old man riding on a\n    great goat comes in Denton\u2019s Serbian Folk-lore, p. 249. The rescue\n    of the young eagles, and the being borne to the upper world by the\n    old mother-bird, are conjointly or separately very widespread. The\n    meat generally runs short, and the hero gives her a piece of his\n    own flesh (cf. p. 240). Hahn\u2019s \u2018Der Gold\u00e4pfelbaum und die\n    H\u00f6llenfahrt,\u2019 from Syra (No. 70, ii. 57, 297), furnishes an\n    excellent example; and Cosquin (ii. 141) gives Avar, Siberian,\n    Kabyle, Persian, and Indian variants. The rescue of two eaglets\n    from a great snake occurs in \u2018The Demon and the King\u2019s Son\u2019 (Maive\n    Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy Tales, No. 24, p. 182), and in \u2018Punchkin\u2019\n    (Mary Frere\u2019s Old Deccan Days, No. 1, p. 14). The striking ordeal\n    at the close, recurring in \u2018The Seer\u2019 (No. 23, p. 89), is, to the\n    best of my knowledge, peculiar to these two Gypsy stories; the\n    arrows suggest a high antiquity. Von Sowa\u2019s Slovak-Gypsy story of\n    \u2018The Three Dragons\u2019 (No. 44) offers many analogies to \u2018Mare\u2019s Son,\u2019\n    of which the Welsh-Gypsy story, \u2018Twopence-halfpenny\u2019 (No. 58, p.\n    243), is actually a variant. The first eight pages of \u2018Prince\n    Lionheart and his three Friends,\u2019 in F. A. Steel\u2019s Wide-awake\n    Stories, pp. 47\u201354, and her \u2018How Raja Rasalu\u2019s Friends forsook\n    him,\u2019 pp. 255\u20137; also the very curious story of \u2018Gumda the Hero\u2019\n    (Campbell\u2019s Santal Folk-tales, p. 57), offer Indian versions of the\n    opening of \u2018Mare\u2019s Son.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nNO. 21.\u2014THE DELUDED DRAGON\n\nThere was an old man with a multitude of children. He had an\nunderground cave in the forest. He said, \u2018Make me a honey-cake, for I\nwill go and earn something.\u2019 He went into the forest, and found a well.\nBy the well was a table. He laid the cake on the table. The crows came\nand ate it. He slept by the well. He arose and saw the flies eating the\ncrumbs. He struck a blow and killed a hundred flies. He wrote that he\nhad killed a hundred souls with one blow. And he lay down and slept.\n\nA dragon came with a buffalo\u2019s skin to draw water. He saw what was\nwritten on the table, that he had killed a hundred souls. When he saw\nthe old man, he feared. The old man awoke, and he too feared.\n\nThe dragon said, \u2018Let\u2019s become brothers.\u2019\n\nAnd they swore that they would be Brothers of the Cross. [71] The\ndragon drew water. \u2018Come with me, brother, to my palace.\u2019\n\nThey went along a footpath, the old man first. When the dragon panted,\nhe drove the old man forward; when he drew in his breath, he pulled him\nback. The dragon said, \u2018Brother, why do you sometimes run forward and\nsometimes come back?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am thinking whether to kill you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Stay, brother, I will go first and you behind; maybe you will change\nyour mind.\u2019\n\nThey came to a cherry-tree. \u2018Here, brother, have some cherries.\u2019\n\nThe dragon climbed up, and the old man was eating below. The dragon\nsaid, \u2018Come up, they\u2019re better here.\u2019\n\nThe old man said, \u2018No, they aren\u2019t, for the birds have defiled them.\u2019\n\n\u2018Catch hold of this bough.\u2019\n\nThe old man did so. The dragon let go of it, and jerked the old man up,\nand he fell on a hare and caught it.\n\nThe dragon said, \u2018What\u2019s the matter, brother? Was the bough too strong\nfor you?\u2019\n\n\u2018I sprang of my own accord, and caught this hare. I hadn\u2019t time to run\nround, so up I sprang.\u2019\n\nThe dragon came down and went home. The old man said, \u2018Would you like a\npresent, sister-in-law?\u2019 [seemingly offering the hare to the dragon\u2019s\nwife].\n\n\u2018Thanks, brother-in-law.\u2019\n\nThe dragon said to her aside, \u2018Don\u2019t say a word to him, else he\u2019ll kill\nus, for he has killed a hundred souls with one blow.\u2019 He sent him to\nfetch water: \u2018Go for water, brother.\u2019\n\nHe took the spade and the buffalo\u2019s hide, dragged it after him, and\nwent to the well, and was digging all round the well.\n\nThe dragon went to him. \u2018What are you doing, brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am digging the whole well to carry it home.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t destroy the spring; I\u2019ll draw the water myself.\u2019\n\nThe dragon drew the water, and took the old man by the hand, and led\nhim home. He sent him to the forest to fetch a tree. He stripped off\nbark, and made himself a rope, and bound the trees.\n\nThe dragon came. \u2018What are you doing, brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going to take the whole forest and carry it home.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t destroy my forest, brother. I\u2019ll carry it myself.\u2019 The dragon\ntook a tree on his shoulders, and went home.\n\nHe said to his wife, \u2018What shall we do, wife, for he will kill us if we\nanger him?\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018Take uncle\u2019s big club, and hit him on the head.\u2019\n\nThe old man heard. He slept of a night on a bench. And he took the\nbeetle, put it on the bench, dressed it up in his coat, and put his cap\non the top of it. And he lay down under the bench. The dragon took the\nclub, and felt the cap, and struck with the club. The old man arose,\nremoved the beetle, put it under the bench, and lay down on the bench.\nHe scratched his head. \u2018God will punish you, brother, and your\nhousehold, for a flea has bitten me on the head.\u2019\n\n\u2018There! do you hear, wife? I hit him on the head with the club, and he\nsays a mere flea has bitten him. What shall we do with him, wife?\u2019\n\n\u2018Give him a sackful of money to go away.\u2019\n\n\u2018What will you take to go, brother? I\u2019ll give you a sackful of money.\u2019\n\n\u2018Give it me.\u2019\n\nHe gave it. \u2018Take it, brother, and be gone.\u2019\n\n\u2018I brought my present myself; do you carry yours yourself.\u2019\n\nThe dragon took it on his shoulders and carried it. They drew near to\nthe underground cavern. The old man said, \u2018Stay here, brother, whilst I\ngo home and tie up the dogs, else they\u2019ll wholly devour you.\u2019 The old\nman went home to his children, and made them wooden knives, and told\nthem to say when they saw the dragon, \u2018Mother, father\u2019s bringing a\ndragon; we\u2019ll eat his flesh.\u2019\n\nThe dragon heard them, and flung down the sack, and fled. And he met a\nfox.\n\n\u2018Where are you flying to, dragon?\u2019\n\n\u2018The old man will kill me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Fear not; come along with me. I\u2019ll kill him, he\u2019s so weak.\u2019\n\nThe children came outside and cried, \u2018Mother, the fox is bringing us\nthe dragon skin he owes us, to cover the cave with.\u2019\n\nThe dragon took to flight, and caught the fox, and dashed him to the\nearth; and the fox died. The old man went to the town, and got a cart,\nand put the money in it. Then he went to the town, and built himself\nhouses, and bought himself oxen and cows.\n\n\n    Dr. Von Sowa furnishes this Slovak-Gypsy variant:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 22.\u2014THE GYPSY AND THE DRAGON\n\nThere were a Gypsy and a shepherd, who tended his sheep. Every night\ntwo of the shepherd\u2019s sheep went a-missing, or even three. The peasant\ncame to his gossip, the Gypsy, who asks him, \u2018Hallo! gossip, what\u2019s up\nwith you, that you\u2019re so sorrowful?\u2019\n\nThe peasant says to the Gypsy, \u2018Ah! how should I not be sorrowful, when\nsome one\u2014I know not who\u2014does me grievous harm?\u2019\n\n\u2018All right. I\u2019ll help you there, for I know fine who it is. To-night\nlet your wife make me two big cheeses, the size of that; and let her\nbake me some nice fine dough for supper. I\u2019ll come and sup with you\nto-night. Then I\u2019ll go and look after your sheep.\u2019\n\nAll right! The Gypsy went and had a fine blow-out at the peasant\u2019s.\nNight came, and the Gypsy went off to the sheep. And the cheese he put\nin his pocket, and in his hand he took an iron bar weighing three\nhundredweight, besides which he made himself quite a light wooden rod.\nAnd off he went to the sheepfold. There was nobody there but the\nshepherd\u2019s man.\n\n\u2018Go you home, my lad,\u2019 says the Gypsy, \u2018and I\u2019ll stop here.\u2019\n\nMidnight came. The Gypsy made himself a big fire, and straightway the\ndragon comes to the Gypsy by the fire.\n\nHe said to him, \u2018Wait a bit. I\u2019ll give it your mother for this; [72]\nwhat are you wanting here?\u2019\n\n\u2018Just wanting to see if you are such a strong chap, though you do eat\nthree sheep every night.\u2019\n\nHe was terrified.\n\n\u2018Sit down beside me by the fire, and let\u2019s just have a little trial of\nstrength, to see which of us is the stronger. Do you throw this stick\nso high up in the air that it never falls down again, but stays there.\u2019\n(It was the bar that weighed three hundredweight.)\n\nThe dragon throws, threw it so high, that then and there it remained\nsomewhere or other up in the sky. \u2018Now,\u2019 says the dragon to the Gypsy,\n\u2018now do you throw, as I threw.\u2019\n\nThe Gypsy threw\u2014it was the little light wooden stick\u2014threw it somewhere\nor other behind him, so that the dragon couldn\u2019t see where he threw it,\nbut he fancied he had thrown it where he had thrown his own.\n\n\u2018Well, all right! Let\u2019s sit down, and see whether you really are a\nclever chap. Just take this stone and squeeze it so that the water runs\nout of it, and the blood, like this.\u2019 The Gypsy took the cheese; he\nsqueezed it till the water ran out of it; then he said to the dragon,\n\u2018Do you take it now and squeeze.\u2019\n\nHe handed him a stone, and the dragon kept squeezing and squeezing till\nthe blood streamed from his hand. \u2018I see plainly,\u2019 he said to the\nGypsy, \u2018you\u2019re a better man than I.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, take me now on your back, and carry me to your blind mother.\u2019\n\nThey came to his blind mother. Fear seized her, for where did one ever\nhear the like of that\u2014the dragon to carry the Gypsy on his back.\n\n\u2018Now, you\u2019ll give me just whatever I want.\u2019\n\n\u2018Fear not. I will give you as much money as you can carry, and as much\nfood as you want, both to eat and to drink; only let me live and my\nmother. And I\u2019ll never go after the sheep any more.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well and good. I could kill you this moment, and your blind mother\ntoo. Then swear to me that you will go no more to that peasant\u2019s to\ndevour his sheep.\u2019\n\nStraightway he swore to him, that indeed he would go no more.\n\n\u2018Now you must give me money, both gold and silver, and then you must\ntake me on your back and carry me home.\u2019\n\nWell and good. He gave him the money, and took him on his back, and\ncarried home the Gypsy and the money. The Gypsy\u2019s wife sees them. \u2018My\nGod! What\u2019s up?\u2019 And the children\u2014he had plenty\u2014came running out. The\ndragon was dreadfully frightened and ran off. But he flung down the\nGypsy\u2019s money and left it there. The Gypsy was so rich there was not\nhis equal. He was just like a gentleman. And if he is not dead, he is\nstill living, with his wife and children.\n\n\n    There must be also a Turkish-Gypsy version, for Paspati on p. 576\n    gives this quotation from the story of a young man\u2019s contest with a\n    dragon:\u2014\u2018I am looking to see which is the highest mountain, to\n    seize you, and fling you thither, that not a bone of you be left\n    whole.\u2019 Wlislocki furnishes a Transylvanian-Gypsy variant, \u2018The\n    Omniscient Gypsy,\u2019 No. 23, p. 61; and the hero is a Gypsy in\n    Lithuanian and Galician stories. \u2018The Valiant Little Tailor\u2019\n    (Grimm, No. 20, i. 85, 359), is very familiar, but is less like our\n    Gypsy versions than is Hahn\u2019s No. 23, \u2018Herr Lazarus und die\n    Draken.\u2019 Cf. also Hahn, i. 152 and ii. 211; Cosquin, i. 95\u2013102; and\n    Clouston, i. 133\u2013154. The story is widely spread; we have\n    Norwegian, Sicilian, Hungarian, Albanian, Turkish, Persian,\n    Sanskrit, and other versions. \u2018Valiant Vicky, the Brave Weaver,\u2019 in\n    F. A. Steel\u2019s Wide-awake Stories, pp. 89\u201397, is a very modern,\n    non-heroic Indian version; cf. also \u2018The Close Alliance,\u2019 pp.\n    132\u20137. \u2018How the Three Clever Men outwitted the Demons\u2019 (Mary\n    Frere\u2019s Old Deccan Days, No. 23, p. 271) offers certain analogies;\n    so does the \u2018Story of a Simpleton\u2019 in Campbell\u2019s Santal Folk-tales,\n    p. 45.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 23.\u2014THE SEER\n\nThey say that there was an emperor, and he had three sons. And he gave\na ball; all Bukowina came to it. And a mist descended, and there came a\ndragon, and caught up the empress, and carried her into the forests to\na mountain, and set her down on the earth. There in the earth was a\npalace. Now after the ball the men departed home.\n\nAnd the youngest son was a seer; and his elder brothers said he was\nmad. Said the youngest, \u2018Let us go after our mother, and seek for her\nin Bukowina.\u2019 The three set out, and they came to a place where three\nroads met. And the youngest said, \u2018Brothers, which road will you go?\u2019\n\nAnd the eldest said, \u2018I will keep straight on.\u2019\n\nAnd the middle one went to the right, and the youngest to the left. The\neldest one went into the towns, and the middle one into the villages,\nand the youngest into the forests. They had gone a bit when the\nyoungest turned back and cried, \u2018Come here. How are we to know who has\nfound our mother? Let us buy three trumpets, and whoever finds her must\nstraightway blow a blast, and we shall hear him, and return home.\u2019\n\nThe youngest went into the forests. And he was hungry, and he found an\napple-tree with apples, and he ate an apple, and two horns grew. And he\nsaid, \u2018What God has given me I will bear.\u2019 And he went onward, and\ncrossed a stream, and the flesh fell away from him. And he kept saying,\n\u2018What God has given me I will bear. Thanks be to God.\u2019 And he went\nfurther, and found another apple-tree. And he said, \u2018I will eat one\nmore apple, even though two more horns should grow.\u2019 When he ate it the\nhorns dropped off. And he went further, and again found a stream. And\nhe said, \u2018God, the flesh has fallen from me, now will my bones waste\naway; but even though they do, yet will I go.\u2019 And he crossed the\nstream; his flesh grew fairer than ever. And he went up into a\nmountain. There was a rock of stone in a spot bare of trees. And he\nreached out his hand, and moved it aside, and saw a hole in the earth.\nHe put the rock back in its place, and went back and began to wind his\nhorn.\n\nHis brothers heard him and came. \u2018Have you found my mother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have; come with me.\u2019\n\nAnd they went to the mountain to the rock of stone.\n\n\u2018Remove this rock from its place.\u2019\n\n\u2018But we cannot.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come, I will remove it.\u2019\n\nHe put his little finger on it, and moved it aside. [73] \u2018Hah!\u2019 said\nhe, \u2018here is our mother. Who will let himself down?\u2019\n\nAnd they said, \u2018Not I.\u2019\n\nThe youngest said, \u2018Come with me into the forest, and we will strip off\nbark and make a rope.\u2019\n\nThey did so, and they made a basket.\n\n\u2018I will lower myself down, and when I jerk the rope haul me up.\u2019\n\nSo he let himself down, and came to house No. 1. There he found an\nemperor\u2019s daughter, whom the dragon had brought and kept prisoner.\n\nAnd she said, \u2018Why are you here? The dragon will kill you when he\ncomes.\u2019\n\nAnd he asked her, \u2018Didn\u2019t the dragon bring an old lady here?\u2019\n\nAnd she said, \u2018I know not, but go to No. 2; there is my middle sister.\u2019\n\nHe went to her; she too said, \u2018Why are you here? The dragon will kill\nyou when he comes.\u2019\n\nAnd he asked, \u2018Didn\u2019t he bring an old lady?\u2019\n\nAnd she said, \u2018I know not, but go to No. 3; there is my youngest\nsister.\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018Why are you here? The dragon will kill you when he comes.\u2019\n\nAnd he asked, \u2018Didn\u2019t he bring an old lady here?\u2019\n\nAnd she said, \u2018He did, to No. 4.\u2019\n\nHe went to his mother, and she said, \u2018Why are you here? The dragon will\nkill you when he comes.\u2019\n\nAnd he said, \u2018Fear not, come with me.\u2019 And he led her, and put her in\nthe basket, and said to her, \u2018Tell my brothers they\u2019ve got to pull up\nthree maidens.\u2019 He jerked the rope, and they hauled their mother up. He\nput the eldest girl in the basket, and they hauled her up; then the\nmiddle one, jerked the rope, and they hauled her up. And while they are\nhauling, he made the youngest swear that she will not marry \u2018till I\ncome.\u2019 She swore that she will not marry till he comes; he put her also\nin the basket, jerked the rope, and they hauled her up.\n\nAnd he found a stone, and put it in the basket, and jerked the rope.\n\u2018If they haul up the stone, they will also haul up me.\u2019 And they hauled\nit half-way up, and the rope broke, and they left him to perish, for\nthey thought he was in the basket. And he began to weep. And he went\ninto the palace where the dragon dwelt, and pulled out a box, and found\na rusty ring. And he is cleaning it; out of it came a lord, and said,\n\u2018What do you want, master?\u2019\n\n\u2018Carry me out into the world.\u2019\n\nAnd he took him up on his shoulders, and carried him out. And he took\ntwo pails of water. When he washed himself with one, his face was\nchanged; and when with the other, it became as it was before. And he\nbrought him to a tailor in his father\u2019s city.\n\nAnd he washed himself with the water, and his face was changed. And he\nwent to that tailor; and that tailor was in his father\u2019s employment.\nAnd he hired himself as a prentice to the tailor for a twelvemonth,\njust to watch the baby in another room. The tailor had twelve\nprentices. And the tailor did not recognise him, nor his brothers.\n\nThe eldest brother proposed to the youngest sister, whom the seer had\nsaved from the dragon. And she said, \u2018No, I have sworn not to marry\nuntil my own one comes.\u2019 The middle son also proposed; she said, \u2018I\nwill not, until my own one comes.\u2019\n\nSo the eldest son married the eldest girl; the middle son married the\nmiddle girl; and they called the tailor to make them wedding garments,\nand gave him cloth.\n\nAnd the emperor\u2019s son said, \u2018Give it me to make.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I won\u2019t, you wouldn\u2019t fit him properly.\u2019\n\n\u2018Give it me. I\u2019ll pay the damage if I don\u2019t sew it right.\u2019\n\nThe tailor gave it him, and he rubbed the ring. Out came a little lord,\nand said, \u2018What do you want, master?\u2019\n\n\u2018Take this cloth, and go to my eldest brother, and take his measure, so\nthat it mayn\u2019t be too wide, or too narrow, but just an exact fit. And\nsew it so that the thread mayn\u2019t show.\u2019\n\nAnd he sewed it so that one couldn\u2019t tell where the seam came. And in\nthe morning he brought them to the tailor.\n\n\u2018Carry them to them.\u2019\n\nAnd when they saw them, they asked the tailor, \u2018Who made these clothes?\nFor you never made so well before.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ve a new prentice made them.\u2019\n\n\u2018Since the youngest would not have us, we\u2019ll give her to him, that he\nmay work for us.\u2019\n\nThey went and got married. After the wedding they called the prentice,\ncalled too the maiden, and bade her go to him.\n\nShe said, \u2018I will not,\u2019 for she did not know him.\n\nThe emperor\u2019s eldest son caught hold of her to thrash her.\n\nShe said, \u2018Go to him I will not.\u2019\n\n\u2018You\u2019ve got to.\u2019\n\n\u2018Though you cut my throat, I won\u2019t.\u2019\n\nSaid the youngest son, \u2018I\u2019ll tell you what, Prince, let me go with her\ninto a side-room and talk with her.\u2019\n\nHe took her aside, and washed himself with the other water, and his\nface became as it was. She knew him. [74]\n\n\u2018Come, now I\u2019ll have you.\u2019\n\nHe washed himself again with the first water, and his face was changed\nonce more, and he went back to the emperor.\n\nAnd he asked her, \u2018Will you have him?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will.\u2019\n\n\u2018The wedding is to be in twelve days.\u2019\n\nAnd they called the old tailor, and commanded him, \u2018In twelve days\u2019\ntime be ready for the wedding.\u2019 And they departed home.\n\nSix days are gone, and he takes no manner of trouble, but goes meanly\nas ever. Now ten are gone, and only two remain. The tailor called the\nbridegroom. \u2018And what shall we do, for there\u2019s nothing ready for the\nwedding?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! don\u2019t fret, and fear not: God will provide.\u2019\n\nNow but one day remained; and he, the bridegroom, went forth, and\nrubbed the ring. And out came a little lord and asked him, \u2018What do you\nwant, master?\u2019\n\n\u2018In a day\u2019s time make me a three-story palace, and let it turn with the\nsun on a screw, and let the roof be of glass, and let there be water\nand fish there, the fish swimming and sporting in the roof, so that the\nlords may look at the roof, and marvel what magnificence is this. And\nlet there be victuals and golden dishes and silver spoons, and one cup\nbeing drained and one cup filled.\u2019\n\nThat day it was ready.\n\n\u2018And let me have a carriage and six horses, and a hundred soldiers for\noutriders, and two hundred on either side.\u2019\n\nOn the morrow he started for the wedding, he from one place, and she\nfrom another; and they went to the church and were married, and came\nhome. His brothers came and his father, and a heap of lords. And they\ndrink and eat, and all kept looking at the roof.\n\nWhen they had eaten and drunk, he asked the lords, \u2018What they would do\nto him who seeks to slay his brother?\u2019\n\nHis brothers heard. \u2018Such a one merits death.\u2019\n\nThen he washed himself with the other water, and his face became as it\nwas. Thus his brothers knew him. And he said, \u2018Good day to you,\nbrothers. You fancied I had perished. You have pronounced your own\ndoom. Come out with me, and toss your swords up in the air. If you\nacted fairly by me, it will fall before you, but if unfairly, it will\nfall on your head.\u2019\n\nThe three of them tossed up their swords, and that of the youngest fell\nbefore him, but theirs both fell on their head, and they died.\n\n\n    \u2018The Seer\u2019 belongs to the same group as Miklosich\u2019s \u2018Mare\u2019s Son\u2019\n    (No. 20), Grimm\u2019s \u2018Strong Hans,\u2019 and Cosquin\u2019s \u2018Jean de l\u2019Ours.\u2019\n    Its first half is largely identical with that of Ralston\u2019s \u2018Koschei\n    the Dauntless\u2019 (pp. 100\u2013103), its latter half more closely with\n    that of Ralston\u2019s \u2018The Norka\u2019 (pp. 75\u201380). There also the prince\n    engages himself to a tailor: but, whilst in our Gypsy version the\n    change in his appearance is satisfactorily accounted for, the\n    Russian says merely, \u2018So much the worse for wear was he, so\n    thoroughly had he altered in appearance, that nobody would have\n    suspected him of being a prince.\u2019 The striking parallel with No.\n    120 of the Gesta Romanorum has been noticed in the Introduction;\n    minor points of resemblance may be glanced at here. The mist that\n    descends, and the carrying off of the empress, may be matched from\n    Hahn, ii. 49, and Dietrich\u2019s Russische Volksm\u00e4rchen (Leip. 1831),\n    No. 5. For the cross-roads, compare Hahn, ii. 50, and the\n    Welsh-Gypsy story of \u2018An Old King and his Three Sons\u2019 (No. 55),\n    where likewise the younger of three sons goes to the left. Figs\n    causing horns to grow occur in Hahn, i. 257 (cf. also Grimm, ii.\n    421\u2013422; and De Gubernatis\u2019 Zool. Myth. i. 182). The box with the\n    little lord belongs to the Aladdin cycle (cf. Welsh-Gypsy story,\n    \u2018Jack and his Golden Snuffbox,\u2019 No. 54; Grimm, ii. 258; and\n    Clouston, i. 314\u2013346). For the engagement to court-tailor as\n    apprentice, cf. Grimm, ii. 388; for washing the face, Grimm, ii.\n    145; for pronouncing one\u2019s own doom, Grimm, i. 59; and for the\n    concluding ordeal the close of our No. 20, p. 79. In a Lesbian\n    story, \u2018Les trois Fils du Roi\u2019 (Georgeakis and Pineau\u2019s Folk-lore\n    de Lesbos, No. 7, p. 41), the hero also turns tailor, the youngest\n    maiden having given him three nuts containing three superb dresses.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 24.\u2014THE PRINCE, HIS COMRADE, AND NASTASA THE FAIR\n\nThere was an emperor with an only son; and he put him to school, to\nlearn to read. And he said to his father, \u2018Father, find me a comrade,\nfor I\u2019m tired of going to school.\u2019 The emperor summoned his servants,\nand sent them out into the world to find a boy, and gave them a\ncarriageful of ducats, and described what he was to be like, and how\nold. So they traversed all the world, and found a boy, and gave a\ncarriageful of ducats for him, and brought him to the emperor. The\nemperor clothed him, and put him to the school; and he was the better\nscholar of the two.\n\nThere was an empress, the lovely Nastasa. [75] A virgin she, who\ncommanded her army. And she had a horse, which twelve men led forth\nfrom the stable; and she had a sword, which twelve more men hung on its\npeg. And princes came to seek her, and she said, \u2018He who shall mount my\nhorse, him will I marry, and he who shall brandish my sword.\u2019 And when\nthey led forth the steed, and the suitors beheld it, they feared, and\ndeparted home.\n\nThe emperor\u2019s son said, \u2018Father, I will go to Nastasa the Fair, to woo\nher\u2019; and he said, \u2018Come with me, brother.\u2019 Their father gave them two\nhorses, and gave them plenty of ducats; and they set out to Nastasa the\nFair. And night came upon them, and they rested and made a fire.\n\nAnd the emperor\u2019s son said, \u2018If I had Nastasa the Fair here, I would\nstretch myself by her side; and if her horse were here, what a rattling\nI\u2019d give him; and if her sword were here, I would brandish it.\u2019\n\nAnd his brother said, \u2018All the same, you\u2019ve got to feed swine.\u2019\n\nAnd in the morning they journey till night, and at night they rested\nagain. Again he said, \u2018If I had Nastasa the Fair here, I would stretch\nmyself by her side; and if her horse were here, I would rattle him; and\nif her sword were here, I would brandish it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Brother, you\u2019ve got to feed swine.\u2019\n\nHe cut off his head with his sword, and went onward. And two Huculs\n[76] came, and put his head on again, and sprinkled the water of life.\nAnd he arose, and mounted his horse, and gave each of the Huculs a\nhandful of ducats. And he went after his brother, and caught him up on\nthe road. And they journeyed till night, and he said to his brother,\n\u2018Brother, if you will hearken to me, it will go well with you.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will, brother.\u2019 He came to Nastasa the Fair.\n\n\u2018What have you come for?\u2019\n\n\u2018We have come to demand your hand.\u2019\n\nAnd she said, \u2018Good, but will you mount my steed?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will.\u2019\n\nShe cried to her servants, \u2018Bring forth the steed.\u2019\n\nTwelve men brought him forth; the comrade mounted him. The horse flew\nup aloft with him, to cast him down. And he took his club, and kept\nknocking him over the head.\n\nThe horse said, \u2018Don\u2019t kill me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let yourself gently down with me, and fall beneath me, and I will take\nyou by the tail and drag you along the ground, that she may see how I\ntreat you.\u2019\n\nHe cried aloud, \u2018What a poor, wretched horse you have given me. [77]\nBring the sword, that I brandish it.\u2019\n\nTwelve men brought the sword; he brandished it, and flung it to the\nNinth Region. There was Paul the Wild; he was nailed to the roof by the\npalms of his hands. And thither he flung the sword; it cut off his\nhands, and he fled away.\n\nThey summoned the prince to table to eat, and set him at table, and\ntwelve servants ate with him. They kept squeezing him, and he said,\n\u2018I\u2019ll step outside into the fresh air.\u2019 He went out, and said to his\nbrother, \u2018Come, do you sit here, for I\u2019m off.\u2019\n\nSo he sat there in their midst, and they kept squeezing him. And he\ntook his club, and began to lay about with it. And he said, \u2018This is\nyour way of showing one honour.\u2019 They fled and departed.\n\nAt nightfall now it grew dark, and Nastasa the Fair called the prince\nto her. He went to her. She set her foot on him, and picked him up, and\nhe was like to die.\n\nAnd he said, \u2018Let me go into the fresh air.\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018Go.\u2019\n\nHe went out, and said to his brother, \u2018Stay you here, for I\u2019m off.\u2019\n\nAnd he went and lay down beside her. She set her foot on him. He took\nhis club and thrashed her with it, so that he left in her only the\nstrength of a mere woman.\n\nHe went out, went to his brother. \u2018Well, brother, now you can go, and\ndon\u2019t be frightened; but, when you come to her, give her a slap.\u2019\n\nHe went to her, gave her a slap, and slept beside her. In the morning\nthey went out for a walk, and she said to him, \u2018My lord, what a\nthrashing you gave me! yet when you came back you kissed me.\u2019 [78]\n\nAnd he said to her, \u2018I didn\u2019t kiss you, I gave you a slap.\u2019\n\n\u2018Who then was it thrashed me?\u2019\n\n\u2018My brother.\u2019\n\nShe said not a word.\n\nThe brother slept by himself in another room. And she took the sword\nand cut off his feet. He made himself a winged cart; it ran a mile when\nhe gave it a shove. And he found Paul the Wild, and said, \u2018Where are\nyou going to, brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going into the world to get my living, for I have no hands.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ha! let\u2019s become Brothers of the Cross, [79] and do you yoke yourself\nto the cart, and draw it gently, for you have feet.\u2019\n\nThey went a-begging, and went into the woods and found a house, and\ntook up their abode in it. And they went into a city and begged. A girl\ncame to give him an alms; and he caught her, and threw her into the\ncart, and fled with her into the forest, there where their house was.\nAnd they swore they would not commit sin with her. The devil came, and\nlay with her. And they heard, and arose in the morning.\n\nAnd Doroh\u00fdj K\u00fapec [80] asked, \u2018You swore. Why then did you go in to her\nand commit sin?\u2019\n\n\u2018It wasn\u2019t me, brother, for I too heard, and I thought it was you.\u2019\n\n\u2018He\u2019ll come this night, and do you take me in the stumps of your hands,\nand fling me on to them; I\u2019ll seize him, whoever he is.\u2019\n\nAt night he came to her, and lay with her. They heard, and Paul took\nhim and flung him on to them. He seized the devil, and they lit the\ncandle, and began to beat him. And he prayed them not to, \u2018for I will\nrestore you your feet, and likewise him his hands.\u2019 In the morning they\nbound him by the neck, and led him to a spring.\n\n\u2018Put your feet in the spring.\u2019\n\nHe put his feet in the spring, and his feet became as they were before.\nAnd Paul put his hands in, and his hands were likewise restored. And\nDoroh\u00fdj K\u00fapec put some of the water of life in one pail, and some of\nthe water of death in another. And he came back to their house; and\nthey made a fire, put a fagot of wood on the fire, and burnt the devil,\nand flung his ashes to the wind. And Doroh\u00fdj K\u00fapec said, \u2018Now, brother,\ndo you take that girl to yourself, and live with her, for I will go to\nmy brother.\u2019\n\nHe set out, and went to his brother, and found his brother by the\nroadside feeding swine.\n\n\u2018Well, do you mind my telling you, brother, you\u2019d come to feed swine?\nDo you put on my clothes, and give me yours, for I\u2019ll turn swineherd,\nand do you stay behind.\u2019\n\nHe took and drove the swine home, and she cried, \u2018Why have you driven\nthe swine home so soon?\u2019\n\nThe swine went into the sty, and one wouldn\u2019t go; and he took a cudgel\nand beat it so that it died. And when Nastasa the Fair saw that, she\nfled into the palace, \u2018for this is Doroh\u00fdj K\u00fapec.\u2019\n\nHe followed her into the palace, and said to her, \u2018Good day to you,\nsister-in-law.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thanks,\u2019 said she.\n\nHe caught her by the hand and dragged her out, and cut her all in\npieces, and made three heaps of them; and two heaps he gave to the\ndogs, and they devoured them. And the rest of her he gathered into a\nsingle heap, and made a woman, and sprinkled her with the water of\ndeath, and she joined together; and sprinkled her with the water of\nlife, and she arose.\n\n\u2018Take her, brother; now you may live with her, for now she has no great\nstrength. I will go home,\u2019 said Doroh\u00fdj K\u00fapec.\n\nAnd home he went.\n\n\n    This Gypsy story is absolutely identical with the widespread\n    Russian one of \u2018The Blind Man and the Cripple\u2019 (Ralston, pp.\n    240\u2013256). The Russian version as a whole is fuller and more\n    perfect; yet neither from it, nor, seemingly, from any of its\n    variants, can the Gypsy tale be derived. The opening of the latter\n    comes much closer to that of Hahn\u2019s story from Syra (ii. 267), a\n    variant of the Turkish-Gypsy story of \u2018The Dead Man\u2019s Gratitude\u2019\n    (No. 1), and surely itself of Gypsy origin. Here a king has an only\n    son, and puts him to school; and the vizier, sent in quest of\n    another lad, buys a beautiful Gypsy boy with a voice like a\n    nightingale\u2019s. He, too, is put to school, and proves the better\n    scholar of the two.\n\n    In Ralston, as in Hahn, ii. 268, the prince falls in love through a\n    portrait (cf. supra, p. 4). In Ralston Princess Anna the Fair\n    propounds a riddle, as in the Turkish-Gypsy story of \u2018The Riddle\u2019\n    (No. 3), where, too, she consults her book (cf. Ralston, p. 242).\n    In Ralston there is no quarrel, and no cutting off of head; nothing\n    also of the heroic sword. The squeezing by the servants is wanting\n    in the Russian tale, but the sleeping with the bride occurs in a\n    variant, and Ralston cites a striking parallel from the\n    Nibelungenlied. The comrade in Ralston, after his feet are cut off,\n    falls in with a blind hero; the devil\u2014a late survival of the\n    medi\u00e6val incubus\u2014is represented by a Baba Yaga; and the prince is\n    made a cowherd (but a swineherd in two of the variants). The finale\n    in Ralston is extremely poor\u2014best in the Ryazan variant, where the\n    comrade beats the enchantress-queen with red-hot bars until he has\n    driven out of her all her magic strength, \u2018leaving her only one\n    woman\u2019s strength, and that a very poor one.\u2019 In the winged cart we\n    seem to get a forecast of the tricycle.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 25.\u2014THE HEN THAT LAID DIAMONDS\n\nThere was a poor man, and he had three sons. And the youngest found six\nkreutzers, and said, \u2018Take, father, these six kreutzers, and go into\nthe town and buy something.\u2019 And the old man went into the town and\nbought a hen, and brought it home; and the hen laid a diamond egg. And\nhe put it in the window, and it shone like a candle. And in the morning\nthe old man arose and said, \u2018Wife, I will go into the town with this\negg.\u2019 And he went into the town, and went to a merchant. \u2018Buy this\negg.\u2019\n\n\u2018What do you want for it?\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me a hundred florins.\u2019\n\nHe gave him a hundred florins. The old man went home and bought himself\nfood, and put the boys to school. And the hen laid another egg, and he\nbrought it again to that merchant, and he gave him a hundred more\nflorins. He went home. Again the hen laid an egg; he brought it again\nto that merchant. And on the egg there was written: \u2018Whoso eats the\nhen\u2019s head shall be emperor; and whoso eats the heart, every night he\nshall find a thousand gold pieces under his head; and whoso eats the\nclaws shall become a seer.\u2019\n\nThe merchant came to that village and hired the old man: \u2018What shall I\ngive you to convey my merchandise?\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me a hundred florins.\u2019\n\nAnd he hired the man with the hen for half a year. The merchant came to\nthe man\u2019s wife and said, \u2018Your man is dead, and my money is gone with\nhim, but I\u2019m willing to wed you: I\u2019m rich.\u2019\n\n\u2018Wedded let us be.\u2019\n\n\u2018Good, we will, and kill me the hen for the wedding-feast. We shall do\nwithout fiddlers.\u2019 [81]\n\nAnd they hired a cook. \u2018Have the hen ready against our return from\nchurch.\u2019\n\nThe boys came home from school. \u2018Give us something to eat.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ve nothing to give you, for he told me not to give any of the hen.\u2019\n\nAnd the boys begged her, \u2018Do let us have a bit too, for it was we\nlooked after the hen; do let us have a bit too, if it\u2019s ever so\nlittle.\u2019\n\nShe gave the eldest the head, and the middle one the heart, and to the\nyoungest she gave the claws. And they went off to school.\n\nAnd they came from the wedding, and sat down to table; and he said to\nthe cook, \u2018Give us to eat.\u2019\n\nAnd she served up the hen to them. And he asked for the head and the\nheart, and he asked for the claws. There were none!\n\nAnd he asked the cook, \u2018Where is the head?\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018The boys ate it.\u2019\n\nAnd he, that merchant, said, \u2018I don\u2019t want any of this hen. Give me the\nhead and the heart and the claws; I will eat only them.\u2019\n\nThe cook said, \u2018The boys ate them.\u2019\n\nAnd he said, \u2018Wife, make them bitter coffee to make them vomit.\u2019\n\nAnd they came home from school, and the youngest boy said, \u2018Don\u2019t drink\nthis coffee, it will kill you.\u2019 [82]\n\nThey went home, and their mother gave them the coffee; and they poured\nit on the ground and went back to school.\n\nThe merchant came and asked, \u2018Were they sick?\u2019\n\nShe answered, \u2018No.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will go to the town and buy apples; and do you entice them into the\ncellar, and I will cut their throats, and take out head, heart, and\nclaws, and eat them.\u2019\n\nThe youngest brother said, \u2018Let us go out into the world.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go! what for?\u2019\n\n\u2018Our father is meaning to kill us.\u2019\n\nThey departed, and went into another kingdom. The emperor there was\ndead; and they took his crown and put it in the church; whosever head\nthe crown falls on he shall be emperor. And men of all ranks came into\nthe church; and the three boys came. And the eldest went before, and\nslipped into the church; and the crown floated on to his head.\n\n\u2018We have a new emperor.\u2019\n\nThey raised him shoulder-high, [83] and clad him in royal robes. A\nmandate is issued: There is a new emperor. The army came and bowed\nbefore the new emperor.\n\nAnd the middle brother said, \u2018I\u2019m off. I shan\u2019t stay here. I want to be\nemperor too.\u2019\n\nAnd the youngest said, \u2018I shall stay.\u2019\n\nSo the middle one departed, and went to another emperor; that emperor\nhad a daughter. And thus said the emperor, \u2018Whoever surpasses her in\nmoney, he shall marry her.\u2019\n\nHe went to her. \u2018Come, let us play for money.\u2019\n\nThey started playing; he beat her. One day they played, and two not.\nAnd he surpassed her in money, and wedded her. And the emperor joined\nthem in marriage, and made him king.\n\nAnd she had a lover. And that lover sent her a letter: \u2018Ask him where\nhe gets all his money from.\u2019\n\nAnd she asked him: \u2018My lord, where do you get all your money from, that\nyou managed to beat me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Every night I find a thousand gold pieces under my head.\u2019\n\n\u2018How so?\u2019\n\n\u2018I ate a hen\u2019s heart.\u2019\n\nShe wrote a letter and sent it to her lover: \u2018He ate a hen\u2019s heart, and\nevery night he finds a thousand gold pieces under his head.\u2019\n\nAnd he sent her another letter: \u2018Make him coffee, that he vomit\u2014vomit\nthat heart up. And do you take it and eat it; then I\u2019ll marry you.\u2019\n\nShe made him coffee, and he drank it, and vomited up the heart; and she\ntook it and ate it. And she went to her father. \u2018Come, father, see how\nhe vomits. He\u2019s not the man for me.\u2019\n\nThe emperor saw how he vomited. \u2018Here, off you go. I don\u2019t want your\nsort.\u2019 And he took all his clothes off him, and gave him common\nclothes. And he departed.\n\nHe went into the forest, and he hungered, and he came to an apple-tree.\nHe took an apple and ate it, and became an ass. He goes weeping, goes\nonward, and found a crab-apple, and ate one of its apples, and became a\nman again. He turned back and took two apples, and took two also of the\ncrab-apples, and went to the city where his wife was. And he stood by\nthe roadside, and his wife went out to walk.\n\n\u2018Are your apples for sale, my man?\u2019\n\n\u2018They are.\u2019\n\nHe sold her an apple. She took a bite of it, and became a she-ass. He\ntook her by the mane, and put a bridle on her head, and got on her, and\ngalloped with her into the town, and went with her to an inn, and\nordered bitter coffee, and poured it into her mouth; and she vomited,\nand vomited, and vomited up the heart. And he took it and ate it, and\nsaid, \u2018Now, I\u2019m master.\u2019 And he went to his father-in-law: \u2018I demand\njustice; this is your daughter.\u2019\n\nThe emperor summoned his ministers, but he said, \u2018I don\u2019t want you to\npass judgment; come with me to the new emperor.\u2019\n\nSo they went to the new emperor. And the emperor drives in his\ncarriage, and he goes riding on his wife.\n\nAnd the youngest brother said, \u2018My brother will appeal to you for\njudgment; deliver a good one.\u2019\n\nThe emperors met, and bowed themselves; and the father-in-law said,\n\u2018Deliver judgment for this man.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will. You have made her a she-ass; make her a woman again.\u2019\n\n\u2018But she\u2019ll have to behave herself in the future.\u2019\n\n\u2018She shall,\u2019 said her father, \u2018only do restore her.\u2019\n\nHe gave her a crab-apple, and she ate it, and became a woman again. The\nemperor took off his crown and set it on his head. \u2018Do you take my\ncrown, do you be emperor.\u2019\n\n\n    \u2018Das goldene Hahn,\u2019 a Greek story from Ziza (Hahn, No. 36, i. 227),\n    presents a very close parallel:\u2014The Jew knows that whoever eats the\n    head will be king, whoever eats the heart will be able to read\n    men\u2019s hearts, and whoever eats the liver will every morning find a\n    thousand piastres under his pillow.... The three boys, coming from\n    school, eat them.... Their mother tries to poison them.... By\n    advice of the middle boy they do not eat.... Finally they go out\n    into the world.\n\n    The episode of the crown, suggestive of the Arthurian legend, is\n    wanting in Hahn. The notion of a contest in money occurs, to the\n    best of my knowledge, in no other folk-tale; but we meet with it in\n    the second fytt of the English ballad of \u2018The Blind Beggar of\n    Bethnal Green.\u2019 And at Peterborough Fair, in September 1872, a\n    Gypsy told me, as a matter of history, of a similar contest between\n    two Gypsies: each had to show a guinea for the other\u2019s.\n\n    Grimm\u2019s \u2018Two Brothers\u2019 (No. 60, i. 244, 418), with its variants,\n    should be carefully compared, also his \u2018Donkey Cabbages\u2019 (No. 122,\n    ii. 139, 419), which is a recast of the latter portion of our\n    Bukowina-Gypsy story, for we get bird\u2019s heart ... gold pieces under\n    pillow ... emetic ... donkey cabbage ... recovery through different\n    kind of cabbage ... punishment ... restoration ... emetic proposed.\n    It is noteworthy also that the conclusion of Grimm\u2019s \u2018Two Brothers\u2019\n    can be matched by the conclusion of a Hungarian-Gypsy story\n    (Friedrich M\u00fcller\u2019s No. 5), whose first half I have summarised on\n    p. 34. Its hero next comes to a city deprived of its water by\n    twelve dragons, who are also going to eat the king\u2019s daughter. He\n    undertakes to rescue her, but falls asleep with his head on her\n    knee. The twelve white dragons roar under the earth, and then\n    emerge one by one from out of the fountain, to be torn in pieces by\n    the hero\u2019s twelve wild animals. The water becomes plentiful, and\n    the hero marries the princess. But a former lover of hers poisons\n    him. The twelve animals find his grave, and dig him up. They go in\n    quest of the healing herb; and the hare, \u2018whose eyes are always\n    open, sees a snake with it in his mouth, robs the snake of it, and\n    runs off, but at the snake\u2019s request restores a portion.\u2019 They then\n    resuscitate their master. (Cf. Grimm\u2019s \u2018The Two Snake-leaves,\u2019 No.\n    16, i. 70; Hahn, ii. 204, 260, 274; and our Bukowina-Gypsy story,\n    \u2018Pretty-face,\u2019 No. 29, p. 111). The hero sends a challenge by the\n    lion to the former lover, who is just about to wed the princess.\n    She reads, weeps, and breaks off the match. In comes the hero, and\n    they are married again. \u2018If they are not dead, they are still\n    alive.\u2019\n\n    Clouston epitomises Roman and Indian versions of our story (i.\n    93\u201399), but omits \u2018The Two Brothers\u2019 in F. A. Steel\u2019s Wide-awake\n    Stories, pp. 138\u2013152, and \u2018Saiyid and Said\u2019 in Knowles\u2019s Folk-tales\n    of Kashmir, pp. 74\u201397. The last offers wonderfully close analogies\n    to the Gypsy story. Cf. also Krauss, i. 187; and Vuk\u2019s Servian\n    story, No. 26.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 26.\u2014THE WINGED HERO\n\nThere was a certain great craftsman, and he was rich. He took to\ndrinking and gambling, and drank away all his wealth, and grew poor, so\nthat he had nothing to eat. He saw a dream, that he should make himself\nwings; and he made himself wings, and screwed them on, and flew to the\nNinth Region, to the emperor\u2019s castle, and lighted down. And the\nemperor\u2019s son went forth to meet him, and asked him, \u2018Where do you come\nfrom, my man?\u2019\n\n\u2018I come from afar.\u2019\n\n\u2018Sell me your wings.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will.\u2019\n\n\u2018What do you want for them?\u2019\n\n\u2018A thousand gold pieces.\u2019\n\nAnd he gave him them, and said to him, \u2018Go home with the wings, and\ncome back in a month\u2019s time.\u2019\n\nHe flew home, and came back in a month; and the prince said to him,\n\u2018Screw the wings on to me.\u2019\n\nAnd he screwed them on, and wrote down for the prince which peg he was\nto turn to fly, and which peg he was to turn to alight. The prince flew\na little, and let himself down on the ground, and gave him another\nthousand florins more, and gave him also a horse, that he might ride\nhome. The prince screwed on the wings, and flew to the south. A wind\narose from the south, and tossed the trees, and drove him to the north.\nIn the north dwelt the wind, drove him to the Ninth Region. And a fire\nwas shining in the city. And he lighted down on the earth, and\nunscrewed his wings, and folded them by his side, and came into the\nhouse. There was an old woman, and he asked for food. She gave him a\ndry crust, and he ate it not. He lay down and slept. And in the morning\nhe wrote a letter for her, and gave her money, and sent her to a\ncookshop with a letter to the cookshop to give him good food. And the\nold woman came home, and gave him to eat, and he also gave to the old\nwoman. He went outside, and saw the emperor\u2019s palace with three stories\nof stone and the fourth of glass. And he asked the old woman, \u2018Who\nlives in the palace? and who lives in the fourth story?\u2019\n\n\u2018The emperor\u2019s daughter lives there. He won\u2019t let her go out. He gives\nher her food there by a rope.\u2019\n\nAnd the maid-servant lowered the rope, and they fastened the victuals\nto it, and she drew them up by the rope. And the maid-servant had a\nbedchamber apart, where she slept only of a night, and the day she\npassed with the princess.\n\nAnd that emperor\u2019s son screwed on his wings and flew up, flew to the\nglass house, and he looked to see how the bars opened, and opened them,\nand let himself in. And she was lying lifeless on the bed. And he\nshakes her, and she never speaks. And he took the candle from her head;\nand she arose, and embraced him, and said to him, \u2018Since you are come\nto me, you are mine, and I am yours.\u2019 They loved one another till\ndaybreak; then he went out, placed the candle at her head, and she was\ndead. And he closed the bars again, and flew back to the old woman.\n\nHalf a year he visited the princess. She fell with child. The\nmaid-servant noticed that she was growing big, and her clothes did not\nfit her. She wrote a letter to the emperor: \u2018What will this be, that\nyour daughter is big?\u2019 The emperor wrote back a letter to her: \u2018Smear\nthe floor at night with dough, and whoever comes will leave his mark on\nthe floor.\u2019 She placed the candle at her head, and the girl lay dead.\nAnd she smeared the floor with dough, and went to her chamber. The\nemperor\u2019s son came again to her, and let himself in to her, and never\nnoticed they had smeared the floor, and made footprints with his shoes,\nand the dough stuck to his shoes, but he never noticed it, and went\nhome to the old woman, and lay down and slept. The servant-maid went to\nthe emperor\u2019s daughter, and saw the footprints, and wrote a letter to\nthe emperor, and took the measure of the footprints, and sent it to the\nemperor. The emperor summoned two servants, and gave them a letter, and\ngave them the measure of the footprints. \u2018Whose shoes the measure shall\nfit, bring him to me.\u2019 They traversed the whole city, and found\nnothing.\n\nAnd one said, \u2018Let\u2019s try the old woman\u2019s.\u2019\n\nAnd another said, \u2018No, there\u2019s nobody there.\u2019\n\n\u2018Stay here. I\u2019ll go.\u2019\n\nAnd he saw him sleeping, and applied the measure to his shoes. They\nsummoned him. \u2018Come to the emperor.\u2019\n\n\u2018All right.\u2019\n\nHe bought himself a great cloak, and put it on, so that his wings might\nnot be noticed, and went to the emperor. The emperor asked him, \u2018Have\nyou been going to my daughter?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have.\u2019\n\n\u2018With what purpose have you done so?\u2019\n\n\u2018I want to marry her.\u2019\n\nThe emperor said, \u2018Bah! you\u2019ll not marry her, for I\u2019ll burn you both\nwith thorns.\u2019\n\nThe emperor commanded his servants, and they gathered three loads of\nthorns, and set them on fire, and lowered her down, to put them both on\nthe fire. The emperor\u2019s son asked, \u2018Allow us to say a pater noster.\u2019 He\nsaid to the girl, \u2018When I fall on my knees, do you creep under the\ncloak and clasp me round the neck, for I\u2019ll fly upwards with you.\u2019\n\nShe clasped him round the neck, and quickly he screwed the wings, and\nflew upwards. The cloak flew off, the soldiers fired their guns at it;\non he flew. She cried, \u2018Let yourself down, for I shall bear a child.\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018Hold out.\u2019\n\nHe flew further, and alighted on a rock on a mountain, and she brought\nforth a child there. She said, \u2018Make a fire.\u2019 He saw a fire in a field\nafar off. He screwed his wings, and flew to the fire, and took a brand\nof it, and returned. And a spark fell on one wing, and the wing caught\nfire. Just as he was under the mountain the wing fell off, and he flung\naway the other one as well. And he walked round the mountain, and could\nnot ascend it.\n\nAnd God came to him and said, \u2018Why weepest thou?\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! how should I not weep? for I cannot ascend the mountain, and my\nwife has brought forth a child.\u2019\n\n\u2018What will you give me if I carry you up to the top?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will give you whatever you want.\u2019\n\n\u2018Will you give me what is dearest to you?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let us make an agreement.\u2019\n\nThey made one. God cast him into a deep sleep, and her as well, and God\nbore them home to his father\u2019s, to his own bed, and left them there,\nand departed. And the child cried. The warders heard a child crying in\nthe bedchamber. They went and opened the door, and recognised him, the\nemperor\u2019s son. And they went to the emperor and told him, \u2018Your son has\ncome, O emperor.\u2019\n\n\u2018Call him to me.\u2019\n\nThey came to the emperor; they bowed themselves before him; they\ntarried there a year. The boy grew big, and was playing one day. The\nemperor and the empress went to church, and his nurse too went to the\nchurch. God came, disguised like a beggar. The emperor\u2019s son said to\nthe little lad, \u2018Take a handful of money, and give it to the beggar.\u2019\n\nThe beggar said, \u2018I don\u2019t want this money; it\u2019s bad. Tell your father\nto give me what he vowed he would.\u2019\n\nThe emperor\u2019s son was angry, and he took his sword in his hand, and\nwent to the old man to kill him. The old man took the sword into his\nown hand and said, \u2018Give me what you swore to me\u2014the child, you\nknow\u2014when you were weeping under the mountain.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will give you money, I will not give you the child.\u2019\n\nGod took the child by the head, and the father took him by the feet,\nand they tugged, and God cut the child in half.\n\n\u2018One half for you, and one half for me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Now you\u2019ve killed him, I don\u2019t want him. Take him and be hanged to\nyou.\u2019\n\nGod took him, and went outside, and put him together; and he was\nhealed, and lived again.\n\n\u2018Do you take him now.\u2019\n\nFor God cut off his sins.\n\n\n    Of this story, widely familiar through H. C. Andersen\u2019s \u2018Flying\n    Trunk,\u2019 Wlislocki furnishes a Transylvanian-Gypsy variant, \u2018The\n    Wooden Bird,\u2019 in his \u2018Beitr\u00e4ge zu Benfey\u2019s Pantschatantra\u2019\n    (Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenl. Gesellschaft, vol. xxxii. 1888,\n    part i. p. 119). For that variant and many others\u2014Persian, Hindu,\n    Modern Greek, etc., including \u2018Der Weber als Wischnu\u2019 from Benfey,\n    i. 159\u2013163, ii. 48\u201356, see W. A. Clouston\u2019s Notes on the Magical\n    Elements in Chaucer\u2019s \u2018Squire\u2019s Tale,\u2019 and Analogues (Chaucer Soc.\n    1890, pp. 413\u2013471). Cf. also Grimm\u2019s \u2018Blue Light,\u2019 No. 116; Hahn,\n    No. 15, and ii. 269, for tower of glass or crystal; Cosquin, No.\n    31; and Hahn, ii. 186, for a king who governs nine kingdoms. With\n    the princess lying lifeless on the bed compare the lady sleeping on\n    a golden bedstead in Lal Behari Day\u2019s Folk-tales of Bengal, p. 251.\n    In \u2018The Demon and the King\u2019s Son\u2019 (Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy\n    Tales, p. 186), the demon every day makes his daughter lie on her\n    bed, and covers her with a sheet, and places a thick stick at her\n    head, and another at her feet. Then she dies till he comes home in\n    the evening and changes the sticks. This brings her to life again.\n    Cf. also notes to our Welsh-Gypsy story of \u2018An Old King and his\n    three Sons\u2019 (No. 55).\n\n\n\n\nNO. 27.\u2014TROPSYN\n\nThere was a poor man, and he had four sons. And they went out to\nservice, and went to a gentleman to thrash wheat. And they received so\nmuch wheat for a wage, and brought it to their father. \u2018Here, father,\neat; we will go out to service again.\u2019 And they went again to a\ngentleman, who was to give them each a horse at the year\u2019s end. And the\nyoungest was called Tropsyn; and the gentleman made him his groom. And\na mare brought forth a colt; and that colt said, \u2018Tropsyn, take me. The\nyear is up now.\u2019\n\nThe gentleman said, \u2018Choose your horses.\u2019\n\nSo the three elder brothers chose good horses; but Tropsyn said, \u2018Give\nme this horse, master.\u2019\n\n\u2018What will you do with it? it\u2019s so little.\u2019\n\n\u2018So it may be.\u2019\n\nTropsyn took it and departed; and the colt said, \u2018Let me go, Tropsyn,\nto my dam to suck.\u2019\n\nAnd he let it go, and it went to its dam, and came back a horse to\nterrify the world.\n\n\u2018Now mount me.\u2019\n\nHe mounted, and the horse flew. He caught up his brothers, and his\nbrothers asked him, \u2018Where did you get that horse from?\u2019\n\n\u2018I killed a gentleman, and took his horse.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let\u2019s push on, and escape.\u2019\n\nNight fell upon them as they were passing a meadow, and in that meadow\nthey saw the light of a fire. They made for the light. It was an old\nwoman\u2019s, and she was a witch, and had four daughters. And they went\nthere, and went into the house; and Tropsyn said, \u2018Good-night.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thank you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Can you give us a night\u2019s lodging?\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019m not sure; my mother is not at home. When she comes you had better\nask her.\u2019\n\nThe mother came home. \u2018What are you wanting, young fellows?\u2019\n\n\u2018We\u2019ve come to demand your daughters in marriage.\u2019\n\n\u2018Good.\u2019\n\nShe made them a bed on the ground with its head to the threshold, and\nher daughters\u2019 with its head to the wall. And the old woman sharpened\nher sword to cut off their heads. And Tropsyn took his brothers\u2019 caps,\nand put them on the girls\u2019 heads. And the old woman arose, and kept\nfeeling the caps, and keeps cutting off the heads, and killed her\ndaughters.\n\nTropsyn arose, and led his brothers outside. \u2018Come, be off.\u2019 And he\narose, Tropsyn; and the old woman had a golden bird in a cage; and\nTropsyn said to the horse, \u2018I will take a feather of the bird.\u2019\n\nAnd the horse said, \u2018Don\u2019t.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bah! I will.\u2019 And he took a feather, and put it in his pocket.\n\nAnd they mounted their horses and rode away, and went to a city. There\nwas a great lord, a count; and he asked them, \u2018Where are you going?\u2019\n\n\u2018We are going to service.\u2019\n\n\u2018Take service with me, then.\u2019\n\nAnd that lord was still unmarried. And they went to him, and he gave\nthem each a place. One he set over the horses, and one he set over the\noxen, and one he set over the swine; and Tropsyn he made coachman. Of a\nnight Tropsyn stuck the feather in the wall, and it shone like a\ncandle. And his brothers were angry, and went to their master. \u2018Master,\nTropsyn has a feather, such that one needs no candle\u2014of gold.\u2019\n\nThe master called: \u2018Tropsyn, come here, bring me the feather.\u2019\n\nTropsyn brought it, and gave it to his master. The master liked him\nbetter than ever, and the brothers went to the master, and said to him,\n\u2018Master, Tropsyn has said that he\u2019ll bring the bird alive.\u2019\n\nThe master called Tropsyn. \u2018Tropsyn, bring me the bird. If you don\u2019t, I\nshall cut off your head.\u2019\n\nHe went to his horse. \u2018What am I to do, horse, for the master has told\nme to bring the bird?\u2019\n\n\u2018Fear not, Tropsyn; jump on my back.\u2019\n\nSo he mounted the horse, and rode to the old woman\u2019s. And the horse\nsaid to him, \u2018Turn a somersault, [84] and you\u2019ll become a flea, and\ncreep into her breast and bite her. And she\u2019ll fling off her smock, and\ndo you go and take the bird.\u2019\n\nAnd he took the bird, and departed to his master; the master made him a\nlackey.\n\nAnd there was in the Danube a lady, a virgin; and of a Sunday she would\ngo out on the water in a boat. And his brothers came to their master\nand said, \u2018Master, Tropsyn boasts that he\u2019ll bring the lady from the\nbottom of the Danube.\u2019\n\n\u2018Tropsyn, come here. What is this you\u2019ve been boasting, that you\u2019ll\nbring me the lady?\u2019\n\n\u2018I didn\u2019t.\u2019\n\n\u2018You\u2019ve got to, else I shall cut off your head.\u2019\n\nHe went to his horse. \u2018What am I to do, horse, for how shall I bring\nher?\u2019\n\nAnd the horse said, \u2018Fear not, let him give you twelve hides and a jar\nof pitch, [85] and put them on me, and let him make you a small ship,\nnot big, and let him put various drinks in the ship. And do you hide\nyourself behind the door. And she will come, and drink brandy, and get\ndrunk, and sleep. And do you seize her, and jump on my back with her,\nand I will run off home.\u2019\n\nThe horse ran home to the master, and Tropsyn gave her to his master in\nthe castle. The count shut the doors, and set a watch at the window to\nprevent her escape, for she was wild. The count wanted to marry her;\nshe will not.\n\n\u2018Let them bring my herd of horses, then I will marry you. He who\nbrought me, let him bring also my horses.\u2019\n\nThe count said, \u2018Tropsyn, bring the horses.\u2019\n\nTropsyn went to his horse. \u2018What am I to do, horse? How shall I bring\nthe horses from the Danube?\u2019\n\n\u2018Come with me, fear not.\u2019\n\nWhen he came to the Danube, the horse leapt into the Danube, and caught\nthe mother of the horses by the mane, and led her out. And Tropsyn\ncaught her, and mounted her, and galloped off. And the whole herd came\nforth, and ran after their dam home to the count\u2019s palace. The lady\ncried \u2018Halt!\u2019 to the horses.\n\nThe count wants to marry her. She says, \u2018Let him milk my mares, and\nwhen you have bathed in their milk, then I will marry you.\u2019\n\nThe count cried, \u2018Tropsyn, milk the mares.\u2019\n\nAnd Tropsyn went to his horse. \u2018What shall I do, horse? How shall I\nmilk the mares?\u2019\n\n\u2018Fear not, for I will catch her by the mane, and do you milk, and fear\nnot.\u2019\n\nAnd he milked a whole caldron full.\n\nAnd the lady said, \u2018Make a fire, and boil the milk.\u2019\n\nAnd they made a fire, and the milk boils.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 said the lady, \u2018let him who milked the mares bathe in the milk.\u2019\n\nAnd the count said, \u2018Tropsyn, go and bathe in the milk.\u2019\n\nHe went to the horse. \u2018What shall I do, horse? for if I bathe, then I\nshall die.\u2019\n\nThe horse said, \u2018Fear not, lead me to the caldron; I will snort through\nmy nostrils, and breathe out frost.\u2019\n\nHe led the horse; the horse snorted through his nostrils; then the milk\nbecame lukewarm. Then he leapt into the caldron, and fair as he was\nbefore, he came out fairer still. When he came out, the horse snorted\nthrough his nostrils, and breathed fire into the caldron, and the milk\nboiled again.\n\nAnd the lady said to the count, \u2018Go thou too and bathe in the milk,\nthen will I live with thee.\u2019\n\nThe count went to the caldron and said, \u2018Tropsyn, bring me my horse.\u2019\n\nTropsyn brought him his horse; the horse trembled from afar. The count\nleapt into the caldron; only bones were to be seen at the bottom of the\ncaldron.\n\nThen cried the lady, \u2018Come hither, Tropsyn; thou art my lord, and I am\nthy lady.\u2019\n\n\n    Of this Bukowina-Gypsy story we have a very interesting Welsh-Gypsy\n    version, taken down in R\u00f3mani from Matthew Wood\u2019s recitation by Mr.\n    Sampson, and thus epitomised by him in English:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 28.\u2014THE BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN\n\nSomewhere far off were a quarryman and his wife. They had a son in\ntheir old age. They died. An old man comes to beg, and asks boy will he\ncome with him to seek fortune. They go. \u2018Wish me into a horse.\u2019 Boy\ndoes so. \u2018Jump on my back.\u2019 He does so. They take the road. Horse warns\nboy to help anything in distress. Boy finds a little fish cast up by\nthe tide, and puts it back in the water. Fish promises gratitude. They\ncross the Beautiful Mountain. Horse warns boy to touch nothing. A\nfeather blows in his mouth. He spits it out again and again, but it\nreturns. He looks at it, thinks it pretty, puts it in his pocket. They\ndescend other side of the mountain. Boy hears noise of bellowing in a\ncastle. Finds sick giant in bed, without servant-maid. Boy gets him\nfood. Giant promises gratitude. Horse asks boy if he touched anything\non mountain. \u2018Nothing but this feather.\u2019 \u2018That feather will bring you\nsorrow, but keep it now you have it.\u2019 They come to a castle. Boy asks\nfor work. Master tests his handwriting. Engages him. Wants him to sleep\nindoors; he prefers stable beside his old horse (cf. Grimm, No. 126,\nii. 155, also for pen). They marvel at his penmanship, done with this\nfeather. One day the master\u2019s man steals the pen by a ruse, and brings\nit to master: \u2018Master, the man that got the feather can get the bird.\u2019\nBoy tells horse what they want him to do. Horse tells him to ask for\nthree days\u2019 leave and three sacks of gold. Horse and boy go off. They\ngo and get the bird, choosing the dirtiest and ugliest bird (cf.\nPolish-Gypsy story, No. 49, for choosing bird in common cage). The\nmaster\u2019s man says, \u2018Master, the bird is fair, but fairer still the\nlady\u2019 (that owned it). Boy told to fetch lady; he tells horse. Horse\nreminds him that he said the feather would bring him trouble. Three\nmore days and three purses of gold. Horse says, \u2018Wish me into a boat on\nthe sea.\u2019 The boat is full of the finest silk. They sail under the\ncastle. Lure lady on board to see silk. She goes into cabin. Boy weighs\nanchor and off. Lady comes up, and drops her keys into sea. They\nreturn. Man says to master, \u2018Master, the man that got the lady can get\nthe castle.\u2019 Boy tells horse. Horse reminds him of unlucky feather.\nThree more days and bags of gold. They go. Horse reminds boy of giant\u2019s\npromise. Giant puts chain round castle and drags it along. The castle\nis walled round and locked. Lady demands her keys. Boy and horse go\noff, call the little fish. He fails to find keys. Tries again and\nbrings them up. Keys given to lady. Lady says, \u2018Which would you prefer,\nJack, to have your head cut off or your master\u2019s head cut off?\u2019 Boy\nsays, \u2018Cut off mine, not his.\u2019 Lady says, \u2018You have spoken well. Had\nyou not spoken thus, your own head would have been cut off. Now the\nmaster\u2019s head will fall, not yours.\u2019 Boy and lady wed, and live in the\ncastle still. \u2018Now you\u2019ve got it.\u2019\n\n\n    It must at least be nearly five hundred years since the ancestors\n    of our Welsh Gypsies parted from those of their kinsfolk in\n    Bukowina; yet the resemblance between these two versions still is\n    marvellous. The talking horse, the entering into service at the\n    castle, the feather, the fetching the bird, the fetching a lady (in\n    the Bukowina version not the lady), the cabin even, the fetching\n    the lady\u2019s belongings, and the doom of the master\u2014these eight\n    details are common to both: the very order of them is identical.\n    Non-Gypsy variants are Grimm\u2019s \u2018Ferdinand the Faithful\u2019 (No. 126;\n    ii. 153, 425), Cosquin\u2019s \u2018Le Roi d\u2019Angleterre et son Filleul\u2019 (No.\n    3, i. 32), his \u2018La Belle aux Cheveux d\u2019Or\u2019 (No. 72, ii. 290), the\n    Donegal story of \u2018The Red Pony\u2019 in W. Larmenie\u2019s West Irish\n    Folk-tales (1893, pp. 211\u2013218), a Russian story summarised by\n    Ralston (p. 287), and Laura Gonzenbach\u2019s long Sicilian story, \u2018Die\n    Geschichte von Caruseddu\u2019 (No. 83, ii. 143\u2013155, 257\u20139). All six\n    deserve careful study, but specially the last, which links these\n    stories to the heroic version of \u2018The Master Thief\u2019 (supra, p. 51).\n    For its plot, told briefly, is this:\u2014Caruseddu and his two elder\n    brothers go as gardeners to a dragu (rendered \u2018Menschenfresser\u2019 or\n    \u2018ogre,\u2019 but query rather \u2018dragon\u2019). By the Hop-o\u2019-my-thumb device\n    of changing caps, as in \u2018Tropsyn\u2019 (cf. also Hahn, ii. 179\u2013180),\n    Caruseddu deludes him into devouring his own three daughters. The\n    brothers then take service with a king\u2014Caruseddu as trusted\n    servant, the others as gardeners. They are jealous of Caruseddu,\n    and get the king to send him to steal first the dragu\u2019s talking\n    horse, next his bed-cover with golden balls, and lastly the dragu\n    himself. This last task he achieves by the trick of getting the\n    dragu to try if a new coffin for (the supposed dead) Caruseddu is\n    big enough. [86] Still at his brothers\u2019 suggestion, Caruseddu is\n    now sent to fetch the daughter of the queen with the seven veils;\n    he achieves this, like his former feats, with the help of the\n    talking horse. The princess refuses to wed the king unless he\n    recovers for her the veil and the ring she had lost on the way to\n    him; Caruseddu recovers them by the aid of a grateful bird and a\n    grateful fish (cf. the Welsh version). He also sifts a barnful of\n    wheat, oats, and barley with the aid of grateful ants. Lastly, he\n    has to plunge into a fiery furnace, but, smeared with foam snorted\n    by the talking horse, he emerges uninjured, far fairer than before.\n    The old and ugly king has to essay the same ordeal, and asks\n    Caruseddu what he smeared himself with. Who, sickened at last by\n    his master\u2019s ingratitude, answers, \u2018With fat.\u2019 So the king is burnt\n    to ashes, and Caruseddu marries the princess. Reinhold K\u00f6hler, the\n    learned annotator of Gonzenbach, compares Straparola, iii. 2\n    (Grimm, ii. 478) and a Wallachian story, where the hero bathes in\n    boiling milk, which his magic horse blows cold, but in which the\n    king himself perishes. Wratislaw gives a curious Servian story from\n    Bosnia, \u2018The Bird-catcher\u2019 (No. 42, pp. 239\u2013245). Here the hero, a\n    bird-catcher, is advised by a grateful crow, but the horse comes in\n    very mal-\u00e0-propos at the finish. Cf. also Hahn, ii. 180, 186; and\n    Clouston\u2019s Eastern Romances, p. 499, 570.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 29.\u2014PRETTY-FACE\n\nThere was a widow lady, and she had an only son. And he stuck his ring\nin the wall, and said, \u2018Mother, when blood flows from the ring, then I\nam dead.\u2019\n\nAnd he was called Peter Pretty-face.\n\nHe took the road, and the dragon with six heads came, and he drew his\nsword and killed him, and made three heaps of him, and planted a red\nflag, and went further. And a dragon with twelve heads came, and he\ndrew his sword, and killed him also, and made twelve heaps, and planted\na black flag, and went further. And there came one with twenty-four\nheads, and he killed him also, and made twenty-four heaps, and planted\na white flag.\n\nBehold! the dragons carried off an emperor\u2019s daughter\u2014there were twelve\ndragons\u2014and shut her up in their castle. And they went and fought from\nmorning even till noon; he who shall prove himself strongest, he shall\nmarry the maiden.\n\nAnd his mother had said to him, \u2018If you will go, your death will not be\nby a hero, but your death will be by a cripple.\u2019\n\nSo he went to that castle, and saw the maiden at the window, and he\nasked her, \u2018What are you doing there?\u2019\n\n\u2018The dragons carried me off, and shut me up here.\u2019\n\n\u2018And where are they gone to?\u2019\n\n\u2018They are gone to fight for me.\u2019\n\n\u2018And when will they come home?\u2019\n\n\u2018They will come at noon to dine. And they will hurl their club, and it\nwill strike the door, that I may have the food ready.\u2019\n\nHe opened the door and went in to her. The dragons hurled the club, and\nstruck the door; and he took the club, and hurled it back, and killed\nthem all.\n\n\u2018Now have no fear; they are dead.\u2019\n\nHe married the emperor\u2019s daughter.\n\nAnd the emperor heard that the dragons had carried off his daughter;\nand the emperor said, \u2018He who shall free her from the dragons, he shall\nmarry her.\u2019 The emperor knew not that Peter Pretty-face had married\nher. He thought that the dragons had carried her off.\n\nAnd there was one Chutilla the Handless, and he went to the emperor.\n\u2018I, O emperor, will rescue your daughter from the dragons.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, if you do, she shall be yours.\u2019\n\nSo he, Chutilla, went to Peter Pretty-face. And night came upon him,\nand he had nowhere to sleep, and he crept into the hen-house. In the\nmorning Peter Pretty-face arose, and washed his face, and looked out of\nthe window, and Chutilla came forth from the hen-house.\n\nAnd Peter Pretty-face saw him. \u2018By him is my death.\u2019\n\nChutilla came indoors and said, \u2018Good-morning, Peter Pretty-face.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thanks, Chutilla.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come, Peter Pretty-face, give me the emperor\u2019s daughter.\u2019\n\nHe said, \u2018I will not.\u2019\n\nChutilla caught him by the throat, and placed his head on the\nthreshold. [87] \u2018Give me, Peter Pretty-face, the maiden, else I will\ncut off your head.\u2019\n\n\u2018Cut it off; I will not give her.\u2019\n\nChutilla cut off his head, and took the girl and departed.\n\nBlood began to flow from the ring. His mother saw it. \u2018Now my son is\ndead.\u2019 She went after him, to seek for him, and came to the red flag.\nHis mother said, \u2018My son went this way.\u2019 She went further, and came to\nthe black flag. \u2018My son went this way.\u2019 She went further, and came to\nthe white flag. \u2018My son went this way.\u2019 She came to the castle, found\nher son dead; and two serpents were licking the blood. And she struck\none serpent, and it died. And the other serpent brought a leaf in its\nmouth, and went to the first serpent, and it also arose. And the lady\nsaw, and killed it also, and took the leaf, and placed her son\u2019s head\nagain on the trunk, and touched it with the leaf, and he arose.\n\n\u2018Mother, I was sleeping soundly.\u2019\n\n\u2018You would have slept for ever if I had not come.\u2019\n\n\u2018Mother, I will go to my lady.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go not, mother\u2019s darling.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bah! I will go, mother.\u2019\n\n\u2018If go you will, God aid you.\u2019\n\nHe went, and went straight to Chutilla, and seized Chutilla, and cut\nhim all in little pieces, till he had cut him up, and cast him to the\ndogs, and they devoured him. And he took the emperor\u2019s daughter, and\nwent with her to the emperor.\n\nAnd the maiden said, \u2018Father, this is he that saved me from the\ndragons.\u2019\n\nThe emperor joined them in marriage, and made him king. And they lived,\nperhaps they are living even now.\n\n\n    I know no variant, Gypsy or Gentile, of this story, though Chutilla\n    recalls the \u2018Halber Mensch\u2019 of Hahn, ii. 274. The three flags, red,\n    black, and white, are seemingly unique. For casting the club to\n    announce one\u2019s coming, cf. supra, pp. 37, 40; and Denton\u2019s Serbian\n    Folklore, p. 124. For snake-leaf in Hungarian-Gypsy tale, cf.\n    supra, p. 99. And for \u2018Mother, I was sleeping soundly,\u2019 cf. supra,\n    p. 33. If the story of \u2018Peter Pretty-face\u2019 is complete, his easy\n    victory at the end may be due to God\u2019s help, invoked by the mother.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 30.\u2014THE RICH AND THE POOR BROTHER\n\nThere were two brothers, one poor and one rich. And the rich one said\nto him, \u2018Come with me, brother, to our father.\u2019 And the rich one took\nbread for himself, and the poor one had none.\n\nAnd the rich one kept eating bread, and the poor one said, \u2018Give me,\ntoo, a bit of bread.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you will give me an eye, I will give you a bit of bread.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will give it you, brother.\u2019\n\nAnd he took out an eye, and gave him a bit of bread.\n\nAnd he went further, and he hungered. \u2018Give me a bit more bread.\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me one more eye.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will give it you, brother.\u2019\n\nBehold, he was blind now, and his brother took him by the hand and led\nhim under the gallows, and left him there; and his brother departed. At\nnightfall came the devils, and perched on the gallows.\n\nAnd the biggest devil asked, \u2018What hast done in the world? where wert\nwalking?\u2019\n\n\u2018I did\u2014I stopped the water.\u2019\n\n\u2018And thou, what hast thou done?\u2019\n\n\u2018The emperor\u2019s daughter neither dies nor lives; she is just in\ntorment.\u2019\n\n\u2018And thou, what hast thou done?\u2019\n\n\u2018I did\u2014that a brother dug out a brother\u2019s eyes.\u2019\n\n\u2018If he knew, there\u2019s a brook here, and if he washed himself, he would\nsee.\u2019\n\n\u2018If the townsfolk knew to go to the mountain and remove the stone, the\nwater would flow again.\u2019\n\nAnd the third said, \u2018But if the emperor\u2019s daughter knew, under her bed\nthere is a toad, and if she takes it out, and gets ready a bath, and\nputs the toad in the bath, and if they wash her, she would grow\nstrong.\u2019\n\nThen the cocks crowed, and the devils departed.\n\nSo the man dragged himself to the brook, and kept feeling with his hand\ntill he found the water. And he washed his face, and his eyes were\nrestored to him. And he went into the city where they had stopped the\nwater. \u2018What will you give me if I release the water?\u2019\n\n\u2018What you want, we will give you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, come with me to the mountain, take to you iron crowbars.\u2019\n\nSo they went to the mountain, and raised the stone; and the water\nflowed plentifully.\n\n\u2018Well, now, what do you want, man, for releasing the water?\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me a carriage and two horses and a carriageful of money.\u2019\n\nThey gave them to him. He went to the emperor\u2019s daughter. \u2018What will\nyou give me if I make her strong?\u2019\n\n\u2018What you want, I will give you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Set water on the fire to boil.\u2019\n\nAnd he went and took out the toad, and threw it into the bath; and they\nwashed the emperor\u2019s daughter, and she grew stronger and fairer than\never.\n\n\u2018What do you want for making her strong and fair?\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me two horses and a carriageful of money, and give me a driver\nhome.\u2019\n\nSo he went home, and sent the servant to his brother, to borrow a\nbushel. And his brother asked, \u2018What to do with the bushel?\u2019\n\n\u2018To measure money with.\u2019\n\nHis brother gave him the bushel, and went himself and asked his\nbrother, \u2018Where did you get it, the money, from, and the horses?\u2019\n\n\u2018From there where you left me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Lead me, too, thither to that place. I am sorry, brother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t be sorry; you\u2019ve just got to go. Well, come, brother.\u2019\n\nSo they both went to the place where he dug out his eyes.\n\n\u2018Give me, brother, a bit of bread.\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me an eye.\u2019\n\nHe gave him an eye, and he gave him a bit of bread.\n\nAnd they went further. \u2018Give me, brother, a bit more bread.\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me one more eye.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will, brother.\u2019\n\nSo he gave him a bit more bread, and took him by the hand, and led him\nunder the gallows, and left him there, and departed. At nightfall came\nthe devils, and perched on the gallows. And the biggest devil asked,\n\u2018What have you done? where have you been to in the world?\u2019\n\nOne said, \u2018Don\u2019t tell, for there was lately a blind man under the\ngallows, and he heard what we said. And he made himself eyes, and made\nthe water run, and raised up the emperor\u2019s daughter. Stay, while I look\nunder the gallows.\u2019\n\nAnd they found the blind man. \u2018There\u2019s a blind man here.\u2019 And they rent\nhim all in pieces. Then the devils departed; the man was dead.\n\n\n    This story is told as well as story may be. There is a Gypsy\n    variant, longer but not half so good, from the Hungarian\n    Carpathians, in Miklosich\u2019s Beitr\u00e4ge, p. 3:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 31.\u2014THE THREE BROTHERS\n\nThere was, there was not, a lord; and he had three sons. And one was\nthe eldest son, and he said to his father, \u2018We will go somewhere to\nseek a livelihood.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, go, my sons,\u2019 said their father.\n\nWhen they went, he baked loaves for each one to put in his wallet. Then\nthey went a long way, and the youngest had most bread. And that\nyoungest brother said, \u2018Brothers mine, I cannot carry this wallet, so\nfirst we will eat from my wallet, brothers mine.\u2019\n\nWhen they had eaten, they then went a long way further, and then those\ntwo brothers ate, and gave not to the third. He now had nothing, and\nsays, \u2018Brothers mine, why don\u2019t you give me to eat? You ate up mine,\nand now you don\u2019t give me to eat.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you\u2019ll let one of your eyes be taken out, then we will give you to\neat,\u2019 said the two elder brothers. And then they took out his eye, and\nthen gave him to eat. When they had eaten, they went a long way\nfurther. And there again those two brothers eat, and the third one\nsays, \u2018Why don\u2019t you give me to eat? Now you\u2019ve taken my eye out, and\nyet give me nothing to eat.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you\u2019ll let your other eye be taken out, then we will give you to\neat.\u2019\n\nAnd he, the youngest, says, \u2018Just do with me what you will.\u2019\n\nThen they took out his eye; then they gave him to eat; then that\neyeless one said, \u2018Lead me under the cross; maybe some one will give me\nsomething.\u2019\n\nThey led him not under the cross, but under a gallows, and there hung a\ndead man. And then thither came three crows, and thus talked one with\nanother:\n\n\u2018What\u2019s the news in your country?\u2019 thus they asked one of them. \u2018What\u2019s\nthe news?\u2019\n\n\u2018In my country there is no water.\u2019\n\n\u2018And in your country what\u2019s the news?\u2019\n\n\u2018There\u2019s a dew there, if a blind man rubs his eyes with it, he\nforthwith sees.\u2019\n\n\u2018And in your third country what\u2019s the news?\u2019\n\n\u2018In my country there is a princess sick.\u2019\n\nAnd then those three crows went to the lad, and then they asked him\nwhat he was doing under the gallows.\n\nAnd he said, \u2018My brothers brought me here.\u2019\n\nAnd then those three crows flew away. And that lad feels in the grass\nwith his hands, then he put it on his eyes, then he moistened his eyes;\nforthwith he saw. And then that lad departed to the king. That lad was\nthen the king\u2019s servant, and went then to a city, and went up above the\ncity, and saw there such a great rock, and struck that rock as with a\nrod; forthwith the water came from the rock. And then that water flowed\ninto the city, where there was no water, there flowed that water, and\nthe people were greatly rejoiced. And then he, that lad, cried that the\nwater will always flow; then were the people greatly rejoiced that that\nwater was flowing.\n\nAnd then that boy went to another city, and there was a sick princess.\nHe went to that king, and asked him, \u2018What\u2019s this princess got?\u2019\n\n\u2018What\u2019s she got! she\u2019s sick.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you will give me her to wife, then I will help her,\u2019 said that lad\nto the king.\n\n\u2018Do but help her, then we will give you her to wife.\u2019\n\nWhen he had healed her, then he took her to wife; and then they held\nthe bridal seven whole years. And then he became young king.\n\nThat young king said to his soldiers, \u2018Hark ye, soldiers, go after my\ntwo brothers.\u2019\n\nThen those soldiers went after those two brothers, and then they\nbrought the brothers. Then that young king asks them, \u2018How many\nbrothers had you?\u2019\n\nAnd they said, \u2018We are only two.\u2019\n\nThe king says, \u2018Hah! were there ever more of you?\u2019\n\nThen those two brothers say, \u2018We were three.\u2019\n\nThen, \u2018What have you done with the third one?\u2019\n\n\u2018Done with him! He demanded of us to eat, then we took out his eyes.\u2019\n\nThen, \u2018I am he,\u2019 thus did that young king say. \u2018Now, what am I to do\nwith you?\u2019\n\nThose two brothers say, \u2018Lead us under that cross.\u2019\n\nHe led them under that very cross. When he had led them, there came\nagain those same three crows. When they had come, again they asked one\nanother, \u2018What is the news in your country?\u2019\n\n\u2018In my country now is the princess well.\u2019\n\n\u2018And in your second country what is the news?\u2019\n\n\u2018In my country now is much water.\u2019\n\n\u2018And in your third country what is the news?\u2019\n\n\u2018There now is no such dew as they rubbed the eyes with.\u2019\n\nThen those three crows came to those two lads, and then there those\ncrows say, \u2018We will tear these two lads.\u2019 And they tore and devoured\nthem. And then those three crows flew away, and flew into the sky.\n\n\n    With its then\u2019s and its that\u2019s, a very imperfect, schoolboyish\n    version. It does not tell how the hero cured the princess, or that\n    his two brothers were blinded. Non-Gypsy variants of this\n    widespread story are Grimm\u2019s \u2018The Two Travellers\u2019 (No. 107, ii.\n    81), Cosquin\u2019s \u2018Les Deux Soldats de 1689\u2019 (No. 7, i. 84), Denton\u2019s\n    Servian story of \u2018Justice or Injustice\u2019 (p. 83), Wratislaw\u2019s \u2018Right\n    always remains Right\u2019 (Lusatian, No. 14, p. 92), Hahn\u2019s \u2018Gilt Recht\n    oder Unrecht\u2019 (No. 30, i. 209), and others cited by Clouston (i.\n    249\u2013261) from Norway, Portugal, the Kabyles, the Kirghiz, Arabia,\n    Persia, and India. The borrowing the bushel occurs in the \u2018Big\n    Peter and Little Peter\u2019 group of stories (cf. Clouston, i. 120, ii.\n    241\u2013278; and Campbell\u2019s Santal Folk-tales, pp. 30, 100), of which\n    we have a Welsh-Gypsy version (No. 68), and which have a certain\n    affinity with \u2018The Rich and the Poor Brother.\u2019 \u2018Prince Half-a-Son\u2019\n    in F. A. Steel\u2019s Indian Wide-awake Stories, p. 290, is plainly\n    analogous. On p. 277 we have \u2018a great rich wedding that lasted\n    seven years and seven days.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nNO. 32.\u2014THE ENCHANTED CITY\n\nThere was a poor lad, and he served seven years, and could not earn\nanything. And he went into the world, and went into a city, and spent\nthe night there, and lay down under a wall, and slept. In that wall\nthere was a hole, and he awoke, and looked through the hole, and saw a\ncandle. And he crept through the hole, and went into a palace. There\nwas a great city, and there was an emperor in the city; and the emperor\nwas dead, and also the empress was dead. And the emperor had a\ndaughter, and she commanded the army. And that city was excommunicated,\nand the people were turned into stone. So the lad went into the palace\nof the emperor, and there in the palace all were turned into stone. And\nhe marvelled what this might be, that the men were like men, but yet\nwere all turned into stone.\n\nA cat came, and set food on the table. He sat down to table, and ate.\nAt night came the cat, and brought him food, and brought him cards, and\nsaid to him, \u2018There will come a lord, and will say, \u201cPlay at cards,\u201d\nand do you play; and he will spit on you, and do you bear it, but look\nat the clock. When it strikes ten, then give him a slap.\u2019\n\nThen there came devils as many as the blades of grass; and they beat\nhim and tormented him till twelve o\u2019clock; and the cocks crowed, and\nthey fled. He lay down in the bed and slept. In the morning the cat\nbrought him food, and he ate. At nightfall she again brought him food,\nsaid to him, \u2018He will come again for you to play with him, and do you\nplay till ten o\u2019clock, and give him a slap; and they will come to you\nas many as all the blades of grass, and will beat you and torment you,\nand do you bear it till twelve o\u2019clock.\u2019\n\nThe lord came to him. \u2018Hah! let us play cards.\u2019\n\nAnd they played till ten o\u2019clock. He gave him, the devil, a slap. They\ncame as many as all the blades of grass, and they beat him and\ntormented him till twelve o\u2019clock, and they fled. He lay down in the\nbed and slept. In the morning he heard the folks talking in the city.\nIn the morning the cat brought him food, and brought him royal clothes.\nHe ate, and put on the clothes, and went into twelve chambers. There\nwas the emperor\u2019s daughter in her bed. One half was alive, and she\nsaid, \u2018You are my emperor, and I am your empress, but come no more to\nme.\u2019\n\nAgain at night the cat brought him food, and said to him, \u2018He will come\nagain to-night to play cards till ten o\u2019clock. At ten o\u2019clock give him\na slap again, and they will come to you as many as all the blades of\ngrass, and they will beat you and torment you, but bear it.\u2019\n\nThat lord came to him. \u2018Hah! let us play cards.\u2019\n\nAnd they played till ten o\u2019clock. He gave him a slap, and they came as\nmany as all the blades of grass, and they beat him and tormented him,\nand he bore it till twelve o\u2019clock. At twelve o\u2019clock they fled. He lay\ndown on the bed and slept. In the morning the band began to play, they\nheld a review. [88] \u2018For we have a new emperor.\u2019 The ministers came to\nhim, and raised him shoulder-high. \u2018We have a new emperor.\u2019\n\nAnd he is in a hurry to go to his empress, and said, \u2018Stay here, I will\nbe back immediately.\u2019\n\nAnd he went to her. There she stood with her head to the roof, and a\nvapour went forth from her mouth; and he opened the door, and she just\nmade a sign to him with her hand, and fell back on the bed, and became\nstone up to the waist. And she called him to her. \u2018Leave me; I want you\nnot. Why did you not wait to come to me, till I should obtain remission\nof my sins? Take you my father\u2019s horse and his sword, and take a purse;\nas much money as you want, it shall not fail.\u2019\n\nHe set out, and journeyed, and departed into another kingdom. There two\nemperors were fighting, because one would not give his daughter to the\nother\u2019s son. \u2018Set yourself to battle with me, since you refuse your\ndaughter.\u2019 They fought seven years. So he [89] came into that city, and\ncame to an inn, to a certain Armenian. And there was a great famine;\nthe soldiers were dying of hunger. So he asked the Armenian, \u2018What\u2019s\nthe news here?\u2019\n\n\u2018No good. They have been waging a great war seven years here for a\ngirl, and the soldiers are dying of hunger.\u2019\n\nAnd he said, \u2018Go and call them to me.\u2019\n\nThe soldiers came, and he bought bread and brandy, and they drank and\nate; and he said to the Armenian, \u2018I, if I choose, I will cut that army\nto pieces.\u2019\n\nThe Armenian went to the emperor. \u2018Emperor, a king\u2019s son is come, and\nhas boasted that he by himself will cut that army to pieces.\u2019\n\n\u2018Call him to me.\u2019\n\n\u2018What is this you\u2019ve been boasting? will you cut that army to pieces?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you do, I will give you my daughter, and give you one half of my\nkingdom.\u2019\n\nAnd he, when he went to battle, waved to the right hand, and slew one\nhalf of the army, and he waved to the left hand, and slew the other\nhalf. And he came home, and the emperor gave him his daughter, and made\na marriage.\n\n\u2018Ask him what strength is his, that he slew so great an army.\u2019 [90]\n\nAnd he said, \u2018My sword slays.\u2019\n\nAnd she sent back a letter, \u2018The sword alone slays; send me another\nsword, and I will send this one to you.\u2019\n\nShe sent him the sword, and he then said, \u2018Set yourself now to battle\nwith me.\u2019\n\nAnd he went in hope. But the emperor slew him, and cut him all in\npieces, and put him in the saddle-bags, and placed him on his horse,\nand said, \u2018Whence thou didst bear him living, bear him dead.\u2019 [91]\n\nThe horse carried him home, thither to that lady who was of stone. She\ncried, \u2018Bring him to me.\u2019 She laid him on a table, and put him all\ntogether; and she sprinkled him with dead water, and he became whole;\nand she sprinkled him with living water, and he arose. [92]\n\n\u2018Go back; take you this purse, you have but to wish and you will find\nit full of money. And go to that Armenian, and give him whatever he\nwants, and tell him you will turn yourself into a horse. Take a hair\nfrom my tail, [93] and bind it round you like a girdle, and fling a\nsomersault.\u2019 [94]\n\nSo he turned himself into a horse; and the Armenian took him, and led\nhim into the city. The emperor bought him, and mounted him. He dashed\nhim to the earth, and he died. The horse took the sword in his mouth,\nand went to the Armenian. The Armenian loosened the hair, and he became\na man again. He made the Armenian king; and he departed home to his\nmistress, the first one, and wedded her. And he became emperor.\n\n\n    A mere ruin of a folk-tale, but what a fine ruin. The cat reminds\n    one of Grimm\u2019s No. 106, \u2018The Poor Miller\u2019s Boy and the Cat\u2019 (ii.\n    78, 406), where the cat takes the hero into an enchanted castle,\n    and gives him to eat and to drink. But Grimm\u2019s No. 92, \u2018The King of\n    the Golden Mountain\u2019 (ii. 28, 390), comes much closer to our Gypsy\n    story. There the hero has three nights running to let himself be\n    tortured in a bewitched castle by twelve black men till twelve\n    o\u2019clock, so to set free an enchanted maiden. Grimm\u2019s No. 121, \u2018The\n    King\u2019s Son who feared Nothing\u2019 (ii. 134, 419), should also be\n    compared, and our Welsh-Gypsy story, \u2018Ashypelt\u2019 (No. 57). The\n    latter half of \u2018The Enchanted City\u2019 is identical with Krauss\u2019s No.\n    47 (i. 224), a Slovenian story. For the magic sword cf. infra, p.\n    160; Clouston\u2019s notes to Lane\u2019s Continuation of Chaucer\u2019s \u2018Squire\u2019s\n    Tale\u2019 (Chaucer Soc. 1888, pp. 372\u2013381); Wratislaw\u2019s Polish story,\n    \u2018The Spirit of a buried Man,\u2019 No. 18, p. 122; and F. A. Steel\u2019s\n    Wide-awake Stories, p. 62. Playing cards with the devil or a\n    monster occurs also in our No. 63 (p. 256), and in folk-tales from\n    Russia, Germany, French Flanders, Lorraine, and Brittany (cf.\n    Ralston, p. 375; Grimm, No. 4, i. 16, 346; and Cosquin, i. 28; ii.\n    254, 259, 260).\n\n\n\n\nNO. 33.\u2014THE JEALOUS HUSBAND\n\nThere was a merchant, great and wealthy, and he had a beautiful wife;\nhe did not let her go out. And he went in a ship on the Danube after\nmerchandise with another merchant. And they were coming home. They\nhauled their ships to the bank, and moored them to the bank, to pass\nthe night. They fell into discourse. Said one, \u2018Has your wife got a\nlover at home?\u2019\n\nAnd he said, \u2018My wife has not got a lover.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come, what will you give me if I become her lover?\u2019\n\n\u2018If you do, I will give you my estate, and my merchandise too, ship and\nall.\u2019\n\n\u2018How will you know that I am her lover?\u2019\n\n\u2018If you tell me her birth-mark, and if you take the gold ring from her\nfinger. But my wife will be like to thrash you, if you but hint such a\nthing to her. I left a maid with her, to see that my wife does not go\nout of doors.\u2019\n\n\u2018I shall succeed, though.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go home and try; I\u2019ll bring your ship.\u2019\n\nHome he went. What will he do? for he cannot come near her. He found an\nold wife. \u2018Old wife, what am I to do to get the ring from the lady?\u2019\n\n\u2018What will you give me if I contrive that you get it?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will give you a hundred florins.\u2019\n\n\u2018Get a big chest made, and a window in it, and get into it, and make a\nbolt inside, and I will carry you to her.\u2019\n\nShe carried him in the chest under the wall of her house, and went to\nthe lady. \u2018I beg you, lady, to take in my box of clothes, so that they\nmay not be stolen.\u2019\n\n\u2018Carry it into the hall.\u2019\n\nShe called the maid, and the maid helped her to carry him into the\nhall.\n\n\u2018I beg you, lady, to let me take it right into your house. I will come\nin the morning to fetch it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, put it in a corner.\u2019\n\nThe old woman went off home. The lady at night took a bath, and laid\nthe ring on the table, and washed herself. And through the little\nwindow he perceived a mole under her right breast. The lady slept all\nnight in her bed, and forgot the ring on the table, and put out the\ncandle. And he let himself out, took the ring off the table, and got\nback into the chest, shut himself in. The old woman came next morning\nat daybreak, and carried her chest outside. He opened it, and came out,\nand took the chest, and departed. He went to meet the husband, and\nfound him on the way.\n\n\u2018Hast thou lain with my lady?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have.\u2019\n\n\u2018What is her birth-mark?\u2019\n\n\u2018She has a mole under her right breast. If you do not believe me, here\nis the ring as well.\u2019\n\n\u2018It\u2019s all right; take the ship and everything in it, and come home, and\nI will give you also the estate.\u2019\n\nHe went home, and said never a word to the lady; and he made a little\nboat, and put her in it, and let it go on the Danube. \u2018Since you have\ndone this, away you go on the Danube.\u2019 He gave his whole estate, and\nbecame poor, and carried water for the Jews.\n\nA whole year she floated on the Danube; the year went like a day. An\nold man caught her, and drew her to shore, and opened the boat, and\ntook her out, and brought her to his house. She abode with him three\nyears, and spun with her spindle, and made some money. And she bought\nherself splendid man\u2019s clothes, and dressed herself, and cut her hair\nshort, and went back to her husband. She went and passed the night\nbeneath a lime-tree, and slept under the lime-tree. In that city the\nemperor was blind. She saw a dream: in the lime-tree was a hole, and in\nthe hole was water; and if the emperor will anoint himself with that\nwater he will see. She arose in the morning, and searched around, and\nfound the hole. And she had a little pail, and she drew water in the\npail, and put it in her pocket, and went into that city to an inn, and\ndrank three kreutzers\u2019 worth of brandy. And she asked the Jew, \u2018What\u2019s\nthe news with you?\u2019\n\n\u2018Our emperor is blind, and he will give his kingdom to him who shall\nmake him see.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will do so.\u2019\n\nThe Jew went to the emperor, and the emperor said to him, \u2018Hah! go and\nbring him to me.\u2019\n\nThey brought him to the emperor. \u2018Will you make me see? then I will\ngive you my daughter.\u2019\n\nShe took water, and anointed his eyes, and he saw. The emperor set his\ncrown on her head. \u2018Do you be emperor. I want nothing but to stay\nbeside you.\u2019 The emperor clad her royally, called his army, beat the\ndrum. \u2018For there\u2019s a new emperor.\u2019\n\nAnd she saw her husband carrying water for the Jews. \u2018Come hither. Have\nyou always been poor?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I once was not poor, I was rich. I had an estate, and I was a\ngreat merchant.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then how did you lose your estate?\u2019\n\n\u2018I lost it over a wager. My wife played the wanton with another, and I\ngave up the estate, and sent her adrift on the Danube.\u2019\n\nStraightway she sent for the other, and they brought him. \u2018How did you\ncome by this man\u2019s estate?\u2019\n\n\u2018Over a wager.\u2019\n\n\u2018What was your wager?\u2019\n\n\u2018That I would lie with her.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then you did so?\u2019\n\n\u2018I did.\u2019\n\n\u2018And, pray, what were her birth-marks?\u2019\n\n\u2018Under her right breast she had a mole.\u2019\n\n\u2018Would you know that mole again?\u2019\n\n\u2018I would.\u2019\n\nThen she drew out her breast. \u2018Did you lie with me?\u2019\n\n\u2018I did not.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then why those falsehoods? Here, take him, and cut him all to pieces.\u2019\n\nAnd she looked earnestly on her husband. \u2018You, why did you not ask me\nat the time?\u2019\n\n\u2018I was a fool, and I was angry.\u2019\n\n\u2018Here, take him outside, and give him five-and-twenty, to teach him\nwisdom.\u2019\n\nShe threw the robes off her, and put them on him. \u2018Do you be emperor,\nand I empress.\u2019\n\n\n    Were I a painter, I would paint a picture\u2014the Forest of Arden, a\n    Gypsy encampment, with tents, dogs, donkeys, and children, a Gypsy\n    story-teller, and Shakespeare. But one knows, of course, that\n    Shakespeare derived the material of his Cymbeline from the novel of\n    Boccaccio (Dec. ii. 9), immediately in all likelihood, and not\n    through the second story in Westward for Smelts. Granted he did,\n    the question arises next, whence did Boccaccio get his material?\n    Did he invent it, and, if so, is this Gypsy story derived from\n    Boccaccio, and not it only, but Campbell\u2019s West Highland tale of\n    \u2018The Chest\u2019 (No. 18), Larminie\u2019s \u2018Servant of Poverty\u2019 (West Irish\n    Folk-tales, pp. 115\u2013129), and at least two other folk-tales cited\n    by K\u00f6hler\u2014one in Wolf\u2019s German Hausm\u00e4rchen, p. 355, and one from\n    Roumania in Ausland, 1856, p. 1053? Campbell\u2019s story at any rate\n    cannot have come from Boccaccio, containing, as it does, the\n    essence, not merely of Cymbeline, but also of The Merchant of\n    Venice. For its hero borrows \u00a350 on condition that if he does not\n    repay it within a year and a day he is to lose a strip of skin cut\n    from his head to his foot; [95] \u2018Yes,\u2019 says the heroine, \u2018but in\n    cutting it, not one drop of blood must be shed.\u2019 To go fully into\n    this question would occupy pages and pages; I must content myself\n    with referring to The Remarks of M. Karl Simrock on the Plots of\n    Shakespeare\u2019s Plays, with notes by J. O. Halliwell (Shakespeare\n    Soc. 1850), pp. 64\u201375 and 45\u201363, and to Reinhold K\u00f6hler on\n    Campbell\u2019s tale in Orient und Occident, ii. 1864, pp. 313\u2013316. But\n    it is just worth pointing out that Gypsies may have had a\n    considerable influence on the European drama. The Scottish Gypsies\n    who, as recorded in the Introduction, used yearly to gather in the\n    stanks of Roslin during the last half of the sixteenth century,\n    acted there \u2018severall plays.\u2019 We have not the dimmest notion what\n    those plays may have been; still, this would be quite an early item\n    in any history of the stage in Scotland. Sir William Ouseley in his\n    Travels in Persia (1823), iii. 400\u2013405, gives a long description of\n    a Persian puppet-play, curiously like our own Punch and Judy: \u2018the\n    managers of these shows, and the musicians who attended them, were\n    said to be of the Karachi or Gypsy tribe.\u2019 I myself at G\u00f6ttingen,\n    in 1873, several times came across a family of German Gypsies, very\n    full-blooded ones, who were marionette-showers; like a dull dog, I\n    never went to see their shows. Gorger (R\u00f3mani ga\u00fajo, Gentile or\n    man) is current theatrical slang for a manager; and Mayhew\u2019s London\n    Labour and the London Poor (1851) shows that the slang of our\n    English show-folk contains a good many R\u00f3mani words. The very\n    Pandean pipes are suggestive of importation from South-east Europe.\n    Goethe\u2019s Wilhelm Meister offers something to the purpose, so also\n    do the Bunjara players in Mrs. F. A. Steel\u2019s On the Face of the\n    Waters (1896); and my own In Gypsy Tents, pp. 295\u20136, gives a glance\n    at an English travelling theatre whose performers spoke fluent\n    R\u00f3mani.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 34.\u2014MADE OVER TO THE DEVIL\n\nThere was a rich man, and he went into the forest, and fell into a bog\nwith his carriage. And his wife brought forth a son, and he knew it\nnot. And the Devil came forth, and said, \u2018What will you give me if I\npull you out?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will give you what you want.\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me what you have at home.\u2019\n\n\u2018I have horses, oxen.\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me that which you have not seen.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will.\u2019\n\n\u2018Make a covenant with me.\u2019\n\nHe made a covenant with him, and the Devil pulled him out of the mud,\nand the man went home. By the time he got home he had forgotten the\ncovenant.\n\nThe boy was twenty years old. \u2018Make me a cake, mother, for I\u2019m off to\nthe place my father pledged me to.\u2019 And he went far over the mountains,\nand came to the Devil\u2019s house. There was an old woman in the house, and\na daughter of the Devil\u2019s, and she asked him, \u2018Whither art going, lad?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have come to the lord here, to serve.\u2019\n\nAnd the girl saw him, and he pleased her. \u2018I may tell you that he is my\nfather. My father will turn himself into a horse, and will tell you to\nmount him and traverse the world. And do you make yourself an iron club\nand an iron curry-comb, and hit him with the club, for he will not\nstoop, and get on his back, and as you go keep hitting him on the\nhead.\u2019\n\nHe traversed the world, and came home, put him in the stable, and went\nto the maiden.\n\n\u2018My father didn\u2019t fling you?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, for I kept hitting him on the head.\u2019\n\nThe Devil called him, and took a jar of poppy-seed, and poured it out\non the grass, and told him to gather it all up, and fill the jar, for,\n\u2018If you don\u2019t, I will cut off your head.\u2019\n\nHe went to the maiden, and wept.\n\n\u2018What are you weeping for?\u2019\n\n\u2018Your father has told me to fill the jar with poppy-seed; and if I\ndon\u2019t, he will cut off my head.\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018Fear not.\u2019 She went outside and gave a whistle, and the mice\ncame as many as all the blades of grass and the leaves.\n\nAnd they asked, \u2018What do you want, mistress?\u2019\n\n\u2018Gather the poppy-seed and fill the jar.\u2019\n\nAnd the mice came and picked up the grains of poppy-seed one by one,\nand filled the jar.\n\nThe Devil saw it. \u2018You\u2019re a clever chap. Here is one more task for you:\ndrain the marsh, and plough it, and sow it, and to-morrow bring me\nroasted maize. And if you do not, I shall cut your head off.\u2019\n\nHe went to the maiden and wept. \u2018Your father has told me to drain the\nmarsh, and give him roasted maize to-morrow.\u2019\n\n\u2018Fear not.\u2019\n\nShe went outside, and took the fiery whip. And she struck the marsh\nonce, and it was dried up; a second time she struck, and it was\nploughed; the third time she struck, it was sowed; the fourth time she\nstruck, and the maize was roasted; and in the morning he gave him\nroasted maize.\n\nShe said to him, \u2018We are three maidens. He will make us all alike, will\ncall you to guess which is the eldest, which is the middle one, and\nwhich the youngest; and you will not be able to guess, for we shall be\nall just alike. I shall be at the top, and notice my feet, for I shall\nkeep tapping one foot on the other; the middle one will be in the\nmiddle, and the eldest fronting you, and so you will know.\u2019\n\nThe Devil said to him, \u2018One more task I will give you. Fell the whole\nforest, and stack it by to-morrow.\u2019\n\nHe went to the maiden, and the maiden asked him, \u2018Have you a father and\nmother?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! let us fly, for my father will kill you. Take the whetstone, and\ntake a comb; I have a towel.\u2019\n\nThey set out and fled. The Devil arose, saw that the forest is not\nfelled. \u2018Go and call him to me.\u2019\n\nHo, ho! there is neither the lad nor the maiden.\n\n\u2018Hah! go after them.\u2019\n\nThey went, and the two saw them coming after them. And she said to him,\n\u2018I will make myself a field of wheat, and do you make yourself to be\nlooking at the wheat, and they will ask you, \u201cDidn\u2019t a maiden and a lad\npass by?\u201d \u201cBah! they passed when I was sowing the wheat.\u201d\u2019\n\n\u2018Go back, for we shall not catch them.\u2019\n\nThey went back. \u2018We did not catch them.\u2019\n\n\u2018On the road did not you find anything?\u2019\n\n\u2018We found a field of wheat and a peasant.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go back, for the field of wheat was she, and he was the peasant.\u2019\n\nThey saw them again. She said to the lad, \u2018I will turn a somersault and\nmake myself an old church, and do you turn a somersault and make\nyourself an old monk, and they will ask you, \u201cDidn\u2019t a maiden and a lad\npass by?\u201d \u201cThey passed just as I began the church.\u201d\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! go back, for we shall never catch them. When he was beginning the\nchurch! It is old now.\u2019\n\n\u2018Did you not find anything on the road?\u2019\n\n\u2018We found a church and a monk.\u2019\n\n\u2018The church was she, and he was the monk. I will go myself.\u2019\n\nThey saw him. \u2018Now my father is coming; we shall not escape. Fling the\ncomb.\u2019\n\nHe flung the comb, and it became a forest from earth to sky. Whilst he\nwas gnawing away the forest, they got a long way ahead. He was catching\nthem up; she cried, \u2018Fling the whetstone.\u2019\n\nHe flung the whetstone, and it became a rock of stone from earth even\nto heaven. Whilst he, the Devil, was making a hole in the rock, they\ngot a long way ahead. Again he is catching them up. \u2018Father is catching\nus up.\u2019 She flung the towel, and it became a great water and a mill.\nThey halted on the bank.\n\nAnd he cried, \u2018Harlot, how did you cross the water?\u2019\n\n\u2018Fasten the millstone to your neck, and jump into the water.\u2019\n\nHe fastened the millstone to his neck, and jumped into the water, and\nwas choked.\n\nShe said, \u2018Fear not, for my father is choked.\u2019\n\nHe went to his father with the maiden. His father rejoiced; but the\nmaiden said to the lad, \u2018I will go to expiate my father\u2019s sins, for I\nchoked him. I go for three years.\u2019\n\nShe took her ring, and broke it in half, and gave one half to him.\n\u2018Keep that, and do not lose it.\u2019 She departed for three years.\n\nHe forgot her, and made preparations to marry. He was holding his\nwedding. She came, and he knew her not.\n\n\u2018Drink a glass of brandy.\u2019\n\nShe drank out of his glass, and flung the half of the ring into the\nglass, and gave it to him. When he drank, he got it into his mouth, and\nhe took it in his hand and looked at it, and he took his half and\nfitted the two together. \u2018Hah! this is my wife; this one saved me from\ndeath.\u2019\n\nAnd he quashed that marriage, and took his first wife and lived with\nher.\n\n\n    There are several obvious lacun\u00e6 in this story, one that the\n    poppy-seed must have been mixed with some other seed, else the task\n    would have been far too easy. The Polish-Gypsy story of \u2018The Witch\u2019\n    (No. 50), corresponds pretty closely; and for the roasted maize\n    task compare the Roumanian-Gypsy story of \u2018The Snake who became the\n    King\u2019s Son-in-law\u2019 (No. 7). For a multitude of non-Gypsy variants\n    see Ralston\u2019s \u2018The Water-King and Vasilissa the Wise\u2019 (pp.\n    120\u2013133), especially the Indian story at the end. Cf. also Cosquin,\n    ii. 9, and i. 103, 106, 139, 141. The ring episode recurs in the\n    Bohemian-Gypsy story, \u2018The Three Dragons\u2019 (No. 44, p. 154). The\n    fiery whip in the Gypsy story is, to the best of my knowledge,\n    unique.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 35.\u2014THE LYING STORY\n\nBefore I was born, my mother had a fancy for roast starlings. And there\nwas no one to go, so I went alone to the forest. And I found roast\nstarlings in the hollow of a tree. I put in my hand, and could not draw\nit out. I took and got right in, and the hole closed up. I set out and\nwent to my godfather to borrow the axe.\n\nMy godfather said, \u2018The servant with the axe is not at home, but,\u2019 said\nmy godfather, \u2018I will give you the hatchet, and the hatchet is\nexpecting little hatchets.\u2019\n\n\u2018Never fear, godfather.\u2019\n\nAnd he gave me the hatchet, and I went and cut my way out of the tree,\nand I flung down the hatchet. Whilst it was falling a bird built its\nnest in the handle, and laid eggs, and hatched them, and brought forth\nyoung ones; and when the hatchet had fallen down, it gave birth to\ntwelve little hatchets. And I put them in my wallet, and carried them\nto my godfather. My godfather rejoiced. He gave me one of the hatchets,\nand I stuck it in my belt at my back, and went home. I was thirsty and\nwent to the well. The well was deep. I cut off my brainpan, and drank\nwater out of it. I laid my brainpan by the well, and went home. And I\nfelt something biting me on the head; and when I put up my hand to my\nhead there came forth worms. I returned to my brainpan, and a wild-duck\nhad laid eggs in my brainpan, and hatched them, and brought forth\nducklings. And I took the hatchet, and flung it, and killed the\nwild-duck, but the ducklings flew away. Behind the well was a fire, and\nthe hatchet fell into the fire. I hunted for the hatchet, and found the\nhandle, but the blade of the hatchet was burnt. And I took the handle,\nand stuck it in my belt at my back, and went home, and found our mare,\nand got up on her. And the handle cut the mare in half, and I went\nriding on two of her legs, and the two hind ones were eating grass. And\nI went back, and cut a willow withy, and trimmed it, and sewed the mare\ntogether. Out of her grew a willow-tree up to heaven. And I remembered\nthat God is owing me a treeful of eggs and a pailful of sour milk. And\nI climbed up the willow, and went to God, and went to God\u2019s\nthrashing-floor. There twelve men were thrashing oats.\n\n\u2018Where are you going to, man?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am going to God.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t go; God isn\u2019t at home.\u2019\n\nAnd the smiths felled the willow, and I took an oat-straw and made a\nrope, and let myself down. And the rope was too short, and I kept\ncutting off above, and tying on below; then I jumped down, and came to\nthe other world. I went home, and got a spade, and dug myself out [of\nthe other, or nether world], and went home, and gave the starlings to\nmy mother, and she ate, and was safely delivered of me, and I am living\nin the world.\n\n\n    One is reminded of M\u00fcnchausen and of several lying tales in Grimm,\n    e.g. Nos. 112, 138, 158, and 159. Cf. especially his notes at ii.\n    413. The very first Gypsy folk-tale I ever took down, twenty years\n    ago now, from one of the Boswells, was the following lying tale:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 36.\u2014HAPPY BOZ\u2019LL\n\nWonst upon a time there was a Romano, and his name was Happy Boz\u2019ll,\nand he had a German-silver grinding-barrow, and he used to put his wife\nand his child on the top, and he used to go that quick along the road\nhe\u2019d beat all the coaches. Then he thought this grinding-barrow was too\nheavy and clumsy to take about, and he cut it up and made tent-rods of\nit. And then his donkey got away, and he didn\u2019t know where it was gone\nto; and one day he was going by the tent, and he said to himself,\n\u2018Bless my soul, wherever\u2019s that donkey got to?\u2019 And there was a tree\nclose by, and the donkey shouted out and said, \u2018I\u2019m here, my Happy,\ngetting you a bit o\u2019 stick to make a fire.\u2019 Well, the donkey came down\nwith a lot of sticks, and he had been up the tree a week, getting\nfirewood. Well then, Happy had a dog, and he went out one day, the dog\none side the hedge, and him the other. And then he saw two hares. The\ndog ran after the two; and as he was going across the field, he cut\nhimself right through with a scythe; and then one half ran after one\nhare, and the other after the other. Then the two halves of the dog\ncatched the two hares; and then the dog smacked together again; and he\nsaid, \u2018Well, I\u2019ve got \u2019em, my Happy\u2019; and then the dog died. And Happy\nhad a hole in the knee of his breeches, and he cut a piece of the dog\u2019s\nskin, after it was dead, and sewed it in the knee of his breeches. And\nthat day twelve months his breeches-knee burst open, and barked at him.\nAnd so that\u2019s the end of Happy Boz\u2019ll.\n\n\n    Also M\u00fcnchausen-like; but I believe it was largely this story,\n    which I printed on p. 160 of my In Gypsy Tents, that led the great\n    Lazarus Petulengro to remark once to Mr. Sampson, \u2018Isn\u2019t it\n    wonderful, sir, that a real gentleman could have wrote such a\n    thing\u2014nothing but low language and povertiness, and not a word of\n    grammar or high-learned talk in it from beginning to end.\u2019\n\n    We have a third Gypsy lying story, a Welsh-Gypsy one. Matthew\n    Wood\u2019s father had, like a good many Gypsies, a contempt for\n    folk-tales, and, when called on for his turn, he always gave this,\n    the very shortest one:\u2014\u2018There were a naked man and a blind man and\n    a lame man. The blind man saw a hare, and the lame man ran and\n    caught it, and the naked man put it in his pocket.\u2019 Cf. Grimm\u2019s No.\n    159, \u2018The Ditmarsch Tale of Wonders\u2019 (ii. 230, 452). Indian lying\n    stories occur in Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy Tales, Nos. 4, 8, 17.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nTRANSYLVANIAN-GYPSY STORIES\n\n\nNO. 37.\u2014THE CREATION OF THE VIOLIN\n\nIn a hut on a mountain, in a fair forest, lived a girl with her four\nbrothers, her father, and her mother. The sister loved a handsome rich\nhuntsman, who often ranged the forest, but who would never speak to the\npretty girl. Mara wept day and night, because the handsome man never\ncame near her. She often spoke to him, but he never answered, and went\non his way. She sang the song:\n\n\n   \u2018Dear man from a far country,\n    Slip your hand into mine;\n    Clasp me, an you will, in your arms;\n    Lovingly will I kiss you.\u2019\n\n\nShe sang it often and often, but he paid no heed. Knowing now no other\nsuccour, she called the devil. \u2018O devil, help me.\u2019 The devil came,\nholding a mirror in his hand, and asked what she wanted. Mara told him\nher story and bemoaned to him her sorrow. \u2018If that\u2019s all,\u2019 said the\ndevil, \u2018I can help you. I\u2019ll give you this. Show it to your beloved,\nand you\u2019ll entice him to you.\u2019 Once again came the huntsman to the\nforest, and Mara had the mirror in her hand and went to meet him. When\nthe huntsman saw himself in the mirror, he cried, \u2018Oh! that\u2019s the\ndevil, that is the devil\u2019s doing; I see myself.\u2019 And he ran away, and\ncame no more to the forest.\n\nMara wept now again day and night, for the handsome man never came near\nher. Knowing now no other succour for her grief, she called again the\ndevil. \u2018O devil, help me.\u2019 The devil came and asked what she wanted.\nMara told how the huntsman had run away, when he saw himself in the\nmirror. The devil laughed and said, \u2018Let him run, I shall catch him;\nlike you, he belongs to me. For you both have looked in the mirror, and\nwhoso looks in the mirror is mine. And now I will help you, but you\nmust give me your four brothers, or help you I cannot.\u2019 The devil went\naway and came back at night, when the four brothers slept, and made\nfour strings of them, fiddle-strings\u2014one thicker, then one thinner, the\nthird thinner still, and the thinnest the fourth. Then said the devil,\n\u2018Give me also your father.\u2019 Mara said, \u2018Good, I give you my father,\nonly you must help me.\u2019 Of the father the devil made a box: that was\nthe fiddle. Then he said, \u2018Give me also your mother.\u2019 Mara answered,\n\u2018Good, I give you also my mother, only you must help me.\u2019 The devil\nsmiled, and made of the mother a stick, and horsehair of her hair: this\nwas the fiddle-stick. Then the devil played, and Mara rejoiced. But the\ndevil played on and on, and Mara wept. Now laughed the devil and said,\n\u2018When your beloved comes, play, and you will entice him to you.\u2019 Mara\nplayed, and the huntsman heard her playing and came to her. In nine\ndays came the devil and said, \u2018Worship me, I am your lord.\u2019 They would\nnot, and the devil carried them off. The fiddle remained in the forest\nlying on the ground, and a poor Gypsy came by and saw it. He played,\nand as he played in thorp and town they laughed and wept just as he\nchose.\n\n\n    In the Gypsy Lore Journal for April 1890, pp. 65\u201366, Vladislav\n    Kornel, Ritter von Zielinski, published a very close\n    Hungarian-Gypsy variant, told to him both at Guta and at Almas. One\n    cannot but be reminded of the ballad of \u2018Binnorie,\u2019 whose story is\n    current in Scotland, Sweden, the Faro\u00eb Islands, Iceland, Denmark,\n    Sicily, Poland, Esthonia, and Lithuania, and which Reinhold K\u00f6hler\n    has ably discussed in \u2018Die Ballade von der sprechenden Harfe\u2019\n    (Aufs\u00e4tze \u00fcber M\u00e4rchen und Volkslieder, pp. 79\u201398). Campbell\u2019s\n    Santal Folk-tales, pp. 54, 104, furnish two remarkable analogues.\n    In the first a drowned girl grows up as a bamboo, out of which a\n    jugi makes a magic fiddle; in the second a princess, devoured by a\n    monkey, springs up after his death as a gourd, of whose shell a\n    jugi makes a wonderful banjo. In both tales there is mention of\n    Doms; and it is at least an odd coincidence that, while the Gypsy\n    word for devil is beng, in Santali a spirit is called bonga.\n    Selling one\u2019s self, or rather one\u2019s blood, to the devil is a\n    superstition still current amongst English Gypsies. I myself knew\n    an elderly East Anglian Gypsy woman, who was supposed to have so\n    sold her blood, and to have got in return a young, good-looking\n    husband, her own nephew, whom she \u2018kept like a gentleman.\u2019 Cf. also\n    pp. 297\u20139 of my In Gypsy Tents.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 38.\u2014THE THREE GOLDEN HAIRS OF THE SUN-KING\n\nA rich, mighty king once went hunting, and wandered himself in a great\nforest. Towards evening he came to a hut, in which lived a poor\ncharcoal-burner. The king asked the poor man his way to the city.\n\nThe charcoal-burner answered, \u2018Sir, the way to the city you could not\nfind by yourself, and to-day I cannot go with you for my wife lies\nsick, and this very night will bring a child into the world. Lie down\nhere then in the side room, and to-morrow I will guide you to the\ncity.\u2019\n\nThe king took the offer, and lay down in the side room; but he could\nnot close an eye for the moaning of the charcoal-burner\u2019s wife. Towards\nmidnight she bore a beautiful boy, and now it was quiet in the hut. Yet\nstill the king could not sleep. He got up from his couch, drew near the\ndoor, and looked through a chink into the room where the sick woman\nlay. He could see her sleeping in her bed; her man, fast asleep too,\nlay behind the stove; and in its cradle was the new-born child, with\nthree ladies in white standing round it.\n\nThe king heard one say, \u2018I wish this boy a misfortune.\u2019\n\nThe second said, \u2018And I grant him a means to turn this misfortune to\ngood.\u2019\n\nThe third said, \u2018I will bring to pass his marriage with the daughter of\nthe king who is now in the next room. At this very moment his wife is\nbringing into the world a girl of marvellous beauty.\u2019\n\nThereupon the three ladies departed; and the king thought and thought\nhow to destroy this boy. Early next morning the charcoal-burner came\ninto the side room and said, weeping, to the king, \u2018My poor wife is\ndead. What can I do with the little child?\u2019\n\nThe king answered, quite rejoiced, \u2018I am the king, and will care for\nthe child. Only show me the way to the city, and I will send one of my\nservants to fetch the child.\u2019\n\nAnd so it was. The charcoal-burner guided his king to the city and was\nrichly rewarded; and the king sent a servant back with secret\ninstructions to fling the boy into the river and let him drown. When\nnow the servant was returning from the forest with the child, he flung\nit, basket and all, into the river, and told the king, \u2018Most gracious\nking, I have done as thou hast commanded me.\u2019 The king rewarded him,\nand went now to his wife, who the night before had borne a girl of\nmarvellous beauty.\n\nThe basket with the boy went floating about a long time on the water,\nand at last was seen by a fisherman who drew it out, and took the child\nhome to his wife. They both rejoiced greatly at the sight of this\npretty boy; and as they had no children they kept him and brought him\nup.\n\nTwenty years went by; and the boy, whom his parents called Nameless,\ngrew up a wonderfully pretty lad. Once the king passed the fisherman\u2019s\nhut, and saw the fair youngster. He entered the hut and asked the\nfisherman, \u2018Is this pretty youngster your son?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said the fisherman, \u2018twenty years ago I fished him out of the\nwater.\u2019\n\nThen the king was exceeding terrified, and said presently, \u2018I will\nwrite a letter to the queen, and this lad shall take it to her.\u2019\n\nSo he wrote this letter: \u2018Dear wife, have this lad put forthwith to\ndeath, else he will undo us all.\u2019\n\nNameless set out with the letter for the queen, but on his way to the\ncity lost himself in a forest, and there met a lady in white who said\nto him, \u2018You have lost yourself. Come to my hut, and rest a bit; then\nI\u2019ll soon bring you to the queen.\u2019\n\nShe led Nameless to her hut, and there he fell fast asleep. The old\nlady took the letter from his pocket, burnt it, and put another in its\nstead. When the lad awoke, to his great amazement he found himself in\nfront of the king\u2019s house. So he went in to the queen and gave her the\nletter, in which stood written: \u2018Dear wife, at once call the pope, and\nlet him plight this lad to our daughter. I wish him to marry her, else\na great ill will befall us.\u2019\n\nThe queen did as her husband, the king, desired. She bade call the\npope, and Nameless and the king\u2019s fair daughter became man and wife.\nWhen the king came home and learnt of this wedding, he had the letter\nbrought, and saw it was his own handwriting. Then he asked his\nson-in-law where he had been and whom he had spoken with; and when\nNameless told him about the lady in white, the king knew that the fairy\n[96] had aided him. Nameless was not at all the son-in-law he wanted,\nand he sought to make away with him, so said, \u2018Go into the world and\nfetch me three golden hairs from the head of the Sun-King, then shall\nyou be king along with me.\u2019\n\nSorrowfully Nameless set out, for he loved his young wife, and she too\nloved him dearly. As he wandered on he came to a great black lake, and\nsaw a white boat floating on the water. He cried to the old man in it,\n\u2018Boat ahoy! come and ferry me over.\u2019\n\nThe old man answered, \u2018I will take you across if you\u2019ll promise to\nbring me word how to escape out of this boat, for only then can I die.\u2019\n\nNameless promised, and the old man ferried him over the black water.\nSoon after Nameless came to a great city, where an old man asked him,\n\u2018Whither away?\u2019\n\n\u2018To the Sun-King,\u2019 said Nameless.\n\n\u2018Couldn\u2019t be better. Come, I\u2019ll bring you to our king, who\u2019ll have\nsomething to say to you.\u2019\n\nThe king, when Nameless stood before him, said, \u2018Twenty years ago there\nwas in our city a spring whose water made every one that drank of it\ngrow young. The spring has vanished, and only the Sun-King knows where\nit is gone to. You are journeying to him, so ask him where it is gone\nto, and bring us word.\u2019\n\nNameless promised him to bring word on his return, and departed. Some\ndays after he came to another city, and there another old man met him\nand asked, \u2018Whither away?\u2019\n\n\u2018To the Sun-King,\u2019 said Nameless.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s capital. Come, I\u2019ll bring you to our king, who\u2019ll have\nsomething to say to you.\u2019\n\nWhen they came to the king, the king said, \u2018Twenty years ago a tree in\nthis city bore golden apples; whoso ate of those apples grew strong and\nhealthy, and died not. But now for twenty years this tree has put forth\nno more fruit, and only the Sun-King knows the reason why. So when you\ncome to him, ask him about it, and bring us word.\u2019\n\nNameless promised him to bring word on his return, and departed. Some\ndays after he reached a great mountain, and there saw an old lady in\nwhite sitting in front of a beautiful house. She asked him, \u2018Whither\naway?\u2019\n\n\u2018I seek the Sun-King,\u2019 said Nameless.\n\n\u2018Come in then,\u2019 said the old lady. \u2018I am the mother of the Sun-King,\nwho daily flies out of this house as a little child, at mid-day becomes\na man, and returns of an evening a greybeard.\u2019\n\nShe brought Nameless into the house, and made him tell her his story.\nHe told her of the man on the black lake, of the spring, and of the\ntree that used to bear golden apples.\n\nThen said the old lady, \u2018I will ask my son all about that. But come,\nlet me hide you; for if my son finds you here he\u2019ll burn you up.\u2019\n\nShe hid Nameless in a great vessel of water, and bade him keep quiet.\nAt evening the Sun-King came home, a feeble old man with golden head,\nand got victuals and drink from his mother. When he had eaten and\ndrunk, he laid his golden head in his mother\u2019s lap and fell fast\nasleep. Then the old lady twitched out a golden hair, and he cried,\n\u2018Mother, why won\u2019t you let me sleep?\u2019\n\nThe old lady answered, \u2018I saw in a dream a city with a tree which used\nto bear golden apples, and whoso ate of them grew well and healthy, and\ndied not. For twenty years now the tree has put forth no more fruit,\nand the people know not what they ought to do.\u2019\n\nThe Sun-King said, \u2018They should kill the serpent that gnaws at the root\nof the tree.\u2019\n\nAgain he slept, and after a while his mother twitched out a second\nhair. Then cried the Sun-King, \u2018Mother, what\u2019s the meaning of this? why\ncan\u2019t you let me sleep?\u2019\n\nThe old lady answered, \u2018My dear son, I dreamed of a city with a spring,\nand whoso drank of it grew young again. Twenty years has this spring\nceased to flow, and the people know not what they should do.\u2019\n\nThe Sun-King said, \u2018A great toad is blocking the source of the spring.\nThey should kill the toad, then the spring will flow as before.\u2019\n\nAgain he slept, and after a while the old lady in white twitched out a\nthird hair. Then cried the Sun-King, \u2018Mother, do let me sleep.\u2019\n\nThe old lady answered, \u2018I saw in a dream a great black lake with an old\nman rowing about it in a boat, and he doesn\u2019t know how to escape from\nthe boat, for only then can he die.\u2019\n\nThe Sun-King said, \u2018Next time he takes any one over, let him hand him\nthe oars and jump ashore himself; then the other must stop in the boat,\nand the old man can die.\u2019\n\nAgain he slept.\n\nEarly next morning the Sun-King arose as a lovely child, and flew out\nof the window. The old lady gave Nameless the three hairs and said,\n\u2018Now go to your wife, and give the king the three hairs. I have done\nfor you all that at your birth I promised my sisters. And now\nfarewell.\u2019\n\nShe kissed Nameless, and led him outside, and he started off homewards.\nWhen he came to the city where the spring had ceased to flow, he told\nthe people to kill the great toad that blocked up the source. They\nlooked, found the toad, and killed it; then the spring flowed again,\nand the king rewarded him richly. When Nameless came to the city where\nfor twenty years the tree had ceased to bear golden apples, he told the\npeople to kill the serpent that was gnawing the roots of the tree. The\npeople dug down, found the serpent, and killed it. Then the tree again\nbore golden fruit, and the king rewarded him richly. When Nameless\nreached the black lake, the old man would not take him across. But\nNameless said if he would he would tell him the secret then, so the old\nman took him across the black water. When he was out of the boat he\ntold the old man to hand his oars to the next passenger and then jump\nashore himself; so he would be free and at last could die, but the\nother would have to go rowing about on the lake.\n\nNameless soon got back home, and gave the king the three golden hairs;\nhis wife rejoiced greatly, but her father was beside himself for rage.\nBut when Nameless told of the spring and the golden apples, the king\ncried quite delighted, \u2018I too must drink of this spring; I too must eat\nof these golden apples.\u2019 He set out instantly, but when he reached the\nblack lake, the old man handed him the oars and jumped ashore. And the\nking could not leave the boat, and had to stop there on the water. As\nhe never came home, Nameless became king of the country, and lived\nhenceforth with his beautiful bride in peace and prosperity.\n\n\n    Identical with Wratislaw\u2019s Bohemian story of \u2018The Three Golden\n    Hairs of Grandfather Allknow\u2019 (Sixty Slavonic Folk-tales, pp.\n    16\u201325), and with Grimm\u2019s No. 29, \u2018The Devil with the Three Golden\n    Hairs\u2019 (i. 119\u2013125, 377\u2013378), only the German tale opens\n    defectively. Wlislocki\u2019s opening, however, meets us again in\n    Bernhard Schmidt\u2019s \u2018Der Spruch der Moeren\u2019 (Griechische M\u00e4rchen,\n    No. 2, p. 67), where, as elsewhere, the part of the fairies is\n    taken by the three Moirai or fates. The whole question of fairy\n    mythology requires to be carefully re-studied in the light of our\n    copious stock of Greek and Indian folk-tales, of which Leyden and\n    Grimm could know nothing. In his Deutsche Mythologie (i. 382) Grimm\n    expresses himself as in doubt whether fata came to mean \u2018fairies\u2019\n    owing to Celtic or to Teutonic influences; probably fata was a\n    conscious translation of the Greek moirai, and is an indication\n    that the fairy mythology of Western Europe was largely, if not\n    wholly, derived from Greek-speaking Levantine sources.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 39.\u2014THE DOG AND THE MAIDEN\n\nThere was once a poor Gypsy with a very beautiful daughter, whom he\nguarded like the apple of his eye, for he wanted to marry her to a\nchieftain. So he always kept her in the tent when the lads and lasses\nsat of an evening by the fire and told stories, or beguiled the time\nwith play and dance. Only a dog was the constant companion of this poor\nmaiden. No one knew whom the dog belonged to, or where he came from. He\nhad joined the band once, and thenceforth continued the trusty\ncompanion of the poor beautiful maiden.\n\nIt befell once that her father must go to a far city, to sell there his\nbesoms, baskets, spoons, and troughs. He left his daughter with the\nother women in the tents on the heath, and set out with the men for the\ncity. This troubled the poor girl greatly, for no one would speak to\nher, as all the women envied her for her beauty and avoided her; in a\nword, they hated the sight of her. Only the dog remained true to her;\nand once, as she sat sorrowfully in front of the tent, he said, \u2018Come,\nlet us go out on the heath; there I will tell you who I really am.\u2019 The\ngirl was terrified, for she had never heard of a dog being able to\nspeak like a man; but when the dog repeated his request, she got up and\nwent with him out on the heath. There the dog said, \u2018Kiss me, and I\nshall become a man.\u2019 The girl kissed him, and lo! before her stood a\nman of wondrous beauty. He sat down beside her in the grass, and told\nhow a fairy had turned him into a dog for trying to steal her golden\napples, and how he could resume his human shape for but one night in\nthe year, and only then if a girl had kissed him first. Much more had\nthe two to tell, and they toyed in the long grass all the livelong\nnight. When day dawned, the girl slipped back with the dog to her tent;\nand the two henceforth were the very best of friends.\n\nThe poor Gypsy came back from the city to the heath, merry because he\nhad made a good bit of money. When again he must go to the city to sell\nhis besoms and spoons, the girl remained behind with the dog in the\ncamp, and one night she brought forth a little white puppy. In her\nterror and anguish she ran to the great river, and jumped into the\nwater. When the people sought to draw her out of the water, they could\nnot find her corpse; and the old Gypsy, her father, would have thrown\nhimself in too, when a handsome strange gentleman came up, and said,\n\u2018I\u2019ll soon get you the body.\u2019 He took a bit of bread, kissed it, and\nthrew it into the water. The dead girl straightway emerged from the\nwater. The people drew the corpse to land, and bore it back to the\ntents, in three days\u2019 time to bury it. But the strange gentleman said,\n\u2018I will bring my sweetheart to life.\u2019 And he took the little white\npuppy, the dead girl\u2019s son, and laid it on the bosom of the corpse. The\npuppy began to suck, and when it had sucked its full, the dead girl\nawoke, and, on seeing the handsome man, started up and flew into his\narms, for he was her lover who had lived with her as a white dog.\n\nAll greatly rejoiced when they heard this marvellous story, and nobody\nthought of the little white puppy, the son of the beautiful Gypsy girl.\nAll of a sudden they heard a baby cry; and when they looked round, they\nsaw a little child lying in the grass. Then was the joy great indeed.\nThe little puppy had vanished and taken human shape. So they celebrated\nmarriage and baptism together, and lived in wealth and prosperity till\ntheir happy end.\n\n\n    This finding a drowned body by casting one\u2019s bread on the waters\n    has been practised in England by non-Gypsies not so many years ago.\n    Gypsies may have brought the method with them from the Continent.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 40.\u2014DEATH THE SWEETHEART\n\nThere was once a pretty young girl with no husband, no father, no\nmother, no brothers, no kinsfolk: they were all dead and gone. She\nlived alone in a hut at the end of the village; and no one came near\nher, and she never went near any one. One evening a goodly wanderer\ncame to her, opened the door, and cried, \u2018I am a wanderer, and have\nbeen far in the world. Here will I rest; I can no further go.\u2019 The\nmaiden said, \u2018Stay here, I will give thee a mattress to sleep on, and,\nif thou wilt, victuals and drink too.\u2019 The goodly wanderer soon lay\ndown and said, \u2018Now once again I sleep; it is long since I slept last.\u2019\n\u2018How long?\u2019 asked the girl; and he answered, \u2018Dear maid, I sleep but\none week in a thousand years.\u2019 The girl laughed and said, \u2018Thou\njestest, surely? thou art a roguish fellow.\u2019 But the wanderer was sound\nasleep.\n\nEarly next morning he arose and said, \u2018Thou art a pretty young girl. If\nthou wilt, I will tarry here a whole week longer.\u2019 She gladly agreed,\nfor already she loved the goodly wanderer. So once they were sleeping,\nand she roused him and said, \u2018Dear man, I dreamt such an evil dream. I\ndreamt thou hadst grown cold and white, and we drove in a beautiful\ncarriage, drawn by six white birds. Thou didst blow on a mighty horn;\nthen dead folk came up and went with us\u2014thou wert their king.\u2019 Then\nanswered the goodly wanderer, \u2018That was an evil dream.\u2019 Straightway he\narose and said, \u2018Beloved, I must go, for not a soul has died this long\nwhile in all the world. I must off, let me go.\u2019 But the girl wept and\nsaid, \u2018Go not away; bide with me.\u2019 \u2018I must go,\u2019 he answered, \u2018God keep\nthee.\u2019 But, as he reached her his hand, she said sobbing, \u2018Tell me,\ndear man, who thou art then.\u2019 \u2018Who knows that dies,\u2019 said the wanderer,\n\u2018thou askest vainly; I tell thee not who I am.\u2019 Then the girl wept and\nsaid, \u2018I will suffer everything, only do tell me who thou art.\u2019 \u2018Good,\u2019\nsaid the man, \u2018then thou comest with me. I am Death.\u2019 The girl\nshuddered and died.\n\n\n    The one beautiful story of the whole collection. And yet\u2014I doubt.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nSLOVAK, MORAVIAN, AND BOHEMIAN GYPSY STORIES\n\n\nNO. 41.\u2014THE THREE GIRLS\n\nSomewhere there was a king who had three daughters, princesses. Those\nthree sisters used to go to meet the devils, and the father knew not\nwhere they went to. But there was one called Jankos; Halenka aided him.\n\nThe king asks Jankos, \u2018Don\u2019t you know where my daughters go? Not one\nsingle night are they at home, and they are always wearing out new\nshoes.\u2019\n\nThen Jankos lay down in front of the door, and kept watch to see where\nthey went to. But Halenka told him everything; she aided him. \u2018They\nwill, when they come, fling fire on you, and prick you with needles.\u2019\nHalenka told him he must not stir, but be like a corpse.\n\nThey came, those devils, for the girls, and straightway the girls set\nout with them to hell. On, on, they walked, but he stuck close to them.\nAs the girls went to hell he followed close behind, but so that they\nknew it not. He went through the diamond forest; when he came there he\ncut himself a diamond twig from the forest. He follows; straightway\nthey, those girls, cried, \u2018Jankos is coming behind us.\u2019 For when he\nbroke it, he made a great noise. The girls heard it. \u2018Jankos is coming\nbehind us.\u2019\n\nBut the devils said, \u2018What does it matter if he is?\u2019\n\nNext they went through the forest of glass, and once more he cut off a\ntwig; now he had two tokens. Then they went through the golden forest,\nand once more he cut off a twig; so now he had three. Then Halenka\ntells him, \u2018I shall change you into a fly, and when you come into hell,\ncreep under the bed, hide yourself there, and see what will happen.\u2019\n\nThen the devils danced with the girls, who tore their shoes all to\npieces, for they danced upon blades of knives, and so they must tear\nthem. Then they flung the shoes under the bed, where Jankos took them,\nso that he might show them at home. When the devils had danced with the\ngirls, each of them threw his girl upon the bed and lay with her; thus\ndid they with two of them, but the third would not yield herself. Then\nJankos, having got all he wanted, returned home and lay down again in\nfront of the door, \u2018that the girls may know I am lying here.\u2019\n\nThe girls returned after midnight, and went to bed in their room as if\nnothing had happened. But Jankos knew well what had happened, and\nstraightway he went to their father, the king, and showed him the\ntokens. \u2018I know where your daughters go\u2014to hell. The three girls must\nown they were there, in the fire. Isn\u2019t it true? weren\u2019t you there? And\nif you believe me not, I will show you the tokens. See, here is one\ntoken from the diamond forest; then here is one from the forest of\nglass; a third from the golden forest; and the fourth is the shoes\nwhich you tore dancing with the devils. And two of you lay with the\ndevils, but that third one not, she would not yield herself.\u2019\n\nStraightway the king seized his rifle, and straightway he shot them\ndead. Then he seized a knife, and slit up their bellies, and\nstraightway the devils were scattered out from their bellies. Then he\nburied them in the church, and laid each coffin in front of the altar,\nand every night a soldier stood guard over them. But every night those\ntwo used to rend the soldier in pieces; more than a hundred were rent\nthus. At last it fell to a new soldier, a recruit, to stand guard; when\nhe went upon guard he was weeping. But a little old man came to him\u2014it\nwas my God; and Jankos was there with the soldier. And the old man\ntells him, \u2018When the twelfth hour strikes and they come out of their\ncoffins, straightway jump in and lie down in the coffin, and don\u2019t\nleave the coffin, for if you do they will rend you. So don\u2019t you go\nout, even if they beg you and fling fire on you, for they will beg you\nhard to come out.\u2019\n\nThus then till morning he lay in the coffin. In the morning those two\nwere alive again, and both kneeling in front of the altar. They were\nlovelier than ever. Then the soldier took one to wife, and Jankos took\nthe other. Then when they came home with them their father was very\nglad. Then Jankos and the soldier got married, and if they are not dead\nthey are still alive.\n\n\n    A confused, imperfect story, but plainly identical with Grimm\u2019s No.\n    133, \u2018The Shoes that were danced to Pieces\u2019 (ii. 179, 430), and\n    with \u2018The Slippers of the Twelve Princesses\u2019 (Roumanian Fairy\n    Tales, by E. B. M., p. 1). The Gypsy finale is reminiscent of many\n    vampire stories. \u2018The story-teller,\u2019 says Dr. von Sowa, \u2018explained\n    Halenka as an alias of Jankos; that this is not so, but that\n    Halenka must stand for some higher being, a fairy, is shown by the\n    story.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nNO. 42.\u2014THE DRAGON\n\nThere was a great city. In that city was great mourning; every day it\nwas hung with black cloth and with red. There was in a cave a great\ndragon; it had four-and-twenty heads. Every day must he eat a woman\u2014ah!\nGod! what can be done in such a case? It is clean impossible every day\nto find food for that dragon. There was but one girl left. Her father\nwas a very wealthy man; he was a king; over all kings he was lord. And\nthere came a certain wanderer, came into the city, and asked what\u2019s new\nthere.\n\nThey said to him, \u2018Here is very great mourning.\u2019\n\n\u2018Why so? any one dead?\u2019\n\n\u2018Every day we must feed the dragon with twenty-four heads. If we failed\nto feed him, he would crush all our city underneath his feet.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ll help you out of that. It is just twelve o\u2019clock; I will go there\nalone with my dog.\u2019\n\nHe had such a big dog: whatever a man just thought of, that dog\nimmediately knew. It would have striven with the very devil. When the\nwanderer came to the cave, he kept crying, \u2018Dragon, come out here with\nyour blind mother. Bread and men you have eaten, but will eat no more.\nI\u2019ll see if you are any good.\u2019\n\nThe dragon called him into his cave, and the wanderer said to him, \u2018Now\ngive me whatever I ask for to eat and to drink, and swear to me always\nto give that city peace, and never to eat men, no, not one. For if ever\nI hear of your doing so I shall come back and cut your throat.\u2019\n\n\u2018My good man, fear not; I swear to you. For I see you\u2019re a proper man.\nIf you weren\u2019t, I should long since have eaten up you and your dog.\nThen tell me what you want of me.\u2019\n\n\u2018I only want you to bring me the finest wine to drink, and meat such as\nno man has ever eaten. If you don\u2019t, you will see I shall destroy\neverything that is yours, shall shut you up here, and you will never\ncome out of this cave.\u2019\n\n\u2018Good, I will fetch a basket of meat, and forthwith cook it for you.\u2019\n\nHe went and brought him such meat as no man ever had eaten. When he had\neaten and drunk his fill, then the dragon must swear to him never to\neat anybody, but sooner to die of hunger.\n\n\u2018Good, so let us leave it.\u2019\n\nHe went back, that man, who thus had delivered the city, so that it had\npeace. Then all the gentlemen asked him what he wanted for doing so\nwell. The dragon from that hour never ate any one. And if they are not\ndead they are still alive.\n\n\n    This story belongs to the \u2018Valiant Little Tailor\u2019 group (No. 21).\n    The maiden-tribute is a familiar feature; the Tobit-like dog seems\n    superfluous, but cf. Hahn\u2019s No. 22, i. 170, ii. 217. English-Gypsy\n    women wear black and red in mourning.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 43.\u2014THE PRINCESS AND THE FORESTER\u2019S SON\n\nSomewhere or other there lived a forester. He ill-used his wife and his\nchildren, and often got drunk. Then the mother said, \u2018My children, the\nfather is always beating us, so we\u2019ll get our things together and leave\nhim. We will wander out into the world, whither our eyes lead us.\u2019\n\nThey took their things, and followed the road through a great forest.\nThey journeyed two days and two nights without reaching any place, so\nthe eldest son said to his mother, \u2018Mother, dear, night has come on us,\nlet us sleep here.\u2019\n\n\u2018My children,\u2019 said the mother, \u2018pluck moss, make a resting-place, and\nwe will lie down here to sleep.\u2019\n\nThe elder son said to his brother, \u2018Go for wood.\u2019\n\nThey made a fire, and seated themselves by it.\n\nThen said the elder son to his brother, \u2018Now, you must keep watch, for\nthere are wild beasts about, so that we be not devoured. Do you sleep\nfirst; then you\u2019ll get up, I lie down to sleep, then you will watch\nagain.\u2019\n\nSo the younger brother lay down near his mother to sleep; the elder\nkept watch with his gun. Then he thought within himself, and said,\n\u2018Great God! wherever are we in these great forests? Surely we soon must\nperish.\u2019 He climbed up a high tree, and looked all round, till a light\nflashed in his eyes. When he saw the light, he took his hat from his\nhead, and let it drop. [97] Then he climbed down, and looked to see if\nhis mother was all right. From the spot where his hat lay he walked\nstraight forward for a good distance, a whole half hour. Then he\nobserved a fire. Who were there but four-and-twenty robbers, cooking\nand drinking? He went through the wood, keeping out of their sight, and\nloaded his gun; and, just as one of them was taking a drink of wine, he\nshot the jug right from his lips, so that only the handle was left in\nhis hand. And his gun was so constructed that it made no report.\n\nThen the robber said to his comrade, \u2018Comrade, why won\u2019t you let me\nalone, but knock the jug out of my mouth?\u2019\n\n\u2018You fool, I never touched you.\u2019\n\nHe took a pull out of another jug, and the lad loaded again. He sat on\na tree, and again shot the jug\u2014shot it away from his mouth, so that the\nhandle remained in his hand.\n\nThen the first robber said, \u2018Will you leave me alone, else I\u2019ll pay you\nout with this knife?\u2019\n\nBut his comrade stepped up to him, looking just like a fool; at last he\nsaid, \u2018My good fellow, I am not touching you. See, it is twice that has\nhappened; maybe it is some one in the forest. Take your gun, and let\u2019s\ngo and look if there is not some one there.\u2019\n\nThey went and they hunted, searched every tree, and found him, the\nforester\u2019s son, sitting on a tree at the very top. They said to him,\n\u2018You earth-devil, come down. If you won\u2019t, we\u2019ll shoot at you till you\nfall down from the tree.\u2019\n\nBut he would not come. Again they ordered him. What was the poor fellow\nto do? He had to come. When he was down, they each seized him by an\narm, and he thought to himself, \u2018Things look bad with me. I shall never\nsee my mother and brother again. They\u2019ll either kill me, or tie me up\nto a tree.\u2019\n\nThey brought him to the fire and asked him, \u2018What are you?\u2014are you a\ncraftsman?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am one of your trade.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you are of our trade, eat, drink, and smoke as much as your heart\ndesires.\u2019\n\nWhen he had eaten and drunk, they said, \u2018Since you are such a clever\nchap, and such a good shot, there is a castle with a princess in it,\nwhom we went after, but could not come at her anyhow, this princess.\nMaybe, as you are so smart, there\u2019s a big dog yonder that made us run,\nbut as you are such a good shot, and your gun makes no report, you\u2019ll\nkill this dog, and then we\u2019ll make you our captain.\u2019\n\nThen they broke up camp, took something to eat and to drink, and came\nto the castle. When they reached the castle the dog made a great noise.\nThey lifted him up, the forester\u2019s son; he aimed his gun, and, as the\ndog sprang at him, he fired and hit him. The dog made ten more paces,\nand fell to the earth. As he fell, the lad said to the robbers,\n\u2018Comrades, the dog is dead.\u2019\n\n\u2018Brave fellow,\u2019 said they, \u2018now you shall be our captain, for killing\nthe dog; but one thing more you must do. We will make a hole for you in\nthe wall. When we have done that, then\u2014you are so slender\u2014you will\ncreep through the hole.\u2019 [98]\n\nThey made the hole, and he crept through it. Then the robbers said to\nhim, \u2018Here you, you have to go up a flight of steps, and at the fourth\nflight you will come to a door. There is one door, two doors, three\ndoors.\u2019\n\nSo through each door he passed; then he passed through the third, there\nwere a quantity of swords. He saw they were very fine swords, and took\none of them. Then he went to the fourth, opened it slowly; it did not\nstop him, for the keys were there. Through the keyhole he saw a bed.\nThen he opened it, and went in. There he saw a princess lying, quite\nnaked, but [99] covered with a cloth of gold. At her feet stood a\ntable, on which lay a pair of golden scissors. There were golden\nclasps, and there were two rings, and her name was engraved inside one\nof them. And when he sees her sleeping thus, he thought, \u2018O great God,\nwhat if I were to lie down beside her! Do, my God, as thou wilt.\u2019 So he\ntook the scissors, and cut off half the cloth of gold, and lay down\nbeside her; and she could not awake. Then he arose, and took to himself\nthe half of the coverlet and one of the rings and one of her slippers,\nand went out, taking the sword with him, and shutting the door. As he\npassed through the fourth door he said to himself, \u2018I must open it\ncarefully, so as not to waken her mother and father.\u2019 He got out\nsafely, then he went through the courtyard to the robbers. When he\nreached the hole he said to them, \u2018My dear men, I know where she is.\nCome, we\u2019ll soon have the princess, but you must creep through the hole\none after the other.\u2019 Then he drew his sword, and, as one came through\nafter the other, he seized him by the head, cut off his head, and cast\nhim aside. When he had done so to the twenty-fourth, he cast away the\nsword, and returned by the way that he had come to his mother, where\nthey had slept. (He had thought never again to see his mother and his\nbrother.) When he came to his mother, he said, \u2018Mother, how do you find\nyourself? you must be sleepy.\u2019\n\nHis mother asked him, \u2018My dear son, how have you managed to do with so\nlittle sleep?\u2019\n\nHis younger brother said, \u2018Why didn\u2019t you wake me up?\u2019\n\n\u2018You were so sleepy, I let you sleep.\u2019\n\nThen they made a fire, ate and drank, and wandered on again through the\nforest. They arrived in a town, and sought employment. The mother said\nto her eldest son, \u2018My son, we will stay at least a year here.\u2019 She\nfortunately got a place at a big house as cook, and the two lads went\nas servants to an innkeeper. When they had been a year there, the\nmother said to her two sons, \u2018Just see how well off we were at home,\nand here we have to work, and I an old body. You are young folk, and\ncan stick to it, but I am old, and can\u2019t stand it any longer. The\nfather ill-used us; still, let us return home, if the Lord God gives us\nhealth and strength to do so.\u2019\n\nSo they made ready; the landlord paid them their wages; and they set\nout. They went by the very way that he had gone by to the castle where\nhe killed the twenty-four robbers.\n\nBut how had they got on there since the year when he did that to her?\nThe princess had borne a child, but she knew not who was the father.\nShe had a tavern built not far from the castle, and said to her mother,\n\u2018Mother dear, see what has befallen me, and how I now am. But I know\nnot whom the child is by. You have let me have the tavern built.\nWhoever comes there I will entertain gratis, and ask him what he has\nlearned in the world\u2014whether he has any story to tell me, or whether he\nhas had any strange experiences. Perhaps the man will turn up by whom I\nhad the child.\u2019\n\nAs luck would have it, the two brothers came through the village where\nthe tavern was. There was a large sign-board, on which was written,\n\u2018Every man may eat and drink to his heart\u2019s desire, and smoke, only he\nmust relate his experiences that he has gone through in the world.\u2019 The\nelder lad said to his brother, \u2018Brother dear, where are we? I don\u2019t\nmyself know.\u2019 But right well he knew whom the tavern belonged to. They\nhalted. Then he looked at the notice, and said to his mother, \u2018See,\nmother dear, see what that is. See there is written that the victuals\nand drink are gratis.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let us go in, my son; we are very hungry, anyhow. Sure, we\u2019ll find\nsomething to tell her, if only she\u2019ll give us to eat and to drink.\u2019\n\nThey went into the tavern. Straightway the hostess greeted them, and\nsaid, \u2018Good-day, where do you come from?\u2019\n\n\u2018We come from a town out yonder. We have been working there; now we\nwant to return home, where my husband is.\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018Good. What might you drink, what will you eat? I will give\nyou just what you want.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, my God!\u2019 said she, \u2018kind lady, if you would be so good as to give\nus something. We know you are a kind lady.\u2019\n\nSo she said to her women-servants, \u2018Bring wine here, bring beer here,\nbring food here, and for the two men bring something to smoke.\u2019\n\nWhen they brought it, they ate and drank.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 said the princess\u2014the seeming hostess, but they knew not that\nshe was a princess; only the elder brother knew it\u2014\u2018oh! if only you\nwould tell me something. Come, you, old wife, what have you seen in\nyour time?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, my good lady, I have gone through plenty. When I was at home, my\nman drank much, ran through my money. When he got drunk, he\u2019d come\nhome, scold and knock me about, smash everything that came to hand, and\nas for his children, he couldn\u2019t bear the sight of them. He scolded and\nknocked them about till they didn\u2019t know where they were. At last I\nsaid to my children, \u201cMy children, since I can\u2019t get on with my man,\nand he uses us so badly, let us take our few things, and go off into\nthe world.\u201d\u2019\n\nThe hostess listened, brought the old wife a mug of beer, and gave it\nher. When she had drunk, the hostess said, \u2018Speak on.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, we set off and journeyed through the great forests, where we\nmust go on and on, two whole days, without ever lighting on town or\nvillage. Never a peasant was to be seen, and night,\u2019 she said, \u2018came\nupon us, when we could go no further, and I was so weak that I could\nnot take another step. There, poor soul, I had to bide, lying in the\ngreat forest under a great tree. It rained, and we crouched close under\nso as not to get wet. Forthwith I gathered wood, made a big fire,\nplucked moss, and made a resting-place for us. It was dark, and my sons\nsaid, \u201cWe must mind and not be eaten by wild beasts.\u201d And my elder son\nsaid to his brother, \u201cI will think what must be done. You, too, have a\ncouple of guns; if anything attacks us, you will shoot.\u201d But he said to\nhis elder brother, \u201cDo you, my brother, sleep first, and when you have\nhad your sleep out, then you will watch again.\u201d [100] As they all slept\nunder that great tree, he thought to himself, \u201cI will sling my gun\nround my neck and climb a tree.\u201d He climbed a tree, reached its top,\nfor he wondered whether he might not see something\u2014a village or a town\nor a light. As it was, he did see a light. He took the hat from his\nhead, and threw it in the direction of the light.\u2019\n\nThen she said, \u2018Ah! hostess, believe him not. Mark you, that is not\ntrue,\u2019 said his mother.\n\nBut she went and brought them beer, and said, \u2018Tell on.\u2019\n\nAnd he said, \u2018I climbed down the tree to look where my hat was.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah! believe him not, hostess, believe him not; mark you, that is not\ntrue.\u2019\n\n\u2018Nay, let him go on with his story. What was there?\u2019\n\n\u2018Twenty-four robbers. There was a bright light that dazzled my eyes.\nNot far from them was a tree.\u2019 [At this point the story-teller forgot\nthat the elder son is the narrator, so resumed the third person,\nrepeating his former words almost verbatim till he came to the passage\nwhere the robbers send the lad into the castle.]\n\nThen said the old mother to the hostess, \u2018Believe him not, believe him\nnot, for that is not true which he tells you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Let him proceed. What have you then done?\u2019 the hostess asked him.\n\n\u2018I\u2014have done nothing.\u2019\n\n\u2018You must have done something.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well then, I have lain with you. I took away the ring; I took half the\ncloth of gold; a slipper I took from you\u2014that I carried off. And I took\nme a sword, and went out, shut the door behind me. Then I went to where\nthe robbers were, called to them to step through the hole one after\nanother. As they came through the hole, I cut off each one\u2019s head, and\nflung him aside.\u2019\n\nThen the hostess saw it was true. \u2018Then you will be my man.\u2019\n\nAnd he drew the things out, and showed them to her. And they\nstraightway embraced, and kissed one another. And she went into the\nlittle room, fetched the boy. \u2018See, that is your child; I am your\nwife.\u2019\n\nForthwith she bids them harness two horses to the carriage; they drove\nto the castle. When they reached it, she said to her father, \u2018Father\ndear, see, I have soon found my husband.\u2019\n\nForthwith they made a feast, invited everybody. Forthwith the banns\nwere proclaimed, and they were married. The floor there was made of\npaper, and I came away here.\n\n\n    Identical with Grimm\u2019s No. 111, \u2018The Skilful Huntsman\u2019 (ii. 102),\n    but in some points more closely resembling the variants on p. 412.\n    There are also some striking analogies to our Welsh-Gypsy story of\n    \u2018An Old King and his Three Sons in England,\u2019 No. 55.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 44.\u2014THE THREE DRAGONS\n\nA gentleman had three daughters. They went one day to a pond to bathe.\nThere came a dragon, and carried them off. He hurried with them to a\nrocky cave. There they remained twelve years, without their father\nseeing them again or knowing where they were. There was a sly-boots\ncalled Bruntslikos. He went to the girls\u2019 father, and told him he would\ndo his best to find his daughters. The father promised him one of them\nto wife, if he could find them. He took the road, and stayed seven\nyears away; then he demanded a horse of the girls\u2019 father. He mounted\nit, and rode a whole year through the forest. At last he came to a\ntavern; two fellows there asked him where he was going to. He told them\nthat he was going in search of three maidens. They offered to go with\nhim. \u2018Good,\u2019 he thought, \u2018three will make merrier company.\u2019\n\nAs they went through the forest, the horse stamped his foot against the\nentrance to the dragon\u2019s cave, and pawed against it. Then Bruntslikos\nknew that those he was seeking were there. It was a great cavity in the\nrock. He left the two comrades on the brink above, and made them lower\nhim by a rope to fetch up one of the maidens. He said he must fetch her\nat any cost. When he came down, she sat alone in the house; the dragon\nhas gone to hunt hares.\n\nWhen he came to her, she asked, \u2018How comest thou here, my beloved? Here\nmust thou lose thy life.\u2019\n\n\u2018I have no fear,\u2019 he answered.\n\n\u2018Never a bird comes flying here,\u2019 she said, \u2018but thou hast come.\u2019 [101]\n\n\u2018I will see, though,\u2019 she thought, \u2018what sort of a hero he is,\u2019 and\nbade him brandish a sword; but he could not so much as raise it from\nthe ground. But there was wine there. She made him drink thereof;\nstraightway he felt himself stronger. And she bade him now lift the\nsword; he fell to so cutting and thrusting with it in the air that he\nnow no more dreaded the dragon.\n\n\u2018Now I am strong,\u2019 he said, \u2018I will soon help thee out of here.\u2019\n\n\u2018God grant thou may,\u2019 she said, \u2018then will I be thy bride.\u2019\n\nShe gave him a golden ring, which she cut in half; the one half she\ngave to him, kept the other herself.\n\nThen came the dragon home. When he still was fourteen miles off, he\nflung a hammer there, weighing nearly fifteen hundredweight. When he\ncame, he said to his wife, \u2018I smell human flesh.\u2019\n\nShe said, \u2018Dear husband, but how could that be? How could it get here?\nHither comes never a bird. How could human flesh get here?\u2019\n\n\u2018But I feel,\u2019 he said, \u2018that a man\u2019s here. Don\u2019t talk nonsense.\u2019 And he\ncame nearer, and called, \u2018Brother-in-law!\u2019\n\nBut Bruntslikos was hidden beneath a trough. After the dragon had\ncalled him thrice, he sprang out, faced him, and cried, \u2018What wilt thou\nof me? I fear thee not.\u2019\n\nThe dragon answered, \u2018What need to tell me thou fearest me not? I will\nsoon put thy strength to the test.\u2019\n\nLeaden dumplings were served up for the dragon\u2019s dinner, and he invited\nBruntslikos to partake. \u2018I don\u2019t care for such dumplings,\u2019 said\nBruntslikos, \u2018but give me wine to drink, and I\u2019m your man.\u2019\n\nWhen they had drunk their fill, the dragon challenged Bruntslikos to\nwrestle with him; straightway he faced the dragon. The dragon drove him\ninto the earth to the waist, then drew him out again. In the second\nbout Bruntslikos drove the dragon into the earth to the neck, then\ngrasped the sword and began to cut off his heads (he had twelve).\nBruntslikos struck them all off; only the middle one he could not\nsever. Then said the maiden, \u2018One smashing blow on it, and he will die\nat once.\u2019 So he killed him, and straightway the dragon was turned to\npitch. But he took all the tongues out of his heads, and put them in\nhis pocket. Then he collected all the money that was there, put his\nbride in a basket and himself as well. And the two comrades had been\nwaiting for him above, and, when he called, they drew him up with his\nbride. But when he was up with her, the two fellows began to quarrel\nover the maiden; she was so fair, they wanted her for wife.\n\nBut he said, \u2018There still remain two more maidens; of them you can take\nyour choice.\u2019\n\n\u2018I,\u2019 she said, \u2018will never desert Bruntslikos; he shall be my husband.\nWe have plighted ourselves to all eternity, for he has saved my life.\u2019\n\nThen they went to seek the other dragon [102] in the cavern. He had\nfifteen heads, and was three times as strong as the first. The maiden\nwhom this dragon had carried off showed Bruntslikos a sword, twice as\nheavy as the first. He could just move it, but not lift it clear off\nthe earth. But she gave him wine to drink, and then he was straightway\nstronger. She too had greeted Bruntslikos, when he came, with the\nwords, \u2018How comest thou here, my beloved? Here must thou lose thy life,\nfor my husband will kill thee.\u2019\n\nBut he said, \u2018To fetch thee am I come. Thy sister dear have I already\nfetched, and thee too I must help out of here.\u2019\n\n\u2018God grant thou may,\u2019 she said, \u2018then would I be thy bride.\u2019\n\n\u2018I have one already,\u2019 he said, \u2018thy sister; but all the more readily\nwill I help thee out.\u2019\n\nThen came the dragon. He was still fifty miles away when he flung a\nhammer there weighing fifty hundredweight. When he was come, he said,\n\u2018I smell human flesh here.\u2019\n\n\u2018But, dear husband, how couldst thou smell human flesh? Never even a\nbird comes hither, and yet thou wilt be scenting a mortal.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t talk nonsense,\u2019 said he; and cried, \u2018Brother-in-law! Why comest\nthou not out? What is it thou wilt of me? I fear thee not.\u2019\n\nThrice he thus called him, but he would not answer. But at last he said\nto him, \u2018I fear thee not. I must slay thee.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come, if thou art so strong that thou wilt kill me,\u2019 answered the\ndragon, \u2018then let us wrestle.\u2019\n\nThey wrestled, and the dragon drove him into the earth to the waist.\nThey settled that the dragon should draw him out again. He seized the\ndragon, and drove him into the earth to the neck. Then he grasped the\nsword, and cut off his fifteen heads; only the middle one held so firm\nthat he could not sever it.\n\nBut the princess told him, \u2018Just one blow right on the head, and he\nwill die at once.\u2019\n\nWhen he had killed him, he plucked out all his tongues, and then had\nhimself drawn up and the maiden. So now there were two sisters up, and\nnow they went for the third. The third dragon had twenty-four heads.\nWhen Bruntslikos had served him like the other two, he helped the third\nmaiden also out. But when the three maidens were out, his two comrades\nthrew him into a well, for they wished not to give him the credit of\nthat achievement, but rather themselves to vaunt at home that they had\nslain the dragons.\n\nBut Bruntslikos had covenanted with his bride that if he did not come\nwithin eight years, she should take a husband. So the eighth year came:\nshe had chosen another man, and was celebrating the marriage. Then came\nBruntslikos dressed like a beggar, so she knew him not, and felt no\nshame for her conduct. But he asked her for wine. When she gave him\nsuch, he threw as he drank that half of the ring into the glass, then\noffered it her. When she drank, her lips came against it. When she\nnoticed it, she threw her half of the ring into the glass, and it\nstraightway united with the other. Forthwith she fell to kissing him,\nfor she recognised he was her lover. The marriage she straightway broke\noff, and plighted herself to him. When now he flung the dragons\u2019\ntongues on the table, the gentlemen cried, \u2018Hurrah! That\u2019s it! that\u2019s\nthe real thing!\u2019 at the sight of the tongues.\n\nSo, if they are not dead, they are living together.\n\n\n    This is a sort of compound of the Roumanian-Gypsy story of \u2018The\n    Three Princesses and the Unclean Spirit\u2019 (No. 10), and of the\n    Bukowina-Gypsy story, \u2018Mare\u2019s Son\u2019 (No. 20). The ring episode\n    occurs in \u2018Made over to the Devil\u2019 (No. 34). For the hiding under\n    the trough and the thrice-repeated challenge, cf. Wratislaw\u2019s\n    Croatian story of \u2018The Daughter of the King of the Vilas\u2019 (p. 278),\n    and for the leaden dumplings his Hungarian-Slovenish story of \u2018The\n    Three Lemons\u2019 (p. 65). Cf. also notes to \u2018An Old King and his Three\n    Sons\u2019 (No. 55).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nPOLISH-GYPSY STORIES\n\n\nNO. 45.\u2014TALE OF A FOOLISH BROTHER AND OF A WONDERFUL BUSH\n\nThere was once a poor peasant who had three sons, two of them wise and\none foolish. One day the king gave a feast, to which everybody was\ninvited, rich and poor. These two wise brothers set out for the feast\nlike the rest, leaving the poor fool at home, crouching over the stove.\nHe thereupon besought his mother to allow him to go after his brothers.\nBut the mother answered, \u2018Fool that thou art! thy brothers go thither\nto tell tales, whilst thou, thou knowest nothing. What then couldst\nthou tell?\u2019 Still the fool continues to beg his mother to let him go,\nbut still she refuses. \u2018Very well! if thou wilt not let me go there,\nwith the help of God I shall know what to do.\u2019\n\nWell, one day the king contrived a certain tower. He then placed his\ndaughter on the second story, and issued a proclamation that whoever\nshould kiss his daughter there should have her in marriage. Well,\nvarious princes and nobles hastened to the place; not one of them could\nreach her. The king then decreed that the peasants were to come. This\norder reached the house where dwelt the peasant who had three sons, two\nwise and one foolish. The two wise brothers arose and set out. The fool\nfeigned to go in search of water, but he went to a bush and struck it\nthree times with a stick. Whereupon a fairy appeared, who demanded,\n\u2018What wouldst thou?\u2019 \u2018I wish to have a horse of silver, garments of\nsilver, and a sum of money.\u2019\n\nAfter he had received all these things, he set out on his way. Whom\nshould he happen to overtake on the road but his two wise brothers.\n\n\u2018Whither are you going?\u2019 he asked of them.\n\n\u2018We are going to a king\u2019s palace\u2014his who has contrived this tower, upon\nthe second story of which he has placed his daughter; and he has\nproclaimed that whoever kisses her shall become her husband.\u2019\n\nThe fool got off his horse, cut himself a cudgel, and began to beat his\ntwo brothers; finally he gave them each three ducats. The two brothers\ndid not recognise him, and so he went on by himself, unknown. When he\nhad come to the king\u2019s palace all the great lords looked with\nadmiration at this prince, mounted on a silver steed, and clad in\ngarments of silver. He leapt up with a great spring towards the\nprincess, and almost got near enough to kiss her. He fell back again,\nand then, with the help of the good God, he took his departure. These\nnoblemen then asked of one another, \u2018What is the meaning of this? He\nhad scarcely arrived when he all but succeeded in kissing the\nprincess.\u2019\n\nThe fool then returned home, and went to the bush, and struck it\nthrice. The fairy again appeared, and asked of him, \u2018What is thy will?\u2019\nHe commanded her to hide his horse and his clothes. He took his buckets\nfilled with water and went back into the house.\n\n\u2018Where hast thou been?\u2019 asked his mother of him.\n\n\u2018Mother, I have been outside, and I stripped myself, and (pardon me for\nsaying so) I have been hunting lice in my shirt.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is well,\u2019 said his mother, and she gave him some food.\n\nOn the return of the two wise brothers their mother desired them to\ntell her what they had seen.\n\n\u2018Mother, we saw there a prince mounted on a silver steed, and himself\nclad in silver. He had overtaken us by the way, and asked us whither we\nwere going. We told him the truth, that we were going to the palace of\nthe king who had contrived this tower, on the second story of which he\nhad placed his daughter, decreeing that whosoever should get near\nenough to give her a kiss should marry her. The prince dismounted, cut\nhimself a cudgel, and gave us a sound beating, and then gave us each\nthree ducats.\u2019\n\nThe mother was very well pleased to get this money; for she was poor,\nand she could now buy herself something to eat.\n\nNext day these two brothers again set out. The mother cried to her\nfoolish son, \u2018Go and fetch me some water.\u2019 He went out to get the\nwater, laid down his pails beside the well, and went to the bush; he\nstruck it thrice, and the fairy appeared to him. \u2018What is thy will?\u2019\n\n\u2018I wish to have a horse of gold and golden garments.\u2019\n\nThe fairy brought him a horse of gold, golden garments, and a sum of\nmoney. Off he set, and once more he overtook his brothers on the road.\nThis time he did not dismount, but, cudgel in hand, he charged upon his\nbrothers, beat them severely, and gave them ten ducats apiece. He then\nbetook himself to the king. The nobles gazed admiringly on him, seated\non his horse of gold, himself attired in a golden garb. With a single\nbound he reached the second story, and gave the princess a kiss. Well,\nthey wished to detain him, but he sprang away, and fled like the wind,\nwith the help of the good God. He came back to his bush, out of which\nthe fairy issued, and asked him, \u2018What wilt thou?\u2019\n\n\u2018Hide my horse and my clothes.\u2019\n\nHe dressed himself in his wretched clothes, and went into the house\nagain.\n\n\u2018Where hast thou been?\u2019 asked his mother.\n\n\u2018I have been sitting in the sun, and (excuse me for saying it) I have\nbeen hunting lice in my shirt.\u2019\n\nShe answered nothing, but gave him some food. He went and squatted down\nbehind the stove in idiot fashion. The two wise brothers arrived. Their\nmother saw how severely they had been beaten, and she asked them, \u2018Who\nhas mauled you so terribly?\u2019\n\n\u2018It was that prince, mother.\u2019\n\n\u2018And why have you not laid a complaint against him before the king?\u2019\n\n\u2018But he gave us ten ducats apiece.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will not send you any more to the king,\u2019 said the mother to them.\n\n\u2018Mother, they have posted sentinels all over the town to arrest him,\nthe prince; for he has already kissed the king\u2019s daughter, after doing\nwhich he took to flight. Then the sentinels were posted. We are certain\nto catch this prince.\u2019\n\nThe fool then said to them, \u2018How will you be able to seize him, since\nevidently he knows a trick or two?\u2019\n\n\u2018Thou art a fool,\u2019 said the two wise brothers to him; \u2018we are bound to\ncapture him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Capture away, with the help of the good God,\u2019 replied the fool.\n\nThree days later the two wise brothers set out, leaving the fool\ncowering behind the stove.\n\n\u2018Go and fetch some wood,\u2019 called his mother to him.\n\nHe roused himself and went, with the good God. He came to the bush, and\nstruck it three times. The fairy issued out of it and asked, \u2018What dost\nthou demand?\u2019\n\n\u2018I demand a horse of diamonds, garments of diamonds, and some money.\u2019\n\nHe arrayed himself and set out. He overtook his two brothers, but this\ntime he did not beat them; only he gave them each twenty ducats. He\nreached the king\u2019s city, and the nobles tried to seize him. He sprang\nup on to the second story, and for the second time he kissed the\nprincess, who gave him her gold ring. Well, they wished to take him,\nbut he said to them, \u2018If you had all the wit in the world you could not\ncatch me.\u2019 But they were determined to seize him. He fled away like the\nwind. He came to the bush; he struck it thrice; the fairy issued from\nit and came to him, and took his horse and his clothes. He gathered\nsome wood, and returned to the house; his mother is pleased with him\nand says, \u2018There, now! that is how thou shouldst always behave\u2019; and\nshe gave him something to eat. He went and crouched behind the stove.\nHis two brothers arrived; the mother questioned them.\n\n\u2018Mother,\u2019 they answered, \u2018this prince could not be taken.\u2019\n\n\u2018And has he not given you a beating?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, mother; on the contrary, he gave us each twenty ducats more.\u2019\n\n\u2018To-morrow,\u2019 said the mother, \u2018you shall not go there again.\u2019\n\nAnd the two brothers answered, \u2018No, we will go there no more.\u2019\n\nAha! so much the better.\n\nThis king gave yet another feast, and he decreed that \u2018All the princes,\nas many as there shall be of them, shall come to my palace so that my\ndaughter may identify her husband among them.\u2019 This feast lasted four\ndays, but the husband of the princess was not there. What did this king\ndo? He ordained a third feast for beggars and poor country-folk, and he\ndecreed that \u2018Every one come, be he blind or halt, let him not be\nashamed, but come.\u2019 This feast lasted for a week, but the husband of\nthe princess was not there. What then did the king do? He sent his\nservants with the order to go from house to house, and to bring to him\nthe man upon whom should be found the princess\u2019s ring. \u2018Be he blind or\nhalt, let him be brought to me,\u2019 said the king.\n\nWell, the servants went from house to house for a week, and all who\nwere found in each house they called together, in order to make the\nsearch. At last they came to this same house in which dwelt the fool.\nAs soon as the fool saw them he went and lay down upon the stove. In\ncame the king\u2019s servants, gathered the people of the house together,\nand asked the fool, \u2018What art thou doing there?\u2019\n\n\u2018What does that matter to you?\u2019 replied the fool.\n\nAnd his mother said to them, \u2018Sirs, he is a fool.\u2019\n\n\u2018No matter,\u2019 said they, \u2018fool or blind, we gather together all whom we\nsee, for so the king has commanded us.\u2019\n\nThey make the fool come down from the stove; they look; the gold ring\nis on his finger.\n\n\u2018So, then, it is thou that art so clever.\u2019\n\n\u2018It is I.\u2019\n\nHe made ready and set out with them. He had nothing upon him, this\nfool, but a miserable shirt and a cloak all tattered and torn. He came\nto the king, to whom the servants said, \u2018Sire, we bring him to you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Is this really he?\u2019\n\n\u2018The very man.\u2019\n\nThey show the ring.\n\n\u2018Well, this is he.\u2019\n\nThe king commanded that sumptuous garments be made for him as quickly\nas possible. In these clothes he presented a very comely appearance.\nThe king is well pleased; the wedding comes off; and they live happily,\nwith the help of the good God.\n\nSome time after, another king declared war against this one: \u2018Since\nthou hast not given thy daughter in marriage to my son, I will make war\nagainst thee.\u2019 But this king, the fool\u2019s father-in-law, had two sons.\nThe fool also made preparations, and went to the war. His two\nbrothers-in-law went in advance; the fool set out after them. He took a\nshort cut, and, having placed himself on their line of march he sat\ndown on the edge of a pond, and amused himself hunting frogs. These two\nwise brothers-in-law came up.\n\n\u2018Just look at him, see what he is doing; he is not thinking of the war,\nbut only amusing himself hunting frogs.\u2019\n\nThese two brothers went on, and this fool mounted his horse, and went\nto his bush; he struck it thrice, and the fairy appeared before him.\n\n\u2018What demandest thou?\u2019\n\n\u2018I demand a magnificent horse and a sabre with which I may be able to\nexterminate the entire army, and some of the most beautiful clothes.\u2019\n\nHe speedily dressed himself; he girded on this sabre; he mounted his\nhorse, and set forth with the help of God. Having overtaken these two\nbrothers-in-law by the way, he asked them, \u2018Whither are you bound?\u2019\n\n\u2018We are going to the war.\u2019\n\n\u2018So am I; let us all three go together.\u2019\n\nHe reached the field of battle; he cut all his enemies to pieces; not a\nsingle one of them escaped.\n\nHe returned home, this fool, with his horse and all the rest; he hid\nhis horse and his sabre and all the rest, so that nobody would know\nanything of them. These two brothers arrived after the fool had\nreturned. The king asked them, \u2018Were you at the war, my children?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, father, we were there, but thy son-in-law was not there.\u2019\n\n\u2018And what was he about?\u2019\n\n\u2018He! he was amusing himself hunting frogs; but a prince came and cut\nthe whole army to pieces; not a soul of them has escaped.\u2019\n\nThen the king reproached his daughter thus: \u2018What, then, hast thou done\nto marry a husband who amuses himself catching frogs?\u2019\n\n\u2018Is the fault mine, father? Even as God has given him to me, so will I\nkeep him.\u2019\n\nThe next day those two sons of the king did not go to the war, but the\nking himself went there with his son-in-law. But the fool mounted his\nhorse the quickest and set out first; the king came after, not knowing\nwhere his son-in-law had gone. The king arrived at the war, and found\nthat his son-in-law had already cut to pieces the whole of the enemy\u2019s\narmy. And therefore the other king said to this one that henceforth he\nwould no more war against him. They shook hands with each other, these\ntwo kings. The fool was wounded in his great toe. His father-in-law\nnoticed it, he tore his own handkerchief and dressed the wounded foot;\nand this handkerchief was marked with the king\u2019s name. The fool got\nhome quickest, before his father-in-law; he pulled off his boots and\nlay down to sleep, for his foot pained him. The king came home, and his\nsons asked him, \u2018Father, was our brother-in-law at the war?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I saw nothing of him, he was not there; but a prince was there who\nhas exterminated the whole army. Then this king and I shook hands in\ntoken that never more should there be war between us.\u2019\n\nThen his daughter said, \u2018My husband has my father\u2019s handkerchief round\nhis foot.\u2019\n\nThe king bounded forth; he looked at the handkerchief: it is his! it\nbears his name.\n\n\u2018So, then, it is thou who art so clever?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, father, it is I.\u2019\n\nThe king is very joyful; so are his sons and the queen, and the wife of\nthis fool\u2014all are filled with joy. Well, they made the wedding over\nagain, and they lived together with the help of the good, golden God.\n\n\n    Cf. Ralston\u2019s \u2018Princess Helena the Fair\u2019 (Afanasief, from Kursk\n    Government), pp. 256\u20139; and Dasent\u2019s \u2018Princess on the Glass Hill\u2019\n    (Pop. Tales from the Norse), pp. 89\u2013103. The latter half, however,\n    closely resembles the latter half of Dasent\u2019s \u2018The Widow\u2019s Son\u2019\n    (ib. pp. 400\u2013404), as also that of Gonzenbach\u2019s Sicilian story,\n    \u2018Von Paperarello,\u2019 No. 67 (ii. 67), whose opening suggests our No.\n    9, \u2018The Mother\u2019s Chastisement.\u2019 Matthew Wood\u2019s Welsh-Gypsy story,\n    \u2018The Dragon\u2019 (No. 61), offers analogies. There Jack gets (1) black\n    horse and black clothes, (2) white horse and white clothes, (3) red\n    horse and red clothes. The Polish-Gypsy story is strikingly\n    identical with \u2018The Monkey Prince\u2019 in Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy\n    Tales, No. 10, p. 41.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 46.\u2014TALE OF A GIRL WHO WAS SOLD TO THE DEVIL, AND OF HER BROTHER\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a countryman and his old wife; he had\nthree daughters, but he was very poor. One day he and his young\ndaughter went into the forest to gather mushrooms. And there he met\nwith a great lord. The old peasant bared his head, and, frightened at\nthe sight of the nobleman, said apologetically, \u2018I am not chopping your\nhonour\u2019s wood with my hatchet, I am only gathering what is lying on the\nground.\u2019\n\n\u2018I would willingly give thee all this forest,\u2019 replies the nobleman;\nand he then asks the peasant if that is his wife who is with him.\n\n\u2018No, my lord, she is my daughter.\u2019\n\n\u2018Wilt thou sell her to me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Pray, my lord, do not mock and laugh at my daughter, since none but a\ngreat lady is a fitting match for your lordship.\u2019\n\n\u2018That matters little to thee; all thou hast to do is to sell her to\nme.\u2019\n\nAs the peasant did not name the price he asked for her, the nobleman\ngive him two handfuls of ducats. The peasant, quite enraptured, grasped\nthe money, but instead of going home to his wife, he went to a Jew\u2019s.\nHe asked the Jew to give him something to eat and drink, but the Jew\nrefused, being certain that he had no money to pay him with; however,\nas soon as the peasant had shown him the large sum that he had, the\ndelighted Jew seated him at the table and gave him food and drink. He\nmade the old peasant drunk, and stole away all his money. The peasant\nwent home to his wife. She asked him where had he left his daughter?\n\n\u2018Wife, I have placed her in service with a great lord.\u2019\n\nThe wife asked him if he had brought anything to her. He replied that\nhe was himself hungry, but that this nobleman had said to him that he\nhad taken one daughter, and that he would take the two others as well.\nHis wife bade him take them away. He went away with these two\ndaughters, and one of them he sold to another lord. This one gave him a\nhatful of money. Then the peasant said to his remaining daughter, \u2018Wait\nfor me here in the forest; I will bring thee something to eat and\ndrink; do not stray from here.\u2019 He went to the same Jew that had robbed\nhim of his money. This Jew again stole from him the money he had\nreceived from the other lord. The peasant returned to his daughter, and\nbrought her some bread, which she ate with delight. There came a third\nnobleman, who purchased this third girl.\n\n\u2018Do not go to the Jew,\u2019 said this lord to the peasant, \u2018but go straight\nhome to thy wife, and hand over thy money to her, so that she may take\ncharge of it; else this Jew will rob thee once more.\u2019\n\nThe peasant went home to his wife, who was very glad.\n\nThis great lord spoke thus to him: \u2018There is in a forest a beautiful\ncastle covered with silver. Go to the town, buy some fine horses and\nharness, engage some peasants to work, and rest thou thyself; make the\npeasants do the work.\u2019\n\nHe got into a carriage; he took his peasants; and they set out with the\nhelp of God. They came, by a magnificent road, smooth as glass, into a\ngreat forest. They met a beggar, who asked this great lord (this\npeasant, once poor, now grown rich) where his daughters were.\n\nSoon after these peasants discover that they are clean bewildered; they\nfind themselves surrounded by deep ravines and insurmountable\nobstacles, so that they cannot get out, for they have lost their way.\n\nThere came an old beggar who asked them, \u2018Why do you tarry here? Why\nare you not getting on?\u2019\n\n\u2018Alas!\u2019 they answered, \u2018we cannot get out of this; we had a beautiful\nroad, but we have lost it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Whip up your horses a bit,\u2019 said the old man, \u2018perhaps they will go\non.\u2019\n\nA lad touched up the horses, and all of a sudden the peasants see a\nmagnificent road before them. They wish to thank this beggar, but he\nhas vanished. The peasants fall to weeping, for, say they to\nthemselves, \u2018This was no beggar; more likely was it the good God\nhimself.\u2019 They reach the castle; the peasant is in ecstasies with it.\nThe peasants work for him, and he and his wife take their ease.\n\nTen years rolled by. Once he had three daughters, whom he had already\nforgotten. \u2018The good God,\u2019 said he, \u2018gave me three daughters, but I\nhave never yet had a son.\u2019\n\nOne day the good God so ordered it that this peasant woman was brought\nto bed. She was delivered (pray excuse me) of a boy. This boy grew\nexceedingly; he was already three years old; he was very intelligent.\nWhen he was twelve years old his father put him to school. He was an\napt scholar: he knew German, and could read anything.\n\nOne day this boy, having returned home, asked his father, \u2018How do you\ndo, father?\u2019 His mother gave him some food, and sent him to bed. Next\nday he got up, and went to school. Two little boys who passed along\nsaid the one to the other, \u2018There goes the little boy whose father sold\nhis daughters to the devils.\u2019 The boy reached the school filled with\nanger; he wrote his task quickly, for he could not calm his angry\nfeelings. He went home to his father as quickly as possible; he took\ntwo pistols, and called on his father to come to him. As soon as his\nfather came into the room, the boy locked the door on them both.\n\n\u2018Now, father, tell me the truth; had I ever any sisters? If you do not\nconfess the truth to me, I will fire one of these pistols at you and\nthe other at myself.\u2019\n\nThe father answered, \u2018You had three sisters, my child, but I have sold\nthem to I know not whom.\u2019\n\nHe sent his father to the town, and bade him, \u2018Buy for me, father, an\napple weighing one pound.\u2019\n\nThe father came back home, and gave the apple to his son. The latter\nwas delighted with it, and he made preparations for going out into the\nworld. He embraced his father and mother. \u2018The good God be with you,\u2019\nhe said to them, \u2018for it may be I shall never see you more; perchance I\nmay perish.\u2019\n\nHe came to a field, where he saw two boys fighting terribly. The father\nof these two boys had, when dying, left to the one a cloak and to the\nother a saddle. The little boy went up to these boys and asked them,\n\u2018What are you fighting about?\u2019\n\n\u2018Excuse us, my lord,\u2019 replied the younger, \u2018our parents are dead; they\nhave left to one of us a cloak and to the other a saddle; my elder\nbrother wants to take both cloak and saddle, and not to give me\nanything.\u2019\n\nThis little nobleman said to them, \u2018Come now, I will put you right.\nHere is an apple which I will throw far out into this field; and\nwhichever of you gets it first shall have both of these things.\u2019\n\nHe flung away the apple, and while the boys were running to get it,\nthis little nobleman purloined both cloak and saddle. He resumed his\njourney, and went away, with the help of God. He came to a field, he\nstopped, he examined the cloak he had just stolen, and to the saddle he\ncried, \u2018Bear me away to where my youngest sister lives.\u2019 The saddle\ntook hold of him, lifted him into the air, and carried him to the\ndwelling of his youngest sister. He cried to his youngest sister, \u2018Let\nme in, sister.\u2019\n\nHer answer was, \u2018Twenty years have I been here, and have never seen\nanybody all that time; and you\u2014you will break my slumber.\u2019\n\n\u2018Sister, if you do not believe I am your brother, here is a\nhandkerchief which will prove that I am.\u2019\n\nHis sister read thereon the names of her father, her mother, and her\nbrother. Then she let him enter, and fainted away. \u2018Where am I to hide\nyou now, brother? for if my husband comes he will devour you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Have no fear on my account,\u2019 he replied, \u2018I have a cloak which renders\nme invisible whenever I wear it.\u2019\n\nHer husband came home; she served some food to him; and then, employing\na little artifice, \u2018Husband,\u2019 she said, \u2018I dreamt that I had a\nbrother.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very good.\u2019\n\n\u2018If he were to come here, you would not harm him, would you, husband?\u2019\n\n\u2018What harm should I do to him? I would give him something to eat and to\ndrink.\u2019\n\nAt this she called out, \u2018Brother, let my husband see you.\u2019\n\nThe young lad\u2019s brother-in-law saw him, and was greatly pleased with\nhis appearance; he gave him food and something to drink. He went out\nand called his brothers. They, well satisfied with the state of things,\nentered, along with the boy\u2019s two other sisters. The latter were\nbrimming over with delight. A lovely lady also came, who enchanted him.\n\n\u2018Is this young lady married?\u2019 he asked his sister.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 she replied, \u2018she has no husband; you can marry her if you like.\u2019\n\nThey fell in love with each other; they were married.\n\nTen years they lived there. At last this youth said to his sister, \u2018I\nmust return home to my father; perchance he is dead by now.\u2019\n\nHe got up next morning; his brother-in-law gave him large sums of gold\nand silver.\n\nThey drew near to the house, he and his wife. Not far from this house\nwas a small wood through which they had to pass, and in it they noticed\na beautiful wand.\n\n\u2018Let us take this wand,\u2019 said his wife to him, \u2018it is very pretty; we\nwill plant it at home.\u2019\n\nHe obeyed her, and took the wand. He reached the house; the father was\nvery happy that his son was now married.\n\nFive years passed away. The good God gave them a son. He went to the\ntown to invite the godfathers. After the christening they came back\nfrom church; they ate, they drank, and at last everybody went away; he\nremained alone with his wife. One day he went to the town. When he came\nhome, he saw that his wife was no longer there, and that the sapling\nalso had disappeared. (It was no sapling, but a demon.) He began to\nlament.\n\n\u2018Why do you lament?\u2019 asked his father.\n\n\u2018Do not anger me, father,\u2019 he said, \u2018for I am going out into the\nworld.\u2019\n\nHe got ready for the road; he set out. He came into a great forest. As\nit was beginning to rain, he took shelter under an oak; and in that\nvery oak his wife was concealed. He slept for a little while; then he\nheard a child weeping.\n\n\u2018Who is this that is crying?\u2019 he asked of his wife.\n\n\u2018It is your child.\u2019\n\nAnd he recognised her and cried, \u2018Wife, hearken to what I am going to\nsay to you. Ask this dragon of yours where it is that he hides the key\nof his house.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 she assented.\n\nThe dragon came home; she flung her arms round his neck and said to\nhim, \u2018Husband, tell me truly, where is the key of our house?\u2019\n\n\u2018What good would it do you if I told you?\u2019 he replied. \u2018Well, then,\nlisten. In a certain forest there is a great cask; inside this cask\nthere is a cow; in this cow there is a calf; in this calf a goose; in\nthis goose a duck; in this duck an egg; and it is inside this egg that\nthe key is to be found.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very good; that is one secret I know.\u2019\n\nShe then asked him wherein lay his strength.\n\nThe dragon owned this to his wife: \u2018When I am dressed as a lord, I\ncannot be killed; neither could any one kill me when I am dressed as a\nking; but it is only at the moment I am putting on my boots that I can\nbe killed.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very good; now I know both these secrets.\u2019\n\nHe smelt at his feather, and all his three brothers-in-law appeared\nbeside him. They lay in wait till the moment when the dragon was\ndrawing on his boots, and then they slew him. They betook themselves to\nthat forest, they smashed the cask, they killed the cow that was inside\nit, they killed the goose that was inside the calf, then the duck that\nwas inside the goose; they broke open the egg, and out of it they drew\nthe key. He took this key, he came back to where his wife was, he\nopened the oak, and he let his wife out.\n\n\u2018Now, my brothers-in-law, the good God be with you. As for me, I am\nsetting out to follow my way of happiness; now I shall no more\nencounter any evil thing.\u2019\n\nHe returned with his wife to his father\u2019s house. His father was very\nglad to see him come back with his wife; he gave them something to eat\nand drink, and he said to his son, \u2018Hearken to me now, my child. We are\nold now, I and my wife; thou must stay beside me.\u2019\n\nAnd he answered him, \u2018It is well, my father; if thou sendest me not\naway, I will dwell with thee.\u2019\n\n\n    This story of the prig of a little nobleman\u2014a blend of George\n    Washington and little Lord Fauntleroy\u2014is somewhat incoherent, and\n    presents a good many obvious lacun\u00e6. Thus Kopernicki remarks, \u2018the\n    narrator had omitted to mention the feather in the fourth paragraph\n    from the end. In many Polish and Russniak tales one meets with a\n    bird\u2019s feather or a horse-hair possessing the magical power of\n    making anybody immediately appear. One has only to burn this\n    feather a little, and then to smell it. In this Gypsy tale,\n    therefore, the hero\u2019s brothers-in-law had evidently given him such\n    a feather at the time of his departure. But the narrator had\n    forgotten to mention this though he remembered the feather when he\n    reached that point at which the hero had need of it to summon his\n    brothers-in-law to kill the dragon.\u2019 Such a feather, however, is by\n    no means exclusively Slavonic; it occurs in our Roumanian-Gypsy\n    story (No. 10, p. 38), and in a Turkish-Gypsy one (Paspati, p.\n    523): \u2018He gave the old man a feather, and he said to the old man,\n    \u201cTake it and carry it to your daughter, and if she puts it in the\n    fire I will come.\u201d\u2019 Cf. too, Hahn, i. 93; Carnoy and Nicolaides\u2019\n    Traditions de L\u2019Asie Mineure (1889), p. 140; Legrand\u2019s Contes Grecs\n    (1881), pp. 69, 71, 72, 73 (hero burns bee\u2019s wing with a cigar),\n    89; and the Arabian Nights (\u2018Conclusion of the Story of the Ladies\n    of Baghdad\u2019):\u2014\u2018She gave me a lock of her hair, and said, \u201cWhen thou\n    desirest my presence, burn a few of these hairs, and I will be with\n    thee quickly.\u201d\u2019 Precisely the same idea occurs frequently in F. A.\n    Steel\u2019s Wide-awake Stories from the Panjab and Kashmir: e.g. \u2018Only\n    take this hair out of my beard; and if you should get into trouble,\n    just burn it in the fire. I\u2019ll come to your aid\u2019 (p. 13; cf. also\n    pp. 32, 34, 413\u201314, and Knowles\u2019s Folk-tales of Kashmir, pp. 3,\n    12).\n\n    I can offer no exact variant of this story, but many analogies\n    suggest themselves, e.g. in No. 5, \u2018The Three Princesses and the\n    Unclean Spirit,\u2019 in No. 44, \u2018The Three Dragons,\u2019 and in \u2018The\n    Weaver\u2019s Son and the Giant of the White Hill\u2019 (Curtin\u2019s Myths and\n    Folklore of Ireland, p. 64), where also one gets the wool, fin, and\n    feather. For the invisible cloak, cf. Clouston, i. 72, etc. In\n    Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy Tales, No. 22, p. 156, the hero finds\n    four fakirs quarrelling for the possession of a travelling bed, a\n    Fortunatus bag, a water-supplying stone bowl, and a stick and rope\n    that bind and lay on. He shoots four arrows, and whilst the fakirs\n    are searching for the fourth one, decamps with these objects (so,\n    too, Knowles\u2019s Folk-tales of Kashmir, p. 87). An invisible cap\n    occurs in F. A. Steel\u2019s Wide-awake Stories, p. 37.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 47.\u2014THE BRIGANDS AND THE MILLER\u2019S DAUGHTER\n\nThere was once a miller who had a beautiful daughter. Noble lords paid\ntheir court to her, but she cared not for them. She was wooed by high\nofficials, but neither to them did she listen. At length three\nbrigands, disguised as noblemen, came to the miller\u2019s house. They\nordered something to eat and drink. The miller, being invited to the\nrepast, drank willingly, but his daughter would not take anything, for\nshe despised them. These three brigands returned to their leader, and\nsaid to him, \u2018What shall we do with this girl? She cares for nobody;\nshe refuses to eat and drink.\u2019\n\nThen twelve of them set out for the miller\u2019s. It was Sunday. The miller\nwas from home; he had gone to a baptism. The daughter was all alone in\nthe house. The brigands arrived. They made a hole in the store-room by\nwhich to enter. Having heard them doing this, she took a sword and\nplaced herself beside the hole made by the brigands. She was, however,\nvery much frightened. One of the brigands came and thrust his head half\nthrough the hole. She took the sword; she cut off the brigand\u2019s head,\nand drew him into the store-room. Another brigand essayed to enter; she\ncut off his head and drew him inside. The ten other brigands asked\ntheir two comrades what they were about.\n\n\u2018They are helping me to carry away the money here, which I am not able\nto lift alone.\u2019 [103]\n\nThen a third brigand came forward; the girl cut off his head and pulled\nhim in. A fourth came, and his head too was cut off, and his body drawn\nin. The fifth brigand endeavoured to enter; she killed him in the same\nway, and, having cut off his head, dragged him inside.\n\n\u2018What are all of you about there?\u2019 asked the seven brigands who\nremained outside.\n\nTo whom the girl answered, \u2018They are helping me to carry off the bacon,\nwhich I am not able to carry myself, there is such a lot of it. If you\ndo not believe me, see, here is a bit\u2014taste it.\u2019\n\nThey ate of this bacon; they were delighted with it. The sixth brigand\nthrust himself forward; she killed him also; she cut off his head and\ndrew him inside. The seventh followed; he was killed in the same way;\nshe cut off his head and drew him in. The eighth went there; she killed\nhim like the others, and drew him in and cut off his head. The ninth\nadvanced; him she killed in like fashion, pulled him in and cut off his\nhead. The tenth tried to enter; she killed him also, drew him in and\ncut off his head. The two remaining brigands were astounded, and said\nto each other, \u2018Hallo! there are ten of them there, and they are not\nsufficient for this money.\u2019 The eleventh came forward; he also was\nkilled; she drew him inside and cut off his head. The twelfth one at\nlast hesitates. \u2018What is going on there?\u2019 He pushed his head in a\nlittle way, and the girl cut off a piece of his skin.\n\n\u2018Ah! you are as cunning as that, are you? So, then you have killed my\nbrothers.\u2019\n\nThis brigand betook himself home. [104]\n\nLeaving this brigand in the meantime, let us pass to the dead ones.\n\nThe miller\u2019s daughter went to bed. Her father got up next day. She said\nto him, \u2018Father, twelve brigands have been here. They meant to carry me\naway last night, but I armed myself with your sword, and killed the\nwhole twelve [sic] of them.\u2019\n\nThe miller did not believe her.\n\n\u2018If you don\u2019t believe me, father, I will show you them.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well, show them to me.\u2019\n\nShe led him to the store-room, where the miller saw the lot of\ndecapitated brigands. He went to the town, and told the peasants and\ngreat lords what had happened. \u2018My daughter has just slain twelve\nbrigands. If you do not believe me, come with me.\u2019\n\nThey went with the miller. He conducted them to the store-room. These\nnoblemen, seeing so many decapitated brigands, spoke thus to the\nmiller, \u2018Tell us truly, now, who was it killed them?\u2019\n\n\u2018My daughter,\u2019 answered he.\n\n\u2018Was it you who killed these brigands?\u2019 they asked his daughter.\n\n\u2018It was I.\u2019\n\n\u2018And why did you do so?\u2019\n\n\u2018Because they wanted to carry me off.\u2019\n\n\u2018What did you kill them with?\u2019\n\n\u2018With my father\u2019s sword.\u2019\n\n\u2018That was well done.\u2019\n\nThey gave her three bushels of ducats. These brigands were buried.\n\nTen years have already passed away. One time twelve brigands, disguised\nas lords, came to this miller\u2019s house, he being unaware who they were.\n\n\u2018Will you give me your daughter in marriage?\u2019 one of them asked him.\n\n\u2018Why not?\u2019 he made answer, \u2018all the more willingly because she has\npined for a great lord.\u2019\n\nThis was the very brigand from whose head she had cut a piece of skin.\nBut the miller\u2019s daughter did not recognise him, and she consented to\nmarry him. This girl begged her father to give her three bushels of\noats. She got into the carriage with these noblemen, and went off with\nthem. Hardly had they got a league from the house when she took one\nhandful after another of the oats and cast them on the road: this was\nto mark her route, and in order to recognise afterwards the way by\nwhich she had gone. She went on sowing these oats till they came to the\nforest where the brigands lived. She scattered the whole quantity.\n\nHaving got home, they made her come down out of the carriage. They went\ninto the room with her. She sat down, and saw no one there but a\nsolitary old peasant woman.\n\n\u2018Do you recognise me?\u2019 this brigand asked her.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 she replied, \u2018I do not recognise you at all.\u2019\n\nHe showed her the part of his head where a piece of the skin had been\ncut off by her. It was only then that she recognised him. She was\ngreatly alarmed at the sight of this brigand in the guise of a\nnobleman.\n\n\u2018Keep quite calm,\u2019 he said to her, \u2018we are going to cut some stripes\nfrom your back.\u2019 [105]\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 she replied, \u2018if I have deserved it, chop me up into\nlittle bits.\u2019\n\nHe leads her into a room, which she sees is full of money. They pass\ninto another, and this is full of linen clothes. They enter the third,\nand there she sees a block and a great number of peasants hanging from\npegs all round the walls. All that she saw there caused her heart to\ngrow faint as though she were passing to the other world. The brigand\nled her back, and intrusted her to the old woman, to whom he said,\n\u2018Guard her, that she flee nowhere, while we go a-hunting. We shall not\nreturn till nightfall; then we shall cut some stripes from her back.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 said the old dame.\n\nThis old woman began to lament for her. \u2018Why have you come here?\u2019 she\nsaid to her. \u2018They will cut off stripes from your back, and I shall be\nforced to look on. But listen to me. Go to draw water; take off your\nclothes and place them on the well; leave the pail there and take to\nflight.\u2019\n\nWell, she went out and fled. She came to a great forest. The dogs of\nthe house, having smelt that she was away, began seeking for her. The\nold woman set herself to scold the dogs, crying out to them, \u2018Where\nwere you, then, when this girl went to fetch water?\u2019\n\nThe dogs ran out of doors; they see that she is there beside the well;\nthey return to the house reassured.\n\nLet us now leave the dogs, and return to the girl.\n\nThe girl travelled for about seven leagues along the road which she had\nmarked by scattering the oats. Towards night-time the brigands returned\nhome; they asked the old woman where the girl is, where is she gone to?\n\nThat brigand calls her, \u2018Why do you not return?\u2019\n\nShe gives him no response.\n\nHe armed himself with his sword, this brigand; he approached what he\nthought was the girl standing erect, and struck a blow on the iron\nstandard of the well. He at once returned to the house, and told his\ncomrades what had happened. They all rushed forth in pursuit.\n\nWell, then, she perceived these brigands following on her track.\nFortunately a peasant was passing with a wagon-load of straw. [106] She\nimplored the peasant, \u2018For the love of God, hide me in one of those\nlarge bundles of straw, and I will give you a peck of money.\u2019\n\n\u2018I would willingly hide you,\u2019 he answered, \u2018only I am afraid that these\nbrigands would do me harm.\u2019\n\n\u2018Fear nothing, only hide me.\u2019\n\nHe concealed her in a large sheaf; he placed it on the wagon; and he\nsat down upon it.\n\nThe brigands came up and called out to the peasant, \u2018What are you\ncarrying there?\u2019\n\n\u2018A load of straw, gentlemen.\u2019\n\nThey searched through the straw, but they did not examine the large\nbundle on which the peasant was sitting. The brigands turned back.\n\nThe peasant came to the house of the miller, whose daughter this was,\nand said to him, \u2018Look, I bring your daughter back to you.\u2019\n\nOn seeing that his daughter was naked the miller fainted away.\n\nThe girl dressed herself, and said to her father, \u2018Do not be alarmed,\nfather. Look you, those were no noblemen but brigands. I know,\u2019 she\nadded, \u2018where they live.\u2019\n\nThe miller went to get soldiers and gendarmes. These took his daughter\nwith them.\n\n\u2018Do you know where they live?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I know.\u2019\n\n\u2018Will you show us where it is?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will show you where.\u2019\n\nShe went with them into that large forest. They saw a beautiful stone\npalace. Three of them went in; they saw that there were a hundred\nbrigands.\n\n\u2018What shall we do now with these brigands?\u2019\n\n\u2018We will kill them,\u2019 replied the soldiers.\n\nThey shot the whole lot of them; not one remained alive except the old\npeasant woman. Her too they would have killed, but the girl begged\nthem, \u2018Do not kill her, for it was she who saved my life.\u2019\n\nThey enter one room, they see it is full of money. They pass into the\nother room, and it is full of linen clothes. They go into the third,\nand there they find a great number of peasants suspended from pegs\nalong the walls. All that they found there they carried away\u2014gold,\nsilver, and sums of money. Then they set fire to the palace and burned\nit down. They returned home; and the miller\u2019s daughter took the old\npeasant woman with her and kept her till her death, because she had\nsaved her life.\n\nOne night she was reminded in a dream that she had not yet recompensed\nthe peasant who had hidden her in the straw. So next day she sent a boy\nto fetch this peasant. The boy went to the peasant\u2019s house, and said to\nhim, \u2018Come to the miller\u2019s daughter, who is asking for you.\u2019\n\nThe peasant dressed himself, and went to the miller\u2019s house. He\nentered. He stopped on the threshold and saluted the good God. [107]\n\n\u2018You remember hiding me in the straw, my good man?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I remember.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, I have never given you anything,\u2019 she said to him.\n\nShe went to the store-room, and brought four quarts of silver money to\nhim. This poor peasant, quite delighted, accepted the money and took it\nin his hand. The miller\u2019s daughter gave him something to eat and drink;\nand then he took his leave and went home with the good God.\n\n\n    We have two other Gypsy versions of this story\u2014one from Hungary\n    (Dr. Friedrich M\u00fcller), and the other from North Wales (Matthew\n    Wood, \u2018Laula\u2019). The Hungarian opens:\u2014\u2018Somewhere was, somewhere was\n    not, [108] in the Seventy-seventh Land in a village a Hungarian;\u2019\n    and may thereafter be summarised:\u2014Of his three daughters two get\n    married. The third at last has a sweetheart, who always comes to\n    see her after midnight. Once she follows him to a cave in the\n    forest, from which twelve robbers come out. She enters, comes on\n    corpses, and hides behind cask. A lady is brought in; her hand is\n    chopped off; the girl possesses herself of it and escapes home. The\n    wedding is fixed. She tells soldiers, but not her father. At the\n    wedding she relates a dream: \u2018And, ye gentlemen, think not that I\n    was really there, for I saw it merely in a dream.\u2019 Soldiers come in\n    just as she draws the hand from her bosom and flings it on the\n    table. After which the story drifts off into a version of the\n    Roumanian-Gypsy tale of \u2018The Vampire\u2019 (No. 5), a version summarised\n    on p. 19.\n\n    The following epitome of \u2018Laula\u2019 is by Mr. Sampson:\u2014Three young\n    ladies live at a castle. A gentleman comes to visit them daily.\n    They know not who he is or where he lives. He asks the youngest to\n    accompany him home. She goes with him, eats, drinks, and returns.\n    She asks his coachman his master\u2019s name, \u2018Laula.\u2019 She thinks it a\n    pretty name; her elder sister a bad one. Next evening she goes\n    again. They eat, drink, and play cards. He leaves the room, and\n    returns with a phial of blood. \u2018Is your blood as red as this?\u2019 She\n    pretends that he is jesting; but he cuts off her finger, opens the\n    window, and throws it to the big dog, afterwards killing her. The\n    tale goes on, \u2018Who got the finger? The elder sister got it\u2019; and it\n    then explains how she had followed the pair by the track of the\n    horse\u2019s feet, pacified the dog, and caught the finger (with ring\n    on) thrown to him. She desires her father to issue invitations to a\n    dinner. Every one comes and has to tell a tale or sing a song. On\n    Laula\u2019s plate is placed nothing but this finger. When the elder\n    sister tells her tale, he grows uneasy, and says he must go\n    outside. He twice interrupts thus, but is restrained by the other\n    gentlemen. She gives him away, and at the old father\u2019s suggestion\n    he is placed in a barrel filled with grease and burnt to death. [On\n    which it is just worth noting that Lawlor was a Gypsy name in\n    1540.\u2014MacRitchie\u2019s Scottish Gypsies under the Stewarts (1894), pp.\n    37\u201339.]\n\n\n    Of non-Gypsy variants may be cited Grimm\u2019s No. 40, \u2018The Robber\n    Bridegroom\u2019; and Cosquin\u2019s \u2018La Fille du Meunier\u2019 (another miller\u2019s\n    daughter), i. 178. In England we have \u2018The Story of Mr. Fox\u2019\n    (Halliwell\u2019s Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, 1849, p. 47, and\n    Jacobs\u2019s English Fairy Tales, pp. 148, 247), and \u2018The Girl who got\n    up the Tree\u2019 (Addy\u2019s Household Tales, 1895, p. 10). Shakespeare\n    refers to the story in Much Ado about Nothing, I. i. 146.\n    \u2018Bopoluchi\u2019 in F. A. Steel\u2019s Indian Wide-awake Stories, pp. 73\u20138,\n    should also be compared.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 48.\u2014TALE OF A WISE YOUNG JEW AND A GOLDEN HEN\n\nThere was once a rich nobleman who had lived with his wife for ten\nyears without having any children. One time he dreamt that he would\nhave a very warlike son. Another time he dreamt again that a Jewess was\ngoing to be confined on the same day as his lady. (This was true!) Next\nmorning this lord arose and said to his wife, \u2018Wife, I dreamt that we\nare going to have a child.\u2019\n\n\u2018That may really come to pass,\u2019 she answered.\n\nHe further told her of the Jewess; he said she would be brought to bed\nat the very same hour as her ladyship.\n\nThe good God ordained that she should be delivered of a child; the good\nGod gave them a son. The boy\u2019s father was very joyful, as were also the\nmother and that Jewess, who was brought to bed at the very same hour as\nthis lady.\n\nThe nobleman said to his wife, \u2018My lady, we must go to this Jewess, in\norder that our child may be brought up with hers.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well, husband.\u2019\n\nThey brought thither the Jewess, and she made her home there, near this\nnobleman\u2019s dwelling.\n\nHe begins to grow up, this son of the nobleman. He is very wise; yet\nthe son of the Jewess is still wiser. He is now ten years old, and is\neager to go to school; he learns there to perfection. His father and\nmother are filled with delight.\n\nOnce the Jewish boy said to the lord\u2019s son, \u2018Look here, now, why not\nrequest your father to have some beautiful baths made for you in the\nfields?\u2019\n\nThe nobleman\u2019s son approached his father, kissed his hand, as also his\nmother\u2019s. \u2018Father,\u2019 said he, \u2018I beg that you will build me some fine\nbaths in the fields.\u2019\n\nWho should it happen to be that set themselves to this work? Two old\nretainers. They had seen in a town some time before a very beautiful\nprincess. Well, what have they gone and done, these two servitors? They\nhave caused the portrait of this princess to be painted on the walls of\nthe baths. These two servants came back and announced to their lord,\n\u2018We have done everything we were ordered to do.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very good. How much now do you ask for it?\u2019\n\n\u2018We shall be satisfied with whatever your grace deigns to give us.\u2019\n\nThe nobleman gave them four thousand florins. They accorded to their\nlord their best thanks. Then the Jew boy called to the nobleman\u2019s son,\n\u2018Come, the baths are now built, let us see what there is to be seen.\u2019\n\nThither they went, but this young Jew was always wiser than the\nnobleman\u2019s son. They entered the first hall, where they saw painted\nupon the walls various kinds of birds, wolves; all which delighted the\nson of the lord. Then all by himself he enters the other apartment, and\nwhat does he behold there? The portrait of this lovely princess painted\non one of the walls. He gazes at the likeness of the princess, and is\nso greatly enchanted with it that he swoons away. The young Jew sees\nhim (swoon); he revives him with vinegar; and he asks the nobleman\u2019s\nson, \u2018What is the matter with you?\u2019\n\n\u2018O brother, if I do not have this princess to wife I shall kill\nmyself.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hush, for the love of God,\u2019 replied the young Jew; \u2018do not cry so\nloud. For you shall perhaps have her indeed, only not so soon as you\nwish.\u2019\n\nHe returned home very sick, this nobleman\u2019s son.\n\n\u2018What ails him?\u2019 asks his father; but the young Jew was ashamed to own\nwhat had happened. Orders were given to fetch doctors with all speed;\nvarious remedies are administered; but he has nothing the matter with\nhim, for he is quite well, only withering away for the sake of this\nprincess.\n\n\u2018What\u2019s to be done with him?\u2019 this lord asks himself. He sends the\nmother to question her son, that he may reveal to her what it is that\nhas happened.\n\nThe mother comes to him. \u2018What is the matter, my child? Don\u2019t be\nashamed to tell me everything.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah, mother,\u2019 he answered, \u2018even though I were to tell you all, you\nwould not be able to give me any advice.\u2019\n\n\u2018On the contrary, my son, I will give you very good advice.\u2019\n\nThen he said to her, \u2018Mother, I have seen the likeness of a beautiful\nprincess in these fine baths; if I do not have her to wife I shall kill\nmyself.\u2019\n\nThe mother hears this with delight. \u2018That is well, my son. In the\nmeantime, where am I to find her?\u2019\n\nBut the Jew lad said to the nobleman, \u2018My lord, I will go with him to\nseek the princess. I make myself answerable for his person, and if any\nharm befalls him, punish me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well, then; get ready, and set out with the help of God.\u2019\n\nThey set out, and on the further side of a large town the young Jew saw\na beautiful wand on the road and a little key beside it.\n\n\u2018I shall dismount and pick up that wand,\u2019 said he.\n\nBut the nobleman\u2019s son said to him, \u2018What good will that wand do you?\nYou can buy yourself a fine sword in any town.\u2019\n\nBut the young Jew replied, \u2018I don\u2019t want a sword; I wish to take that\nwand.\u2019\n\nWell, he got down from his horse; he picked up this wand and the little\nkey. He got into the saddle again, and they went on their way with the\nhelp of God. They came to a great forest, where night surprised them.\nThey saw a light shining in this forest.\n\n\u2018See,\u2019 said the lord\u2019s son, \u2018there\u2019s a light shining over yonder.\u2019\n\nThey came up to this light; they went into the room; there was no one\nwithin. There they see a beautiful bed, but unoccupied. They see that\nthere is food for them. There is a golden goblet on the side next to\nthe nobleman\u2019s son; and beside the young Jew there is a goblet of\nsilver. The nobleman\u2019s son would have seated himself beside the silver\ngoblet, but the young Jew said to him, \u2018Listen to me, brother. You are\nthe son of a wealthy sire, and I am a poor man\u2019s son; your place\ntherefore is beside the goblet of gold, and I will seat myself beside\nthe silver goblet.\u2019\n\nThereafter he disrobed him deftly, and made him lie down on the bed.\n\n\u2018Come you to bed, brother,\u2019 said the nobleman\u2019s son.\n\n\u2018I don\u2019t feel sleepy,\u2019 replied the young Jew.\n\n\u2018Well, I\u2019m going to sleep at any rate.\u2019\n\nHe placed himself beside the table, this young Jew, and pretended to\nfall asleep. Two ladies approached the young Jew, but they were not\nreally ladies\u2014they were fairies. [109] These ladies spoke thus to one\nanother, \u2018Oh! this young Jew and this nobleman\u2019s son are going to a\ncapital, where they wish to carry away the king\u2019s daughter. But,\u2019 said\nthey, \u2018the young Jew did well to pick up that wand with the little key,\nfor there will be an iron door, which with that key he will be able to\nopen.\u2019\n\nThese ladies went away with the help of God. The young Jew undressed\nhimself and went to bed. They arose next morning; they came to that\niron door; the young Jew dismounted and opened it. They see that this\nis the capital wherein dwells the princess. They went into this town;\nthey see a gentleman passing. The young Jew asks him, \u2018Where is there a\nfirst-rate inn in this place?\u2019 The gentleman indicated such a one to\nthem, and guided them to it. He paid him for his trouble. They ate\nuntil they were satisfied. The nobleman\u2019s son remained in the inn, and\nthe young Jew sallied out into the town. He saw a gentleman passing.\n\n\u2018Stay, sir, I have something to ask of you.\u2019\n\nThe gentleman stopped, and the young Jew asked him, \u2018Where is the\nprincipal goldsmith\u2019s in this town?\u2019\n\nHe directed him there; the young Jew went to this goldsmith.\n\n\u2018Will you make me an old hen and her chickens of gold? The old hen must\nhave eyes of diamonds and the young chickens also.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well.\u2019\n\n\u2018But I stipulate further that she be alive.\u2019\n\nThe goldsmith, who was a great wizard, replied, \u2018Very good, sir; I will\ndo so if you will pay me.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will pay you as much as ten thousand.\u2019\n\nThree days later he returned to get what he had ordered. He chose a\nSunday, at the time when the princess was going to church. It was then\nhe proposed to exhibit this golden hen and her chickens in such a way\nthat the princess should see them. Well, he went to the goldsmith\u2019s; he\ngot the golden hen with her young chickens. On the following Sunday, he\nwent near the church, this young Jew; he placed a table there, and on\nit he exposed his golden hen with the young chicks. Nobody who passed\nthat way thought any more about going to church, but all stopped to\ngaze with wonder at this golden hen with her young chickens. A throng\nof people gathered from all parts of the town to see this hen and her\nchickens. The priest himself does not go into the church, but stops\nbefore the hen and her chickens; he looks at them so greedily that his\neyes are almost starting out of his head. At last the king\u2019s daughter\ncomes to church. She looks to see what is going on there. A crowd of\npeople, gentle and simple, gathered together. She had four lackeys with\nher.\n\n\u2018Go,\u2019 she said to one of them, \u2018see what is going on there.\u2019\n\nHe went and did not return.\n\nShe sent a second one; no more did he come back, so much was he\nenchanted. She despatched a third; neither did that one return\u2014he was\ncharmed. She sent the fourth, and he returned not either, being\nenchanted like the others.\n\n\u2018What can have happened there?\u2019 she asked herself. \u2018Has somebody been\nkilled?\u2019\n\nShe sent her maid, who forced her way with difficulty among the people;\nbut she also came not back, so much did this golden hen delight her.\nAnother was sent, who with great difficulty forced a passage through\nthe crowd, but she too returned not, so charmed was she. She despatched\nher third maid-servant, who also penetrated the throng, but, being\ncharmed, did not return. Finally she said to the fourth one, \u2018I am\nsending you to see what is happening there; but if you do not come back\nto tell me, I will have you put to death.\u2019\n\nThis one too went. She forced her way after much difficulty through the\ncrowd, but she came not back out of it, so greatly had that golden hen\ncharmed her.\n\nThe princess then said to herself, \u2018What can be going on there? Here,\nI\u2019ve sent eight persons, and not one of them has come back to tell me\nwhat\u2019s the matter.\u2019\n\nThen she went herself to see what had happened. Peasants and gentlemen\ngave way before her. She draws near and sees\u2014a golden hen with her\nyoung chickens. The Jew lad perceives her and asks her, \u2018Does this give\npleasure to your royal highness?\u2019\n\n\u2018Greatly though it pleases me, sir,\u2019 she answered, \u2018you will not give\nit to me.\u2019\n\nHe took this hen and presented it to the princess; then, with the help\nof the good God, he went away. But the princess called after him, and\ninvited him to dine at her father\u2019s. The young Jew returned to the inn,\nwhere the nobleman\u2019s son was asleep. He knew nothing of what the young\nJew had done. The king sent a very fine carriage to fetch the young\nJew; he got into it and drove off. The princess was amusing herself\nwith the hen and its young golden chickens. The king proposed to him\nthat he should live with his daughter.\n\n\u2018Very well,\u2019 said the young Jew to him. \u2018I will live with her.\u2019\n\nWell, they eat, they drink, and at length towards night the young Jew\nsent some one to fetch the nobleman\u2019s son. When he arrived, all three\nwent out to walk in the garden. Then the young Jew said to the\nprincess, \u2018Will you go away from here with us?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I will go away,\u2019 she replied.\n\nThey set out with her and hurried away, with the help of the good God.\nThe father of the princess knew not where she had gone to; neither did\nhe know whence the young Jew and the nobleman\u2019s son had come. The\nnobleman\u2019s son arrived at his father\u2019s house. The father and mother are\nwell satisfied that he has been so successful in bringing home the\nprincess.\n\n\u2018And now, my son,\u2019 said his father to him, \u2018you must marry her.\u2019\n\nSo he married her, and they live together with the help of God. The\nyoung Jew has also married a wife, and they live together with the help\nof God.\n\n\n    Obviously an incomplete story; for of the beautiful wand the young\n    Jew makes no use at all, of the key very little. It offers\n    analogies to \u2018Baldpate\u2019 (No. 2), to \u2018The Dead Man\u2019s Gratitude\u2019 (No.\n    1), and to Miklosich\u2019s Bukowina-Gypsy story of \u2018The Rivals.\u2019 The\n    last may be summarised thus:\u2014\n\n\n    An emperor\u2019s daughter on her brow had the sun, on her breast the\n    moon, on her back the stars. An old lady had a sow with twelve\n    little golden pigs; and her servant tended them. He goes into the\n    forest and grazes them along the road, and on three successive days\n    the princess gets a little pig by revealing to him her birth-marks.\n    The emperor makes proclamation for them to come and guess her\n    birth-marks. A prince, who is in love with her and knows her marks,\n    guesses them; so too does the swineherd. So the emperor shuts up\n    the three of them in a room. \u2018And the boy bought himself bread and\n    sweet apples and sweet cakes, and put them in his bosom. And the\n    prince lay with the girl in his arms, and the boy at her back. The\n    princess was hungry. The boy was eating cakes. She asked him, \u201cWhat\n    are you eating, boy?\u201d \u201cI am eating my lips.\u201d \u201cGive me some.\u201d And he\n    gave to her. \u201cGod! how sweet.\u201d And the prince said, \u201cMine are\n    sweeter.\u201d And he took his knife, and cut off his lips, and gave\n    them to her. She flung them on the ground. Again the boy was eating\n    apples. \u201cWhat are you eating now, boy?\u201d \u201cI am eating my nose.\u201d\n    \u201cGive me some.\u201d He gave her. \u201cGod! how delicious.\u201d And the prince,\n    \u201cMine is sweeter.\u201d He took his knife and cut off his nose, and gave\n    it to her. She flung it on the ground. The boy eats bread. \u201cWhat\n    are you eating now, boy?\u201d \u201cI am eating my ears.\u201d \u201cGive me some.\u201d He\n    gave to her. \u201cGod! how delicious.\u201d And the prince, \u201cMine are\n    sweeter.\u201d He took his knife, cut off his ears, and gave them to\n    her. She flung them on the ground. By daybreak the prince was dead;\n    the girl was all over blood from him, and she shoved his corpse on\n    the ground, and took the boy in her arms. And the emperor came and\n    found the two locked in an embrace. Straightway the emperor clad\n    him, and joined them in marriage.\u2019\n\n\n    Denton\u2019s \u2018The Shepherd and the King\u2019s Daughter,\u2019 in Serbian\n    Folklore, p. 172, is closely akin to Miklosich\u2019s story over the\n    first six pages, but is probably Bowdlerised. Cf. too, \u2018The\n    Emperor\u2019s Daughter and the Swineherd,\u2019 in Krauss\u2019s Sagen und\n    M\u00e4rchen der S\u00fcdslaven, ii. 302; and Hahn, ii. 180. Mr. David\n    MacRitchie suggested in the Gypsy Lore Journal (ii. 381) that by\n    the golden hen and her chickens in the Polish-Gypsy story is to be\n    understood a planetarium of the Pleiades, the popular Roumanian\n    name for the Pleiades being \u2018the golden hen with her golden\n    chickens.\u2019 The suggestion is most ingenious; but in Laura\n    Gonzenbach\u2019s Sicilian story, \u2018Vom Re Porco\u2019 (No. 42, i. 291\u2013293)\n    the true bride purchases permission from the false bride to pass\n    three nights with the bridegroom with the contents of three\n    nuts\u2014(1) a golden hen with many golden chickens; (2) a little\n    golden schoolmistress, with little golden pupils, who sew and\n    embroider; and (3) a lovely golden eagle. Cf. also Hahn, i. 188.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 49.\u2014THE GOLDEN BIRD AND THE GOOD HARE\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king who had three sons, two wise and one\nfoolish. This king had an apple-tree which bore golden apples; but\nevery night some one robbed him of these apples. The king inflicted\nsevere punishment on his servants.\n\nOne time his eldest son said to him, \u2018Father, I am going to watch the\ngolden apple-tree, and if I do not catch the thief you shall kill me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well; go, then.\u2019\n\nHe went to stand guard, but in the night-time a golden bird came and\nstole a golden apple from the tree.\n\nNext day the king arose, and asked of his son, \u2018Have you caught the\nthief?\u2019 The king counted the apples on the tree: one of them was\nmissing. \u2018Well,\u2019 said he to his son, \u2018you shall be put to death.\u2019\n\nThe notables of the kingdom, and everybody, prayed that he would pardon\nhim. The king pardoned him.\n\nThen the other brother said to the king, \u2018Father, I also will go and\nkeep watch; it may be that I shall seize the thief.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well; then go.\u2019\n\nHe made his preparations, and went on guard. The golden bird came once\nmore and stole an apple from the tree.\n\nNext day the king arose and asked of his son, \u2018Have you caught the\nthief?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, father, I have not caught him, for he has escaped me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Did you see him, then?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I saw him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, then, how was he able to escape you? You shall be killed.\u2019\n\nThen the queen and all the nobles entreated him. He pardoned this other\nson.\n\nThe king returned to his house.\n\nThen the third brother, the fool, came to beg him that he would allow\nhim to go and guard the golden apple-tree. \u2018Father,\u2019 said he, \u2018it must\nbe that I shall catch this thief.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go, then, fool that thou art,\u2019 replied the king; \u2018your wise brothers\nhave kept watch, and could not take him; and you, what will you do,\nfool?\u2019\n\n\u2018Never mind, father, wise though my brothers may be, they knew not how\nto secure the thief. I, who am a fool, shall know better than they how\nto capture him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well; then, go. But you shall be put to death if you do not take\nhim.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well, father, I agree to it that you kill me; but if I do secure\nthe thief, it is I who am to kill you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well, I shall not seek to excuse myself.\u2019\n\nHe made his preparations. He went to keep watch. He climbed up into the\ntree to watch there. He stuck a needle into a twig, and leant his chin\nupon it.\n\n\u2018Whenever I feel sleepy,\u2019 said he to himself, \u2018the needle will prick\nme, and I shall be aroused.\u2019\n\nJust at daybreak he saw a golden bird come, intending to steal one of\nthe golden apples. He perceived this, and, firing at the bird, knocked\nout three feathers of gold. These he picked up and kept in his hand.\n\nHe got up in the morning and went to his father, who asked him, \u2018Have\nyou seized the thief? What have you taken from him?\u2019\n\n\u2018I have blown off a piece of his shirt with a musket-shot.\u2019\n\nThen said the king to him, \u2018Now you may kill me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Father, I grant you your life.\u2019\n\nHe showed him the three golden feathers, whereupon his father became\nblind, so dazzled was he by the terrible gleam.\n\n\u2018What shall we do now, unfortunates that we are?\u2019\n\nThe eldest brother said to his father, \u2018I am going in quest of this\nbird.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, go, my son; have a care of me.\u2019\n\nHe took plenty of money with him and a beautiful horse. He set out in\nquest of this bird. He went away far out into the world. Once he saw a\nfine inn. He went in. He ordered something to eat and drink. He hears,\nthis son of the king, that they are wrangling in the next room. He\nlooks through the keyhole and sees twelve young ladies playing at\ncards. He gently opens the door a little, and these damsels call to\nhim, \u2018Come away, sir, and play with us.\u2019\n\nHe goes in, and he loses all his money at play. He sells his horse, and\nloses that money too. He sells his clothes, and still loses. Lastly, he\nasks these damsels to lend him a hundred florins. They lend them to\nhim, and he loses the hundred florins.\n\n\u2018What shall I do now, pauper that I am?\u2019\n\nThese damsels have him arrested and put into prison. For six months he\nsees no one, this eldest brother.\n\nThen his younger brother made his preparations, and requested his\nfather to let him go in quest of the golden bird.\n\nHis father said to him, \u2018Each of you goes away, and none returns. Very\nwell, go.\u2019\n\nHe took even more money than his brother and a finer horse. He set out,\nand came to the same inn. He makes them serve him with something to eat\nand drink. He hears people wrangling in the next room. He opens the\ndoor a little, and sees twelve damsels playing at cards.\n\n\u2018Come away, sir, and play with us.\u2019\n\nHe sits down to play, and loses all his money. He sells his horse for a\nlarge sum, which he loses in the same way. He sells his clothes, and\nloses likewise. Lastly, he borrows a hundred florins from the twelve\ndamsels, and loses them also.\n\n\u2018What shall I do now, pauper that I am?\u2019\n\nThese damsels have him arrested and put into prison.\n\nThen the king says, \u2018See, it is full six months since my two sons set\nout, and neither of them has returned.\u2019\n\nThen the fool, the youngest brother, wishes to go in quest of this\nbird. He requests his father to let him go and seek the golden bird.\n\n\u2018Well, go, my boy. Fool though you are, perhaps you will bring this\nbird to me sooner than your two wise brothers, who set out and return\nnot.\u2019\n\nSo he made his preparations. He set out without money, without anything\nsave two bottles of wine, but he set out with the help of God. After a\nvery long journey he came to a small wood. In this wood he saw a lame\nhare, which fled away from him. He would have killed this hare, but it\nbesought him, \u2018Have the fear of God; do not kill me. For I know where\nyou are going, and I will tell it to you.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is well,\u2019 replied this foolish prince; and he dismounted from his\nhorse. He drew a fine loaf out of his pocket, and gave it to the hare\nto eat. For himself, he drank some of his wine, and said to this hare,\n\u2018If I gave you wine too, you would certainly not drink any of it?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why should I not drink any of it, my lord?\u2019 replied the hare; \u2018you\nhave only to give me some.\u2019\n\nWell, he gave him some. The hare drank of it, and thanked him\ncourteously. Then the foolish prince asked him, \u2018What was that you said\nto me just now?\u2019\n\n\u2018I will tell you that you are going in quest of the golden bird, three\nof whose feathers you knocked out with a musket-shot. You showed them\nto your father, who has consequently become blind.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, that is so.\u2019\n\n\u2018But listen: there will be various birds; there will be a cage of\ndiamonds, a cage of gold, a cage of silver, and a cage of wood. In the\nfirst there will be a diamond bird, in the second a golden bird, in the\nthird a silver bird, and in the fourth a miserable, common bird. Beware\nof taking one of the birds with a beautiful cage, or it will bring\nmisfortune on you. Now, get on my back, and leave your horse to graze\nin this forest.\u2019\n\nHe mounted the hare, and on arriving at the place where these birds\nwere he dismounted. Then said the hare to him again, \u2018For God\u2019s sake,\nbeware of touching a bird with a beautiful cage, but take the one in a\ncommon cage.\u2019\n\nWell, then, he goes in to steal, and he sees that there are three\nmiserable cages. \u2018Why,\u2019 said he, \u2018should I take one of these, when I\ncan take a bird with a beautiful cage?\u2019 He then espied a cage of\ndiamonds with a diamond bird in it. He approached it. He would have\ntaken it, when suddenly these wretched birds uttered a terrible scream.\nThe warders came running up, and secured the prince. Next day the king\nquestioned him, \u2018Why have you come here?\u2019\n\n\u2018I came, sire, to take the bird that robbed me of the golden apples.\u2019\n\n\u2018Listen, then. You shall have that bird provided you do this for me.\nThere is a certain king who has a silver horse. Steal that horse from\nhim and bring it to me, and I will give you the bird.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well.\u2019\n\nThe fool came to his hare, and began to lament. The hare said to him,\n\u2018Didn\u2019t I tell you not to touch the bird in the fine cage, but to take\nthe bird in the common cage? Well, be silent; come with me without\nmounting me. And listen: there will be beautiful horses of gold and\nsilver. Don\u2019t touch them, but take that miserable horse beside the\ndoor.\u2019\n\nWell, he went. He sees such beautiful horses, one all gold, the other\nsilver. He looks at them, and says to himself, \u2018Why should I take that\nwretched horse, when I can take the golden one?\u2019 He tries to mount the\ngolden horse, when they all neigh terribly loud, and he was arrested.\n\nOn the morrow the king arose and questioned him, \u2018What do you want\nhere?\u2019\n\n\u2018I came, sire, to steal your silver horse, because that other king said\nto me that if I bring him your silver steed, he will give me his golden\nbird.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, I will give it to you myself if you will accomplish this feat:\nOur third king has a daughter with locks of gold. If you will carry her\noff, and bring her to me, then I will give you my silver steed.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well.\u2019\n\nHe came back to his hare. \u2018Why, then, won\u2019t you do what I tell you?\u2019\nsaid the hare to him, and would have beaten him. \u2018Come, then, with me,\nbut do not get on my back. You will go to where this princess dwells;\nyou will eat with her; you will drink with her; finally, you will sleep\nwith her. Then I shall come during the night and carry you both away.\u2019\n\nWell, he came to where the princess lived. He ate, he drank, and he\nslept with her. The hare got up during the night, and carried them both\naway. They set out, and by the time it was day they had gone a great\ndistance.\n\n\u2018Where am I?\u2019 asked the princess.\n\nThe hare told her, \u2018You will be the wife of this prince.\u2019\n\nShe was quite content to have such a young and handsome husband.\n\nThen said the foolish prince, \u2018Well, we have already got the princess\nwith the golden locks, but how are we going to manage to steal the\nsilver steed and the golden bird?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 replied the hare, \u2018that is my affair, and I shall answer for it.\u2019\n\nThey remained, then, in that place, and the hare set out alone. He went\nto where that king lived, and he stole from him that same wretched\nhorse that was beside the door. He mounted it and came back to the\nfool. The latter sees such a beautiful silver horse. He is enchanted\nthat the hare had succeeded in stealing it. He mounts the princess on\nthis horse, and they continued their journey with the help of God. They\nreach the home of the third king, who had the golden bird. The hare\nstole from him the miserable bird in the wretched cage. (Neither the\nbirds nor the horses uttered a single cry.) The hare returned to the\nfool. He is perfectly delighted on seeing a golden bird in a golden\ncage. They go on their way. They set out with the help of God, and they\ncome to that forest where they had left their horse. The prince mounted\nit.\n\nBefore his departure the hare said to him, \u2018I forbid you to ransom your\ntwo brothers from death.\u2019 The prince swore that he would not. He and\nthe princess returned thanks to the good hare who had brought them\naway. They set out and arrived at his father\u2019s house. He presents the\ngolden bird to his father, who thereupon recovered his sight. His\nfather is charmed at his son bringing him his wife with the golden\nlocks and a silver steed. He marries her, and lives with her five\nyears.\n\n\n\nOnce it occurred to this fool that he ought to go in search of his two\nbrothers.\n\n\u2018Do not go, my son,\u2019 said his father, \u2018let God punish them.\u2019\n\n\u2018Permit me to do so, father; I will go and seek them.\u2019\n\nHis father objected, but he besought him incessantly, till at last he\nallowed him to go. He came to a very large town. What does he see\nthere? His two brothers. They were just being led to death. He came to\nthe place, this fool, and he would have ransomed them from death, but\nthe nobles would not have it. He offered an enormous sum, but they\nwould not accept it.\n\n\u2018If you will not, I can but go home.\u2019\n\nHe came home, and he said to his father, \u2018Alas! father, my brothers are\nnow dead.\u2019\n\n\u2018Since they did not obey me,\u2019 replied his father, \u2018it is right that God\nshould punish them.\u2019\n\nThis youngest prince dwells with his wife, and they live with the help\nof the good, golden God.\n\n\n    This opens like a Bulgarian story, \u2018The Golden Apples and the Nine\n    Peahens,\u2019 No. 38 of Wratislaw\u2019s Sixty Slavonic Folk-tales, p. 186,\n    also somewhat like the Roumanian-Gypsy tale of \u2018The Red King and\n    the Witch\u2019 (No. 14). Laura Gonzenbach\u2019s Sicilian story, No. 51,\n    \u2018Vom singenden Dudelsack,\u2019 may also be compared. But it is\n    essentially identical with our Scottish-Tinker story of \u2018The Fox\u2019\n    (No. 75), and with Wratislaw\u2019s Serbian story of \u2018The Lame Fox,\u2019 No.\n    40, pp. 205\u2013217, with Grimm\u2019s No. 57, \u2018The Golden Bird\u2019 (i. 227,\n    415), and with Campbell of Islay\u2019s No. 46, \u2018Mac Iain Direach,\u2019 on\n    which see Reinhold K\u00f6hler in Orient und Occident, ii. 1864, pp.\n    685\u20136. Kopernicki\u2019s Gypsy story is plainly very defective. The lame\n    hare should first meet the two elder brothers, and his stealing the\n    steed and the bird is as lame as himself. The concluding phrase,\n    \u2018golden God,\u2019 occurs often in Hungarian and in Slovak-Gypsy\n    stories; so I am inclined to question Kopernicki\u2019s footnote that\n    \u2018\u201cwith the help of God\u201d (or \u201cof the good God\u201d), a phrase frequently\n    occurring in the Polish-Gypsy stories is borrowed from the popular\n    speech of Poland.\u2019 Dja Devl\u00e9sa, \u2018go with God,\u2019 is of constant\n    occurrence in Turkish-Romani (Paspati, p. 205), and in most, if not\n    all, of the other European Gypsy dialects.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 50.\u2014THE WITCH\n\nThere was once a nobleman who had a very handsome son. The nobleman\nwished that his son should marry, but there was nobody whom he would\nwed. Young ladies of every kind were assembled, but not one of them\nwould he have. For ten years he lived with his father. Once in a dream\nhe bethought himself that he should go and travel. He went away far out\ninto the world; and for ten years he was absent from his home. He\nreflected, and \u2018What shall I do?\u2019 he asked himself; \u2018I will return to\nmy father.\u2019 He returned home in rags, and all lean with wretchedness,\nso that his father was ashamed of him. He remained with him three\nmonths.\n\nOnce he dreamt that in the middle of a field there was a lovely sheet\nof water, and that in this little lake three beautiful damsels were\nbathing. Next morning he arose and said to his father, \u2018Rest you here\nwith the help of the good God, my father; for I am going afar into the\nworld.\u2019\n\nHis father gave him much money, and said to him, \u2018If you do not wish to\nstay with me, go forth with the help of God.\u2019\n\nHe set out on his way; he came to this little lake; and there he saw\nthree beautiful damsels bathing. He would have captured one of them,\nbut these damsels had wings on their smocks, by means of which they\nsoared into the air and escaped him. He went away, this nobleman\u2019s son,\nand said he to himself, \u2018What shall I do now, poor wretch that I am?\u2019\nand he began to weep bitterly.\n\nThen he sees an old man approaching him, and this old man asks him,\n\u2018Why do you weep, my lad?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! well do I know why I weep: there are three lovely damsels who\nbathe in that lake, but I cannot capture them.\u2019\n\n\u2018What do you want, then?\u2019 asks this old man. \u2018Would you catch the whole\nthree of them?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 he replied, \u2018I wish to catch only one of them, the youngest one.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well, then, listen: I am going to dig a pit for you; whenever you\nsee them coming for a swim, hide yourself in this hole, and wait there\nin silence. As soon as they have laid down their clothes, jump up and\nseize hold of the smock belonging to the youngest one. She will beg you\nto give it up to her, but do not give it up.\u2019\n\nWell, these three damsels came; they took off their smocks, and laid\neach of them aside. The nobleman\u2019s son watched them from his pit; he\njumped out; he seized hold of the smock belonging to the youngest one.\nShe beseeches him to give it back to her, but he will not consent to do\nso. The two other sisters fly away with the good God, and he returns to\nhis home with the young damsel. His father sees that he brings a\nbeautiful damsel with him. Well, he marries her. They live together for\nfive years. They had a very pretty young son. But as for the winged\nsmock he had a special room made, into which he locked it, and the key\nof the room he gave to his mother to take care of. Madman that he was!\nHe would have done better had he burned that smock.\n\nOne day he went out into the fields. Then his wife spoke thus to his\nmother, \u2018Mother, five years now have I been here, and I know not what\nthere is in my husband\u2019s room, because he always keeps it hidden from\nme.\u2019\n\nThen the mother said to her, \u2018Well, come with me; I am going to show it\nto you.\u2019\n\n\u2018That is right, mother. I wish it much, because he ought not to hide\nanything from me, for I would not rob him of anything, to hand it over\nto the lads.\u2019\n\nShe went into that room with his mother; she sees that her smock with\nthe two wings is there.\n\n\u2018Mother,\u2019 she said, \u2018may I again don this smock, to see whether I am as\nbeautiful still as I was once?\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well, my daughter, put it on again; I do not forbid you.\u2019\n\nShe put on the smock, and she said to his mother, \u2018Remain here with the\nhelp of the good God, my mother; salute my husband for me; and take\ngood care of my child. For never more will you see me.\u2019\n\nThen she sped away with the good God, and returned home to the witch,\nher mother.\n\nHer husband came back to the house and asked his mother, \u2018Where has my\nwife gone?\u2019\n\n\u2018My son, she went into that room there; she once more put on a certain\nsmock; she sent you a farewell greeting; and she asked me to take care\nof her child, for never more would she see us.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, I am going away in quest of her.\u2019\n\nHe took a lot of money with him, he set out, and journeyed forth with\nthe help of the good God. He came to a miller\u2019s house. The miller had a\nmill, where they ground corn for this witch. Well, the nobleman\u2019s son\nasked this miller to hide him in a sack, to cover him with meal, and to\nfasten him securely into the sack.\n\n\u2018I will pay you for this service,\u2019 said he to the miller.\n\nWell, as soon as he had hidden him in the sack and fastened it, four\ndevils came. Each of them took a sack; but the first of these, the one\nin which the nobleman\u2019s son was concealed, was very heavy. This devil\ntook the sack; he threw it upon his back; he set out on his road, and\nwent away with the good God (sic!). They went to the abode of the witch\nand laid down their sacks.\n\nThe next day there was to be a wedding there. Who should happen to come\nto this first sack but his wife?\n\n\u2018What are you doing here?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, I am come to take you away.\u2019\n\n\u2018Meanwhile, my mother is going to kill you.\u2019\n\nHer mother, having heard with whom she was speaking, entered and\nrecognised him. \u2018So, then, it is you who are so clever, and who stole\naway my daughter. Hearken, then, you shall have her to wife if you\nperform for me the feats which I shall lay upon you.\u2019\n\nShe gave him food and drink; he went to bed.\n\nNext day he got up, and the witch arose also and said to him, \u2018Hearken,\nI have here a great forest, three hundred leagues in extent. You must\nuproot for me every tree, cut them in pieces, arrange these pieces in\npiles, the logs on one side and the brushwood on the other. If you do\nnot do that for me, I will cut off your head.\u2019\n\nShe gave him a wooden axe and a wooden spade. He set out; he went to\nthe forest. He came to this forest; he saw it was very large.\n\n\u2018What can I do here, wretched man that I am, with the wooden axe and\nthe wooden spade that she has given me?\u2019\n\nHe struck a blow with the axe on a tree; and the axe broke.\n\n\u2018What am I going to do now, wretched man that I am?\u2019\n\nHe cowered down upon the ground, and fell a-weeping. He sees his wife\ncome; she brings him something to eat and drink.\n\n\u2018Why are you weeping?\u2019 asks his wife.\n\n\u2018How can I refrain from weeping when your mother has given me an axe\nand a spade of wood, and I have broken them both already.\u2019\n\n\u2018Hush, then, weep not; all will go well. Only eat and be filled.\u2019\n\nHe ate and was filled.\n\n\u2018Come, now, I am going to louse your head.\u2019 [110]\n\nHe went to her; he laid his head in her lap; and he fell asleep. His\nwife put her fingers into her mouth and whistled. A great number of\ndevils came to her.\n\n\u2018What is it that the great lady demands of us?\u2019\n\n\u2018That this entire forest be cut down, and that the logs be set in piles\non one side, and the brushwood on the other; each kind has to be ranged\nin separate piles.\u2019\n\nThe devils set themselves to this task, and cut down the whole forest,\nso that not a stick of it remained standing, and all the wood was\narranged in piles.\n\nHis wife then awoke him: \u2018Get up now.\u2019\n\nHe arose, he saw the whole forest was cut down, and each kind of wood\nwas arranged in lots. He is rejoiced; he returns to the house before\nnight.\n\n\u2018Finished already?\u2019 the mother, this witch, asks him.\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 he replied, \u2018I am finished.\u2019\n\nShe went out to see. The whole forest indeed was felled, and each kind\nof wood was arranged in piles. At that she was much mortified. Well,\nshe gave him some food; he satisfied himself, and lay down to sleep.\n\nShe arose next morning, this witch, and said to him, \u2018I will give you\nmy daughter to wife if you cause my forest to become again what it was\nbefore, with every leaf in its place again. And if you fail to do that\nfor me, why, then, I will cut off your head.\u2019\n\nWell, he set out; he went on his way. He came to the forest.\n\n\u2018What shall I do now, unhappy wretch that I am?\u2019\n\nHe tried to fasten a branch on to its proper trunk, and the branch fell\noff again. He bowed himself to the ground and wept. His wife came to\nhim, bringing him food.\n\n\u2018Why do you weep so, like a calf?\u2019\n\n\u2018How can I help weeping, when your mother has made me fell this forest,\nand now commands me so to restore this same forest so that each leaf\nshall be once more in its proper place on the tree?\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t weep any more, then; eat.\u2019\n\nHe ate; he was satisfied.\n\n\u2018Come, let me louse your head.\u2019\n\nHe lay down on her lap and went to sleep.\n\nThen she whistled, and the devils appeared in great numbers.\n\n\u2018What do you demand of us, my lady?\u2019\n\n\u2018I demand that my forest be restored to its former condition, so that\neach leaf may be on its own tree.\u2019\n\nWell, the devils set to work and restored everything, so that every\nleaf was in its proper place. Then she awoke him. He got up and saw the\nwhole forest entire, as it had been before.\n\nQuite overjoyed, he returned to the house before night.\n\n\u2018Finished already?\u2019 asked the mother.\n\n\u2018Yes. I have finished.\u2019\n\nShe went forth to see if it was true. There was the forest as it had\nbeen before.\n\nThen the mother said, \u2018What are we to do with him now?\u2019\n\nShe gave him food and drink.\n\nShe arose next morning, this witch. \u2018Hearken, you shall have my\ndaughter to wife if you perform for me yet one more feat.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well, mother.\u2019\n\n\u2018There is a very large pond here; you must drain it dry.\u2019\n\n\u2018Willingly.\u2019\n\n\u2018But beware of letting a single fish in it perish.\u2019\n\nShe gave him a sieve with big holes. \u2018This is what you must empty the\npond with.\u2019\n\nHe went to the pond, this nobleman\u2019s son; he lifted up a sieveful of\nwater, which immediately streamed away. He flung the sieve to the\ndevils.\n\n\u2018If at least she had given me a bucket, I might perhaps have managed to\nempty this pond more quickly.\u2019\n\nThen he bowed himself down and began to weep. \u2018Wretch that I am, what\nshall I do now?\u2019\n\nHe sees his wife come to him.\n\n\u2018Why are you weeping again?\u2019\n\n\u2018Because your mother has given me a sieve with big holes, so that the\nwater runs away at once.\u2019\n\n\u2018Never mind, then, be quiet; do not weep any more. With God\u2019s help all\nwill go well.\u2019\n\nShe gave him to eat and to drink; then he lay down on his wife\u2019s lap\nand slept. His wife whistled, and a great number of devils appeared\nbefore her.\n\n\u2018What does her ladyship demand of us?\u2019\n\n\u2018I desire that all the water in this pond be drained away, without a\nsingle fish in it dying.\u2019\n\nThe devils set themselves to the task; the pond was soon empty; and not\none fish in it died. When he arose, he saw that there was no longer any\nwater in the pond, and that the fish in it remained alive. Filled with\njoy, he went away to the house.\n\n\u2018Finished already?\u2019 the witch asked him.\n\n\u2018Yes, mother, I have done it already.\u2019\n\nWell, she went away out to see. She sees that not a single drop of\nwater remained in her pond, but that the fish, still living, were like\nto die for want of water. The witch, having then returned home, said to\nherself, \u2018What are we going to do with him now? He has already\nperformed three feats for me; I must make him perform yet a fourth.\u2019\n\nShe gave him food and drink. He went to bed.\n\nNext morning, when he arose, the witch said to him, \u2018Hearken, you shall\nhave my daughter to wife if you accomplish this feat: my pond must be\nfuller than ever of water, and with more fish in it.\u2019\n\nThen he betook himself to the pond, this nobleman\u2019s son, and began to\nweep bitterly. \u2018Unhappy that I am, what am I going to do now?\u2019 He sees\nhis wife come bringing food.\n\n\u2018Why are you weeping at such a rate? I\u2019ve told you already not to weep\nany more.\u2019\n\nHe ate; he lay down with his head in his wife\u2019s lap, and fell asleep.\nShe whistled, and the devils appeared in great numbers.\n\n\u2018What does her ladyship demand of us?\u2019\n\n\u2018I desire that my pond again be filled with water, and that it have\nmore water and more fish than before.\u2019\n\nWell, she awoke him; he found the pond full of water. He was quite\ndelighted and returned to the house.\n\n\u2018Finished already?\u2019 the witch asked him.\n\n\u2018Yes, mother, I have finished.\u2019\n\nShe goes out and sees that the pond is full of water and fish. She\ncomes into the house again, and says she to herself, \u2018What are we going\nto do now with him? However, he must be killed to-morrow.\u2019\n\nShe gave him food and drink; thereafter he went to bed.\n\nHis wife came to him and said, \u2018We must escape this very night. But\nshould our mother pursue us, I will then change myself into a lovely\nflower, and you shall change yourself into a beautiful meadow.\u2019\n\n\u2018Very well.\u2019\n\n\u2018And if you see it is our father that pursues us, then I will change\nmyself into a church, and you shall change yourself into an old man.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well.\u2019\n\n\u2018And if you perceive it is our sister who is coming after us, then I\nshall have to change myself into a duck, and you must change yourself\ninto a drake. But I shall no longer have the heart to retain myself;\nshe will beseech me, \u201cMy darling sister, return to us.\u201d Thus will she\nspeak to me. Then must you, in your form of drake, allow her no rest,\nbut beat her senseless with blows of your wings.\u2019\n\n\u2018All right.\u2019\n\nWell, they set out and took to flight.\n\nAfter they had escaped, and had traversed a distance of a great many\nleagues, what do they see?\u2014the eldest sister coming after them. As soon\nas she perceived her, she said to her husband, \u2018Change yourself into a\nbeautiful meadow, and I will change myself into a pretty flower.\u2019\n\nThe eldest sister came up, and, finding nobody, said to herself, \u2018In\nthe midst of such miserable fields, see, here is a beautiful large\nmeadow and a very pretty flower.\u2019 Then she went home to her mother, the\nwitch.\n\n\u2018What have you seen?\u2019 asked her mother.\n\n\u2018In the midst of a field I saw a beautiful meadow with a lovely\nflower.\u2019\n\nHer mother stormed at her: \u2018Why did you not pluck that flower? You\nwould have brought them both home again.\u2019\n\nWell, the witch set out herself. Meanwhile they had got to a great\ndistance. At length she sees the witch pursuing them, and she says to\nher husband, \u2018I will change myself into a duck swimming in the middle\nof a pond, and you must change yourself into a swan.\u2019 [111]\n\nWell, she changed herself into a duck on a beautiful pond, and he\nchanged himself into a swan. Her mother, the witch, making up to them,\nsaid to them, \u2018Oh! I am just going to capture you, to take you both\nback with me.\u2019\n\nShe proceeded to drink up the water of the pond. Then the swan flung\nhimself upon the witch, and battered in her head.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s what my wife advised me to do,\u2019 he remarked.\n\nThen they renewed their journey, and went away with the help of God.\nThey had gone yet some leagues further on; then the father set out in\npursuit of them. His daughter sees her father coming, and says she to\nher husband, \u2018Now change yourself into an old man, and I will change\nmyself into a church.\u2019\n\nThe father arrives, but finds nobody. He sees a church in the middle of\na forest, and he says to himself, this sorcerer, \u2018I am now a hundred\nyears old, but never yet have I seen a church in the depths of a forest\nwith an old man inside it.\u2019 So he went back to his house with the good\nGod. When he got there, his two daughters said to him, \u2018Our mother has\nbeen killed. We knew not that she had exposed all the tricks to him,\nand they have ended by killing our mother.\u2019\n\nThey journeyed still further away into the world. She sees, the wife of\nthe nobleman\u2019s son, that her youngest sister is pursuing them. She says\nto him, \u2018I will change myself into a duck, and do you change yourself\ninto a drake, and you must do the same thing to her as you did to my\nmother.\u2019\n\nWell, he stopped there and changed himself into a drake, and she\nchanged herself into a beautiful duck. Her sister came up, and\nproceeded to entreat her, \u2018My dear sister, come back with me, for if\nyou do not I will kill myself.\u2019\n\nThen the drake flung himself upon this sister, and battered her with\nblows of his wings, and gave her no respite; again he flung himself on\nher and battered in her head. Well, then they set out, and resumed\ntheir journey with the good God.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 said they to themselves, \u2018nobody will pursue us any more.\u2019\n\nThey arrived, this nobleman\u2019s son and his wife, at the house of that\nsame miller who had hidden him in a sack.\n\n\u2018So you see, sir, that I have gained my end.\u2019\n\n\u2018It is very fortunate that you have, by the grace of God. We were\ncertain you were dead, and, see, you are still alive.\u2019\n\nHe paid this miller a large sum of money for bringing him to the house\nwhere his wife was living. He comes home; his mother sees that it is\nher son, who had been absent from home for more than twenty years. His\nchild is now grown up. She is filled then with joy, so is his son at\nhis father\u2019s return; and they all live together with the good, golden\nGod.\n\n\n    \u2018The Witch\u2019 is identical with the middle portion (pp. 125\u2013130) of\n    Ralston\u2019s \u2018The Water King and Vasilissa the Wise,\u2019 collected by\n    Afanasief in the Voronej government, South-eastern Russia. Ralston\n    cites many variants, among them an Indian one. Cf. also \u2018Prince\n    Unexpected,\u2019 a Polish story, No. 17 in Wratislaw\u2019s Sixty Slavonic\n    Folk-tales, pp. 108\u2013121. A striking parallel for the recovery of\n    the smock is furnished by \u2018La Loulie et la Belle de la Terre\u2019 in\n    Dozon\u2019s Contes Albanais, pp. 94\u20135. Cf. also Wratislaw\u2019s Croatian\n    story, \u2018The She-Wolf,\u2019 No. 55, p. 290; Georgeakis and Pineau\u2019s\n    story from Lesbos, No. 2, \u2018Le Mont des Cailloux,\u2019 p. 11; and\n    especially Cosquin\u2019s \u2018Chatte Blanche,\u2019 No. 32, with the valuable\n    notes thereon (ii. 9\u201328). The Welsh-Gypsy story of \u2018The Green Man\n    of Noman\u2019s Land,\u2019 No. 62, is almost a variant (there, likewise, the\n    hero is tearful); so, too, is the Bukowina-Gypsy story, \u2018Made over\n    to the Devil\u2019 (No. 34). Cf. the notes on these; and Clouston, i.\n    182\u2013191, for bird-maidens. The pursuit and the transformation into\n    a church and a priest are discussed pretty fully in the\n    Introduction.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nENGLISH-GYPSY STORIES\n\n\nNO. 51.\u2014BOBBY RAG\n\nYeahs an\u2019 yeahs an\u2019 double yeahs ago, deah wuz a nice young Gypsy gal\nplayin\u2019 round an ole oak tree. An\u2019 up comed a squire as she wur\na-playin\u2019, an\u2019 he falled in love wid her, an\u2019 asked her ef she\u2019d go to\nhis hall an\u2019 marry him. An\u2019 she says, \u2018No, sir, you wouldn\u2019t have a\npooah Gypsy gal like me.\u2019 But he meaned so, an\u2019 stoled her away an\u2019\nmarried her.\n\nNow when he bring\u2019d her home, his mother warn\u2019t \u2019greeable to let\nhisself down so low as to marry a Gypsy gal. So she says, \u2018You\u2019ll hev\nto go an\u2019 \u2019stry her in de Hundert Mile Wood, an\u2019 strip her\nstar\u2019-mother-naked, an\u2019 bring back her clothes and her heart and pluck\nwid you.\u2019\n\nAnd he took\u2019d his hoss, and she jumped up behint him, and rid behint\nhim into de wood. You\u2019ll be shuah it wor a wood, an ole-fashioned wood\nwe know it should be, wid bears an\u2019 eagles an\u2019 sneks an\u2019 wolfs into it.\nAnd when he took\u2019d her in de wood he says, \u2018Now, I\u2019ll ha\u2019 to kill you\nhere, an\u2019 strip you star\u2019-mother-naked and tek back your clothes an\u2019\nyour heart an\u2019 pluck wid me, and show dem to my mammy.\u2019\n\nBut she begged hard for herself, an\u2019 she says, \u2018Deah\u2019s an eagle into\ndat wood, an\u2019 he\u2019s gat de same heart an\u2019 pluck as a Christ\u2019n; take dat\nhome an\u2019 show it to your mammy, an\u2019 I\u2019ll gin you my clothes as well.\u2019\n\nSo he stript her clothes affer her, an\u2019 he kilt de eagle, an\u2019 took\u2019d\nhis heart an\u2019 pluck home, an\u2019 showed it to his mammy, an\u2019 said as he\u2019d\nkilt her.\n\nAnd she heared him rode aff, an\u2019 she wents an, an\u2019 she wents an, an\u2019\nshe wents an, an\u2019 she crep an\u2019 crep an her poor hens and knees, tell\nshe fun\u2019 a way troo de long wood. You\u2019ah shuah she\u2019d have hard work to\nfin\u2019 a way troo it; an\u2019 long an\u2019 by last she got to de hedge anear de\nroad, so as she\u2019d hear any one go by.\n\nNow, in de marnin\u2019 deah wuz a young genleman comed by an hoss-back, an\u2019\nhe couldn\u2019t get his hoss by for love nor money; an\u2019 she hed herself in\nunder de hedge, for she wur afrightened \u2019twor de same man come back to\nkill her agin, an\u2019 besides you\u2019ah shuah she wor ashamed of bein\u2019 naked.\n\nAn\u2019 he calls out, \u2018Ef you\u2019ah a ghost, go way; but ef you\u2019ah a livin\u2019\nChrist\u2019n, speak to me.\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 she med answer direc\u2019ly, \u2018I\u2019m as good a Christ\u2019n as you are, but\nnot in parable.\u2019 [112]\n\nAn\u2019 when he sin her, he pull\u2019t his deah beautiful topcoat affer him,\nan\u2019 put it an her. An\u2019 he says, \u2018Jump behint me.\u2019 An\u2019 she jumped behint\nhim, an\u2019 he rid wi\u2019 her to his own gret hall. An\u2019 deah wuz no speakin\u2019\ntell dey gat home. He knowed she wuz deah to be kilt, an\u2019 he galloped\nas hard as he could an his blood-hoss, tell he got to his own hall. An\u2019\nwhen he bring\u2019d her in, dey wur all struck stunt to see a woman naked,\nwid her beautiful black hair hangin down her back in long rinklets. Deh\nasked her what she wuz deah fur, an\u2019 she tell\u2019d dem, an\u2019 she tell\u2019d\ndem. An\u2019 you\u2019ah shuah dey soon put clothes an her; an\u2019 when she wuz\ndressed up, deah warn\u2019t a lady in de land more han\u2019some nor her. An\u2019\nhis folks wor in delight av her.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 dey says, \u2018we\u2019ll have a supper for goers an\u2019 comers an\u2019 all\ngentry to come at.\u2019\n\nYou\u2019ah shuah it should be a \u2019spensible supper an\u2019 no savation of no\nmoney. And deah wuz to be tales tell\u2019d an\u2019 songs sing\u2019d. An\u2019 every wan\ndat didn\u2019t sing\u2019t a song had to tell\u2019t a tale. An\u2019 every door wuz\nbolted for fear any wan would mek a skip out. An\u2019 it kem to pass to\ndis\u2019 Gypsy gal to sing a song; an\u2019 de gentleman dat fun\u2019 her says,\n\u2018Now, my pretty Gypsy gal, tell a tale.\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 de gentleman dat wuz her husband knowed her, an\u2019 didn\u2019t want her to\ntell a tale. And he says, \u2018Sing a song, my pretty Gypsy gal.\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 she says, \u2018I won\u2019t sing a song, but I\u2019ll tell a tale. An\u2019 she says\u2014\n\n\n       \u2018Bobby rag! Bobby rag!\n          Roun\u2019 de oak tree\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\n\n\u2018Pooh! pooh!\u2019 says her husband, \u2018dat tale won\u2019t do.\u2019 (Now de ole mother\nan\u2019 de son, dey knowed what wuz comin\u2019 out.)\n\n\u2018Go on, my pretty Gypsy gal,\u2019 says de oder young genleman. \u2018A werry\nnice tale indeed.\u2019\n\nSo she goes on\u2014\n\n\n       \u2018Bobby rag! Bobby rag!\n          Roun\u2019 de oak tree.\n        A Gypsy I wuz born\u2019d,\n          A lady I wuz bred;\n        Dey made me a coffin\n          Afore I wuz dead.\u2019\n\n\n\u2018An\u2019 dat\u2019s de rogue deah.\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 she tell\u2019t all de tale into de party, how he wur agoin\u2019 to kill her\nan\u2019 tek her heart an\u2019 pluck home. An\u2019 all de gentry took\u2019t an\u2019 gibbeted\nhim alive, both him an\u2019 his mother. An\u2019 dis young squire married her,\nan\u2019 med her a lady for life. Ah! ef we could know her name, an\u2019 what\nbreed she wur, what a beautiful ting dat would be. But de tale doan\u2019\nsay.\n\n\n    I can offer no exact parallel for this story, though it presents\n    such commonplaces of folklore as the marriage of a poor girl by a\n    rich man, his mother\u2019s jealousy, her order to take the bride into a\n    forest and kill her, and bring back her heart or something as a\n    token, [113] the substitution of some other creature\u2019s heart, and\n    the ultimate retribution. The husband, however, is nearly always\n    guiltless. The close of our story is reminiscent of \u2018Laula\u2019 or \u2018Mr.\n    Fox\u2019 (pp. 174\u20135).\n\n\n\n\nNO. 52.\u2014DE LITTLE FOX\n\nIn ole formel times, when deh used to be kings an\u2019 queens, deah wuz a\nking an\u2019 queen hed on\u2019y one darter. And dey stored dis darter like de\neyes in deir head, an\u2019 dey hardly would let de wind blow an her. Dey\nlived in a \u2019menjus big park, an\u2019 one way of de park wuz a lodge-house,\nan\u2019 de oder en\u2019 deah wuz a great moat of water. Now dis queen died an\u2019\nlef\u2019 dis darter. An\u2019 she wur a werry han\u2019some gal\u2014you \u2019ah sure she mus\u2019\nbe, bein\u2019 a queen\u2019s darter.\n\nIn dis heah lodge-house deah wuz an ole woman lived. And in dem days\ndeah wur witchcraft. An\u2019 de ole king used to sont fur her to go up to\nde palast to work, an\u2019 she consated herself an\u2019 him a bit. So one day\ndis heah ole genleman wuz a-talking to dis ole woman, an\u2019 de darter gat\na bit jealous, an\u2019 dis ole woman fun\u2019 out dat de darter wuz angry, an\u2019\nshe didn\u2019t come anigh de house fur a long time.\n\nNow de ole witch wuz larnin\u2019 de young lady to sew. So she sont fur her\nto come down to de lodge-house afore she hed her breakfast. An\u2019 de fust\nday she wents, she picked up a kernel of wheat as she wuz coming along,\nan\u2019 eat it.\n\nAn\u2019 de witch said to her, \u2018Have you hed your breakfast?\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 she says, \u2018No.\u2019\n\n\u2018Have you hed nothin\u2019?\u2019 she says.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 she says, \u2018on\u2019y a kernel of wheat.\u2019\n\nShe wents two marnin\u2019s like dat, an\u2019 picked up a kernel of wheat every\nmarnin\u2019, so dat de witch would have no powah over her\u2014God\u2019s grain, you\nknow, sir. But de third marnin\u2019 she on\u2019y picked up a bit av arange\npeel, an\u2019 den dis ole wise woman witchered her, an\u2019 after dat she never\nsont fur her to come no more. Now dis young lady got to be big. An\u2019 de\nwitch wuz glad. So she goned to de king an\u2019 she says, \u2018Your darter is\ndat way. Now, you know, she\u2019ll hev to be \u2019stry\u2019d.\u2019\n\n\u2018What! my beautiful han\u2019some darter to be in de fambaley way! Oh! no,\nno, no, et couldn\u2019t be.\u2019\n\n\u2018But it can be so, an\u2019 et es so,\u2019 said de ole witch.\n\nWell, it wuz so, an\u2019 de ole king fun\u2019 it out and was well-nigh crazy.\nAn\u2019 when he fun\u2019 it out, for shuah dem days when any young woman had a\nmisforchant, she used to be burnt. An\u2019 he ordered a man to go an\u2019 get\nan iron chair an\u2019 a cartload of faggots; an\u2019 she hed to be put in dis\niron chair, an\u2019 dese faggots set of a light rount her, an\u2019 she burnt to\ndeath. As dey had her in dis chair, and a-goin\u2019 to set it of alight,\ndeah wur an old gentleman come up\u2014dat was my ole Dubel [114] to be\nshuah\u2014an\u2019 he says, \u2018My noble leech, [115] don\u2019t burn her, nor don\u2019t\nhurt her, nor don\u2019t \u2019stry her, for dere\u2019s an ole wessel into de bottom\nof dat park. Put her in dere, an\u2019 let her go where God d\u2019rect her to.\u2019\n\nSo dey did do so, an\u2019 nevah think\u2019d no more about her.\n\nDurin\u2019 time dis young lady wuz confined of a little fox. And d\u2019rectly\nas he was bornt he says, \u2018My mammy, you mus\u2019 be werry weak an\u2019 low\nbein\u2019 confined of me, an\u2019 nothin\u2019 to eat or drink; but I must go\nsomewheres, an\u2019 get you somethin\u2019.\u2019\n\n\u2018O my deah little fox, don\u2019t leave me. What ever shall I do without\nyou? I shall die broken-hearted.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019m a-goin\u2019 to my gran\u2019father, as I suspose,\u2019 says de little fox.\n\n\u2018My deah, you mustn\u2019t go, you\u2019ll be worried by de dogs.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! no dogs won\u2019t hurt me, my mammy.\u2019\n\nAway he goned, trittin\u2019 an\u2019 trottin\u2019 tell he got to his gran\u2019fader\u2019s\nhall. When he got up to de gret boarden gates, dey wuz closed, an\u2019 deah\nwuz two or tree dogs tied down, an\u2019 when he goned in de dogs never\nlooked at him. One of de women corned outer de hall, an\u2019 who should it\nbe but dis ole witch!\n\nHe says, \u2018Call youah dogs in, missis, an\u2019 don\u2019t let \u2019em bite me. I\nwants to see de noble leech belonging to dis hall.\u2019\n\n\u2018What do you want to see him fur?\u2019\n\n\u2018I wants to see him for somethin\u2019 to eat an\u2019 drink fur my mammy, she\u2019s\nwerry poorly.\u2019\n\n\u2018And who are youah mammy?\u2019\n\n\u2018Let him come out, he\u2019ll know.\u2019\n\nSo de noble leech comed out, an\u2019 he says, \u2018What do you want, my little\nfox?\u2019\n\nHe put his hen\u2019 up to his head (such manners he had!): \u2018I wants\nsomethin\u2019 to eat an\u2019 drink fur my mammy, she\u2019s werry poorly.\u2019\n\nSo de noble leech tole de cook to fill a basket wid wine an\u2019 wittles.\nSo de cook done so, and bring\u2019d it to him.\n\nDe noble leech says, \u2018My little fox, you can never carry it. I will\nsen\u2019 some one to carry it.\u2019\n\nBut he says, \u2018No, thank you, my noble leech\u2019; an\u2019 he chucked it on his\nlittle back, an\u2019 wents tritting an\u2019 trotting to his mammy.\n\nWhen he got to his mammy, she says, \u2018O my deah little fox, I\u2019ve bin\ncrazy about you. I thought de dogs had eaten you.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, my mammy, dey turn\u2019t deir heads de oder way.\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 she took\u2019d him an\u2019 kissed him an\u2019 rejoiced over him.\n\n\u2018Now, my mammy, have somethin\u2019 to eat an\u2019 drink,\u2019 says de little fox,\n\u2018I got dem from my gran\u2019father as I suspose it is.\u2019\n\nSo he went tree times. An\u2019 de secon\u2019 time he wents, de ole witch began\nsmellin\u2019 a rat, an\u2019 she says to the servants, \u2018Don\u2019t let dat little fox\ncome heah no more; he\u2019ll get worried.\u2019\n\nBut he says, \u2018I wants to see de noble leech,\u2019 says de little fox.\n\n\u2018You\u2019ah werry plaguesome to de noble leech, my little fox.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! no, I\u2019m not,\u2019 he says.\n\nDe las\u2019 time he comes, his moder dressed him in a beautiful robe of\nfine needlework. Now de noble leech comes up again to de little fox,\nan\u2019 he says, \u2018Who is youah mammy, my little fox?\u2019\n\n\u2018You wouldn\u2019t know p\u2019raps ef I wuz to tell you.\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 he says, \u2018Who med you dat robe, my little fox?\u2019\n\n\u2018My mammy, to be shuah! who else should make it?\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 de ole king wept an cried bitterly when he seed dis robe he had on,\nfur he think\u2019d his deah child wur dead.\n\n\u2018Could I have a word wi\u2019 you, my noble leech?\u2019 says de little fox.\n\u2018Could you call a party dis afternoon up at your hall?\u2019\n\nHe says, \u2018What fur, my little fox?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, ef you call a party, I\u2019ll tell you whose robe dat is, but you\nmus\u2019 let my mammy come as well.\u2019\n\n\u2018No, no, my little fox; I couldn\u2019t have youah mammy to come.\u2019\n\nWell, de ole king agreed, an\u2019 de little fox tell\u2019d him, \u2018Now deah mus\u2019\nbe tales to be tell\u2019d, an\u2019 songs to be sing\u2019d, an\u2019 dem as don\u2019t sing a\nsong hez to tell a tale. An\u2019 after we have dinner let\u2019s go an\u2019 walk\nabout in de garden. But you mus\u2019 \u2019quaint as many ladies an\u2019 genlemen as\nyou can to dis party, an\u2019 be shuah to bring de ole lady what live at de\nlodge.\u2019\n\nWell, dis dinner was called, an\u2019 dey all had \u2019nuff to eat; an\u2019 after\ndat wur ovah, de noble leech stood up in de middlt an\u2019 called for a\nsong or tale. Deah wus all songs sing\u2019t and tales tell\u2019t, tell it camed\nto dis young lady\u2019s tu\u2019n. An\u2019 she says, \u2018I can\u2019t sing a song or tell a\ntale, but my little fox can.\u2019\n\n\u2018Pooydorda!\u2019 says de ole witch, \u2018tu\u2019n out de little fox, he stinks.\u2019\n\nBut dey all called an de little fox, an\u2019 he stoods up an\u2019 says, \u2018Once\nont a time,\u2019 he says, \u2018deah wuz an ole-fashn\u2019t king an\u2019 queen lived\ntogeder; an\u2019 dey only had one darter, an\u2019 dey stored dis darter like de\neyes into deir head, an\u2019 dey \u2019ardly would let de wint blow an her.\u2019\n\n\u2018Pooydorda!\u2019 says de old witch, \u2018tu\u2019n out de little fox, it stinks.\u2019\n\nBut deah wuz all de ladies an\u2019 genlemen clappin\u2019 an\u2019 sayin\u2019, \u2018Speak an,\nmy little fox!\u2019 \u2018Well tole, my little fox!\u2019 \u2018Werry good tale, indeed!\u2019\n\nSo de little fox speak\u2019d an, and tell\u2019t dem all about de ole witch, an\u2019\nhow she wanted to \u2019stry de king\u2019s darter, an\u2019 he says, \u2018Dis heah ole\nlady she fried my mammy a egg an\u2019 a sliced of bacon; an\u2019 ef she wur to\neat it all, she\u2019d be in de fambaley way wid some bad animal; but she\non\u2019y eat half on it, an\u2019 den she wor so wid me. An\u2019 dat\u2019s de ole witch\ndeah,\u2019 he says, showin\u2019 de party wid his little paw.\n\nAn\u2019 den, after dis wuz done, an\u2019 dey all walked togeder in de garden,\nde little fox says, \u2018Now, my mammy, I\u2019ve done all de good I can for\nyou, an\u2019 now I\u2019m a-goin\u2019 to leave you.\u2019 An\u2019 he strip\u2019t aff his little\nskin, an\u2019 he flewed away in de beautifulest white angel you ever seed\nin your life.\n\nAn\u2019 de ole witch was burnt in de same chair dat wuz meant fur de young\nlady.\n\n\n    In the Bukowina-Gypsy story of \u2018The Winged Hero,\u2019 No. 26, the\n    emperor\u2019s daughter, for being \u2018that way,\u2019 is to be burnt with her\n    lover; and just as the mother of the little fox is sent adrift in\n    an \u2018ole wessel,\u2019 so in the Celtic legend is St. Thenew or Enoch,\n    having miraculously conceived St. Kentigern, exposed in a coracle\n    on the Firth of Forth. In her Variants of Cinderella (Folklore\n    Soc., 1893, pp. 307, 507), Miss Cox gives an interesting parallel\n    for this husk-myth, whose close recalls \u2018Bobby Rag\u2019 (No. 51). From\n    Matthew Wood Mr. Sampson has heard a variant of \u2018De Little Fox,\u2019\n    but very different in details.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 53.\u2014DE LITTLE BULL-CALF\n\nCenters of yeahs ago, when all de most part of de country wur a\nwilderness place, deah wuz a little boy lived in a pooah bit of a\npoverty [116] house. An\u2019 dis boy\u2019s father guv him a deah little\nbull-calf. De boy used to tink de wurl\u2019 of dis bull-calf, an\u2019 his\nfather gived him everyting he wanted fur it.\n\nAfterward dat his father died, an\u2019 his mother got married agin; an\u2019 dis\nwuz a werry wicious stepfather, an\u2019 he couldn\u2019t abide dis little boy.\nAn\u2019 at last he said, if de boy bring\u2019d de bull-calf home agin, he wur\na-goin\u2019 to kill it. Dis father should be a willint to dis deah little\nboy, shouldn\u2019t he, my Sampson?\n\nHe used to gon out tentin\u2019 his bull-calf every day wid barley bread.\nAn\u2019 arter dat deah wus an ole man comed to him, an\u2019 we have a deal of\nthought who Dat wuz, eh? An\u2019 he d\u2019rected de little boy, \u2018You an\u2019 youah\nbull-calf had better go away an\u2019 seek youah forchants.\u2019\n\nSo he wents an, an\u2019 wents an, as fur as I can tell you to-morrow night,\n[117] an\u2019 he wents up to a farmhouse an\u2019 begged a crust of bread, an\u2019\nwhen he comed back he broked it in two, and guv half an it to his\nlittle bull-calf.\n\nAn\u2019 he wents an to another house, an\u2019 begs a bit of cheese crud, an\u2019\nwhen he comed back, he wants to gin half an it to his bull-calf.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 de little bull-calf says, \u2018I\u2019m a-goin\u2019 acrost dis field into de\nwild wood wilderness country, where dere\u2019ll be tigers, lepers, wolfs,\nmonkeys, an\u2019 a fiery dragin. An\u2019 I shall kill dem every one excep\u2019 de\nfiery dragin, an\u2019 he\u2019ll kill me\u2019. (De Lord could make any animal speak\ndose days. You know trees could speak wonst. Our blessed Lord He hid in\nde eldon bush, an\u2019 it tell\u2019t an Him, an\u2019 He says, \u2018You shall always\nstink,\u2019 and so it always do. But de ivy let Him hide into it, and He\nsays, It should be green both winter an\u2019 summer.) [118]\n\nAn\u2019 dis little boy did cry, you\u2019ah shuah; and he says, \u2018O my little\nbull-calf, I hope he won\u2019t kill you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, he will,\u2019 de little bull-calf says. \u2018An\u2019 you climb up dat tree,\nan\u2019 den no one can come anigh you but de monkeys, an\u2019 ef dey come de\ncheese crud will sef you. An\u2019 when I\u2019m killt de dragin will go away fur\na bit. An\u2019 you come down dis tree, an\u2019 skin me, an\u2019 get my biggest gut\nout, an\u2019 blow it up, an\u2019 my gut will kill everyting as you hit wid it,\nan\u2019 when dat fiery dragin come, you hit it wid my gut, an\u2019 den cut its\ntongue out.\u2019 (We know deah were fiery dragins dose days, like George\nan\u2019 his dragin in de Bible. But deah! it aren\u2019t de same wurl\u2019 now. De\nwurl\u2019 is tu\u2019n\u2019d ovah sence, like you tu\u2019n\u2019d it ovah wid a spade.)\n\nIn course he done as dis bull-calf tell\u2019t him, an\u2019 he climb\u2019t up de\ntree, an\u2019 de monkeys climb\u2019t up de tree to him. An\u2019 he helt de cheese\ncrud in his hend, an\u2019 he says, \u2018I\u2019ll squeeze youah heart like dis flint\nstone.\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 de monkey cocked his eye, much to say, \u2018Ef you can squeeze a flint\nstone an\u2019 mek de juice come outer it, you can squeeze me.\u2019 An\u2019 he never\nspoked, for a monkey\u2019s cunning, [119] but down he went.\n\nAn\u2019 de little bull-calf wuz fighting all dese wild tings on de groun\u2019;\nan\u2019 de little boy wuz clappin\u2019 his hands up de tree an\u2019 sayin\u2019, \u2018Go an,\nmy little bull-calf! Well fit, my little bull-calf!\u2019 An\u2019 he mastered\neveryting barrin\u2019 de fiery dragin. An\u2019 de fiery dragin killt de little\nbull-calf.\n\nAn\u2019 he wents an, an\u2019 saw a young lady, a king\u2019s darter, staked down by\nde hair of her head. (Dey wuz werry savage dat time of day kings to\ndeir darters if dey misbehavioured demselfs, an\u2019 she wuz put deah fur\nde fiery dragin to \u2019stry her.)\n\nAn\u2019 he sat down wid her several hours, an\u2019 she says, \u2018Now, my deah\nlittle boy, my time is come when I\u2019m a-goin\u2019 to be worried, an\u2019 you\u2019ll\nbetter go.\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 he says, \u2018No,\u2019 he says, \u2018I can master it, an\u2019 I won\u2019t go.\u2019\n\nShe begged an\u2019 prayed an him as ever she could to get him away, but he\nwouldn\u2019t go. An\u2019 he could heah it comin\u2019 far enough, roarin\u2019 an\u2019 doin\u2019.\nAn\u2019 dis dragin come spitting fire, wid a tongue like a gret speart: an\u2019\nyou could heah it roarin\u2019 fur milts; an\u2019 dis place wheah de king\u2019s\ndarter wur staked down wuz his beat wheah he used to come. And when it\ncomed, de little boy hit dis gut about his face tell he wuz dead, but\nde fiery dragin bited his front finger affer him. Den de little boy cut\nde fiery dragin\u2019s tongue out, an\u2019 he says to de young lady, \u2018I\u2019ve done\nall dat I can, I mus\u2019 leave you.\u2019 An\u2019 you\u2019ah shuah she wuz sorry when\nhe hed to leave her, an\u2019 she tied a dimant ring into his hair, an\u2019 said\ngood-bye to him.\n\nNow den, bime bye, de ole king comed up to de werry place where his\ndarter wuz staked by de hair of her head, \u2018mentin\u2019 an\u2019 doin\u2019, an\u2019\nespectin\u2019 to see not a bit of his darter, but de prents of de place\nwhere she wuz. An\u2019 he wuz disprised, an\u2019 he says to his darter, \u2018How\ncome you seft?\u2019\n\n\u2018Why, deah wuz a little boy comed heah an\u2019 sef me, daddy.\u2019\n\nDen he untied her, an\u2019 took\u2019d her home to de palast, for you\u2019ah shuah\nhe wor glad, when his temper comed to him agin. Well, he put it into\nall de papers to want to know who seft dis gal, an\u2019 ef de right man\ncomed he wur to marry her, an\u2019 have his kingdom an\u2019 all his destate.\nWell, deah wuz gentlemen comed fun all an\u2019 all parts of England, wid\ndeir front fingers cut aff, an\u2019 all an\u2019 all kinds of tongues\u2014foreign\ntongues, an\u2019 beastes\u2019 tongues, an\u2019 wile animals\u2019 tongues. Dey cut all\nsorts of tongues out, an\u2019 dey went about shootin\u2019 tings a-purpose, but\ndey never could find a dragin to shoot. Deah wuz genlemen comin\u2019 every\nother day wid tongues an\u2019 dimant rings; but when dey showed deir\ntongues, it warn\u2019t de right one, an\u2019 dey got turn\u2019t aff.\n\nAn\u2019 dis little ragged boy comed up a time or two werry desolated like;\nan\u2019 she had an eye on him, an\u2019 she looked at dis boy, tell her father\ngot werry angry an\u2019 turn\u2019t dis boy out.\n\n\u2018Daddy,\u2019 she says, \u2018I\u2019ve got a knowledge to dat boy.\u2019\n\nYou may say deah wuz all kinds of kings\u2019 sons comin\u2019 up showin\u2019 deir\nparcels; an\u2019 arter a time or two dis boy comed up agin dressed a bit\nbetter.\n\nAn\u2019 de ole king says, \u2018I see you\u2019ve got an eye on dis boy. An\u2019 ef it is\nto be him, it has to be him.\u2019\n\nAll de oder genlemen wuz fit to kill him, an\u2019 dey says, \u2018Pooh! pooh!\ntu\u2019n dat boy out; it can\u2019t be him.\u2019\n\nBut de ole king says, \u2018Now, my boy, let\u2019s see what you got.\u2019\n\nWell, he showed the dimant ring, with her name into it, an\u2019 de fiery\ndragin\u2019s tongue. Dordi! how dese genlemen were mesmerised when he\nshowed his \u2019thority, and de king tole him, \u2018You shall have my destate,\nan\u2019 marry my darter.\u2019\n\nAn\u2019 he got married to dis heah gal, an\u2019 got all de ole king\u2019s destate.\nAn\u2019 den de stepfather came an\u2019 wanted to own him, but de young king\ndidn\u2019t know such a man.\n\n\n    A bull-calf helps twins in a Russian story summarised by Ralston,\n    p. 134; the squeezing of the cheese crud can be matched from the\n    Slovak-Gypsy story of \u2018The Gypsy and the Dragon\u2019 (No. 22, p. 84;\n    cf. also Hahn, i. 152 and ii. 211). For the slaying of a dragon\n    with the aid of helpful animals, and so rescuing a princess, and\n    for the recognition of the rescuer by means of the dragon\u2019s\n    tongues, cf. Grimm\u2019s No. 60, \u2018The Two Brothers\u2019 (i. 244\u2013264 and\n    418\u2013422). That story must be known to the Gypsies of Hungary, for\n    we get a rude version of it in the latter half of Dr. Friedrich\n    M\u00fcller\u2019s No. 5, whose first half we have summarised on p. 34. The\n    hero here comes to a city deprived of its water by twelve dragons,\n    who are also going to devour the king\u2019s daughter. He undertakes to\n    rescue her, but falls asleep with his head on her knees. The twelve\n    white dragons roar beneath the earth, and then emerge one by one\n    from the fountain, but are torn in pieces by the hero\u2019s twelve wild\n    animals, whose lives he has spared when hunting. Thereupon the\n    water becomes plentiful, and the hero marries the princess. Her\n    former lover, however, poisons him. The twelve animals find his\n    grave, and dig him up. They go in quest of the healing herb; and\n    the hare, \u2018whose eyes are always open,\u2019 sees a snake with that herb\n    in its mouth, robs it thereof, and is running away, but at the\n    snake\u2019s request gives back a bit. They then resuscitate their\n    master, who sends a challenge to the lover by the lion. The\n    marriage is just about to come off, but the princess reads, weeps,\n    and breaks off the match. In comes the hero, and having packed off\n    the lover, remarries her. \u2018If they are not dead, they are still\n    alive.\u2019 Cf. our No. 30, \u2018The Rich and the Poor Brother,\u2019 pp.\n    112\u2013117, for stopping the water [120]; No. 29, \u2018Pretty-face,\u2019 p.\n    111, for the snake-leaf; and No. 42, \u2018The Dragon,\u2019 p. 143. None of\n    these stories, however, offers more than analogues to \u2018De Little\n    Bull-calf,\u2019 whose humour as to the dragon\u2019s tongue is peculiarly\n    its own. The tongue as the test of who killed the demon occurs in\n    \u2018Kara and Guja\u2019 (A. Campbell\u2019s Santal Folk-tales, 1891, pp. 20\u201321).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nWELSH-GYPSY STORIES\n\n\nNO. 54.\u2014JACK AND HIS GOLDEN SNUFF-BOX\n\nOnce upon a time there was an old man and an old woman, and they had\none son, and they lived in a great forest. And their son never saw any\nother people in his life, but he knew that there was some more in the\nworld besides his own father and mother, because he had lots of books,\nand he used to read every day about them. And when he read about some\npretty young women, he used to go mad to see some of them. Till one\nday, when his father was out cutting wood, he told his mother that he\nwished to go away to look for his living in some other country, and to\nsee some other people besides them two. And he said, \u2018I see nothing at\nall here but great trees around me; and if I stay here, maybe I shall\ngo mad before I see anything.\u2019\n\nThe young man\u2019s father was out all this time, when the conversation was\ngoing on between him and his poor old mother.\n\nThe old woman begins by saying to her son before leaving, \u2018Well, well,\nmy poor boy, if you want to go, it\u2019s better for you to go, and God be\nwith you.\u2019 (The old woman thought for the best when she said that.)\n\u2018But stop a bit before you go. Which would you like best for me to make\nyou\u2014a little cake and to bless you, or a big cake and to curse you?\u2019\n\n\u2018Dear! dear!\u2019 said he, \u2018make me a big cake. Maybe I shall be hungry on\nthe road.\u2019\n\nThe old woman made the big cake, and she went on top of the house, and\nshe cursed him as far as she could see him.\n\nHe presently meets with his father, and the old man says to him, \u2018Where\nare you going, my poor boy?\u2019 When the son told the father the same tale\nas he told his mother, \u2018Well,\u2019 says his father, \u2018I\u2019m sorry to see you\ngoing away, but if you\u2019ve made your mind to go, it\u2019s better for you to\ngo.\u2019\n\nThe poor lad had not gone far, till his father called him back; when\nthe old man drawed out of his pocket a golden snuff-box, and said to\nhim, \u2018Here, take this little box, and put it in your pocket, and be\nsure not to open it till you are near your death.\u2019\n\nAnd away went poor Jack upon his road, and walked till he was tired and\nhungry, for he had eaten all his cake upon the road; and by this time\nnight was upon him, as he could hardly see his way before him. He could\nsee some light a long way before him, and he made up to it, and found\nthe back door and knocked at it, till one of the maidservants came and\nasked him what he wanted. He said that night was on him, and he wanted\nto get some place to sleep. The maidservant called him in to the fire,\nand gave him plenty to eat, good meat and bread and beer; and as he was\neating his refreshments by the fire, there came the young lady to look\nat him. And she loved him well, and he loved her. And the young lady\nran to tell her father, and said there was a pretty young man in the\nback kitchen. And immediately the gentleman came to him, and questioned\nhim, and asked what work he could do. He said, the silly fellow, that\nhe could do anything. (Jack meant that he could do any foolish bit of\nwork, what would be wanted about the house.)\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 says the gentleman to him, \u2018at eight o\u2019clock in the morning I\nmust have a great lake and some of the largest man-of-war vessels\nsailing before my mansion, and one of the largest vessels must fire a\nroyal salute, and the last round break the leg of the bed where my\nyoung daughter is sleeping on. And if you don\u2019t do that, you will have\nto forfeit your life.\u2019\n\n\u2018All right,\u2019 said Jack. And away he went to his bed, and said his\nprayers quietly, and slept till it was near eight o\u2019clock, and he had\nhardly any time to think what he was to do, till all of a sudden he\nremembered about the little golden box that his father gave him. And he\nsaid to himself, \u2018Well, well, I never was so near my death as I am\nnow\u2019; and then he felt in his pocket, and drew the little box out.\n\nAnd when he opened it, there hopped out three little red men and asked\nJack, \u2018What is your will with us?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said Jack, \u2018I want a great lake and some of the largest\nman-of-war vessels in the world before this mansion, and one of the\nlargest vessels to fire a royal salute, and the last round to break one\nof the legs of the bed where this young lady is sleeping on.\u2019\n\n\u2018All right,\u2019 said the little men; \u2018go to sleep.\u2019\n\nJack had hardly time to bring the words out of his mouth, to tell the\nlittle men what to do, but what it struck eight o\u2019clock, when bang,\nbang went one of the largest man-of-war vessels; and it made Jack jump\nout of bed to look through the window. And I can assure you it was a\nwonderful sight for him to see, after being so long with his father and\nmother living in a wood.\n\nBy this time Jack dressed himself, and said his prayers, and came down\nlaughing, because he was proud, he was, because the thing was done so\nwell. The gentleman comes to him, and says to him, \u2018Well, my young man,\nI must say that you are very clever indeed. Come and have some\nbreakfast.\u2019 And the gentleman tells him, \u2018Now there are two more things\nyou have to do, and then you shall have my daughter in marriage.\u2019 Jack\ngets his breakfast, and has a good squint at the young lady, and also\nshe at him.\n\n(However, I must get on again with my dear little story.)\n\nThe other thing that the gentleman told him to do was to fell all the\ngreat trees for miles around by eight o\u2019clock in the morning; and, to\nmake my long story short, it was done, and it pleased the gentleman\nwell. The gentleman said to him, \u2018The other thing you have to do\u2019 (and\nit was the last thing), \u2018you must get me a great castle standing on\ntwelve golden pillars; and there must come regiments of soldiers, and\ngo through their drill. At eight o\u2019clock the commanding officer must\nsay, \u201cShoulder up.\u201d\u2019 [121] \u2018All right,\u2019 said Jack; when the third and\nlast morning came and the three great feats were finished, when he had\nthe young daughter in marriage.\n\nBut, oh dear! there is worse to come yet.\n\nThe gentleman now makes a large hunting party, and invites all the\ngentlemen around the country to it, and to see the castle as well. And\nby this time Jack has a beautiful horse and a scarlet dress to go with\nthem. On that morning his valet, when putting Jack\u2019s clothes by, after\nchanging them to go a-hunting, put his hand in one of Jack\u2019s waistcoat\npockets and pulled out the little golden snuff-box, as poor Jack left\nbehind in a mistake. And that man opened the little box, and there\nhopped the three little red men out, and asked him what he wanted with\nthem. \u2018Well,\u2019 said the valet to them, \u2018I want this castle to be moved\nfrom this place far and far across the sea.\u2019 \u2018All right,\u2019 said the\nlittle red men to him, \u2018do you wish to go with it?\u2019 \u2018Yes,\u2019 said he.\n\u2018Well, get up,\u2019 said they to him; and away they went, far and far over\nthe great sea.\n\nNow the grand hunting party comes back, and the castle upon the twelve\ngolden pillars disappeared, to the great disappointment of those\ngentleman as did not see it before. That poor silly Jack is threatened\nby taking his beautiful young wife from him, for taking them in the way\nhe did. But the gentleman is going to make a \u2019greement with him, and he\nis to have a twelvemonths and a day to look for it; and off he goes\nwith a good horse and money in his pocket.\n\nNow poor Jack goes in search of his missing castle, over hills, dales,\nvalleys, and mountains, through woolly woods and sheepwalks, further\nthan I can tell you to-night or ever intend to tell you. [122] Until at\nlast he comes up to the place where lives the King of all the little\nmice in the world. There was one of the little mice on sentry at the\nfront gate going up to the palace, and did try to stop Jack from going\nin. He asked the little mouse, \u2018Where does the King live? I should like\nto see him.\u2019 This one sent another with him to show him the place; and\nwhen the King saw him, he called him in. And the King questioned him,\nand asked him where he was going that way. Well, Jack told him all the\ntruth, that he had lost the great castle, and was going to look for it,\nand he had a whole twelvemonths and a day to find it out. And Jack\nasked him whether he knew anything about it; and the King said, \u2018No,\nbut I am the King of all the little mice in the world, and I will call\nthem all up in the morning, and maybe they have seen something of it.\u2019\n\nThen Jack got a good meal and bed, and in the morning he and the King\nwent on to the fields; and the King called all the mice together, and\nasked them whether they had seen the great beautiful castle standing on\ngolden pillars. And all the little mice said, No, there was none of\nthem had seen it. The old King said to him that he had two other\nbrothers: \u2018One is the King of all the frogs; and my other brother, who\nis the oldest, he is the King of all the birds in the world. And if you\ngo there, maybe they know something about it\u2019 (the missing castle). The\nKing said to him, \u2018Leave your horse here with me till you come back,\nand take one of my best horses under you, and give this cake to my\nbrother; he will know then who you got it from. Mind and tell him I am\nwell, and should like dearly to see him.\u2019\n\nAnd then the King and Jack shook hands together. And when Jack was\ngoing through the gates, the little mouse asked him should he go with\nhim; and Jack said to him, \u2018No, I shall get myself into trouble with\nthe King.\u2019\n\nAnd the little thing told him, \u2018It will be better for you to have me go\nwith you; maybe I shall do some good to you sometime without you\nknowing it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Jump up, then.\u2019\n\nAnd the little mouse ran up the horse\u2019s leg, and made it dance; and\nJack put the mouse in his pocket. Now Jack, after wishing good-morning\nto the King, and pocketing the little mouse which was on sentry,\ntrudged on his way. And such a long way he had to go, and this was his\nfirst day. At last he found the place; and there was one of the frogs\non sentry, and gun upon his shoulder, and did try to hinder Jack not to\ngo in. And when Jack said to him that he wanted to see the King, he\nallowed him to pass; and Jack made up to the door. The King came out,\nand asked him his business; and Jack told him all from beginning to\nending.\n\n\u2018Well, well, come in.\u2019\n\nHe gets good entertainment that night; and in the morning the King made\na curious sound, and collected all the frogs in the world. And he asked\nthem, did they know or see anything of a castle that stood upon twelve\ngolden pillars. And they all made a curious sound, Kro-kro, kro-kro,\nand said \u2018No.\u2019\n\nJack had to take another horse, and a cake to his brother which is the\nKing of all the fowls of the air. And as Jack was going through the\ngates, the little frog which was on sentry asked John should he go with\nhim. Jack refused him for a bit; but at last he told him to jump up,\nand Jack put him in his other waistcoat pocket. And away he went again\non his great long journey; it was three times as long this time as it\nwas the first day; however, he found the place, and there was a fine\nbird on sentry. And Jack passed him, and he never said a word to him.\nAnd he talked with the King, and told him everything, all about the\ncastle.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the King to him, \u2018you shall know in the morning from my\nbirds whether they know anything or not.\u2019\n\nJack put up his horse in the stable, and then went to bed, after having\nsomething to eat. And when he got up in the morning, the King and he\nwent on to some fields, and there the King made some funny noise, and\nthere came all the fowls that were in all the world. [123] And the King\nasked them, Did they see the fine castle? and all the birds answered,\n\u2018No.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the king, \u2018where is the great bird?\u2019\n\nThey had to wait, then, for a long time for eagle to make his\nappearance, when at last he came all in a perspiration, after sending\ntwo little birds high up in the sky to whistle on him to make all the\nhaste he possibly could. The King asked the great bird, Did he see the\ngreat castle?\n\nAnd the bird said, \u2018Yes, I came from there where it now is.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 says the King, \u2018this young gentleman has lost it, and you must\ngo with him back to it. But stop till you get a bit of something to eat\nfirst.\u2019\n\nThey killed a thief, and sent the best part of it to feed the eagle on\nhis journey over the seas, and had to carry Jack on his back. Now, when\nthey came in sight of the castle, they did not know what to do to get\nthe little golden box. Well, the little mouse said to them, \u2018Leave me\ndown, and I will get the little box for you.\u2019 So the mouse stole\nhimself in the castle, and had a hold of the box; and when he was\ncoming down the stairs, fell it down, and very near being caught. He\ncame running out with it, laughing his best.\n\n\u2018Have you got it?\u2019 Jack said to him.\n\nHe said, \u2018Yes\u2019; and off they went back again, and left the castle\nbehind. As they were all of them (Jack, mouse, frog, and eagle) passing\nover the great sea, they fell to quarrelling about which it was that\ngot the little box, till down it slipped into the water. (It was by\nthem looking at it, and handing it from one hand to the other, that\nthey dropped the little box in the bottom of the sea.)\n\n\u2018Well, well,\u2019 said the frog, \u2018I knew as I would have to do something,\nso you had better let me go down in the water.\u2019\n\nAnd they let him go, and he was down for three days and three nights;\nand up he comes, and shows his nose and little mouth out of the water.\nAnd all of them asked him, \u2018Did he get it?\u2019 and he told them, \u2018No.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, what are you doing there, then?\u2019\n\n\u2018Nothing at all,\u2019 he said; \u2018only I want my full breath\u2019; and the poor\nlittle frog went down the second time, and he was down for a day and a\nnight, and up he brings it.\n\nAnd away they did go, after being there four days and nights; and,\nafter a long tug over seas and mountains, arrive at the old King\u2019s\npalace, who is the master of all the birds in the world. And the King\nis very proud to see them, and has a hearty welcome and a long\nconversation. Jack opens the little box, and told the little men to go\nback and to bring the castle here to them. \u2018And all of you make as much\nhaste back again as you possibly can.\u2019\n\nThe three little men went off; and when they came near the castle, they\nwere afraid to go to it, till the gentleman and lady and all the\nservants were gone out to some dance. And there was no one left behind\nthere, only the cook and another maid with her. And it happened to be\nthat a poor Gypsy woman, knowing that the family was going from home,\nmade her way to the castle to try to tell the cook\u2019s fortune for a bit\nof victuals, was there at the time. And the little red men asked her,\n\u2018Which would she rather\u2014go or stop behind?\u2019\n\nAnd she said, \u2018I will go with you.\u2019\n\nAnd they told her to run upstairs quick. She was no sooner up and in\none of the drawing-rooms than there comes just in sight the gentleman\nand lady and all the servants. But it was too late. Off they went at\nfull speed, and the Gypsy woman laughing at them through the window,\nmaking motion for them to stop, but all to no purpose. They were nine\ndays on their journey, in which they did try to keep the Sunday holy,\nby one of the little men turned to be priest, the other the clerk, and\nthird presided at the organ, and the three women were the singers\n(cook, housemaid, and Gypsy woman), as they had a grand chapel in the\ncastle already. Very remarkable, there was a discord made in the music,\nand one of the little men ran up one of the organ-pipes to see where\nthe bad sound came from, when he found out that it only happened to be\nthat the three women were laughing at the little red man stretching his\nlittle legs full length on the bass pipes, also his two arms the same\ntime, with his little red nightcap, what he never forgot to wear, and\nwhat they never witnessed before, could not help calling forth some\ngood merriment while on the face of the deep. And, poor things! through\nthem not going on with what they begun with, they very near came to\ndanger, as the castle was once very near sinking in the middle of the\nsea.\n\nAt length, after merry journey, they come again to Jack and the King.\nThe King was quite struck with the sight of the castle; and going up\nthe golden stairs, wishing to see the inside, when the first one that\nattracted his attention was the poor Gypsy woman. And he said to her,\n\u2018How are you, sister?\u2019\n\nShe said to him, \u2018I am very well. How are you?\u2019\n\n\u2018Quite well,\u2019 said he to her; \u2018come into my place, to have a talk with\nyou, and see who you are, and who your people are.\u2019\n\nThe old Gypsy woman told him that some of her people were some of them\nfrom the Lovells, Stanleys, Lees, and I don\u2019t know all their names. The\nKing and Jack was very much pleased with the Gypsy woman\u2019s\nconversation, but poor Jack\u2019s time was drawing to a close of a\ntwelvemonths and a day. And he, wishing to go home to his young wife,\ngave orders to the three little men to get ready by the next morning at\neight o\u2019clock to be off to the next brother, and to stop there for one\nnight; also to proceed from there to the last or the youngest brother,\nthe master of all the mice in the world, in such place where the castle\nshall be left under his care until it\u2019s sent for. Jack takes a farewell\nof the King, and thanks him very much for his hospitality, and tells\nhim not to be surprised when he shall meet again in some other country.\n\nAway went Jack and his castle again, and stopped one night in that\nplace; and away they went again to the third place, and there left the\ncastle under his care. As Jack had to leave the castle behind, he had\nto take to his own horse, which he left there when he first started.\nThe king liked the Gypsy woman well, and told her that he would like if\nshe would stay there with him; and the Gypsy woman did stay with him\nuntil she was sent for by Jack.\n\nNow poor Jack leaves his castle behind and faces towards home; and\nafter having so much merriment with the three brothers every night,\nJack became sleepy on horseback, and would have lost the road if it was\nnot for the little men a-guiding him. At last he arrives, weary and\ntired, and they did not seem to receive him with any kindness whatever,\nbecause he did not find the stolen castle. And to make it worse, he was\ndisappointed in not seeing his young and beautiful wife to come and\nmeet him, through being hindered by her parents. But that did not stop\nlong. Jack put full power on. Jack despatched the little men off to\nbring the castle from there, and they soon got there; and the first one\nthey seen outside gather sticks to put on the fire was the poor Gypsy\nwoman. And they did whistle [124] to her, when she turned around\nsmartly and said to them, \u2018Dordi! dordi! [125] how are you, comrades?\nwhere do you come from, and where are you going?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, to tell the truth, we are sent to take this castle from here. Do\nyou wish to stop here or to come with us?\u2019\n\n\u2018I would like better to go with you than to stay here.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, come on, my poor sister.\u2019\n\nJack shook hands with the King, and returned many thanks for his kingly\nkindness. When, all of a sudden, the King, seeing the Gypsy woman,\nwhich he fell in so much fancy with, and whom he so much liked, was\ngoing to detain the castle until such time he could get her out. But\nJack, perceiving his intentions, and wanting the Gypsy woman himself\nfor a nurse, instructed the little men to spur up and put speed on. And\noff they went, and were not long before they reached their journey\u2019s\nend, when out comes the young wife to meet him with a fine lump of a\nyoung Son.\n\nNow, to make my long story short, Jack, after completing what he did,\nand to make a finish for the poor broken-hearted Gypsy woman, he has\nthe loan of one of his father-in-law\u2019s largest man-of-wars, which is\nlaying by anchor, and sends the three little men in search of her\nkinsfolk, so as they may be found, and to bring them to her. After long\nsearching they are found and brought back, to the great joy of the\nwoman and delight of his wife\u2019s people-in-law, for after a bit they\nbecame very fond of each other. When they came on land, Jack\u2019s people\nallowed them to camp on their ground near a beautiful river; and the\ngentlemen and ladies used to go and see for them every day. Jack and\nhis wife had many children, and had some of the Gypsy girls for nurses;\nand the little children were almost half Gypsies, for the girls\ncontinually learning them our language. And the gentleman and the lady\nwere delighted with them. And the last time I was there, I played my\nharp for them, and got to go again.\n\n\n    This story, like the next, was first printed in my In Gypsy Tents\n    (1880), pp. 201\u2013214 and 299\u2013317. Thence both have been reprinted,\n    with additions and deletions of his own, by Mr. Joseph Jacobs in\n    his English Fairy Tales (1890), pp. 81\u201392, 236, and More English\n    Fairy Tales (1894), pp. 132\u2013145, 232\u2013233. They are not English\n    fairy-tales at all; neither were they \u2018taken down from the mouths\n    of the peasantry.\u2019 Both were written out for me by the Welsh-Gypsy\n    harper, John Roberts, for whom see the Introduction. I still have\n    his neatly-written MSS., from one of which the second story of \u2018An\n    Old King and his Three Sons in England\u2019 was printed verbatim et\n    literatim at Messrs. T. and A. Constable\u2019s for the Gypsy Lore\n    Journal (vol. iii. October 1891, pp. 110\u2013120). I insist upon this\n    the more as it is all but unique to find the teller of a folk-tale\n    who can himself transcribe it. The story belongs to the Aladdin\n    group; and according to Mr. Jacobs, the closest parallel to it,\n    including the mice, is afforded by Carnoy and Nicolaides\u2019\n    Traditions Populaires de l\u2019Asie Mineure (1889), in a tale from\n    Lesbos, \u2018L\u2019Anneau de Bronze,\u2019 No. 3, pp. 57\u201374. A much closer\n    parallel, however, is afforded by Wratislaw\u2019s Sixty Slavonic\n    Folk-tales (1889), in the Croatian story of \u2018The Wonder-working\n    Lock,\u2019 No. 54, pp. 284\u2013289, with which compare a poorish Bohemian\n    variant, \u2018La Montre Enchant\u00e9e,\u2019 in Louis L\u00e9ger\u2019s Contes Slaves\n    (1882, No. 15, pp. 129\u2013137); Hahn\u2019s \u2018Von den drei dankbaren\n    Thieren\u2019 (No. 9, i. 109, and ii. 202); and two stories, Nos. 9 and\n    10, both called \u2018Le Serpent Reconnaissant,\u2019 in Dozon\u2019s Contes\n    Albanais (1881, pp. 63\u201376, and 219\u2013222), in the former of which the\n    talisman is a snakestone, in the latter a tobacco-box (of course, a\n    mere coincidence). All these four stories offer analogies to our\n    Roumanian-Gypsy \u2018Snake who became the King\u2019s Son-in-law\u2019 (No. 7, p.\n    21). Grimm\u2019s No. 97, \u2018The Water of Life\u2019 (ii. 50, 399), should also\n    be compared; and \u2018Sir Bumble,\u2019 in F. A. Steel\u2019s Wide-awake Stories,\n    pp. 5\u201316. The little cake and blessing, or big cake and curse,\n    recurring in \u2018The Ten Rabbits,\u2019 No. 64, comes also in \u2018The Red\n    Etin\u2019 (Chambers\u2019s Popular Rhymes of Scotland, p. 90), in Campbell\u2019s\n    West Highland Tales, Nos. 13, 16, and 17, and in Patrick Kennedy\u2019s\n    Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts, pp. 5, 54. In the\n    Bukowina-Gypsy story, \u2018Made over to the Devil\u2019 (No. 34), the mother\n    makes a cake for her departing son, but there is no word of curse\n    or blessing. For many more variants (Arabic, Mongolian, Tamil,\n    Greek, etc.) of \u2018Aladdin,\u2019 see Clouston\u2019s Variants of Burton\u2019s\n    Supplemental Arabian Nights, pp. 564\u2013575. \u2018The elements,\u2019 he\n    observes, \u2018of the tale are identical in all versions, Eastern and\n    Western: a talisman by means of which its possessor can command\n    unlimited wealth, etc.; its loss and the consequent disappearance\n    of the magnificent palace erected by supernatural agents who are\n    subservient to the owner of the talisman; and, finally, its\n    recovery, together with the restoration of the palace to its\n    original situation.\u2019 The words apply strikingly to \u2018Jack and his\n    Golden Snuff-box,\u2019 of whose existence Mr. Clouston was ignorant\n    when he wrote them. Lastly\u2014this is a find since I began this note\u2014a\n    marvellously close parallel to \u2018The Wonder-working Lock\u2019 and \u2018La\n    Montre Enchant\u00e9e\u2019 is offered by \u2018The Wonderful Ring,\u2019 in F. A.\n    Steel\u2019s Wide-awake Stories from the Panjab and Kashmir, pp.\n    196\u2013208. Here the hero with his last four rupees buys a cat, dog,\n    parrot, and snake; receives from snake\u2019s grateful father a\n    talismanic ring; builds by means of it a golden palace in the sea,\n    and marries a princess; has the ring stolen by a witch, who sleeps\n    with it in her mouth; but recovers it, thanks to the grateful\n    animals, who tickle the witch\u2019s nose with a rat\u2019s tail. Another\n    Oriental version is \u2018The Charmed Ring,\u2019 in Knowles\u2019s Folk-tales of\n    Kashmir, pp. 20\u201328. Of this story and its Croatian, Albanian, and\n    other variants we get a fragment in Dr. Barbu Constantinescu\u2019s\n    Roumanian-Gypsy story of \u2018The Stolen Ox.\u2019 Here a peasant and his\n    twelve sons are starving. He goes begging, but no one will give him\n    anything, so he steals an ox from a farmer. The farmer next morning\n    goes to look after his cattle, misses the ox, and, going in search\n    of it, comes on the boys in the road. \u2018What are you doing there,\n    boys?\u2019 \u2018Just playing.\u2019 \u2018But last night you were roaring for\n    hunger.\u2019 \u2018Yes; but my daddy went to a farm and stole an ox, and my\n    daddy killed it. He killed the ox, he did, and we ate half the ox,\n    and half remained, and my daddy buried it in the earth, wrapped up\n    in the hide.\u2019 The farmer goes and demands payment of the peasant,\n    who gives him one of his sons to serve him for seven years. The lad\n    serves the farmer faithfully, and at the end of his term sets off\n    home. On his way he \u2018lights on a dragon, and in the snake\u2019s mouth\n    was a stag. Nine years had that snake had the stag in his mouth,\n    and been trying to swallow it, but could not because of the horns.\n    Now that snake was a prince. And seeing the lad, whom God had sent\n    his way, \u201cLad,\u201d said the snake, \u201crelieve me of this stag\u2019s horns,\n    for I\u2019ve been going about nine years with it in my mouth.\u201d So the\n    lad broke off the horns, and the snake swallowed the stag. \u201cMy lad,\n    tie me round your neck, and carry me to my father, for he doesn\u2019t\n    know where I am.\u201d So he carried him to his father, and his father\n    rewarded him. And I came away, and told the tale.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nNO. 55.\u2014AN OLD KING AND HIS THREE SONS IN ENGLAND\n\nOnce upon a time there was an old King, who had three sons. And the old\nKing fell very sick one time, and there was nothing at all could make\nhim well but some golden apples from a far country. So the three\nbrothers went on horseback to look for some of those apples to recover\ntheir father. The three brothers set off together; and when they come\nto some cross-roads, they halted and refreshed themselves a bit. And\nthere they agreed to meet on a certain time, and not one was to go home\nbefore the other. So Valentine took the right, and Oliver [126] went on\nstraight, and poor Jack took the left. And, so as to make my long story\nshort, I shall follow poor Jack, and leave the other two take their\nchance, for I don\u2019t think they was much good in them. Well, now, poor\nJack rides off over hills, dales, valleys, and mountains, through\nwoolly woods and sheepwalks, where the Old Chap never sounded his\nhollow bugle horn, further than I can tell you to-night, or ever I\nintend to tell you. [127]\n\nAt last he came to some old house near a great forest, and there was\nsome old man sitting out by the door, and his look was enough to\nfrighten the Devil. And the old man said to him, \u2018Good-morning, my\nking\u2019s son.\u2019\n\n\u2018Good-morning to you, old gentleman,\u2019 was the answer by the young\nprince, and frightened out of his wits, but he did not like to give in.\n\nThe old gentleman told him to dismount and to go in and have some\nrefreshments, and to put his horse in the stable, such as it was. After\ngoing in, and Jack feeling much better after having something to eat,\nand after his long ride, began to ask the old gentleman how did he know\nthat he was a king\u2019s son?\n\n\u2018Oh dear!\u2019 said the old man, \u2018I knew that you was a king\u2019s son, and I\nknew what is your business better than what you do yourself. So you\nwill have to stay here to-night; and when you are in bed, you mustn\u2019t\nbe frightened when you hear something come to you. There will come all\nmanner of snakes and frogs, and some will try to get into your eyes and\ninto your mouth. And mind,\u2019 the old man said, \u2018if you stir the least\nbit, then you will turn into one of those things yourself.\u2019\n\nPoor Jack did not know what to make of this, but however, he ventured\nto go to bed; and just as he thought to have a bit o\u2019 sleep, here they\ncame around him, but he never stirred one bit all night.\n\n\u2018Well, my young son, how are you this morning?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! I am very well, thank you, but I did not have much rest.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, never mind that. You have got on very well so far, but you have\na great deal to go through before you can have the golden apples to go\nto your father. So now you better come to have some breakfast before\nyou start on your way to my other brother\u2019s house. Now you will have to\nleave your own horse here with me, until you come back here again to\nme, and to tell me everything about how you got on.\u2019\n\nAfter that out comes a fresh horse for the young prince. And the old\nman give him a ball of yarn; and he flung it between the horse\u2019s two\nears. And off he goes as fast as the wind, which the wind behind could\nnot catch the wind before, until he came to his second oldest brother\u2019s\nhouse. When he rode up to the door, he had the same salute as he had\nfrom the first old man; but this one was much uglier than the first\none. He had long grey hair, and his teeth was curling out of his mouth,\nand his finger and toe nails were not cut for many thousands of years.\nSo I shall leave you to guess what sort of a looking being he was, but\nstill his R\u00f3mani speech was soft and nice, much different to his\nyounger brother. He puts his horse in a much better stable, and calls\nhim in, and gives him plenty to eat and drink, and lots of tobacco and\nbrandy. And they have a bit of chat before they goes to bed. When the\nold man asks him many questions: \u2018Well, my young son, I suppose that\nyou are one of the King\u2019s children, and come to look for the golden\napples to recover him, because he is sick?\u2019\n\nJack.\u2014\u2018Yes; I am the youngest of the three brothers, and I should like\nwell to get them to go back with.\u2019\n\nOld Man.\u2014\u2018Well, don\u2019t mind, my young son. I will send before you\nto-night to my oldest brother, when you go to bed, and I will say all\nto him what you want, and then he will not have much trouble to send\nyou on to the place where you must go to get them. But you must mind\nto-night not to stir when you hear those things biting and stinging\nyou, or else you will work great mischief to yourself.\u2019\n\nThe young man went to bed, and beared all, as he did the first night,\nand got up the next morning well and hearty, and thought a good deal of\nthe old man\u2019s R\u00f3mani way the night before. After a good breakfast, and\npassing some few remarks, What a curious place that was, when the old\nman should say, \u2018Yes\u2019 to him, \u2018you will see a more curious place soon;\nand I hope I shall see you back here all right.\u2019 When out comes another\nfresh horse, and a ball of yarn to throw between his ears. The old man\ntells him to jump up, and said to him that he has made it all right\nwith his oldest brother to give him a quick reception, and not to delay\nany whatever, \u2018as you have a good deal to go through in a very short\nand quick time.\u2019\n\nHe flung the ball, and off he goes as quick as lightning, and comes to\nthe oldest brother\u2019s house. (I forgot to tell you that the last old man\ntold him not to be frightened at this one\u2019s looks.) Well, to make my\nlong story short, the old man received him very kindly, and told him\nthat he long wished to see him, and that he would go through his work\nlike a man, and return back here safe and sound.\n\n\u2018Now to-night I shall give you rest; there shall nothing come to\ndisturb you, so as you may not feel sleepy to-morrow. And you must mind\nto get up middling early, for you\u2019ve got to go and come all in the same\nday. For there will be no place for you to rest within thousands of\nmiles of that place; and if there was, you would stand in great danger\nnever to come from there in your own form. Now, my young Prince, mind\nwhat I tell you. To-morrow, when you go in sight of a very large\ncastle, which will be surrounded with black water, the first thing you\nwill do you will tie your horse to a tree, and you will see three\nbeautiful swans in sight. When you will say, \u2018Swan, swan, carry me over\nfor the name of the Griffin of the Greenwood\u2019; and the swans will swim\nyou over to the castle. There will be three great entrances, before you\ngo in. The first will be guarded by four great giants, and drawn swords\nin their hands; the second entrance lions and other things; and the\nother with fiery serpents and other things too frightful to mention.\nYou will have to be there exactly at one o\u2019clock; and mind and leave\nthere precisely at two, and not a moment later. When the swans carry\nyou over to the castle, you will pass all these things, when they will\nbe all fast asleep, but you must not notice any of them. When you go\nin, you will turn up to the right, you will see some grand rooms, then\nyou will go downstairs and through the cooking kitchen, and through a\ndoor on your left you go into a garden, where you will find the apples\nyou want for your father to get him well. After you fill your wallet,\nyou make all the speed you possibly can, and call out for the swans to\ncarry you over the same as before. After you get on your horse, should\nyou hear any shouting or making any noise after you, be sure not to\nlook back, as they will follow you for thousands of miles; but when the\ntime will be up and you near my place, it will be all over. Well, now,\nmy young man, I have told you all you have to do to-morrow; and mind,\nwhatever you do, don\u2019t look about you when you see all those dreadful\nthings. Keep a good heart, and make haste from there, and come back to\nme with all the speed you can. I should like to know how my two\nbrothers were when you left them, and what they said about me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, to tell the truth, before I left London, my father was sick, and\nsaid I was to come here to look for the golden apples, for they were\nthe only things would do him good. And when I came to your youngest\nbrother, I could not understand him well: his speech was like the\nEnglish Gypsies and not like yours. [128] You speak the same as the\nWelsh Gypsies, and so I understand your second brother well. He told me\nmany things what to do before I came here. And I thought once that your\nyoungest brother put me in the wrong bed, when he put all those snakes\nto bite me all night long, until he [i.e. the middle brother] told me,\n\u201cSo it was to be,\u201d and said, \u201cSo it is the same here,\u201d but said you had\nnone in your beds, but said when I came to you I should find you a fine\ndear R\u00f3mani old man.\u2019\n\nThe Old Man.\u2014\u2018So \u2019tis, my daddy. My youngest brother ran away when he\nwas young with the English Gypsies, and their speech is not the same as\nour speech. Well, let\u2019s take a drop more brandy and a little tobacco,\nand then let\u2019s go to bed. You need not fear. There are no snakes here.\u2019\n\nThe young man went to bed, and had a good night\u2019s rest, and got up the\nnext morning as fresh as newly caught trout. Breakfast being over, when\nout come the other horse, and, when saddling and fettling, the old man\nbegan to laugh, and told the young gentleman that if he saw a pretty\nyoung lady, not to stay with her too long, because she may waken, and\nthen he would have to stay with her, or to be turned into one of those\nunearthly monsters, like those which he will have to pass by going into\nthe castle.\n\n\u2018Ha! ha! ha! you make me laugh that I can scarcely buckle the\nsaddle-straps. I think I shall make it all right, my uncle, if I sees a\nyoung lady there, you may depend.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, my daddy, I shall see how you will get on.\u2019\n\nSo he mounts his Arab steed, and off he goes like a shot out of a gun.\nAt last he comes in sight of the castle. He ties his horse safe to a\ntree, and pulls out his watch. It was then a quarter to one, when he\ncalled out, \u2018Swan, swan, carry me over, for the name of the old Griffin\nof the Greenwood.\u2019 No sooner said than done. A swan under each side,\nand one in front, took him over in a crack. He got on his legs, and\nwalked quietly by all those giants, lions, fiery serpents, and all\nmanner of other frightful things too numerous to mention, while they\nwere all fast asleep, and that only for the space of one hour, when\ninto the castle he goes neck or nothing. Turning to the right, upstairs\nhe runs, and enters into a very grand bedroom, and seen a beautiful\nPrincess lying full stretch on a beautiful gold bedstead, fast asleep.\nIt will take me too long to describe the other beautiful things which\nwas in the room at the time, so you will pardon me for going on, for\nthere was no time to lose. He gazed on her beautiful form with\nadmiration, and looked at her foot, and said, \u2018Where there is a pretty\nfoot, there must be a pretty leg.\u2019 And he takes her garter off, and\nbuckles it on his own leg, and he buckles his on hers; he also takes\nher gold watch and pocket-handkerchief, and exchanges his for hers;\nafter that ventures to give her a kiss, when she very near opened her\neyes. Seeing the time short, off he runs downstairs, and passing\nthrough the cooking kitchen, through where he had to pass to go into\nthe garden for the apples, he could see the cook all-fours on her back\non the middle of the floor, with the knife in one hand and the fork in\nthe other. He found the apples out, and filled his wallet well; and by\npassing through the kitchen the cook did very near waken, and she did\nwink on him with one eye; he was obliged to make all the speed he\npossibly could, as the time was nearly up. He called out for the swans,\nand off they managed to take him over, but they found he was a little\nheavier than when he was going over before. No sooner than he had\nmounted his horse, he could hear a tremendous noise, and the\nenchantment was broke, and they tried to follow him, but all to no\npurpose. He was not long before he came to the oldest brother\u2019s house;\nand glad enough he was to see it, for the sight and the noise of all\nthose things that were after him near frightened him to death.\n\n\u2018Welcome, my daddy, I am proud to see you. Dismount and put the horse\nin the stable, and come in and have some refreshments; I know you are\nhungry after all you have gone through in that castle. And tell all\nwhat you did, and all what you saw there. There was other kings\u2019 sons\nwent by here to go to that castle, but they never came back alive, and\nyou are the only one that ever broke the spell (for me to go from\nhere). And now you must come with me, and a sword in your hand, and\nmust cut my head off and must throw it in that well.\u2019\n\nThe young Prince dismounts, and puts the horse in the stable, and then\ngoes in to have some refreshments, for I can assure you he wanted some.\nAnd after telling him everything that passed, which the old gentleman\nwas very pleased to hear, they both went for a walk together, the young\nPrince looking around and seeing the place all round him looking\ndreadful, also the old man. He could scarcely walk from his toe-nails\ncurling up like ram\u2019s horns that had not been cut for many hundred\nyears, and big long hair. And although his teeth was curling out of his\nmouth, he could speak the R\u00f3mani language better than any other. They\ncome to a well, and he gives the Prince a sword, and tells him to cut\nthe old man\u2019s head off, and to throw it in that well. The young man,\nthrough him being so kind to him, has to do it against his wish, but\nhas to do it.\n\nNo sooner he does it, and flings his head in the well, than up springs\none of the finest young gentlemen you would wish to see; and instead of\nthe old house and the frightful-looking place, it was changed into a\nbeautiful hall and grounds. And they went back, and enjoyed themselves\nwell, and had a good laugh about the castle, when he told him all about\nwhat had passed, especially when he told him about the cook winking on\nhim and could not open the other eye. The young Prince leaves this\nyoung gentleman in all his glory, and he tells the young Prince before\nleaving that he will see him again before long. They have a jolly\nshake-hands, and off he goes to the next oldest brother; and, to make\nmy long story short, he has to serve the other two brothers the same as\nthe first, and he has to take to his own horse to go home.\n\nNow the youngest brother there was a good deal of the English Gypsy in\nhim, and begun to ask him how things went on, and making inquiries and\nasking, \u2018Did you see my two brothers?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes.\u2019\n\n\u2018How did they look?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! they looked very well. I liked them much. They told me many things\nwhat to do.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, did you go to the castle?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, my uncle.\u2019\n\n\u2018And will you tell me what you see in there? Did you see the young\nlady?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I saw her, and plenty other frightful things.\u2019\n\n\u2018Did you hear any snake biting you in my oldest brother\u2019s bed?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, there were none there; I slept well.\u2019\n\n\u2018You won\u2019t have to sleep in the same bed to-night. You will have to cut\noff my head in the morning.\u2019\n\nThe young Prince had a good night\u2019s rest, and changed all the\nappearance of the place by cutting his head off before he started in\nthe morning, having a good breakfast, and supplying himself with a\nlittle brandy and a good lot of tobacco for the road before starting,\nfor he had a very long way to go, and his horse had not the same speed\nas theirs had. A jolly shake-hands, and tells him it\u2019s very probable\nthat he shall see him again very soon when he will not be aware of it.\nThis one\u2019s mansion was very pretty, and the country around it\nbeautiful, after having his head cut off. And off he goes, over hills,\ndales, valleys, and mountains, and very near losing his apples again.\n(I forgot to tell you that he give some to each of those brothers\nbefore leaving.)\n\nAt last he arrives at the cross-roads where he has to meet his brothers\non the very day appointed. Coming up to the place, he sees no tracks of\nhorses, and, being very tired, he lays himself down to sleep, by tying\nthe horse to his leg, [129] and putting the apples under his head. When\npresently up comes the other brothers the same time to the minute, and\nfound him fast asleep. And they would not waken him, but said one to\nanother, \u2018Let\u2019s see what sort of apples he has got under his head.\u2019 So\nthey took and tasted them, and found they were different from theirs.\nThey took and changed his apples for theirs, and hooked it off to\nLondon as fast as they could, and left the poor fellow sleeping.\n\nAfter a while he awoke, and, seeing the tracks of other horses, he\nmounted and off with him, not thinking anything about the apples being\nchanged. He had still a long way to go by himself, and by the time he\ngot near London he could hear all the bells in the town ringing, but\ndid not know what was the matter until he rode up to the palace, when\nhe came to know that his father was recovered by his brothers\u2019 apples.\nWhen he got there, his two brothers went off to some sports for a\nwhile. And the king was very glad to see his youngest son, and was very\nanxious to taste his apples. And when he found that they were not good,\nand thought that they were more for poisoning him, he sent immediately\nfor the head butcher to behead his youngest son; and was taken away\nthere and then in a carriage. But instead of the butcher taking his\nhead off, he took him to some forest not far from the town, because he\nhad pity on him, and there left him to take his chance. When presently\nup comes a big hairy bear, limping upon three legs; and the Prince,\npoor fellow, climbed up a tree, frightened of him, and the bear telling\nhim to come down, that it\u2019s no use of him to stop there. With hard\npersuasion poor Jack comes down; and the bear speaks to him in R\u00f3mani,\nand bids him to \u2018Come here to me; I will not do you any harm. It\u2019s\nbetter for you to come with me and have some refreshments. I know that\nyou are hungry all this time.\u2019\n\nThe poor young Prince says, \u2018No, I am not very hungry; but I was very\nfrightened when I saw you coming to me first, when I had no place to\nrun away from you.\u2019\n\nThe bear said, \u2018I was also afraid of you when I saw that gentleman\nsetting you down from that carriage. I thought you would have some guns\nwith you, and that you would not mind killing me if you would see me.\nBut when I saw the gentleman going away with the carriage, and leaving\nyou behind by yourself, I made bold to come to you, to see who you was;\nand now I know who you are very well. Isn\u2019t you the King\u2019s youngest\nson? I seen you and your brothers and lots of other gentlemen in this\nwood many times. Now, before we go from here, I must tell you that I am\na Gypsy in disguise; and I shall take you where we are stopping at.\u2019\n\nThe young Prince up and tells him everything from first to last, how he\nstarted in search of the apples, and about the three old men, and about\nthe castle, and how he was served at last by his father after he came\nhome; and instead of the butcher to take his head off, he was kind\nenough to leave him to have his life, and to take his chance in the\nforest, live or die; \u2018and here I am now, under your protection.\u2019\n\nThe bear tells him, \u2018Come on, my brother. There shall be no harm come\nto you as long as you are with me.\u2019\n\nSo he takes him up to the tents; and when they sees \u2019em coming, the\ngirls begin to laugh, and says, \u2018Here is our Jubal coming with a young\ngentleman.\u2019\n\nWhen he advanced nearer the tents, they all begun to know that he was\nthe young Prince that had passed by that way many times before; and\nwhen Jubal went to change himself, he called most of them together in\none tent, and tells them everything all about him, and tells them to be\nkind to him. And so they were, for there was nothing that he desired\nbut what he had, the same as if he was in the palace with his father\nand mother. He was allowed to romp and play with the girls, but no\nfurther, though his princely manners and the chastity of the girls\nhindered all bad thoughts. Him having lessons on the Welsh harp when a\nboy by some Welsh harper belonging to the Woods or Roberts family, who\nwere Welsh Gypsies of North Wales, made a little difference to his way\nof speaking to that of the London magpies, when they used to say,\n\u2018Dorda! this young gentleman talks as if he was two hundred years old;\nwe can\u2019t understand him.\u2019 They used to have a deal of fun with him at\nnight-time, when telling his funny tales by the fire. Jubal, after he\npulled off his hairy coat, was one of the smartest young men amongst\nthem, and he stuck to be the young Prince\u2019s closest companion. The\nyoung Prince was always very sociable and merry, only when he would\nthink of his gold watch, the one as he had from the young Princess in\nthat castle. The butcher allowed him to keep that for company, and did\nnot like to take it from him, as it might come useful to him some time\nor another. And the poor fellow did not know where he lost it, being so\nmuch excited with everything.\n\nHe passed off many happy days with the Stanleys and Grays in Epping\nForest. But one day him and poor Jubal was strolling through the trees,\nwhen they came to the very same spot where they first met, and,\naccidentally looking up, he could see his watch hanging up in the tree\nwhich he had to climb when he first seen poor Jubal coming to him in\nthe form of a bear; and cries out, \u2018Jubal, Jubal, I can see my watch up\nin that tree.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well! I am sure, how lucky!\u2019 exclaimed poor Jubal, \u2018shall I go and get\nit down?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, I\u2019d rather go myself,\u2019 said the young Prince.\n\nNow when all this was going on, the young Princess whom he changed\nthose things with in that castle, seeing that one of the King of\nEngland\u2019s sons had been there by the changing of the watch, [130] and\nother things, got herself ready with a large army, and sailed off for\nEngland. She left her army a little out of the town, and she went with\nher guards straight up to the palace to see the King, and also demanded\nto see his sons, and brought a fine young boy with her about nine or\nten months old. They had a long conversation together about different\nthings. At last she demands one of the sons to come before her; and the\noldest comes, when she asks him, \u2018Have you ever been at the Castle of\nMelv\u00e1les?\u2019 and he answers \u2018Yes.\u2019 She throws down a pocket-handkerchief,\nbids him to walk over that without stumbling. He goes to walk over it,\nand no sooner he put his foot on it he fell down and broke his leg. He\nwas taken off immediately and made a prisoner of by her own guards. The\nother was called upon, and was asked the same questions, and had to go\nthrough the same performance, and he also was made a prisoner of.\n\nNow she says, \u2018Have you not another son?\u2019\n\nWhen the King began to shiver and shake and knock his two knees\ntogether that he could scarcely stand upon his legs, and did not know\nwhat to say to her; he was so much frightened. At last a thought came\nto him to send for his head butcher, and inquired of him particularly,\nDid he behead his son, or is he alive?\n\n\u2018He is saved, O King.\u2019\n\n\u2018Then bring him here immediately, or else I shall be done for.\u2019\n\nTwo of the fastest horses they had were put in the carriage, to go and\nlook for the poor Welsh-harping Prince. And when they got to the very\nsame spot where they left him, that was the time when the Prince was up\nthe tree, getting his watch down, and poor Jubal standing a distance\noff. They cried out to him, Did he see another young man in this wood?\nJubal, seeing such a nice carriage, thought something, and did not like\nto say No, and said Yes, and pointed up the tree. And they told him to\ncome down immediately, as there is a young lady in search of him with a\nyoung child.\n\n\u2018Ha! ha! ha! Jubal, did you ever hear such a thing in all your life, my\nbrother?\u2019\n\n\u2018Do you call him your brother?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, he has been better to me than my brothers.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, for his kindness he shall come to accompany you to the palace,\nand see how things will turn out.\u2019\n\nAfter they go to the palace, he has a good wash, and appears before the\nPrincess, when she asks him, or puts the question to him, \u2018Had he ever\nbeen at the Castle of Melv\u00e1les?\u2019 when he with a smile upon his face,\nand gives a graceful bow.\n\nAnd says my lady, \u2018Walk over that handkerchief without stumbling.\u2019\n\nHe walks over it many times, and dances upon it, and nothing happened\nto him. She said, with a proud and smiling air, \u2018That is the young\nman\u2019; and out comes the exchanged things by both of them. Presently she\norders a very large box to be brought in and to be opened, and out come\nsome of the most costly uniforms that was ever wore on an emperor\u2019s\nback; and when he dressed himself up, the King could scarcely look upon\nhim from the dazzling of the gold and diamonds on his coat and other\nthings. He orders his two brothers to be in confinement for a period of\ntime; and before the Princess demands him to go with her to her own\ncountry, she pays a visit to the Gypsies\u2019 camp, and she makes them some\nvery handsome presents for being so kind to the young Prince. And she\ngives Jubal an invitation to go with them, which he accepts, also one\nof the girls for a nurse; wishes them a hearty farewell for a time,\npromising to see them again in some little time to come, by saying,\n\u2018Cheer up, comrades, I\u2019m a R\u00f3mani myself; I should like to see you in\nmy country.\u2019\n\nThey go back to the King and bids farewell, and tells him not to be so\nhasty another time to order people to beheaded [131] before having a\nproper cause for it. Off they go with all their army with them; but\nwhile the soldiers were striking their tents, he bethought himself of\nhis Welsh harp, and had it sent for immediately to take with him in a\nbeautiful wooden case. After they went over, they called to see each of\nthose three brothers whom the Prince had to stay with when he was on\nhis way to the Castle of Melv\u00e1les; and I can assure you, when they all\ngot together, they had a very merry time of it. The last time I seen\nhim, I play upon the Prince\u2019s harp; and he told me he should like to\nsee me again in North Wales. Ha! ha! ha! I am glad that I have come to\nthe finish. I ought to have a drop of Scotch ale for telling all those\nlies.\n\n\n    As I said in my notes to No. 54, Mr. Joseph Jacobs has also\n    reprinted this story, with alterations (e.g. of \u2018head butcher\u2019 to\n    \u2018headsman\u2019), additions, and omissions of his own. Especially has he\n    deleted every mention of Gypsies, whilst leaving in references to\n    \u2018tents,\u2019 \u2018camp,\u2019 etc., which thus appear rather \u00e0 propos de bottes.\n    Such tampering with folk-tales reminds one somehow of your\n    \u2018restoring\u2019 architect, called in about an old church. \u2018Yes,\u2019 he\n    pronounces, \u2018that window is Late Perpendicular, so will have to\n    come out, and we\u2019ll put in an Early English one according to the\n    original design.\u2019 Not that he knows the original design, but he\n    pleases his dupes: some there be, however, that curse. But Grimm,\n    Mr. Jacobs pleads, rewrote his fairy-tales. Maybe He did, but every\n    folklorist is not a Grimm.\n\n    After this, Mr. Jacobs remarks that \u2018the tale is scarcely a good\n    example for Mr. Hindes Groome\u2019s contention (in Transactions\n    Folk-Lore Congress) for the diffusion of all folk-tales by means of\n    gypsies as colporteurs. This is merely a matter of evidence, and of\n    evidence there is singularly little, though it is indeed curious\n    that one of Campbell\u2019s best equipped informants should turn out to\n    be a Gypsy. Even this fact, however, is not too well\n    substantiated.\u2019 As I have shown in my Introduction, I have never\n    made such a contention; there, too, I have told all I know about\n    Campbell\u2019s informant\u2014Mr. Jacobs, perhaps, may know more. But his\n    oracular judgment, that this story is a poor example for my (real)\n    contention, that is what staggers me, unbacked though it be by one\n    tittle of counter-evidence. The following is all I can adduce in\n    self-vindication.\n\n    My friend Mr. Sampson has got from Matthew Wood another Welsh-Gypsy\n    version, called \u2018I Val\u00edn Kalo P\u0101ni\u2019 (The Bottle of Black Water).\n    \u2018This,\u2019 he writes, \u2018is a variant of your \u201cKing and his Three Sons,\u201d\n    with which it agrees in most particulars, except of course Roberts\u2019\n    own picturesque little touches, and that a bottle of black water\n    takes the place of the three golden apples.\u2019 Then, what I did not,\n    could not know when I published In Gypsy Tents (1880), there is a\n    closely parallel non-Gypsy variant in Professor Theodor\n    Vernaleken\u2019s In The Land of Marvels (Eng. trans. 1884), No. 52, pp.\n    304\u20139 and 360. It is called \u2018The Accursed Garden,\u2019 and comes from\n    St. P\u00f6lden in Lower Austria. Here is a summary:\u2014\n\n\n    A king has three sons, the youngest the handsomest. He falls sick,\n    and learns he can only get better by eating a fruit from the\n    Accursed Garden. The brothers set out one after the other; the two\n    eldest lose all their money gaming in an inn, and are put in jail\n    (cf. No. 49, p. 184). The youngest son comes to a hermit\u2019s in a\n    great forest, inquires the way to the Accursed Garden, and gets a\n    red ball, which, flung before him, will show the way. He next comes\n    to a black dog, and sleeps three nights with him, then to a red\n    dog, lastly to a white maiden. Before reaching the mountain on\n    whose top is the garden he ties his horse to a fig-tree. He has to\n    enter the garden at eleven, and leave before noon. In a castle in\n    the midst of the garden he finds a sleeping lady, writes down his\n    name and address, departs and is pursued by devouring beasts.\n    Returning to the white maiden, he is desired by her to divide a\n    grape into four parts, and to cast a part into each corner of her\n    dwelling. Immediately it became a splendid palace. The red and\n    black dogs are likewise changed into princes, and the hermit into a\n    king. The prince comes up as his brothers are going to be hanged,\n    buys them off, is robbed by them in the night of his fruit,\n    receiving in its stead a poisoned one, and then is thrown into a\n    valley. The late hermit discovers and revives him, but the king his\n    father, finding his fruit is poisoned, orders him to be shot. But\n    the servant spares him; and the young lady, arriving with a great\n    army, proclaims that if the prince who fetched the fruit be not\n    produced she will besiege the city. Then the servant tells how he\n    spared the prince, who is sought for and brought to the king. He\n    accurately describes the garden, and marries the princess.\n\n\n    This version is markedly inferior to our Welsh-Gypsy one; still, I\n    know in all folklore of few closer parallels. And the two versions\n    are separated by over four centuries and by more than a thousand\n    miles. The ball of yarn on p. 221 recurs in two other Welsh-Gypsy\n    stories, \u2018The Black Dog of the Wild Forest\u2019 (\u2018You follow this ball\n    of worsted. Now it will take you right straight to a river\u2019) and\n    \u2018The Green Man of Noman\u2019s Land\u2019 (\u2018She ... gives him a ball of\n    thread to place between the horse\u2019s ears\u2019). In Dasent\u2019s Norse tale\n    of \u2018The Golden Palace that hung in the Air\u2019 (Tales from the Fjeld,\n    p. 291) an old hag gives the hero \u2018a grey ball of wool, which he\n    had only to roll on before him and he would come to whatever place\n    he wished.\u2019 In Addy\u2019s Household Tales, p. 50, there is a curious\n    but poorly told story from Wensley in Derbyshire, \u2018The Little Red\n    Hairy Man,\u2019 a variant of our \u2018Mare\u2019s Son\u2019 (No. 20) and\n    \u2018Twopence-halfpenny\u2019 (No. 58). Here the little man throws \u2018a small\n    copper ball on the ground, and it rolled away, and Jack followed it\n    until it came to a castle made of copper, and flew against the\n    door.\u2019 So with a silver ball and a silver castle, and a golden ball\n    and a golden castle. On which it is just worth remarking that\n    underground castles of copper, silver, and gold occur in No. 58, p.\n    245, in a story told to Campbell of Islay by a London Gypsy (Tales\n    of the West Highlands, iv. 143), and in Ralston\u2019s The Norka, pp.\n    75\u201376. In Wratislaw\u2019s Hungarian-Slovenish story of \u2018The Three\n    Lemons,\u2019 p. 63, [132] we find castles of lead, silver, and gold,\n    and at each the hero gets dumplings of the same metals, which he\n    afterwards throws before him, when they fix themselves on the glass\n    hill, and permit him to ascend (cf. too, our \u2018Three Dragons,\u2019 pp.\n    152\u20134; Irish folk-tale in Folk-lore Journal, i. 318; and Folk lore\n    for December 1890, p. 495). In Hahn\u2019s \u2018Filek-Zelebi\u2019 (No. 73, ii.\n    69) the heroine has to follow three golden apples; and in \u2018The\n    Wicked Queens\u2019 (J. H. Knowles\u2019s Folk-tales of Kashmir, p. 401) a\n    jogi gives a boy a pebble, telling him to \u2018throw it on before and\n    to follow its leadings.\u2019\n\n    The well-known Sleeping Beauty recurs in two other Gypsy\n    stories\u2014the Moravian one of \u2018The Princess and the Forester\u2019s Son\u2019\n    (p. 147), which offers marked analogies to John Roberts\u2019s tale, and\n    that from the Bukowina, \u2018The Winged Hero\u2019 (pp. 100\u2013104), which is\n    very Oriental in character. Whether she was ever familiar to\n    English or Scottish folklore I do not know; but Scott in chapter\n    xxvi. of The Antiquary alludes to her.\n\n    For the three helpful brothers, cf. F. A. Steel\u2019s Wide-awake\n    Stories, p. 35\u201336; and for the prohibition not to look about\n    [behind], Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy Tales, p. 140.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 56.\u2014THE FIVE TRADES\n\nOnce there were a sailor and other four men. One was a smith, and the\nother was a soldier and a tailor, and the last was an innkeeper. The\nsailor asked the smith to come upon the sea. The smith said, \u2018No, I\nmust go and do some work.\u2019 \u2018What is your work?\u2019 \u2018To heat iron,\u2019 says\nthe smith, \u2018and make it into shoes for horses.\u2019 The sailor asked the\nother three to come on board his ship. The soldier said he must go to\nmake facings and marchings; and the tailor said, \u2018I must go and make\nclothes to keep you warm.\u2019 And the innkeeper said, \u2018I am going to make\nbeer to make you drunk, that you may all of you go to the devil.\u2019\nThat\u2019s all of that.\n\n\n    This little temperance apologue by a non-teetotaler is one of the\n    very few Gypsy stories with a moral.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 57.\u2014ASHYPELT\n\nOnce there was an old man and an old \u2019ooman livin\u2019 in the Forest o\u2019\nDean. They \u2019ad twelve sons, and there was one son called Ashypelt. He\nwas the youngest son, and they didn\u2019t never think but very little o\u2019\nAshypelt, as \u2019ee was allus used to be i\u2019 the esshole under the fire,\nan\u2019 the brothers used to spit on \u2019im and laugh at \u2019im an\u2019 make fun of\n\u2019im an\u2019 that. He never spoke, didn\u2019t Ashypelt, nor hear nuthin\u2019. These\neleven brothers\u2014they was nearly allus felling timber and that\u2014used to\ngo, they used to go off tel Saturdays for a week. They used to do that\nvery reglar, and were bringing a lot of money in for the old man and\nthe old \u2019ooman.\n\nSo the old \u2019ooman sez one day, \u2018Well, John, I sez, I think you an\u2019 me\n\u2019as got enough money now to live on which will keep we all the days of\nour life. An\u2019 we\u2019ll tell \u2019em to-night\u2019\u2014it was on a Saturday, an\u2019 they\nwas comin\u2019 home again, they was comin\u2019 home with all the week\u2019s\nwages\u2014\u2018we\u2019ll say to \u2019em as the pressgang \u2019as been after \u2019em, as they\u2019ve\ngot to \u2019ear as we\u2019ve got eleven very fine sons, and they wants to make\nsoldiers of \u2019em. So I\u2019ll begin a-cryin\u2019 when they comes \u2019ere to-night,\nand I\u2019ll say to \u2019em, \u201cO my very dear sons, the pressgang\u2019s been after\nyous \u2019ere to-day. They want yous to go for soldiers, an\u2019 the best you\ncan do, my dear children\u201d\u2014the old \u2019ooman was cryin\u2019 very much, makin\u2019\nherself so\u2014\u201cis to go to sleep in the barn.\u201d An\u2019 we\u2019ll put \u2019em to sleep\nin the barn, an\u2019 give \u2019em their week\u2019s victuals with \u2019em\u2019 (what they\nused to take reglar), sez the old \u2019ooman to the old man. \u2018We can soon\nput Ashypelt out o\u2019 the road.\u2019 (He was listenin\u2019 all the time, the poor\nAshypelt, listenin\u2019 wot the old \u2019ooman was sayin\u2019.) \u2018Soon as we\u2019ve put\nthe eleven sons in the barn we\u2019ll set fire to \u2019em about twelve o\u2019clock\nand burn \u2019em: that\u2019s the best way to take it out of \u2019em. We\u2019ll burn\n\u2019em,\u2019 she sez.\n\nPoor Ashypelt gets up out o\u2019 the esshole\u2014this was about the hour of\neleven: they was sittin\u2019 up till twelve to set the barn afire. He goes\nup to the barn, an\u2019 \u2019ee throws \u2019is brothers up one after another neck\nand crop\u2014an\u2019 they was goin\u2019 to kill \u2019im\u2014an\u2019 their week\u2019s victuals.\n\n\u2018Oo are you?\u2019 they sez.\n\n\u2018I am your brother Ashypelt,\u2019 he sez, \u2018I am your brother Ashypelt.\u2019\n\nSo one looks at \u2019im, an\u2019 another looks at \u2019im, to find a certain mark\nas they know to him. They went to kill poor Ashypelt for throwing them\nup.\n\nHe sez, \u2018My father and mother is goin\u2019 to set you afire, all the lot o\u2019\nyou, that\u2019s the reason they put you in the barn. An\u2019 come with me up on\nthat back edge, an\u2019 you\u2019ll see the barn goin\u2019 afire directly,\u2019 sez\nAshypelt.\n\nThey sat on this high edge tel twelve o\u2019clock come, an\u2019 they was\nlookin\u2019 out, an\u2019 they seen the old \u2019ooman an\u2019 the old man go with a\nlantern, an\u2019 puttin\u2019 a light to the barn an\u2019 all the straw what was in\nit. So they thanked Ashypelt very much for savin\u2019 their lives, but they\ndidn\u2019t injure their father or mother; but they all started to go on the\nroad together. They comes to twelve cross-roads; an\u2019 poor Ashypelt,\nnever bein\u2019 out o\u2019 the esshole before, \u2019ee took very sleepy, through\nbein\u2019 a very \u2019ot day.\n\nSo one brother sez to the other, \u2018We\u2019ll all take a road to ourselves.\nEach one will take a road, an\u2019 in twelve months an\u2019 a day we\u2019ll all\nmeet \u2019ere agen.\u2019\n\nSo poor Ashypelt the sun overcame \u2019im, an\u2019 \u2019im never bein\u2019 out o\u2019 the\nesshole, \u2019ee fell asleep; an\u2019 each brother left a mark on the road\nwhich way they went, for \u2019im to go \u2019is road to \u2019imself. When poor\nAshypelt wakened up, \u2019ee began lookin\u2019 round \u2019im an\u2019 rubbin\u2019 \u2019is eyes.\nThey left \u2019im a very old nasty lane to go up, an old nasty lane with\nthe mud up to your knees. Poor Ashypelt bein\u2019 very weak, he got fast\nseveral times goin\u2019 up this old lane, an\u2019 tumbled down in the mud; an\u2019\nthe \u2019edges was growed very high with \u2019em so meetin\u2019 together; and the\nbriers was scratching poor Ashypelt\u2019s eyes very near out, as \u2019ee was\ngoin\u2019 up this old lane. \u2019Ee travels on, over high dales an\u2019 lofty\nmountains, where the cock never crowed and the divel never sounded \u2019is\nbugle horn. It\u2019ll last tel to-morrow night, but I don\u2019t mean to half\ntell you so long. [133] But poor Ashypelt got benighted up this old\nlane. \u2019Ee used to fall asleep, bein\u2019 summer-time, an\u2019 very early in the\nmornin\u2019 come daylight \u2019ee wakens up, an\u2019 \u2019ee kept on the same old lane\nall the way he was goin\u2019. \u2019Ee travels on tel \u2019ee come to a castle an\u2019 a\nnew \u2019ouse, where there was a man, an\u2019 \u2019ee axed this man could \u2019ee give\n\u2019im a job.\n\n\u2019Ee sez, \u2018Yes, Ashypelt, I can give you a job,\u2019 \u2019ee sez. \u2019Ee sez, \u2018Wot\ncan you do?\u2019\n\nAshypelt sez, \u2018I can do everythink as you try to put me to.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, Ashypelt,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018I\u2019ll give you fifty pounds to sleep into\nthe castle all night, an\u2019 a good suit o\u2019 clo\u2019es.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! yes,\u2019 \u2019ee sez; \u2018I\u2019ll sleep there,\u2019 \u2019ee sed.\n\nSo \u2019ee sez to Ashypelt, \u2019ee sez, \u2018You shall have a good bag o\u2019 nuts to\ncrack an\u2019 plenty o\u2019 \u2019bacca to smoke, an\u2019 a good fire to sit by,\u2019 \u2019ee\nsez.\n\nBut \u2019ee allowed him no can o\u2019 beer to drink, plenty o\u2019 water, so as he\nwouldn\u2019t get trussicated. An\u2019 \u2019appen about eleven o\u2019clock at night \u2019ee\nsez, \u2018Now Ashypelt, it is about the time you\u2019ve got to come in along o\u2019\nme.\u2019\n\nSo \u2019ee takes Ashypelt with \u2019im about eleven o\u2019clock to this castle. \u2019Ee\nopens the door, an\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018There you are, go an\u2019 take your seat, an\u2019\nsit down.\u2019 \u2019Ee sez \u2018Here is your bag o\u2019 nuts, an\u2019 plenty o\u2019 \u2019bacca to\nsmoke.\u2019\n\nSo just now Ashypelt was sittin\u2019 down, an\u2019 just about the hour o\u2019\ntwelve \u2019ee could \u2019ear a lot o\u2019 noise about the room. \u2019Ee looks around\nbehind \u2019im at the door, an\u2019 \u2019ee sees a man naked.\n\nSo \u2019ee sez, \u2018Come up to the fire an\u2019 warm you. You looks very cold.\u2019\n\nIt was a sperrit, you see. \u2019Ee wouldn\u2019t come up to the fire, so\nAshypelt went an\u2019 fetched im. Ashypelt sez, \u2018Will you \u2019ave a smoke?\u2019\n\u2019ee sez, an\u2019 \u2019ee takes an\u2019 \u2019ee fills \u2019im a new pipe. \u2019Ee sez, \u2018Will you\ncrack some nuts?\u2019\n\nSo \u2019ee smoked all poor Ashypelt\u2019s \u2019bacca, an\u2019 cracked all \u2019is nuts, an\u2019\npoor Ashypelt \u2019ad none. But \u2019ee sez, \u2018You are a very greedy fellow\nindeed, I must say,\u2019 \u2019ee sed, \u2018after a man bringing you up to warm you\nat the fire, an\u2019 taking everythink off \u2019im.\u2019\n\nJust about the hour o\u2019 two o\u2019clock away goes this man from \u2019im. So\ntherefore Ashypelt sits contented down afore the fire to hisself.\n\nSo next mornin\u2019 the master sez to \u2019im at the hour o\u2019 six o\u2019clock, \u2018Are\nyou alive, Ashypelt?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! yes,\u2019 \u2019ee sez to \u2019im, \u2018I am alive, sir. An\u2019 there came a very rude\nman \u2019ere last night, an\u2019 took all my \u2019bacca, an\u2019 cracked all my nuts\noff me,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018for the kindness I done for \u2019im. \u2019Ee was naked, an\u2019\nI axed \u2019im to \u2019ave a warm.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 \u2019ee sez to Ashypelt, \u2018come along an\u2019 \u2019ave some breakfast,\nAshypelt.\u2019 An\u2019 \u2019ee takes \u2019im to the new \u2019ouse from the castle, to \u2019ave\nsome breakfast. \u2018Would you wish to stop another night, Ashypelt?\u2019 \u2019ee\nsez, \u2018an\u2019 I\u2019ll give you another fifty pounds.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! yes,\u2019 sez Ashypelt, \u2018\u2019im never seein\u2019 anythin\u2019, an\u2019 never knowin\u2019\nwot sperrits or ghostses was, \u2019im bein\u2019 allus in the esshole.\u2019\n\nSo all day Ashypelt went up an\u2019 down the garden, an\u2019 learnin\u2019 \u2019ow to\ndig in the garden an\u2019 one thing or another, tel eleven o\u2019clock came\nagain the next night.\n\n\u2018Well, come, Ashypelt, my lad,\u2019 \u2019ee sed, \u2018it\u2019s time for you to go back\nto your room agen now.\u2019\n\nSo the next night \u2019ee gave \u2019im very near \u2019alf a pound o\u2019 \u2019bacca to\nsmoke an\u2019 a bigger bag o\u2019 nuts. So about the hour o\u2019 twelve o\u2019clock \u2019ee\nturns round to the door again, an\u2019 there was five or six of these\nghostses came in to \u2019im this time an\u2019 sperrits. So there was one stood\nup in the corner in \u2019is skeleton. There was five more runnin\u2019 up and\ndown the room pitity-pat, pitity-pat.\n\n\u2018Come up to the fire,\u2019 Ashypelt sez, \u2018an\u2019 warm yous. Yous looks very\ncold all runnin\u2019 about naked,\u2019 \u2019ee sed. \u2019Ee sez, \u2018There\u2019s some \u2019bacca\nthere an\u2019 some pipes. \u2019Ave a smoke apiece.\u2019\n\nSo this poor fellow stood up in the corner.\n\n\u2018You come \u2019ere,\u2019 sed Ashypelt; \u2018you looks very cold, you\u2019re nuthin\u2019 but\nbones.\u2019\n\nBut \u2019ee gave Ashypelt no answer. So Ashypelt comes up to \u2019im, to pull\n\u2019im out up to the fire, an\u2019 \u2019ee \u2019appened to give \u2019im a bit of a touch\nround the neck\u2014somewhere under the jaw, I think it was\u2014as \u2019ee wouldn\u2019t\ncome for \u2019im. This fellow tumbled all into pieces, in small bits o\u2019\npieces about \u2019alf an inch, tumbled all into pieces when Ashypelt \u2019it\n\u2019im.\n\n\u2018Now, Ashypelt,\u2019 sez one of \u2019em, \u2018if you don\u2019t put that fellow up agen\nas you fun\u2019 \u2019im, we\u2019ll devour you alive.\u2019\n\nPoor Ashypelt got fixing one little bone on top of another, an\u2019 one\nlittle bone on top of another, but \u2019ee got tumblin\u2019 them down as quick\nas \u2019ee was fixing them very near. Well, \u2019ee fixed an\u2019 fixed at last tel\nit come very near one o\u2019clock that \u2019ee was bein\u2019 with \u2019im, but \u2019ee got\n\u2019em together agen. So away they all goes just about two o\u2019clock an\u2019\nleaves \u2019im; an\u2019 when \u2019ee come to look for the \u2019bacca, every morsel \u2019ad\ngone, \u2019ee never \u2019ad one pipeful.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018they\u2019re a greedy lot o\u2019 fellows, them is,\u2019 \u2019ee sez.\n\u2018They served me worse agen to-night,\u2019 \u2019ee sez. So \u2019ee comes an\u2019 sits\n\u2019imself down completely by \u2019is own fire agen.\n\nNext morning at the hour o\u2019 six o\u2019clock the master comes for \u2019im agen.\n\u2018Are you alive, Ashypelt?\u2019 \u2019ee sez.\n\n\u2018Oh! yes,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018I\u2019m alive.\u2019\n\nHe sez, \u2018Did you \u2019ear anythin\u2019 last night?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 sez Ashypelt, \u2018there come a lot o\u2019 greedy fellows \u2019ere, an\u2019\nsmoked all my \u2019bacca an\u2019 cracked all my nuts off me.\u2019\n\nSo \u2019ee sez, \u2018Come on down, Ashypelt, an\u2019 \u2019ave your breakfast.\u2019 \u2019Ee\ntakes \u2019im to the new \u2019ouse to \u2019ave \u2019is breakfast. But after \u2019ee\u2019d \u2019ad\n\u2019is breakfast, \u2018Now, Ashypelt,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018I will give you another fifty\nto stop another night.\u2019\n\nWell, poor Ashypelt, never \u2019avin\u2019 no money, \u2019ee sed, Yes, \u2019ee would do\nit. Well, \u2019ee took \u2019im, as usual, up an\u2019 down the garden agen next day\nwith \u2019im, taking \u2019im up an\u2019 down the garden tel eleven o\u2019clock come the\nnext night.\n\n\u2018So now, Ashypelt, my boy, it\u2019s time for me to take you up to your\nroom,\u2019 \u2019ee sez. \u2018I\u2019ll give you a little extra \u2019bacca to-night. I\u2019ll\ngive you a pound, an\u2019 a bigger bag o\u2019 nuts\u2014altogether it might be a\ngohanna [guano] bag o\u2019 nuts\u2014an\u2019 a pound o\u2019 \u2019bacca.\u2019\n\nSo \u2019ee fastened \u2019em into the room before Ashypelt comes, an\u2019 \u2019ee leaves\n\u2019im sittin\u2019 \u2019down comfortable to \u2019isself \u2019avin\u2019 a bit o\u2019 a smoke o\u2019 \u2019is\n\u2019bacca. But \u2019ee \u2019eard one o\u2019 the terriblest noises \u2019ee ever \u2019eard in\n\u2019is life shoutin\u2019 blue wilful murders, but \u2019ee couldn\u2019t see nuthin\u2019.\nThis was at the hour o\u2019 twelve. Bangin\u2019 one of \u2019is doors wide open, in\ncomes a man to \u2019im with \u2019is throat cut from \u2019ere to there. Ashypelt\naxed \u2019im to come an\u2019 \u2019ave a pipe o\u2019 \u2019bacca, an\u2019 to \u2019ave a warm. Well,\npoor Ashypelt never seein\u2019 nuthin\u2019, \u2019ee wasn\u2019t frightened a bit.\n\nSo the man sez to \u2019im, \u2018Now, Ashypelt, my boy, I see you are not\nfrightened. Come with me, an\u2019 I\u2019ll show you where I lies. My brother\n\u2019as killed me\u2014it\u2019s my brother what gives you this money to stop \u2019ere.\nYou come with me, Ashypelt, down these steps.\u2019\n\nHe took \u2019im down steps, down steps, down steps. Ashypelt axed \u2019im \u2019ow\nmuch further \u2019ee \u2019ad to go, an\u2019 it \u2019ad been very dark goin\u2019 down these\nsteps. Ashypelt couldn\u2019t see \u2019is way, but when \u2019ee got to the bottom\nthere was a very fine light.\n\n\u2018Now, Ashypelt,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018come with me,\u2019 \u2019ee sez. \u2018I\u2019m that man as you\nstruck in the room an\u2019 knocked all to pieces. Now, Ashypelt, I\u2019ll make\nyou a gentleman for life if you\u2019ll do one thing for me. Come along o\u2019\nme,\u2019 \u2019ee sez to Ashypelt. Then \u2019ee sez, \u2018Lift up that flag,\u2019 \u2019ee sez.\n\n\u2018No, sir,\u2019 sez Ashypelt, \u2018I can\u2019t lift it up,\u2019 \u2019ee sez to \u2019im; \u2018but\nlift it you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Put your \u2019and down to it, an\u2019 try to lift it up,\u2019 \u2019ee sed.\n\nAshypelt done what \u2019ee told \u2019im, puttin\u2019 \u2019is \u2019and down to lift the\nflag, an\u2019 he draws the flag up. What was under that but a big pot o\u2019\ngold spade-ace guineas an\u2019 that.\n\nSo \u2019ee sez, \u2018Come along o\u2019 me, Ashypelt,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018on further,\u2019 \u2019ee\nsez. \u2019Ee sez, \u2018Rise that flag up, Ashypelt.\u2019\n\nAshypelt doin\u2019 so, \u2019ee told \u2019im to rise one flag up, \u2019ee sez, \u2018Rise the\nother one, Ashypelt, next to it.\u2019\n\nAshypelt rises the other one, an\u2019 there this \u2019ere skeleton was lyin\u2019 in\nthe coffin. That\u2019s where \u2019ee was buried; \u2019is brother buried \u2019im there\ninto the coffin. This was the older brother tel what the one was that\nwas alive, that was dead. But they got fallin\u2019 out which would \u2019ave the\ncastle. The next brother killed the old one, an\u2019 buried \u2019im there.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 sez this man with his throat cut from \u2019ere to there, \u2018Ashypelt,\nI want you to do me a favourite, an\u2019,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018you\u2019ll never be\ntroubled no more. You can sleep in that room all your lifetime,\u2019 \u2019ee\nsez, \u2018nuthin\u2019 will ever trouble you no more. Now, in the mornin\u2019,\u2019 \u2019ee\nsez, \u2018when my brother comes for you, \u2019ee \u2019ll ax you what sort o\u2019\nnight\u2019s rest you \u2019ad. So you say, \u201cAll right, only they smoked all my\n\u2019bacca an\u2019 cracked all my nuts agen.\u201d An\u2019 the first town you get to,\nAshypelt, an\u2019 you leaves here, you make a report as \u2019ee\u2019s killed \u2019is\nown brother; an\u2019 when they calls for witnesses, Ashypelt, I\u2019ll repear\ninto the hall with my throat cut from \u2019ere to there. You can come back,\nAshypelt, an\u2019 take the castle, \u2019cause there\u2019s nobody takes the castle\nbarrin\u2019 me an\u2019 my brother.\u2019\n\nSo Ashypelt goes to the next town as \u2019ee could meet with, an\u2019 \u2019ee goes\nan\u2019 makes a \u2019larm to a magistrate; an\u2019 the magistrate sent some\npleecemen with \u2019im, back to fetch this gentleman, an\u2019 Ashypelt goes\nwith \u2019em.\n\n\u2018Hello!\u2019 sez \u2019ee to Ashypelt, \u2018what brings you back \u2019ere?\u2019 \u2019ee sed.\n\nSo the pleeceman got close to this man. \u2018For you,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, an\u2019 catches\n\u2019out of \u2019im, \u2018They are come back for you, for killin\u2019 yourn brother,\u2019\ntakin\u2019 \u2019im off back to the town agen, an\u2019 Ashypelt along with \u2019im,\ntakin\u2019 \u2019im an\u2019 tryin\u2019 \u2019im. When they were tryin\u2019 \u2019im, at the hour o\u2019\ntwelve the magistrate cries out for witnesses, an\u2019 the man repears with\n\u2019is throat cut from \u2019ere to there, just as they cried out for\nwitnesses. \u2019Is brother got life\u2014twenty years; an\u2019 \u2019ee died shortly\nafter \u2019ee got life. \u2019Ee broke \u2019is \u2019eart.\n\nWell, Ashypelt goes back to the castle an\u2019 lives there, an\u2019 got a\nservant or two with \u2019im into the castle. One day \u2019ee bethought \u2019isself\nabout \u2019is brothers where \u2019ee \u2019ad to meet them. \u2019Ee gets a pair of\n\u2019orses and a carriage, an\u2019 \u2019ee buys eleven suits o\u2019 clo\u2019es, thinkin\u2019\nupon \u2019is poor brothers. So \u2019ee drives ahead until \u2019ee comes to these\ntwelve roads, where \u2019ee \u2019ad to meet \u2019em twelve months an\u2019 a day. So \u2019ee\nwas drivin\u2019 up to these \u2019ere twelve roads, an\u2019 there they was all lyin\u2019\ndown.\n\n\u2018Hello! my men,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018what are you men all lyin\u2019 down for?\u2019\n(Ashypelt bein\u2019 dressed up, lookin\u2019 gentleman, they didn\u2019t know \u2019im.)\n\n\u2018We\u2019re waitin\u2019 for a brother of ours by the name o\u2019 Ashypelt,\u2019 they\nsed.\n\n\u2018Would you know \u2019im if you would see \u2019im?\u2019 \u2019ee sed.\n\n\u2018Oh! yes, we would know \u2019im very well. Twelve months an\u2019 a day we \u2019ad\nto meet on these roads.\u2019\n\nSo \u2019ee sez to \u2019em, \u2018I\u2019m your brother Ashypelt,\u2019 \u2019ee sed to the one.\n\nSo they looks at \u2019im.\n\n\u2018If you\u2019re our brother Ashypelt, show your arm; you \u2019ave a mark on it\nwhat we know to.\u2019\n\nSo they looks at this mark.\n\n\u2018Oh! it is my brother Ashypelt,\u2019 they sez, blessin\u2019 \u2019im an\u2019 kissin\u2019 \u2019im\nan\u2019 slobberin\u2019, an\u2019 so on.\n\nSo \u2019ee gives \u2019em a suit o\u2019 clo\u2019es apiece, these eleven brothers, to put\non.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018I think we\u2019ll go back an\u2019 see the old \u2019ooman an\u2019 the\nold man, how they are gettin\u2019 on, from \u2019ere,\u2019 sez Ashypelt to \u2019is\nbrothers. \u2018An\u2019 when we get nigh \u2019ome, you eleven brothers stop behind,\nan\u2019 I\u2019ll drive up to the little farm, an\u2019 ax the old lady what came of\nher eleven sons what she \u2019ad.\u2019\n\nSo poor Ashypelt drives up to the \u2019ouse.\n\n\u2018Hello! my old lady,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018what\u2019s come of all the eleven sons as\nyou \u2019ad?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh!\u2019 sez \u2019er, \u2018they all went off for soldiers.\u2019\n\nSo \u2019ee calls \u2019is eleven brothers up, an\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018Didn\u2019t you try to\nburn my eleven brothers in that barn,\u2019 \u2019ee sez, \u2018when you set the barn\nalight, an\u2019 told \u2019em as the pressgang o\u2019 soldiers was after \u2019em?\u2019\n\nSo she sez, \u2018No\u2014true\u2014no,\u2019 she sed.\n\nI tell you, sir, they give me a shilling for telling you that lie.\n\n\n    The name Ashypelt (Scottish Ashypet, Irish Ashiepelt, etc.; cf.\n    Engl. Dialect Dict., pp. 80, 81) must be of Teutonic origin\u2014akin to\n    the familiar High German Aschenbr\u00f6del (\u2018Cinderella\u2019) and the Norse\n    Askepot (\u2018Boots\u2019). The form coming nearest to it is also the oldest\n    known to me: the mystic, Johann Tauler (c. 1300\u201361), says, in the\n    Medulla Anim\u00e6, \u2018I thy stable-boy and poor Aschenbaltz.\u2019 See Grimm\u2019s\n    Household Tales, i. 366\u20137. In another story told by Cornelius\n    Price, \u2018The Black Dog of the Wild Forest,\u2019 the hero is hidden by an\n    old witch in the ash-hole under the fire. In the Polish-Gypsy tale\n    of \u2018A Foolish Brother and a Wonderful Bush\u2019 (No. 45), that brother\n    crouches over his stove; in Dasent\u2019s Tales from the Norse, Boots\n    sits all his life in the ashes (pp. 90, 232, 382); in Ralston\u2019s\n    story \u2018Ivan Popyalof\u2019 (p. 66), from the Chernigof government, the\n    third brother, a simpleton, \u2018for twelve whole years lay among the\n    ashes from the stove, but then he arose and shook himself, so that\n    six poods of ashes fell off from him\u2019; and in L\u00e9ger\u2019s Bohemian\n    story (Contes Slaves, p. 130) of \u2018La Montre Enchant\u00e9e,\u2019 which is a\n    variant of our No. 54, the third brother, a fool, does nothing but\n    begrime himself with the cinders from the stove. The idea, then,\n    extends beyond the Teutonic area; but how the name Ashypelt has\n    found its way to South Wales is past my telling.\n\n    Compare Grimm\u2019s No. 4 (i. 11), \u2018The Story of the Youth who went\n    forth to learn what Fear was,\u2019 with the variants on pp. 342\u2013347;\n    also a fragment from Calver, Derbyshire, \u2018The Boy who Feared\n    Nothing,\u2019 in Addy\u2019s Household Tales. From a London tinker Campbell\n    of Islay got a story of a cutler and a tinker who \u2018travel together,\n    and sleep in an empty haunted house for a reward. They are beset by\n    ghosts and spirits of murdered ladies and gentlemen, and the\n    inferior, the tinker, shows most courage, and is the hero. \u201cHe went\n    into the cellar to draw beer, and there he found a little chap\n    a-sittin\u2019 on a barrel with a red cap on \u2019is \u2019ed; and sez he, sez\n    he, \u2018Buzz.\u2019 \u2018Wot\u2019s Buzz?\u2019 sez the tinker. \u2018Never you mind wot\u2019s\n    buzz,\u2019 sez he. \u2018That\u2019s mine; don\u2019t you go for to touch it,\u2019\u201d etc.,\n    etc., etc.\u2019 (Tales of the West Highlands, vol. i. p. xlvii.). And\n    in vol. ii. p. 276, Campbell gives a Gaelic story, \u2018The Tale of the\n    Soldier\u2019 (our No. 74), which was told by a tinker.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 58.\u2014TWOPENCE-HALFPENNY\n\nThere were three brothers. The three were going on the road to seek for\nwork. Night came upon them. They knew not where to go to get lodgings:\nit was night. They were travelling through a wood on an old road. They\nsaw a small light, and they came to a cottage. They were hungry and\ntired. The door was open. They saw a table with food upon it.\n\nSaid the eldest brother, \u2018Go you in.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am not going in; go in yourself.\u2019\n\n\u2018Not I, indeed.\u2019\n\n\u2018You are two fools,\u2019 said Jack. And in he went, and sat down at the\ntable, and ate his bellyful. The other two watched him. They were\nafraid to enter the house. At last the other two went in, and sat down\nand ate.\n\nNow a little old woman comes. Said the old woman, \u2018I have seen no man\nhere for many years. Whence came ye hither?\u2019\n\n\u2018We are seeking for work.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will find work for you to-morrow.\u2019\n\nThey went to bed. Up they rose in the morning. And there was a great\npot on the fire, and porridge and milk. That was the food they ate. Now\nthe old woman tells the eldest brother to go into the barn to get the\ntools, and to go into the wood to fell the trees. He took off his coat.\nThere he is doing the work. There came an old dwarf, and asked him who\ntold him to fell the wood. He could not see this little man, so small\nwas he. He looked under his feet; he saw him in the stubble. The old\ndwarf hit him and beat him, until he bled, and there he left him. Now\nthe maid comes with his dinner. The girl went home and told the two\nother brothers to come and carry him home and put him to bed.\n\nIn the morning the second brother goes to the wood. The eldest brother\ntold him it was a little man who beat him, and the second brother\nlaughed at him. He went off now down to the woods. Here is something\nthat asks him who told him to fell the trees. He looked around him; he\ncould see nothing. At last he saw him in the stubble. \u2018Be off,\u2019 said\nhe. The little stranger knocked him to pieces. The little maid came\ndown to him with his dinner, and went home and told the two brothers to\ncome and carry him home. The two brothers went down and brought him\nhome.\n\nJack laughed at them: \u2018I am going down to-morrow myself.\u2019\n\nIn the morning he went down to the wood. Here he is felling the trees.\nHe heard something. He looked beneath his feet. He saw the little man\nin the stubble. Jack kicked him.\n\n\u2018You had better keep quiet,\u2019 said the little man.\n\nThe dwarf hit him. Down went Jack, and the dwarf half-killed him. There\nwas Jack lying there now. The maid came with his dinner. Home went the\nmaid, and told the two brothers to come and carry him home.\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said Jack, \u2018leave me here and go.\u2019\n\nThe two brothers went home. Jack was watching him, and the little man\ncrept under a great stone. Up got Jack now, and home he went, and told\nhis two brothers to go into the stable and get out four horses. They\ntook a strong rope, and the three went with the horses and fastened the\nrope round the stone. They took the horses, and pulled it up, and found\na well there.\n\n\u2018Go you down,\u2019 said one.\n\n\u2018Not I,\u2019 said the other; \u2018I am not going down.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will go down,\u2019 says Jack. \u2018Fasten this rope and let me down, and\nwhen you hear me say \u201cPull up,\u201d pull me up; and when I say \u201cLet go,\u201d\nlet me go.\u2019\n\nNow the two brothers fastened him and let him down. Down he went a very\nlittle way. The little man beat him. \u2018Pull me up.\u2019 He goes down again.\nHe forgets the word: \u2018Let me down.\u2019 He came into a beautiful country,\nand there he saw the old dwarf. The old dwarf spoke to him: \u2018Since you\nhave come into this country, Jack, I will tell you something now.\u2019 The\nold man tells Jack what he is to do. \u2018You will find three castles. In\nthe first one lives a giant with two heads, and,\u2019 said the old dwarf,\n\u2018you must fight him. Take the old rusty sword. I will be there with\nyou.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am afraid of him.\u2019\n\n\u2018Go on, and have no fear. I will be there with you.\u2019\n\nHere is Jack at the castle now. He knocked at the door. The\nservant-maid came, and he asked for her master.\n\n\u2018He is at home. Do you wish to see him?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said Jack, \u2018I want to fight with him.\u2019\n\nThe maid went and told him to come out.\n\n\u2018Are you wanting something to eat?\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 said Jack, \u2018come out, and I will fight with you.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come here and choose your sword.\u2019 (Jack chose the old rusty sword.)\n\u2018Why do you take that old rusty sword? Take a bright one.\u2019\n\n\u2018Not I. This one will do for me.\u2019\n\nThe twain went out before the door. Off went one head.\n\n\u2018Spare my life, Jack. I will give you all my money.\u2019\n\n\u2018No.\u2019\n\nHe struck off the other head; he killed him. (Now this was the Copper\nCastle: so they called it.)\n\nNow Jack goes on to the next, the Silver Castle. A giant with three\nheads lived there. Jack chose the rusty sword, and struck two heads\noff.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t kill me, Jack; let me live. I will give you the keys of my\ncastle.\u2019\n\n\u2018Not I,\u2019 said Jack; and off went the other head.\n\nNow Jack goes on to the next, the Golden Castle. And there was a giant\nwith four heads.\n\n\u2018Have you come here to fight with me?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 says Jack.\n\nThe giant told him to choose a sword, and he chose the old rusty sword;\nand out they went Jack struck off three heads.\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t kill me, Jack. I will give you my keys.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, I will,\u2019 said Jack; and off went the other head.\n\nNow all the castles, and the money and the three fair ladies in the\nthree castles, were his. Off Jack goes now and the lady with him. He\ngoes back to the Silver Castle, and takes that lady. He goes to the\nCopper Castle, and takes that lady. And the four went on and came to\nthe place where Jack descended. The old dwarf was there waiting for\nhim. Jack sent the three ladies up to his brothers. Now the old dwarf\nwanted meat. Jack went back to the castle, and cooked some meat for\nhim. The old dwarf carried Jack up a bit; the old dwarf stopped; he\nwanted meat. Jack gave him meat. He went up a bit further; he stopped;\nhe wanted meat. Jack gave him meat. He went up a bit higher. He wanted\nmeat. Jack had none. Now he was a very little way from the surface. He\nknew not what to do. He drew his knife from his pocket, and cut a\nlittle meat off his leg, and gave it to the old dwarf. Up went Jack.\n\nTwo of the ladies and his two brothers had gone off. And the eldest\nbrother had taken the fairest lady; and the second brother had taken\nthe other lady; and they had left the ugly lady for Jack. Jack asked\nher where they had gone. The lady told him; and he hastened after them.\nHe caught them by the church: they were going to be married. The\nfairest lady looked back, and saw Jack.\n\n\u2018That one\u2019s mine,\u2019 said Jack.\n\nJack took and married her. He left the other lady for his eldest\nbrother to marry. There was only the second brother now, and he took\nthe ugly lady. There are the three brothers and the three ladies.\n\nNow they want to go down to the three castles. Jack told the old dwarf\nto carry them down.\n\n\u2018I will carry you down; you must give me food as I come down.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes,\u2019 said Jack, \u2018I will give you plenty of food.\u2019\n\n\u2018I will take you down.\u2019\n\nHe carried them all down. And the old dwarf went along with Jack. Jack\nput one brother and one lady in the Copper Castle, and the other\nbrother in the Silver Castle; and Jack went to the Golden Castle. And\nJack kept the old dwarf all his days. The old dwarf died, and at last\nJack grew old himself.\n\nThere! you\u2019ve done me.\n\n\n    A most interesting variant of our No. 20, the Bukowina-Gypsy story\n    of \u2018Mare\u2019s Son,\u2019 and so of Grimm\u2019s \u2018Strong Hans\u2019 and Cosquin\u2019s\n    \u2018Jean de l\u2019Ours.\u2019 In one respect it is more perfect than \u2018Mare\u2019s\n    Son,\u2019 that during the upward flight the hero cuts a piece out of\n    his leg, which piece by rights the dwarf should have kept and\n    restored (cf. p. 79). It is, however, contrary to every canon of\n    the story-teller\u2019s art for the dwarf to prove helpful to the hero;\n    and the brother\u2019s treachery, in cutting the rope, is omitted. For\n    the castles of copper, silver, and gold see pp. 233\u20134. One is left\n    rather sorry for the ugly lady.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 59.\u2014THE OLD SMITH [134]\n\nAn old smith lived on a hill with his wife and mother-in-law. He could\nonly make ploughshares. A boy comes, and wants his horse shod. The\nsmith could not do it. The boy cuts the horse\u2019s legs off, stops the\nblood, and puts the legs on the fire, beats them on the anvil, and\nreplaces them on the horse. He gives the smith a guinea, and goes away.\nThe smith tries this with his mother-in-law\u2019s horse, but bungles it:\nthe horse bleeds to death, and its legs are burnt to ashes. The boy\ncomes again with two old women. \u2018I want you to make them young again.\u2019\nThe smith couldn\u2019t. The boy puts them on the fire, beats them on the\nanvil, and rejuvenates them. The smith tries it with his wife and\nmother-in-law, but burns them to ashes. He leaves his forge, and sets\noff in the snow and wind. The barefooted boy follows him. The smith\nwants to send him off. The boy tells him of a sick king in the next\ntown, whom they will cure, the boy acting as the smith\u2019s servant. The\nbutler admits them, and gives them plenty to eat and drink. The smith\nforgets all about the sick king, but the boy reminds him. They go up.\nThe boy asks for a knife, pot, water, and spoon. He cuts the king\u2019s\nhead off, and spits on his hand to stop the blood. He puts the head in\nthe pot, boils it, lifts it out with the golden spoon, and replaces it\non the king, who is cured. The king gives them a sack of gold. They\ntake the road again.\n\n\u2018All I want,\u2019 says Barefoot, \u2018is a pair of shoes.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ve little enough for myself,\u2019 says the smith.\n\nThe boy leaves him, and the smith goes on alone. Hearing of another\nsick king, he goes to cure him, but takes too much to drink, and boils\nhis head all to ribbons, and lets him bleed to death. A knock comes to\nthe door. The smith, frightened, refuses admittance.\n\n\u2018Won\u2019t you open to little Barefoot?\u2019\n\nThe boy enters, and with much difficulty gets the head on again. The\nking is cured, and gives them two sacks of gold. The boy asks for shoes\nand gets them. The boy tells the smith of a gentleman who has a wizard,\n[135] whom none can beat: \u2018Let\u2019s go there. Three sacks of gold to any\none who beats him.\u2019 They enter. There was a bellows. The wizard blows,\nand blows up half the sea; the boy blows up a fish that drinks up all\nthe wizard\u2019s water. The wizard blows up corn as it were rain; the boy\nblows up birds that eat the corn. The wizard blows up hundreds of\nrabbits; the boy blows up greyhounds that catch the rabbits. So they\nwin the three sacks of gold. The smith hardly knows what to do with all\nhis money. He builds a village and three taverns, and spends his time\nloafing round. An old woman comes and begs a night\u2019s lodging. He gives\nit her. She gives him three wishes. He wishes that whoever takes his\nhammer in his hand can\u2019t put it down again, that whoever sits on his\nchair can\u2019t get up again, and that whoever gets in his pocket can\u2019t get\nout again. One day, when money had run low, a man comes to the smith\nand asks will he sell himself. The smith sells himself for a bag of\ngold, the time to be up in five years. After five years the man\nreturns. The smith gives him his hammer to hold, and goes off to his\ntavern. From inn to inn the man follows him, and, finding him in the\nthird inn, gives him five more years\u2019 freedom. The same thing happens\nwith the chair; and the smith gets five more years from the old man\n(now called Beng, devil). The third time the devil finds the smith in\none of his taverns. The smith explains that he has called for drinks,\nand asks the devil to change himself into a sovereign in his (the\nsmith\u2019s) pocket to pay for them. The devil does so. The smith returns\nhome, and goes to bed. At night he hears a great uproar in his\ntrousers\u2019 pocket, gets up, puts them on the anvil, and hammers. The\ndevil promises never to meddle with him in future if he will release\nhim. The smith lets him go. Afterwards the smith dies, and goes to the\ndevil\u2019s door and knocks. An imp of Satan comes out.\n\n\u2018Tell your father the smith is here.\u2019\n\nThe little devil went and told his father.\n\n\u2018He will kill us all,\u2019 said the devil, \u2018if we let him in. Here, take\nthis wisp of straw, and light him upstairs to God.\u2019\n\nThe little devil did so. The smith went to heaven. There he sat and\nplayed the harp. And there we shall all see him one day unless we go to\nthe devil instead.\n\n\n    Cf. Ralston\u2019s \u2018The Smith and the Demon,\u2019 p. 57, and \u2018The Pope with\n    the Greedy Eyes,\u2019 p. 351; Dasent\u2019s \u2018The Master-Smith\u2019 (Tales from\n    the Norse, p. 106); Clouston, ii. 409; a curious Nigger version\n    from Virginia, \u2018De New Han\u2019,\u2019 plainly derived from a European\n    source, which I published in the Athen\u00e6um for 20th August 1887, p.\n    215, and give here as an appendix; Reinhold K\u00f6hler\u2019s essay, \u2018Sanct\n    Petrus, der Himmelspf\u00f6rtner\u2019 (Aufs\u00e4tze \u00fcber M\u00e4rchen und\n    Volkslieder, pp. 48\u201378); \u2018L\u2019Anneau de Bronze\u2019 in Carnoy and\n    Nicolaides\u2019 Traditions Populaires de l\u2019Asie Mineure, p. 62; and\n    Grimm\u2019s \u2018Brother Lustig,\u2019 No. 81 (i. 312, 440). With the last\n    compare this sketch of a story, which M. Paul Bataillard got from\n    Catalonian Gypsies encamped near Paris in 1869, and which very\n    closely resembles one of the Cento Novelle Antiche, summarised by\n    Crane (Italian Popular Tales, p. 360).\n\n\nSt. Peter travels with Christ as his servant, and they are often hard\nput to it for a livelihood. Christ sends St. Peter to find a sheep,\nand, bidding him cook it, goes to heal a sick person, who rewards him\nrichly. Peter eats the sheep\u2019s liver and kidneys, and Christ, when he\ncomes back, asks where the liver and kidneys are, \u2018for Jesus, who is\nGod, knows everything.\u2019 Peter replying that the sheep had none, at the\nend of their meal Christ divides into three heaps the large sum\nreceived from the farmer whom he has healed. \u2018For whom are these three\nheaps?\u2019 asks Peter. \u2018The two first for each of us,\u2019 Christ answers,\n\u2018and the third for him who ate the liver and kidneys.\u2019 \u2018That was me,\u2019\nsays Peter. \u2018Very well,\u2019 Christ answers, \u2018take my share as well. I\nreturn to my own.\u2019 And then it is that Christ takes the cross, etc.\n\u2018You see,\u2019 the narrator ended, \u2018that it was God Jesus who at the\nbeginning of the world founded all the estates of men\u2014first doctors,\nfor he healed for money\u2014and who taught the Gypsies to beg and to go\nbarefoot, whilst St. Peter instructed them how to deceive their like.\u2019\n\n\n    In another Catalonian-Gypsy story, Christ sends St. Peter to a farm\n    to get an omelette or some roasted eggs, and Peter returns with the\n    omelette hidden in his hat, intending to keep it for himself. Two\n    other pseudo-Christian legends of Christ travelling with St. Peter\n    were told to M. Bataillard by an Alsatian Gypsy, but he had\n    forgotten them (Letter of 22nd April 1872). Ralston has a legend\n    (p. 346) of a Gypsy who learns of God, through St. George, that\n    \u2018his business is to cheat and to swear falsely,\u2019 so opens business\n    by stealing the saint\u2019s golden stirrup.\n\n\n\n    Lastly Dr. von Sowa gives this confused but curious Slovak-Gypsy\n    tale:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 60.\u2014THE OLD SOLDIER\n\nThere was a very old soldier; he was twelve years in military service.\nThen the colonel asked him, \u2018My good man, what do you want for having\nserved me so many years here? Whatever you want I will give you, for\nyou have served me well so many years. I will give you a beautiful\nwhite horse, and I will give you three big tobacco-pipes, so that\nyou\u2019ll smoke like a gentleman. I will give you three rolls for your\njourney. The whole company never served as well as you have served me.\nI left everything to you; you have performed every sentry.\u2019\n\n\u2018If I went home on furlough, I should weep bitterly. How can I leave\nyou, my good comrades? Now I go home, shall never see you more; I have\nnone but my God and good comrades. I was a good soldier, the sergeant\nover the entire company. The major has given me a beautiful white horse\nto go home on. O God, I am going; but I have not much money, only a\nlittle.\u2019\n\nWhen he had come into great forests, there came a beggar and begs of\nthe soldier. He said to him, did the soldier, \u2018O God! what can I give\nyou? I am, you see, a poor soldier, and I have far to go, yet my heart\nis not heavy. But, wait a bit, O beggar, I will give you a roll.\u2019 Then\nhe bade him farewell.\n\nAfterwards the same beggar came again to the soldier, and begs of him,\n\u2018O my soldier, give me something, make me a present.\u2019\n\n\u2018How can I make you a present, seeing I have given already to four\nbeggars? But wait, here I\u2019ll give you these couple of kreutzers, to get\na drink of brandy with.\u2019\n\nWell, he went further. Again a third beggar met him; again he begs of\nhim. \u2018My God!\u2019 he said to him, \u2018I am a poor soldier; I have no one but\nGod and myself. I shall have no money; I shall have nothing for myself;\nI\u2019m giving you everything. My God! what am I to do? I\u2019m an old soldier,\na poor man; and, being so poor, where shall I now get anything? I gave\nyou everything\u2014bread, money, and my white horse. Now I must tramp on\nalone on my old legs. No one ever will know that I was a soldier. But\nmy Golden God be with you, farewell.\u2019\n\nThen the beggar said to the soldier, \u2018Old soldier, I permit you to ask\nwhatever you will. For I am God.\u2019\n\nThe soldier answered, \u2018I want nothing but a stick that when I say\n\u201cBeat\u201d will beat every one and fear nobody.\u2019\n\nGod gave it him. \u2018Tell me now what do you want besides.\u2019\n\n\u2018Give me further a sack that if I say to a man \u201cGet in\u201d he must\nforthwith get into it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Good, but you still may ask for a third gift. Only think well, so that\nGod in your old days may succour you.\u2019\n\n\u2018I want nothing but a sack that will let fall money when shaken.\u2019\n\nGod gave him that too, and went off. The old soldier goes further,\ncomes to a city, comes into an inn. There were many country-folk and\nother people of all sorts. He sits down to table, and orders victuals\nand drink. Straightway the gentleman brought him something to eat. When\nhe had eaten and drunk, he asks him to pay. He takes the sack, shakes\nit; golden pieces come tumbling out. He paid them all to the gentleman,\nand went away. The gentleman was right glad that he had given him all\nthat money.\n\nHe goes further, came into a vast forest. There were four-and-twenty\nrobbers; they kept an inn there, and sold what one required. He went\nin, and orders victuals to eat and brandy to drink; forthwith they\nbrought him brandy strong as iron. He drank; he got drunk. \u2018Now pay.\u2019\nHe takes the sack, and shook out golden pieces, and hands them over. He\npaid the robbers, but he did not know that they were robbers. When he\nhad paid up, they marvel to see him shake a sack like that and the\nmoney come falling out. They took him, take the sack, and go into\nanother room. There four of them held him down, whilst two shake the\nsack; the money came tumbling out to their hearts\u2019 desire. They told\ntheir chief, seize the soldier, and kill him, and cut him in pieces;\nthen they hung up his body like an ox on a peg. Let us leave them and\ncome to the soldier. When he got to paradise, my Golden God let him be,\nbut not long. \u2018Do you, Peter, go to that old soldier, and ask him what\nhe wants here.\u2019 Good, Peter came. \u2018What are you wanting?\u2019 \u2018I just want\nthe peace of God.\u2019 \u2018Hah! I\u2019ll ask God if he will let you stay here.\u2019\nPeter went to my God and asks him, \u2018God, that old soldier is wanting\nyour peace.\u2019 \u2018Go to the devils; tell them all to lay hold of him, tear\nhim in pieces, and put as much wood as possible beneath the pot, so as\nto roast him thoroughly.\u2019 Well, they cooked him to shreds; but after\nall had to chuck him out, for he knocked them about so that he broke\ntheir bones. A second time my God sent Death for him, and him too the\nold soldier thrashed. But now he is dead and rotten, and we are alive.\n\n\n    This very confused story Professor von Sowa got from a Gypsy lad,\n    A. Facsuna. Another Gypsy, with whom he conversed about Gypsy\n    folk-tales, said that it should be much longer, and told him in\n    Slovak that, Death refusing to repeat his visit, God at last\n    finished the old soldier\u2019s existence by sending him so much vermin\n    that he died.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 61.\u2014THE DRAGON\n\nA lord, his wife, and his daughter live at a great castle. A poor lad\nis engaged to mind the sheep. The daughter gives him bread and beer in\na basket for lunch. The old lord explains that previous servants have\nalways come back with one cow short. In the field a little man comes to\nJack. Jack gives him as much as he can eat; and the little man gives\nJack a plum. The little man explains that a giant in a neighbouring\ncastle steals a cow daily. He gives Jack a pennyworth of pins, and bids\nhim put them in the giant\u2019s drink. Jack goes to the giant, and asks for\nwork. The giant goes to get drinks, and Jack mixes up the pins in the\ngiant\u2019s glass. The giant drinks, falls ill, and dies. Jack tells the\nlittle man how he has fared, and returns with the full tale of cows.\nThe master is surprised. Presently his daughter comes in. She tells\nJack that to-morrow she is to be killed by a dragon, and would like him\nto be there to see. Jack refuses, but gives the girl a plum, which she\neats. Next morning she gives him his food, and off he goes. He shares\nit as before with the little man, who bids him take a key, unlock a\nlarge door, and take out a black horse and black clothes, with a sword\nhe will find there. Then, having watered his horse, he is to go and\nfight the dragon. He goes, and knocks the dragon about with his sword.\nThe dragon shoots fire from his mouth, but the horse throws up the\nwater he has drunk, and quenches it. Jack puts back the horse, changes\nhis clothes, and goes home with the cows. He gives another plum to the\ngirl, who has to meet the dragon again next day, and asks Jack to be\nthere. He refuses. Next morning she gives Jack his food, and Jack at\nthe little man\u2019s suggestion asks for more. He gets it, goes, and shares\nit with the little man. It is the same as before, only this time he\ngets a white horse and white clothes. The little man tells Jack that\nto-morrow is the last day of the fight, and bids him rise early, and\nask the young lady to send more food. Jack gives her another plum. This\ntime she prepares the food over-night, as she has to meet the dragon at\ndaybreak. She wants Jack to come and see, but he refuses\u2014\u2018must see\nafter the cows.\u2019 He gets a red horse and red clothes this time, and the\nhorse drinks the water dry. The fire from the dragon burns the lady\u2019s\nhair, but the horse\u2019s flood of water quenches it; and between them they\nkill the dragon. The lady cuts off a lock of Jack\u2019s hair with a golden\nscissors. He returns to the castle, and there the girl tells him about\nthe fight and gets another plum. Then there is the usual dinner. Every\nguest has to lay his head in the lady\u2019s lap to let her see whether the\nlock matches, Jack having meanwhile gone off as usual with his cows,\nand shared his food with the little man. They fail to match the hair,\nso they bring up the servants\u2014Jack last of all, wearing the red clothes\nunderneath his own rags. He marries the young lady, and they live first\nin the dead giant\u2019s castle, and then, the parents having died, in her\nfather\u2019s.\n\n\n    No exact parallel, but the story reminds one inter alia of the\n    sheep-grazing episode in \u2018Mare\u2019s Son\u2019 (No. 20), and of the\n    Polish-Gypsy \u2018Tale of a Foolish Brother and of a Wonderful Bush\u2019\n    (No. 45).\n\n\n\n\nNO. 62.\u2014THE GREEN MAN OF NOMAN\u2019S LAND\n\nThere was a young miller, who was a great gambler. Nobody could beat\nhim. One day a man comes and challenges him. They play. Jack wins and\ndemands a castle. There it is. They play again, and Jack loses. The man\ntells Jack his name is the Green Man of Noman\u2019s Land, and that unless\nJack finds his castle in a year and a day he will be beheaded. The time\ngoes by. Jack remembers his task, and sets out in cold and snow. He\ncomes to a cottage, where an old woman gives him food and lodging. He\nasks her if she knows the Green Man. \u2018No,\u2019 she says; \u2018but if a quarter\nof the world knows I can tell you.\u2019 In the morning she mounts on the\nroof and blows a horn. A quarter of all the men in the world came. She\nasks them. They do not know the Green Man, and she dismisses them.\nAgain she blows the horn, and the birds come. She asks them; they don\u2019t\nknow; and she dismisses them. She sends Jack on to her elder sister,\nwho knows more than she does. She lends Jack her horse, and gives him a\nball of thread to place between the horse\u2019s ears. He comes to the\nsecond sister\u2019s house. \u2018It is long,\u2019 she says, \u2018since I saw my sister\u2019s\nhorse.\u2019 He eats and sleeps, then asks about the Green Man. She knows\nnot, but will tell him if half the world knows; so goes on the roof and\nblows a horn. Half the world come, but they do not know the Green Man.\n\u2018Go,\u2019 she says, and blows the horn again. Half the birds in the world\ncome, but with a like result. She takes her sister\u2019s horse, and gives\nJack hers, with a ball of thread, and sends him on to the eldest\nsister. It is the same thing there. The third sister also doesn\u2019t know,\nbut in the morning goes on the roof and blows a horn. All the people in\nthe world come, but do not know the Green Man. \u2018Go.\u2019 Again she blows,\nand all the birds come, but do not know. She goes down and looks in her\nbook, and finds that the eagle is missing. She blows again; the eagle\ncomes; and she abuses him. He explains that he has just come from the\nGreen Man of Noman\u2019s Land. She lends Jack her horse, and bids him go\ntill he comes to a pool and sees three white birds, to hide, and to\nsteal the feathers of the last one to enter the water. He does so. The\nbird cries and demands its feathers. Jack insists on her carrying him\nover to her father\u2019s castle. She denies at first that she is the Green\nMan\u2019s daughter, but at last carries him over, and when across becomes a\nyoung lady. Jack goes up to the castle and knocks. The Green Man comes\nout: \u2018So you\u2019ve found the house, Jack.\u2019 \u2018Yes.\u2019 The Green Man sets him\ntasks, the loss of his head the penalty of failure. The first task is\nto clean the stable. As fast as he throws out a shovelful of dirt,\nthree return. So Jack gives it up, and the girl, coming with his\ndinner, does it for him. The Green Man accuses him of receiving help;\nhe denies it. The second task is to fell a forest before mid-day. Jack\ncuts down three trees and weeps. The girl brings his dinner, and does\nit for him, warning him not to tell her father. The same accusation is\nmet with the same denial. The third task is to thatch a barn with a\nsingle feather only of each bird. Jack catches a robin, pulls a feather\nfrom it, lets it go then, and sits down despairing. The girl brings his\nfood, and performs his task for him, warning him of the next task, the\nfourth one. This is to climb a glass mountain in the middle of a lake\nand to bring from the top of it the egg of a bird that lays one egg\nonly. The girl meets him at the edge of the lake, and by her suggestion\nhe wishes her shoe a boat. They reach the mountain. He wishes her\nfingers a ladder. She warns him to tread on every step and not miss\none. He forgets, steps over the last rung, and gets the egg; but the\ngirl\u2019s finger is broken. She warns him to deny having had any help. The\nfifth task is to guess which daughter is which, as in the shape of\nbirds they fly thrice over the castle. Forewarned by the girl, Jack\nnames them correctly. The Green Man thereupon gives in, and Jack weds\nhis daughter.\n\n\n    For the ball of thread, see pp. 221, 233; and for looking in the\n    book, p. 12. Blowing a blast and summoning all the birds, occurs in\n    the Roumanian-Gypsy story of \u2018The Three Princesses and the Unclean\n    Spirit,\u2019 p. 38 (cf. the Welsh-Gypsy \u2018Jack and his Golden\n    Snuff-box,\u2019 p. 214, where likewise the eagle comes last). So too in\n    Dasent\u2019s \u2018Three Princesses of Whiteland\u2019 (cf. Folklore for December\n    1890, p. 496, and note on p. 17 of Georgeakis and Pineau\u2019s Folklore\n    de Lesbos). The \u2018Green Man of Noman\u2019s Land\u2019 offers close analogies\n    to the Polish-Gypsy story of \u2018The Witch\u2019 (No. 50), and is identical\n    with Campbell\u2019s West Highland tale, \u2018The Battle of the Birds\u2019 (No.\n    2), in a variant of which the hero plays cards with a dog, loses,\n    so has to serve him. Reinhold K\u00f6hler has treated Campbell\u2019s story\n    very fully in Orient und Occident, ii. 1864, pp. 103\u2013114, where he\n    gives Irish, Norse, Swedish, German, and Indian variants. The\n    Indian variant, from the Sanskrit verse Kath\u00e1 Sarit Sagara of\n    Somadeva (eleventh century A.D.) is of high interest. In it the\n    hero, by the help of his beloved, performs tasks set by her father,\n    a cannibal R\u00e2kshasa; one of those tasks is the picking out of the\n    beloved from among her sisters, as in \u2018The Green Man of Noman\u2019s\n    Land.\u2019 Then, as in \u2018The Witch,\u2019 we get the pursuit, with\n    transformations and final victory. What K\u00f6hler does not point out\n    is that the two birds in Campbell\u2019s story correspond very closely\n    to the two birds that figure so often in Indian folk-tales, e.g. in\n    \u2018The B\u0113l Princess\u2019 (Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy-tales, p. 149).\n\n\n\n\nNO. 63.\u2014THE BLACK LADY\n\nA young girl goes to service at an old castle with the Black Lady, who\nwarns her not to look through the window. The Black Lady goes out. The\ngirl gets bored, looks through the window, and sees the Black Lady\nplaying cards with the devil. She falls down frightened. The Black Lady\ncomes in and asks her what she has seen. \u2018Nothing saw I; nought can I\nsay. Leave me alone; I am weary of my life.\u2019 The Black Lady beats her,\nand asks her again, \u2018What saw you through the window?\u2019 \u2018Nothing saw I,\u2019\netc. The girl runs off and meets a keeper, who takes her home, and\nafter some years marries her. She has a child, and is bedded. Enter the\nBlack Lady. \u2018What saw you through the window?\u2019 \u2018Nothing saw I,\u2019 etc.\nThe Black Lady takes the child, dashes its brains out, and exit. Enter\nthe husband. The wife offers no explanation, and the husband wants to\nburn her, but his mother intercedes and saves her this time. But the\nsame thing happens again, and the husband makes a fire. As she is being\nbrought to the stake, the Black Lady comes. \u2018What saw you through the\nwindow?\u2019 \u2018Nothing saw I,\u2019 etc. \u2018Take her and burn her,\u2019 says the Black\nLady. They fasten her up, and bring a light. The same question, the\nsame answer. The Black Lady sees that she is secret, so gives her back\nher two children, and leaves her in peace.\n\n\n    A story of the \u2018Forbidden Room\u2019 type (cf. Clouston, i. 198\u2013205). An\n    incomplete Italian variant is cited there; much closer parallels\n    are Grimm\u2019s No. 3, \u2018Our Lady\u2019s Child\u2019 (i. 7 and 341), and Dasent\u2019s\n    \u2018The Lassie and her Godmother\u2019 (p. 198). For playing cards with the\n    devil, see p. 120; and cf. also this passage from the\n    Roumanian-Gypsy story of \u2018The Vampire\u2019 (No. 5, p. 18):\u2014\u2018\u201cTell me\n    what did you see me doing?\u201d \u201cI saw nothing.\u201d And he killed her\n    boy.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nNO. 64.\u2014THE TEN RABBITS\n\nIn a little house on the hill lived an old woman with her three sons,\nthe youngest of them a fool. The eldest goes to seek his fortune, and\ntells his mother to bake him a cake. \u2018Which will you have\u2014a big one and\na curse with it, or a little one and a blessing in it?\u2019 He chooses a\nbig cake. He comes to a stile and a beautiful road leading to a castle;\nhe knocks at the castle door, and asks the old gentleman for work. He\nis sent into a field with the gentleman\u2019s rabbits. He eats his food,\nand refuses to give any to a little old man who asks for some. The\nrabbits run here and there. He tries to catch them, but fails to\nrecover half of them. The gentleman counts them, and finds some\nmissing, so cuts the eldest brother\u2019s head off, and sticks it on a\ngatepost. The second brother acts in the same way, and meets the same\nfate. The fool also will seek his fortune. He chooses a little cake\nwith a blessing. His mother sends him with a sieve to get water for\nher. A robin bids him stop up the holes with leaves and clay. He does\nso, and brings water. He gets the cake and goes. He sees his two\nbrothers\u2019 heads stuck on the gateposts, and stands laughing at them,\nsaying, \u2018What are you doing there, you two fools?\u2019 and throwing stones\nat them. He enters, dines, and smiles at the old gentleman\u2019s daughter,\nwho falls in love with him. He goes to the field, lets the rabbits go,\nand falls asleep. The rabbits run about here and there. An old man by\nthe well begs food, and Jack shares his food with him. Jack hunts for\nhedgehogs. He can\u2019t get the rabbits back, but the old man gives him a\nsilver whistle. Jack blows, and the rabbits return. The old gentleman\ncounts them, and finds them correct. The girl brings Jack his dinner\ndaily in the field. The old man tells Jack to marry her. He does so,\nstill living as servant in the stable till the old people\u2019s death. Then\nhe takes over the castle, and brings his mother to live with him.\n\n\n    A very imperfect story, still plainly identical with Dasent\u2019s\n    \u2018Osborn\u2019s Pipe\u2019 (Tales from the Fjeld, p. 1), where it is hares\n    that Boots has to tend, and an old wife gives him a magic pipe.\n    According to an article in Temple Bar for May 1876, pp. 105\u2013118,\n    the same story is told of the Brussels \u2018Manneken,\u2019 the well-known\n    bronze figure, not quite a metre high, by Duquesnoy (1619). Here a\n    boy has to feed twelve rabbits in the forest, gets a magic whistle\n    from an old woman, befools a fat nobleman, the princess, and the\n    king, and finally marries the princess. In the heads of the two\n    brothers stuck on the gateposts, Mr. Baring-Gould may find a\n    confirmation of his theory that the stone balls surmounting\n    gateposts are a survival of the practice of impaling the heads of\n    one\u2019s enemies. Anyhow, in the Roumanian-Gypsy story of \u2018The Three\n    Princesses and the Unclean Spirit\u2019 (No. 10, p. 39), the old wife\n    threatens the hero, \u2018I will cut off your head and stick it on\n    yonder stake\u2019 (cf. also Campbell\u2019s West Highland Tales, i. p. 51,\n    line 20). For the big cake with curse or the little cake with\n    blessing, cf. p. 219. The hunting for hedgehogs is a very Gypsy\n    touch.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 65.\u2014THE THREE WISHES [136]\n\nA fool lives with his mother. Once on a hillside he finds a young lady\nexposed to the heat of the sun, and twines a bower of bushes round her\nfor protection. She awakes, and gives him three wishes. He wishes he\nwere at home: no sooner said than done. On the way he catches a glimpse\nof a lovely lady at a window, and wishes idly that she were with child\nby him. She proves so, but knows not the cause. She bears a child, and\nher parents summon every one from far and near to visit her. When the\nfool enters, the babe says, \u2018Dad, dad!\u2019 Disgusted at the lover\u2019s low\nestate, the parents cast all three adrift in a boat. The lady asks him\nhow she became with child, and he tells her. \u2018Then you must have a wish\nstill left.\u2019 He wishes they were safe on shore in a fine castle of\ntheir own. They live happily there for some time, then return home, and\nvisit the girl\u2019s parents splendidly dressed. The parents refuse to\nbelieve him the same man. He returns in his old clothes. Triumph and\nreconciliation. He provides for his old mother.\n\n\n    This story is largely identical with Hahn\u2019s No. 8, \u2018Der Halbe\n    Mensch\u2019 (i. 102; ii. 201), which lacks, however, the episode of\n    making a bower for the fairy. That episode forms the opening of\n    Wratislaw\u2019s Illyrian-Slovenish story of \u2018The Vila\u2019 (No. 60, p.\n    314), otherwise different. And the whole Welsh-Gypsy story is\n    absolutely identical with Basile\u2019s story of Peruonto in the\n    Pentamerone (i. 3). For the recognition of the father by the child\n    see Clouston, ii. 159, note. In Hahn\u2019s story the child gives its\n    father an apple; and in Friedrich M\u00fcller\u2019s Hungarian-Gypsy story,\n    No. 3, \u2018The Wallachian Gypsy,\u2019 a lady is adjudged to him to whom\n    she shall throw a red apple. Cf. also Hahn, i. 94, ii. 56; Bernhard\n    Schmidt\u2019s Griechische M\u00e4rchen, pp. 85, 228; and Reinhold K\u00f6hler in\n    Orient und Occident, ii. 1864, pp. 304, 306.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 66.\u2014FAIRY BRIDE\n\nA king has three sons, and knows not to which of them to leave his\nkingdom. They shoot for it with bow and arrows. The youngest shoots so\nfar that his arrow is lost. He seeks it for a long time, and at last\nfinds it sticking in a glass door. He enters and finds himself in the\nhome of the Queen of the Fairies, whom he marries. After a while he\nreturns home with his bride. An old witch who lives in the park incites\nthe king to ask the fairy bride to fetch him a handkerchief which will\ncover the whole park. She does it, and then is asked to bring her\nbrother. She refuses, but finally summons him. He enters, and terrifies\nthe king by his threatening aspect. \u2018What did you call me for?\u2019 The\nking is too frightened to answer coherently. The fairy\u2019s brother kills\nhim and the old witch, and vanishes. They live at the castle.\n\n\n    Arrows occur in the Bukowina-Gypsy story of \u2018Mare\u2019s Son\u2019 (No. 20,\n    p. 79). The handkerchief that will cover all the park reminds one\n    of the tent with room for the king and all his soldiers in an Arab\n    version of our No. 17, \u2018It all comes to Light\u2019 (Cosquin, i. 196).\n    Otherwise I can offer no parallel for this story.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 67.\u2014CINDERELLA\n\nA glorious version, too long to take down, and now almost forgotten.\nAfter Cinderella\u2019s marriage the sisters live with her, and flirt with\nthe prince. Her children are stolen, and Cinderella is turned into a\nsow. She protects the children, but at the instigation of the sisters\n(or stepmother) she is hunted by the prince\u2019s hounds and killed. The\nthree children come to the hall, and beg for the sow\u2019s liver (its\nspecial efficacy forgotten). The children are followed and further\nrestored to their father. Perhaps Cinderella herself comes again to\nlife.\n\n\n    Just enough to make one want more. But some day of course the whole\n    tale must be taken down. Meanwhile I will merely remark that in\n    1871\u201372 I frequently saw an old Gypsy house-dweller, Cinderella\n    Petul\u00e9ngro, or Smith, at Headington, near Oxford. From her I heard\n    the story of \u2018Fair Rosamer,\u2019 so fair you could see the poison pass\n    down her throat. She was turned, it seems, after death into a Holy\n    Briar, which, being enchanted, bleeds if a twig be plucked.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 68.\u2014JACK THE ROBBER [137]\n\nNow we\u2019ll leave the master to stand a bit, and go back to the mother.\nSo in the morning Jack says to his mother, \u2018Mother,\u2019 he says, \u2018give me\none of them old bladders as hang up in the house, and,\u2019 he says, \u2018I\u2019ll\nfill it full of blood, and I\u2019ll tie it round your throat; and when the\nmaster comes up to ax me if I got the sheet, me and you will be having\na bit of arglement, and I I\u2019ll up with my fist and hit you on the\nbladder, and the bladder will bust, and you\u2019ll make yourself to be\ndead.\u2019\n\nNow the master comes. \u2018Have you got the sheet, Jack?\u2019\n\nAnd just as he\u2019s axing him, he up with his fist, and hits his mother.\n\nAnd the master says, \u2018O Jack, what did you kill your poor mother for?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! I don\u2019t care; I can soon bring her right again.\u2019\n\n\u2018No,\u2019 says the master, \u2018never, Jack.\u2019\n\nAnd Jack began to smile, and he says, \u2018Can\u2019t I? you shall see, then.\u2019\nAnd he goes behind the door, and fetches a stick with a bit of a knob\nto it. Jack begin to laugh. He touches his mother with this stick, and\nthe old woman jumped up. (This is s\u2019posed to be an inchanted stick.)\n\nSays the master: \u2018O Jack,\u2019 he says, \u2018what shall I give you for that\nstick?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, sir,\u2019 he says, \u2018I couldn\u2019t let you have that stick. My\ninchantment would be broke.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, Jack, if you\u2019ll let me have that stick, I\u2019ll never give you\nanother thing to do as long as you live here.\u2019\n\nSo he gave him \u00a350 for this stick, and said he\u2019d never give him nothing\nelse to do for him. So the master went home to the house, and he didn\u2019t\nknow which way to fall out with the missus, to try this stick. One day\nat dinner-time he happened to fall out with her; the dinner she put for\nhim didn\u2019t please him. So he up with his fist and he knocked her dead.\n\nIn comes the poor servant-girl and says, \u2018O master, whatever did you\nkill the poor missus for?\u2019\n\nHe says, \u2018I\u2019ll sarve you the same.\u2019 And he sarved her the same.\n\nIn come the wagoner, and he asked, \u2018What did he kill the missus and the\nsarvint for.\u2019 And he says, \u2018I\u2019ll sarve you the same,\u2019 he says. He\nwanted to try this stick what he had off Jack. He thought he could use\nit the same way as Jack. So he touched the missus with it fust, but she\nnever rose. He touched the servant with it, and she never rose. He\ntouched the wagoner, and he never rose. \u2018Well,\u2019 he says, \u2018I\u2019ll try the\nbig end,\u2019 he says, and he tries the knob. So he battered and battered\nwith the knob till he battered the brains out of the three of them.\n\nHe does no more, and he goes up to Jack and says, \u2018O Jack, you\u2019ve\nruined me for life.\u2019 He says, \u2018Jack, I shall have to drown you.\u2019\n\nSo Jack says, \u2018All right, master.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, get in this bag,\u2019 he says; and he takes him on his back. As he\nwas going along the road, he ... went one field off the road, being a\nvery methlyist man. During the time he was down there, there come a\ndr\u014dvyer by with his cattle. Now Jack\u2019s head was out of the sack.\n\n\u2018Hello! Jack, where are you going?\u2019\n\n\u2018To heaven, I hope.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh! Jack, let me go. I\u2019m an older man till you, and I\u2019ll give you all\nmy money and this cattle.\u2019\n\nJack told him to unloosen the bag to let him out, and for him to get\ninto it. Away Jack goes with the cattle and the money. So the master\ncomes up, taking no notice of it, and he picks the bag up, and puts it\non his shoulder, and goes on till he comes to Monfort\u2019s Bridge. [138]\nHe says, \u2018One, two, three\u2019; and away he chucks him over.\n\nWell, Jack goes now about the country, dealing in cattle. So in about\nthree years\u2019 time he comes round the same way again, round the master\u2019s\nplace.\n\nSo, \u2018Hello! Jack,\u2019 he says, \u2018where ever did you get them from?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, sir,\u2019 he says, \u2018when you throwed me, if I\u2019d had a little boy at\nthe turning to turn them straight down the road, I should have had as\nmany more.\u2019\n\nSo he says, \u2018Jack, will you chuck me there, and you stop at the turning\nto turn them.\u2019\n\nSo Jack says, \u2018You\u2019ll have to walk till you get there, for I can\u2019t\ncarry you.\u2019\n\nAnd when he got to the bridge Jack put him in the bag, and Jack counted\nhis \u2018One, two, three,\u2019 same as he counted for him, and away he goes.\nAnd Jack went back and took to the farm, and making very good use of\nit. For many a night he let me sleep in the field with my tent for\ntelling that lie about him.\n\n\n    Matthew Wood gave the closing episode to Mr. Sampson, who\n    summarises it thus:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 69.\u2014THE FOOL WITH THE SHEEP\n\nThe youngest of three brothers is a fool, and the two others want to\nkill him. They induce him to get into a sack as the way to go to\nheaven. He does so, and they take him to the sea. They stop for a drink\nat a tavern. A stranger comes by with sheep. He wants to go, and takes\nJack\u2019s place, and is thrown into the sea. Jack returns with the sheep.\nThe brothers find him at home with his flock, and ask where he got\nthem. \u2018At the bottom of the sea.\u2019 They want to go too, so Jack throws\nthem in, and returns home.\n\n\n    One of the Boswells remarked to me twenty odd years ago, \u2018The folks\n    hereabouts are a lot of r\u00e1tfalo heathens; they all think they are\n    going to heaven in a sack.\u2019 Our story is a very widespread one. A\n    Polish-Gypsy fragment of it was printed as a specimen by Kopernicki\n    (Gypsy Lore Journal, iii. 132); and it occurs also in Grimm (\u2018The\n    Little Peasant,\u2019 No. 61, i. 264, 422), Campbell of Islay (\u2018The\n    Three Widows,\u2019 No. 39, ii. 218\u2013238; cf. R. K\u00f6hler thereon in Orient\n    und Occident, ii. 1864, pp. 486\u2013506), and Straparola (Venice, 1550:\n    \u2018Scarpafigo,\u2019 i. 3), besides which Clouston (ii. 229\u2013288, 489\u201391)\n    cites Irish, English, Norse, Danish, Icelandic, Burgundian, Gascon,\n    Sicilian, Modern Greek, Kabyle, Indian, and other versions. He\n    could not of course give two excellent versions from A. Campbell\u2019s\n    Santal Folk-tales (1891)\u2014\u2018The Story of Bitaram,\u2019 pp. 25\u201332, and\n    \u2018The Greatest Cheat of Seven,\u2019 pp. 98\u2013101. In the first, which has\n    features of Grimm\u2019s \u2018Thumbling\u2019 (No. 37) and \u2018Frederick and\n    Catherine\u2019 (No. 59), Bitaram, who is only a span high, by measuring\n    money in a paila and leaving some coins sticking in it, deludes the\n    king and his sons into killing all their cattle and firing their\n    houses so as likewise to grow rich by the sale of the hides and the\n    ashes. They resolve to drown him, put him in a bag, and carry him\n    to the river, then go to a little distance to cook their food.\n    Bitaram tells a herd-boy that they are going to marry him against\n    his will; the herd-boy takes his place; and the story ends exactly\n    as in the European versions, only with cows and buffaloes in place\n    of sheep. In the second story the rivals are induced to purchase a\n    \u2018magic\u2019 fishing-rod and a \u2018marvellous\u2019 dog, to burn their houses,\n    and to kill their wives. The occurrence of this story, as of others\n    already cited, among the aboriginal Santals of India is exceedingly\n    curious. Is it perhaps to be explained by the frequent mention in\n    the collection of Doms (= Roms = Gypsies)? Cornelius Price\u2019s whole\n    story of \u2018Jack the Robber\u2019 is a combination of \u2018The Master Thief\u2019\n    and \u2018The Little Peasant,\u2019 such as meets us also in Hahn\u2019s Greek\n    story of \u2018Beauty and the Dragon\u2019 (No. 3, i. 75\u201379; ii. 178\u2013186).\n\n\n\n\nNO. 70.\u2014THE TINKER AND HIS WIFE\n\nOnce there was a tinker and his wife, and they got into a bit of very\ngood country for yernin\u2019 a few shillings quick. And in this country\nthere wasn\u2019t very little lodgings. \u2018Well, my wench,\u2019 he said to his\nwife, \u2018I think we\u2019ll go and take that little empty house, and keep a\nlittle beer. Well, my wench, I\u2019ll order for a barrel of beer.\u2019 He has\nthis barrel of beer in the house. \u2018Now, my wench, you make the biggest\npenny out of it as ever you can, and I\u2019ll go off for another week\u2019s\nwalk.\u2019\n\nIn the course of one day a packman come by. He says, \u2018It\u2019s gettin\u2019 very\nwarm, missus, isn\u2019t it?\u2019\n\n\u2018No, indeed,\u2019 she says, \u2018it\u2019s very cold weather.\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019ve got a very big load, and it makes me sweat, and I think it\u2019s\nwarm.\u2019\n\n\u2018I sell beer here,\u2019 she says.\n\nHe says, \u2018Well, God bless you, put me a drop for this penny.\u2019\n\nIt was one of the old big pennies, and was the biggest penny she ever\nsaw there. She brought him all the barrel for it. So she takes the\npenny and drops it in the basin on the mantel-shelf. He was there three\ndays drinking till he emptied the barrel of beer. The husband comes\nhome at the end of the week.\n\n\u2018Well, my wench, how did you get on?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, Jack, I did very well. I sold every drop of beer.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well done, my wench, we\u2019ll have another one and see how that goes.\nNow, my wench, bring them few shillin\u2019s down, and let\u2019s see what you\nmade upon it.\u2019\n\nShe brings the basin down, and says, \u2018You telled me to make the biggest\npenny on it as ever I could.\u2019\n\nHe begin to count it, and turns the basin upside down, and empties it\non the table. And what was there but the one big penny?\n\n\u2018Well! well!! well!!!\u2019 he says, \u2018you\u2019ll ruin me now for life.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ah!\u2019 she says, \u2018Jack, didn\u2019t you tell me to make the biggest penny out\nof it as ever I could, and that was the biggest penny as ever I seen.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 he says, \u2018my wench, I see you don\u2019t understand sellin\u2019 beer. I\nthink I\u2019ll buy a little pig. We\u2019ve got plenty of taters and cabbage in\nthe garden. Well, now, my wench, when the butcher comes round to kill\nthe pig, you walk round the garden and count every cabbage that\u2019s in\nthe garden, and you get a little stick, and stick it by every cabbage\nin the garden, and when the butcher slays the pig up, you revide a\npiece of pig up for every cabbage in the garden.\u2019\n\nShe revided a piece of pig up for every cabbage in the garden, and\nstuck it on every stick round the cabbages. The husband comes home\nagain.\n\n\u2018Well, my wife, how did you go on with the pig?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, Jack, I done as you told me,\u2019 she says. \u2018I got a stick and stuck\nit by every cabbage, and put a piece of mate on every stick.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well! well!! well!!!\u2019 he says, \u2018where is the mate gone to now? You\u2019ll\nruin me if I stop here much longer. Pull the fire out,\u2019 he says, \u2018and\nI\u2019ll get away from here.\u2019 And he picks up his basket and throws it on\nhis shoulder. \u2018Pull that door after you,\u2019 he says.\n\nWhat did she do but she pulls all the fire out and put it into her\napron. The old door of the house was tumbling down, and she picks it up\nand put it on her back. So him being into a temper, he didn\u2019t take much\nnotice of her behind him. They travelled on, and it come very dark.\nThey comes to an old hollow tree by the side of the road.\n\n\u2018Well, my wench, I think we\u2019ll stop here to-night.\u2019\n\nThey goes up to the top of the old tree. After they got up in the tree,\nthe robbers got underneath them.\n\n\u2018Whatever you do, my wench, keep quiet. This is a robbers\u2019 den.\u2019\n\nThe robbers had plenty of meat and everything, and they prayed for a\nbit of fire.\n\nShe says, \u2018Jack,\u2019 she says, \u2018I shall have to drop it.\u2019\n\nSo she drops the fire out of her apron, and it goed down the hollow\ntree.\n\n\u2018See, what a godsend that is,\u2019 said one.\n\nThey cooked the meat as they had. \u2018The Lord send me a drop of vinegar,\u2019\nsays one.\n\n\n\n\u2018Thank God for that,\u2019 says that other one. \u2018See what a godsend \u2019tis to\nus.\u2019\n\nNow, the door\u2019s fastened to her back yet, and she says, \u2018Jack, I shall\nhave to drop it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Drop what?\u2019 he says.\n\n\u2018I shall have to drop the door, Jack,\u2019 she says, \u2018the rope\u2019s cutting my\nshoulders in two.\u2019\n\nSo she drop the door down the hollow tree, and it went\ndummel-tummel-tummel down the tree, and these robbers thought \u2019twas the\ndevil himself coming. They jumps up, and away they goes down the road\nas hard as ever they could go. The time as they run, Jack\u2019s wife goes\ndown the tree and picks up the bag of gold what they\u2019d left. Being\nfrightened as they\u2019d had such godsends to \u2019em, they left all behind.\n\nThey had one brother as was deaf and dumb. Him being a very valuable\n[139] fellow, he thought he\u2019d come back to see what was the matter. He\ncome peepin\u2019 round the old tree. Who happened to see him but Jack\u2019s\nwife. And he went \u2018A a a a a a\u2019 to her.\n\n\u2018Come here,\u2019 she says, \u2018I can cure your speech.\u2019\n\nShe made motions with her own mouth for him to put his tongue out. She\ndrew the knife slightly from behind her as he put his tongue out, and\ncut half of his tongue off. Him being bleeding, he went \u2018Awa wa wa wa\nwa,\u2019 putting his hand to his mouth and making motions to his brothers.\nAnd when he got back to his brothers, them seeing him bleeding, they\nthought sure the devil was there.\n\nI never see Jack nor his wife nor the robbers sense after they left the\ntree.\n\n\n    Matthew Wood furnished another (imperfect) Welsh-Gypsy version:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNO. 71.\u2014WINTER\n\nAn old man and woman, very poor, live in a cottage. The old man saves\nup money in a stocking for winter. A beggar comes to the door. The old\nwoman asks his name. \u2018Winter.\u2019 \u2018Here is money, my old man, saved for\nyou.\u2019 The old husband comes home. They leave the cottage, the old woman\ntaking the door with her (reason not given), and camp out in a tree.\nRobbers come and camp underneath, and quarrel over the division of\ntheir spoil. They want change for \u00a31. One says he will have change if\nhe goes to the devil for it. Down falls the door. The robbers think it\nis the devil, and fly, leaving the money. The old man and woman seize\nit, and return to their cottage.\n\n\n    Halliwell\u2019s Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales (1849), p. 31, has a\n    story of \u2018The Miser and his Wife,\u2019 where the beggar calls himself\n    \u2018Good Fortune.\u2019 A most unlikely name, whereas Winter, it is worth\n    remarking, was the name of a Northumbrian Gypsy family (Simson\u2019s\n    History of the Gypsies, 1865, p. 96), as also of German Gypsies.\n    \u2018The Story of Mr. Vinegar\u2019 (Halliwell, p. 26), obtained from oral\n    tradition in the West of England, tells how a husband and wife go\n    off, taking the door, climb a tree, let the door fall on thieves,\n    and get the booty. A very Rabelaisian passage in Price\u2019s story,\n    which I have omitted, explains why Vinegar. That story is identical\n    with Grimm\u2019s \u2018Frederick and Catherine\u2019 (No. 59, i. 238\u2013244 and\n    417\u201318); for putting meat among the cabbages, cf. Grimm\u2019s Diemel\n    variant. In Campbell\u2019s Santal Folk-tales, p. 30, Bitaram climbs\n    into a tree for safety when darkness comes on, \u2018as wild beasts\n    infested the forest through which he was passing. During the night\n    some thieves came under the tree in which he was, and began to\n    divide the money they had stolen. Bitaram then relaxed his hold of\n    his dry cowhide, which made such a noise as it fell from branch to\n    branch that the thieves fled terror-stricken, and left all their\n    booty behind them. In the morning Bitaram descended, and collecting\n    all the rupees carried them home.\u2019 And in F. A. Steel\u2019s Wide-awake\n    Stories from the Panjab, p. 242, there is another most curious\n    parallel, where the robber captain puts out his tongue, and, snip!\n    the barber\u2019s clever wife bites the tip off clean. \u2018What with the\n    fright and the pain, he tumbled off the branch and fell bump on the\n    ground, where he sat with his legs very wide apart, looking as if\n    he had fallen from the skies. \u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d cried his\n    comrades, awakened by the noise of his fall. \u201cBul-ul-a-bul-ul-ul!\u201d\n    said he, still pointing upwards. \u201cThe man is bewitched,\u201d cried one;\n    \u201cthere must be a ghost in the tree.\u201d\u2019 From India to Wales I know\n    not how many thousands of miles; neither know I how many centuries\n    since the forebears of the tellers of these two tales parted\n    company. Cf. also Hahn, i. 221.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 72.\u2014THE BLACK DOG OF THE WILD FOREST\n\nThere was a king and queen in the north of Ireland, and they had one\nson. The son had to be revoured when he came of age by the Black Dog of\nthe Wild Forest, and his father was very fond of his son. When he came\nclose to the time when he had to be revoured, his father took him a\nshorter journey every day; and one day his father saddled the best\nhorse as he had in his stable, and gave him as much money as he liked\nto take with him. He galloped away as hard as ever he could till he got\nbenighted. He rode some hundreds and hundreds of miles, and he could\nsee a small little light a little distance off him, maybe a hundred\nmiles off him to the best of his knowledge in the dark, and he makes\nfor this little light. And who was living there but an old witch.\n\n\u2018Well, come in, [140] my king\u2019s son,\u2019 she said, \u2018from the North of\nIreland. I know you aren\u2019t very well.\u2019\n\nAnd so when he comes in, she puts him in the ess-hole under the fire.\nHe hadn\u2019t been in there but twenty minutes, but in comes the Black Dog\nof the Wild Forest, spitting fire yards away out of his mouth, th\u2019 owd\nlady and her little dog named Hear-all after him. But they beat him.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 she says, \u2018my king\u2019s son, please to get up. You can have your\ntea now. We have beat him.\u2019\n\nSo he gets up, has his tea with her, and gives a lot of money to the\nold lady, which says they have got a sister living from her three\nhundred miles. \u2018And if you can get there, ten to one she will give you\nher advice to get safe. I will give you my favours, the bread out of my\nmouth, that is Hear-all, the dog. I will give you that dog with you.\u2019\n\nHe gallops on, gallops on, till he gets benighted. He looks behind him\non the way he was going; his horse was getting very tired; and he could\nsee the Black Dog of the Wild Forest after him. And he gallops on till\nhe comes to t\u2019other sister\u2019s house.\n\n\u2018Well, come in,\u2019 she says, \u2018my king\u2019s son from the North of Ireland. I\nknow you aren\u2019t very well.\u2019\n\nShe puts him down into the ess-hole again, sir; and she had a little\ndog named Spring-all. If they fought hard the first night they fought\nfifteen times harder with Hear-all and Spring-all and th\u2019 owd lady\nherself.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 she said, \u2018my king\u2019s son, I will do the best as ever I can for\nyou. I will give you Spring-all, and I will give you the rod. Don\u2019t\nforget what I tell you to do with this rod. You follow this ball of\nworsted. Now it will take you right straight to a river. You will see\nthe Black Dog of the Wild Forest, and s\u2019ever you get to this river, you\nhit this rod in the water, and a fine bridge will jump up. And when you\nget to t\u2019other side, just hit the water, and the bridge will fall in\nagain, and the Black Dog of the Wild Forest cannot get you.\u2019\n\nHe got into another wild forest over the water, and he got romping and\nmoping about the forest by himself till he got very wild. He got moping\nabout, and he found he got to a castle. That was the king\u2019s castle as\nhe got over there to. He got to this castle, and the gentleman put him\non to a job at this castle.\n\nSo he says to him, \u2018Jack, are you ony good a-shooting?\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, sir,\u2019 he says, \u2018I can shoot a little bit. I can shoot a long way\nfurther.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, will you go out to-day, Jack, and we will have a shot or two in\nthe forest?\u2019\n\nThey killed several birds and wild varmints in the forest. So him being\nsweet upon a daughter at this big hall, her and Jack got very great\ntogether. Jack tuck her down to the river to show her what he could do\nwith his rod, him being laughing and joking with her. The king wanted a\nbridge made over the river, and he said there was no one as could do\nit.\n\n\u2018My dear,\u2019 says Jack, \u2018I could do it,\u2019 he says.\n\n\u2018With what?\u2019 she says.\n\n\u2018With my rod.\u2019\n\nHe touched the water with his rod, and up springs as nice a bridge as\never you have seen up out of the water. Him being laughing and joking\nwith this young girl, he come away and forgot the bridge standing. He\ncomes home. Next day following he goes off again shooting with the king\nagain, and the Black Dog of the Wild Forest comes to the king\u2019s house.\n\nHe says to th\u2019 owd lady herself, \u2018Whatever you do to-morrow, Jack will\nbe going out shooting again, and you get Jack to leave his two little\ndogs, as I am going to devour Jack. And whatever you do, you fasten \u2019em\ndown in the cellar to-morrow, and I will follow Jack to the forest\nwhere he is going shooting. And if Jack kills me, he will bring me back\non the top of his horse on the front of him; and you will say to him,\n\u201cO Jack, what ever are you going to do with that?\u201d \u201cI am going to make\na fire of it,\u201d he will say. And he will burn me, and when he burns me\nhe will burn me to dust. And you get a small bit of stick\u2014Jack will go\naway and leave me after\u2014and you go and rake my dust about, and you will\nfind a lucky-bone. And when Jack goes to his bed, you drop this\nlucky-bone in Jack\u2019s ear, he will never rise no more, and you can take\nand bury him.\u2019\n\nNow the old lady was against Jack a lot for being there. So the Black\nDog of the Wild Forest told th\u2019 owd lady the way to kill Jack. \u2018So see\nas when Jack brings me back and burns me, you look in my dust, and you\nwill find a lucky-bone, and you drop it when Jack goes to bed, drop it\ninto his ear, and Jack will never rise from his bed no more, he will be\ndead. Take Jack and bury him.\u2019\n\nJack goes to the forest a-shooting, and the Black Dog of the Wild\nForest follows him, and Jack begin to cry. Now if the fire came from\nhis mouth the first time, it came a hundred times more, and Jack begin\nto cry.\n\n\u2018Oh dear!\u2019 he cried, \u2018where is my little Hear-all and Spring-all?\u2019\n\nHe had no sooner said the words, five minutes but scarcely, comes up\nthe two little dogs, and they \u2019s a very terrible fight. But Jack\nmasters him and kills him. He brings home the Black Dog of the Wild\nForest on the front of his horse; he brings him back, Jack, on the\nfront of his horse; and the king says, \u2018What ever are you going to do\nwith that?\u2019\n\n\u2018I\u2019m going to burn him.\u2019\n\nAfter he burns him, he burns him to dust.\n\nThe Black Dog of the Wild Forest says to th\u2019 owd lady, \u2018When Jack burns\nme to dust, you get a little stick and rake my dust about, and you will\nfind a lucky-bone. You drop that lucky-bone in Jack\u2019s ear when he goes\nto bed, and Jack will never waken no more, and then you can take and\nbury him, and after that Jack is buried there will be no more said\nabout him.\u2019\n\nWell, th\u2019 owd woman did do so, sir. When Jack went to bed, she got this\nlucky-bone and did as the Black Dog of the Wild Forest told her. She\ndid drop it in Jack\u2019s ear, and Jack was dead. They take Jack off to\nbury him. Jack been buried three days, and the parson wondered what\nthese two little dogs was moping about the grave all the time. He\ncouldn\u2019t get them away.\n\n\u2018I think we\u2019ll rise Jack again,\u2019 he says.\n\nAnd s\u2019ever they rise him, off opened the lid of the coffin, and little\nHear-all jumped to the side of his head, and he licked the lucky-bone\nout of his ear. And up Jack jumped alive.\n\nJack says, \u2018Who ever put me here?\u2019\n\n\u2018It was the king as had you buried here, Jack.\u2019\n\nJack made his way home to his own father and mother. Going on the road\nJack was riding bounded on the back of his horse\u2019s back. Hear-all says\nto him, \u2018Jack,\u2019 he says, \u2018come down, cut my head off.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh dear, no! Hear-all. I couldn\u2019t do that for the kindness you have\ndone for me.\u2019\n\n\u2018If you don\u2019t do it, Jack, I shall devour you.\u2019\n\nHe comes down off his horse\u2019s back, and he kills little Hear-all. He\ncuts his head off, and well off timed [ofttimes] he goes crying about\nHear-all, for what he done. Goes on a little further. Spring-all says\nto him, \u2018Jack, you have got to come down and serve me the same.\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh dear, no!\u2019 he says, \u2018Spring-all, I shall take it all to heart.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 he says, \u2018if you don\u2019t come down, Jack,\u2019 he says, \u2018I will\ndevour you.\u2019\n\nJack comes down, and he cuts his head off, and he goes on the road,\ncrying very much to hisself about his two little dogs. So going on this\nroad as he was crying, he turned his head round at the back of his\nhorse, looking behind him, and he sees two of the handsomest young\nladies coming as ever he saw in his life.\n\n\u2018What are you crying for?\u2019 said these ladies to him.\n\n\u2018I am crying,\u2019 he said, \u2018about two little dogs, two faithful dogs, what\nI had.\u2019\n\n\u2018What was the name of your little dogs?\u2019\n\n\u2018One was named Hear-all, and the t\u2019other was named Spring-all.\u2019\n\n\u2018Would you know them two dogs if you would see them again?\u2019\n\n\u2018Oh dear, yes!\u2019 says Jack. \u2018Oh dear, yes!\u2019 says Jack.\n\n\u2018Well, I am Hear-all, and this is Spring-all.\u2019\n\nAway Jack goes home to his father and mother, and lives very happy\nthere all the days of his life.\n\n\n    A capital and very curious story, but plainly imperfect: Jack, of\n    course, should marry the princess. There is a very West Highland\n    ring about it, yet I cannot match it from Campbell, nor indeed\n    elsewhere. At the same time many of the incidents are familiar\n    enough. For the balls of worsted and the three helpful sisters (or\n    brothers, hermits, etc.), cf. John Roberts\u2019 story of \u2018An Old King\n    and his Three Sons\u2019 (No. 55, pp. 220\u2013234). The bridge-making\n    episode suggests a combination of the Passage of the Red Sea and\n    the bridge-making ball of yarn in \u2018The Companion\u2019 (Dasent\u2019s Tales\n    from the Fjeld, p. 73). The lucky-bone in the ear reminds one of\n    the pin which, driven into the heroine\u2019s head, causes\n    transformation into a bird (Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy Tales, pp.\n    12, 14, 253; and Laura Gonzenbach\u2019s Sicil. M\u00e4rchen, i. p. 82), or\n    of the comb, poisoned apple, etc., in Grimm\u2019s \u2018Snow-white\u2019 (No.\n    53), and its Chian, Albanian, and other variants, which produce, as\n    in Jack\u2019s case, suspended animation. For the cutting off of the\n    helpful animal\u2019s head, under a threat, and the consequent\n    transformation, cf. the Scottish-Tinker story of \u2018The Fox\u2019 (No.\n    75).\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nSCOTTISH-TINKER STORIES\n\n\nNO. 73.\u2014THE BROWN BEAR OF THE GREEN GLEN\n\nThere was a king in Erin once who had a leash of sons. John was the\nname of the youngest one, and it was said that he was not wise enough.\nAnd this good, worldly king lost the sight of his eyes and the strength\nof his feet. The two eldest brothers said that they would go seek three\nbottles of the water of the green isle that was about the heaps of the\ndeep. And so it was that these two brothers went away. Now the fool\nsaid that he would not believe but that he himself would go also. And\nthe first big town he reached in his father\u2019s kingdom, there he sees\nhis two brothers there, the blackguards.\n\n\u2018Oh! my boys,\u2019 says the young one, \u2018is it thus you are?\u2019\n\n\u2018With swiftness of foot,\u2019 said they, \u2018take thyself home, or we will\nhave thy life.\u2019\n\n\u2018Don\u2019t be afraid, lads. It is nothing to me to stay with you.\u2019\n\nNow John went away on his journey till he came to a great desert of a\nwood. \u2018Hoo, hoo!\u2019 says John to himself, \u2018it is not canny for me to walk\nthis wood alone.\u2019 The night was coming now, and growing pretty dark.\nJohn ties the cripple white horse to the root of a tree, and he went up\nin the top himself. He was but a very short time in the top, when he\nsaw a bear coming with a fiery cinder in his mouth.\n\n\u2018Come down, son of the King of Erin,\u2019 says he.\n\n\u2018Indeed, I won\u2019t come. I am thinking I am safer where I am.\u2019\n\n\u2018But if thou wilt not come down, I will go up,\u2019 said the bear.\n\n\u2018Art thou, too, taking me for a fool?\u2019 says John. \u2018A shaggy, shambling\ncreature like thee, climbing a tree.\u2019\n\n\u2018But if thou wilt not come down, I will go up,\u2019 says the bear, as he\nfell out of hand to climbing the tree.\n\n\u2018Lord! thou canst do that same!\u2019 said John; \u2018keep back from the root of\nthe tree, then, and I will go down to talk to thee.\u2019\n\nAnd when the son of Erin\u2019s king drew down, they came to chatting. The\nbear asked him if he was hungry.\n\n\u2018Weel, by your leave,\u2019 said John, \u2018I am a little at this very same\ntime.\u2019\n\nThe bear took that wonderful watchful turn, and he catches a roebuck.\n\u2018Now, son of Erin\u2019s king,\u2019 says the bear, \u2018whether wouldst thou like\nthy share of the buck boiled or raw?\u2019\n\n\u2018The sort of meat I used to get would be kind of plotted boiled,\u2019 says\nJohn. And thus it fell out; John got his share roasted.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 said the bear, \u2018lie down between my paws, and thou hast no cause\nto fear cold or hunger till morning.\u2019\n\nEarly in the morning the bear asked, \u2018Art thou asleep, son of Erin\u2019s\nking?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am not very heavily,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018It is time for thee to be on thy soles, then. Thy journey is long\u2014two\nhundred miles. But art thou a good horseman, John?\u2019\n\n\u2018There are worse than me at times,\u2019 said he.\n\n\u2018Thou hadst best get on top of me, then.\u2019\n\nHe did this, and at the first leap John was to earth. \u2018Foil! foil!\u2019\nsays John. \u2018What! thou art not bad at the trade thyself. Thou hadst\nbest come back till we try thee again.\u2019\n\nAnd with nails and teeth he fastened on the bear, till they reached the\nend of the two hundred miles and a giant\u2019s house.\n\n\u2018Now, John,\u2019 said the bear, \u2018thou shalt go to pass the night in this\ngiant\u2019s house. Thou wilt find him pretty grumpy, but say thou that it\nwas the Brown Bear of the Green Glen that set thee here for a night\u2019s\nshare, and don\u2019t thou be afraid that thou wilt not get share and\ncomfort.\u2019\n\nAnd he left the bear to go to the giant\u2019s house.\n\n\u2018Son of Erin\u2019s king,\u2019 says the giant, \u2018thy coming was in the prophecy;\nbut if I did not get thy father, I have got his son. I don\u2019t know\nwhether I will put thee in the earth with my feet or in the sky with my\nbreath.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thou wilt do neither of either,\u2019 said John, \u2018for it is the Brown Bear\nof the Green Glen that set me here.\u2019\n\n\u2018Come in, son of Erin\u2019s king,\u2019 said he, \u2018and thou shalt be well taken\nto this night.\u2019\n\nAnd as he said, it was true. John got meat and drink without stint. But\nto make a long tale short, the bear took John day after day to the\nthird giant. \u2018Now,\u2019 says the bear, \u2018I have not much acquaintance with\nthis giant, but thou wilt not be long in his house when thou must\nwrestle with him. And if he is too hard on thy back, say then, \u201cIf I\nhad the Brown Bear of the Green Glen here, that was thy master.\u201d\u2019\n\nAs soon as John went in, \u2018Ai! ai!! or ee! ee!!\u2019 says the giant. \u2018If I\ndid not get thy father, I have got his son.\u2019\n\nAnd to grips they go. They would make the boggy bog of the rocky rock.\nIn the hardest place they would sink to the knee, in the softest up to\nthe thighs; and they would bring wells of spring water from the face of\nevery rock. [141] The giant gave John a sore wrench or two.\n\n\u2018Foil! foil!!\u2019 says he. \u2018If I had here the Brown Bear of the Green\nGlen, thy leap would not be so hearty.\u2019\n\nAnd no sooner spoke he the word than the worthy bear was at his side.\n\n\u2018Yes! yes!\u2019 says the giant, \u2018son of Erin\u2019s king, now I know thy matter\nbetter than thou dost thyself.\u2019\n\nSo it was that the giant ordered his shepherd to bring home the best\nwether he had in the hill, and to throw his carcass before the great\ndoor. \u2018Now, John,\u2019 says the giant, \u2018an eagle will come and she will\nsettle on the carcass of this wether, and there is a wart on the ear of\nthis eagle which thou must cut off with this sword, but a drop of blood\nthou must not draw.\u2019\n\nThe eagle came, but she was not long eating when John drew close to\nher, and with one stroke he cut the wart of her without drawing one\ndrop of blood. (Och! is not that a fearful lie?) \u2018Now,\u2019 said the eagle,\n\u2018come on the root of my two wings, for I know thy matter better than\nthou dost thyself.\u2019\n\nHe did this, and they were now on sea and now on land, and now on the\nwing, till they reached the Green Isle.\n\n\u2018Now, John,\u2019 says she, \u2018be quick and fill thy three bottles. Remember\nthat the black dogs are away just now.\u2019 (\u2018What dogs?\u2019\u2014Black dogs. Dost\nthou not know that they always had black dogs chasing the Gregorach?)\n\nWhen he filled the bottles with the water out of the well, he sees a\nlittle house beside him. John said to himself that he would go in, and\nthat he would see what was in it. And the first chamber he opened, he\nsaw a full bottle. (\u2018And what was in it?\u2019 What should be in it but\nwhisky.) He filled a glass out of it, and he drank it; and when he was\ngoing, he gave a glance, and the bottle was as full as it was before.\n\u2018I will have this bottle along with the bottles of water,\u2019 says he.\nThen he went into another chamber, and he saw a loaf. He took a slice\nout of it, but the loaf was as whole as it was before. \u2018Ye gods! I\nwon\u2019t leave thee,\u2019 says John. He went on thus till he came to another\nchamber. He saw a great cheese; he took a slice of the cheese, but it\nwas as whole as ever. \u2018I will have this along with the rest,\u2019 says he.\nThen he went to another chamber, and he saw laid there the very\nprettiest little jewel of a woman he ever saw. \u2018It were a great pity\nnot to kiss thy lips, my love,\u2019 says John.\n\nSoon after John jumped on top of the eagle, and she took him on the\nself-same steps till they reached the house of the big giant. And they\nwent paying rent to the giant, and there was the sight of tenants and\ngiants and meat and drink.\n\n\u2018Well, John,\u2019 says the giant, \u2018didst thou see such drink as this in thy\nfather\u2019s house in Erin?\u2019\n\n\u2018Pooh!\u2019 says John, \u2018hoo! my hero, thou other man, I have a drink this\nis unlike it.\u2019 He gave the giant a glass out of the bottle, but the\nbottle was as full as it was before.\n\n\u2018Well!\u2019 said the giant, \u2018I will give thee myself two hundred notes,\n[142] a bridle, and a saddle for the bottle.\u2019\n\n\u2018It is a bargain, then,\u2019 says John; \u2018but that the first sweetheart I\never had must get it if she comes the way.\u2019\n\n\u2018She will get that,\u2019 says the giant.\n\nBut to make the long story short, he left each loaf and cheese with the\ntwo other giants, with the same covenant that the first sweetheart he\never had should get them if she came the way. Now John reached his\nfather\u2019s big town in Erin, and he sees his two brothers as he left\nthem, the blackguards. \u2018You had best come with me, lads,\u2019 says he, \u2018and\nyou will get a dress of cloth and a saddle and bridle each.\u2019 And so\nthey did; but when they were near to their father\u2019s house, the brothers\nthought that they had better kill him, and so it was that they set on\nhim. And when they thought he was dead, they threw him behind a dyke;\nand they took from him the three bottles of water, and they went home.\n\nJohn was not too long here, when his father\u2019s smith came the way with a\ncart-load of rusty iron. John called out, \u2018Whoever the Christian is\nthat is there, oh! that he should help him.\u2019 The smith caught him, and\nhe threw John amongst the iron. And because the iron was so rusty, it\nwent into each wound and sore that John had; and so it was that John\nbecame rough-skinned and bald.\n\nHere we will leave John, and we will go back to the pretty little jewel\nthat John left in the Green Isle. She became pale and heavy, and at the\nend of three quarters she had a fine lad son. \u2018Oh! in all the great\nworld,\u2019 says she, \u2018how did I find this?\u2019\n\n\u2018Foil! foil!\u2019 says the hen-wife, \u2018don\u2019t let that set thee thinking.\nHere\u2019s for thee a bird, and as soon as he sees the father of thy son,\nhe will hop on the top of his head.\u2019\n\nThe Green Isle was gathered from end to end, and the people were put in\nat the back door and out at the front door; but the bird did not stir,\nand the babe\u2019s father was not found. Now here she said she would go\nthrough the world altogether till she should find the father of the\nbabe. Then she came to the house of the big giant and sees the bottle.\n\u2018Ai! ai!\u2019 said she, \u2018who gave thee this bottle?\u2019\n\nSaid the giant, \u2018It was young John, son of Erin\u2019s king, that left it.\u2019\n\n\u2018Well, then, the bottle is mine,\u2019 said she.\n\nBut to make a long story short, she came to the house of each giant,\nand she took with her each bottle and each loaf and each cheese, till\nat last she came to the house of the king of Erin. Then the five-fifths\nof Erin were gathered, and the bridge of nobles of the people; they\nwere put in at the back door and out at the front door, but the bird\ndid not stir. Then she asked if there was one other or any one else at\nall in Erin that had not been here.\n\n\u2018I have a bald rough-skinned gillie in the smithy,\u2019 said the smith,\n\u2018but\u2014\u2014\u2019\n\n\u2018Rough on or off, send him here,\u2019 says she.\n\nNo sooner did the bird see the head of the bald rough-skinned gillie\nthan he took a flight and settles on the bald top of the rough-skinned\nlad. She caught him and kissed him: \u2018Thou art the father of my babe.\u2019\n\n\u2018But, John,\u2019 says the great king of Erin, \u2018it is thou that gottest the\nbottles of water for me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Indeed \u2018twas I,\u2019 says John.\n\n\u2018Weel, then, what art thou willing to do to thy two brothers?\u2019\n\n\u2018The very thing they wished to do to me, do for them.\u2019\n\nAnd that same was done. John married the daughter of the king of the\nGreen Isle, and they made a great rich wedding that lasted seven days\nand seven years. And thou couldst but hear Leeg, leeg, and Beeg, beeg,\nsolid sound and peg-drawing. Gold a-crushing from the soles of their\nfeet to the tips of their fingers, the length of seven years and seven\ndays.\n\n\n    A variant clearly of John Roberts\u2019 Welsh-Gypsy story of \u2018An Old\n    King and his Three Sons in England\u2019 (No. 55, pp. 220\u2013234), but I\n    expect that Matthew Wood\u2019s variant, \u2018The Bottle of Black Water,\u2019\n    would come closer still. Some day Mr. Sampson must give us that\n    with its fellows. Which is the better story\u2014that of John Roberts,\n    the Welsh harper, or this of John MacDonald, the travelling\n    tinker\u2014is hard to determine; in some respects each is immeasurably\n    superior. John Roberts\u2019 is the more coherent and intelligible; but\n    it lacks that splendid wrestling match, with which compare the much\n    poorer one in the Bohemian-Gypsy story of \u2018The Three Dragons\u2019 (No.\n    44, p. 152). And then while it preserves the handkerchief ordeal,\n    it has not the inexhaustible whisky-bottle, loaf, and cheese. The\n    occurrence of a bear in each version, though with marked\n    differences, can hardly be accidental. For a long while after I got\n    John Roberts\u2019 story, I believed that its close was largely of his\n    own invention; but that belief now seems to be inadmissible. The\n    Polish-Gypsy story of \u2018The Golden Bird and the Good Hare\u2019 (No. 49,\n    pp. 182\u20138), and its Scottish-Tinker version, \u2018The Fox\u2019 (No. 75),\n    should be carefully studied.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 74.\u2014THE TALE OF THE SOLDIER\n\nThere was an old soldier once, and he left the army. He went to the top\nof a hill that was at the upper end of the town-land, and he said,\n\u2018Well, may it be that the Mischief may come and take me with him on his\nback the next time that I come again in sight of this town.\u2019\n\nThen he was walking till he came to the house of a gentleman that was\nthere. John asked the gentleman if he would get leave to stay in his\nhouse that night.\n\n\u2018Well, then,\u2019 said the gentleman, \u2018since thou art an old soldier, and\nhast the look of a man of courage, without dread or fear in thy face,\nthere is a castle at the side of yonder wood, and thou mayest stay in\nit till day. Thou shalt have a pipe and baccy, a cogie full of whisky,\nand a Bible to read.\u2019 [143]\n\nWhen John got his supper, he took himself to the castle. He set on a\ngreat fire, and when a while of the night had come, there came two\ntawny women in, and a dead man\u2019s kist between them. They threw it at\nthe fireside, and they sprang out. John arose, and with the heel of his\nfoot he drove out its end, and he dragged out an old hoary bodach. And\nhe set him sitting in the great chair; he gave him a pipe and baccy,\nand a cogie of whisky; but the bodach let them fall on the floor.\n\n\u2018Poor man,\u2019 said John, \u2018the cold is on thee.\u2019\n\nJohn laid himself stretched in the bed, and he left the bodach to toast\nhimself at the fireside; but about the crowing of the cock he went\naway.\n\nThe gentleman came well early in the morning. \u2018What rest didst thou\nfind, John?\u2019\n\n\u2018Good rest,\u2019 said John. \u2018Thy father was not the man that would frighten\nme.\u2019\n\n\u2018Right, good John, thou shalt have two hundred pund, and lie to-night\nin the castle.\u2019\n\n\u2018I am the man that will do that,\u2019 said John.\n\nAnd that night it was the very like. There came three tawny women, and\na dead man\u2019s kist with them amongst them. They threw it up to the side\nof the fireplace, and they took their soles out of that. John arose,\nand with the heel of his boot he broke the head of the kist, and he\ndragged out of it the old hoary man. And, as he did the night before,\nhe set him sitting in the big chair, and gave him pipe and baccy; and\nhe let them fall.\n\n\u2018Oh! poor man,\u2019 said John, \u2018cold is on thee.\u2019\n\nThen he gave him a cogie of drink, and he let that fall also.\n\n\u2018Oh! poor man, thou art cold.\u2019\n\nThe bodach went as he did the night before. \u2018But,\u2019 said John to\nhimself, \u2018if I stay here this night, and that thou shouldst come, thou\nshalt pay my pipe and baccy, and my cogie of drink.\u2019\n\nThe gentleman came early enough in the morning, and he asked, \u2018What\nrest didst thou find last night, John?\u2019\n\n\u2018Good rest,\u2019 said John. \u2018It was not the hoary bodach, thy father, that\nwould put fear on me.\u2019\n\n\u2018Och!\u2019 said the gentleman, \u2018if thou stayest to-night thou shalt have\nthree hundred pund.\u2019\n\n\u2018It\u2019s a bargain,\u2019 said John.\n\nWhen it was a while of the night there came four tawny women, and a\ndead man\u2019s kist with them amongst them. And they set that down at the\nside of John. John arose, and he drew his foot, and he drove the head\nout of the kist. And he dragged out the old hoary man, and he set him\nin the big chair. He reached him the pipe and the baccy, the cup and\nthe drink; but the old man let them fall, and they were broken.\n\n\u2018Och!\u2019 said John, \u2018before thou goest this night, thou shalt pay me all\nthou hast broken.\u2019\n\nBut word came there not from the head of the bodach. Then John took the\nbelt of his abersgaic, [144] and he tied the bodach to his side, and he\ntook him with him to bed. When the heath-cock crowed, the bodach asked\nhim to let him go.\n\n\u2018Pay what thou hast broken first,\u2019 said John.\n\n\u2018I will tell thee, then,\u2019 said the old man, \u2018there is a cellar of drink\nunder, below me, in which there is plenty of drink, tobacco, and pipes.\nThere is another little chamber beside the cellar, in which there is a\ncaldron full of gold. And under the threshold of the big door there is\na crocky full of silver. Thou sawest the women that came with me\nto-night?\u2019\n\n\u2018I saw,\u2019 said John.\n\n\u2018Well, there thou hast four women from whom I took the cows, and they\nin extremity. They are going with me every night thus, punishing me.\nBut go thou and tell my son how I am being wearied out. Let him go and\npay the cows, and let him not be heavy on the poor. Thou thyself and he\nmay divide the gold and silver between you; and marry thyself my old\ngirl. But mind, give plenty of gold of what is left to the poor, on\nwhom I was too hard. And I will find rest in the world of worlds.\u2019\n\nThe gentleman came, and John told him as I have told thee. But John\nwould not marry the old girl of the hoary bodach. At the end of a day\nor two John would not stay longer. He filled his pockets full of the\ngold, and he asked the gentleman to give plenty of gold to the poor. He\nreached the house, [145] but he was wearying at home, and he had rather\nbe back with the regiment. He took himself off on a day of days, and he\nreached the hill above the town, from which he went away. But who\nshould come to him but the Mischief.\n\n\u2018Hoth! hoth! John, thou hast come back?\u2019\n\n\u2018Hoth on thyself!\u2019 quoth John, \u2018I came. Who art thou?\u2019\n\n\u2018I am the Mischief, the man to whom thou gavest thyself when thou was\nhere last.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ai! ai!\u2019 said John, \u2018it\u2019s long since I heard tell of thee, but I never\nsaw thee before. There is glamour on my eyes; I will not believe that\nit is thou at all. But make a snake of thyself, and I will believe\nthee.\u2019\n\nThe Mischief did this.\n\n\u2018Make now a lion of roaring.\u2019\n\nThe Mischief did this.\n\n\u2018Spit fire now seven miles behind thee and seven miles before thee.\u2019\n\nThe Mischief did this.\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said John, \u2018since I am to be a servant with thee, come into my\nabersgaic, and I will carry thee. But thou must not come out till I ask\nthee, or else the bargain\u2019s broke.\u2019\n\nThe Mischief promised, and he did this.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 said John, \u2018I am going to see a brother of mine that is in the\nregiment. But keep thou quiet.\u2019\n\nSo now John went into the town; and one yonder and one here would cry,\n\u2018There is John the desairtair.\u2019 There was gripping of John, and a court\nheld on him; and so it was that he was to be hanged about mid-day on\nthe morrow. And John asked no favour but to be floored with a bullet.\n\nThe Coirneal said, \u2018Since he was an old soldier, and in the army so\nlong, that he should have his asking.\u2019\n\nOn the morrow, when John was to be shot, and the soldiers foursome\nround all about him, \u2018What is that they are saying?\u2019 said the Mischief.\n\u2018Let me amongst them, and I won\u2019t be long scattering them.\u2019\n\n\u2018Cuist! cuist!\u2019 said John.\n\n\u2018What\u2019s that speaking to thee?\u2019 said the Coirneal.\n\n\u2018Oh! it\u2019s but a white mouse,\u2019 said John.\n\n\u2018Black or white,\u2019 said the Coirneal, \u2018don\u2019t thou let her out of the\nabersgaic, and thou shalt have a letter of loosing, and let\u2019s see no\nmore of thee.\u2019\n\nJohn went away, and in the mouth of night he went into a barn where\nthere were twelve men threshing. \u2018Oh! lads,\u2019 said John, \u2018here\u2019s for you\nmy old abersgaic; and take a while threshing it, it is so hard that it\nis taking the skin off my back.\u2019\n\nThey took as much as two hours of the watch at the abersgaic with the\ntwelve flails; and at last, every blow they gave it, it would leap to\nthe top of the barn, and it was casting one of the threshers now and\nagain on his back. When they saw that, they asked him to be out of\nthat, himself and his abersgaic; they would not believe but that the\nMischief was in it.\n\nThen he went on his journey, and he went into a smithy where there were\ntwelve smiths striking their great hammers. \u2018Here\u2019s for you, lads, an\nold abersgaic, and I will give you half-a-crown, and take a while at it\nwith the twelve great hammers; it is so hard that it is taking the skin\noff my back.\u2019\n\nBut that was fun for the smiths; it was good sport for them, the\nabersgaic of the soldier. But every sgaile it got, it was bounding to\nthe top of the smithy. \u2018Go out of this, thyself and it,\u2019 said they; \u2018we\nwill not believe that the Bramman [146] is in it.\u2019\n\nSo then John went on, and the Mischief on his back; and he reached a\ngreat furnace that was there.\n\n\u2018Where art thou going now, John?\u2019 said the Mischief.\n\n\u2018Patience a little, and thou\u2019lt see that,\u2019 said John.\n\n\u2018Let me out,\u2019 said the Mischief, \u2018and I will never put trouble on thee\nin this world.\u2019\n\n\u2018Nor in the next?\u2019 said John.\n\n\u2018That\u2019s it,\u2019 said the Mischief.\n\n\u2018Stop, then,\u2019 said John, \u2018till thou get a smoke.\u2019\n\nAnd so saying, John cast the abersgaic and the Mischief into the middle\nof the furnace: and himself and the furnace went as a green flame of\nfire to the skies.\n\n\n    The first half is a variant, and a good one, of the Welsh-Gypsy\n    story of \u2018Ashypelt\u2019 (No. 57, p. 235); the second half is a variant,\n    a better one, of the latter part of the Welsh-Gypsy \u2018Old Smith\u2019\n    (No. 59, p. 247), and of the confused and imperfect Slovak-Gypsy\n    \u2018Old Soldier\u2019 (No. 60, p. 250). The prominence given to\n    tobacco-smoking in both \u2018Ashypelt\u2019 and in the Scottish-Tinker story\n    suggests that the forebears of Cornelius Price and those of John\n    MacDonald must have parted company at some time later than the\n    beginning of the seventeenth century, unless, indeed, this\n    resemblance is accidental. About the beginning of the nineteenth\n    century English Gypsies must have visited Scotland much more than\n    they did in 1870\u201380, when a few of the Smiths or Reynolds, Maces,\n    and Lees, all closely connected, were the only English Gypsies who\n    \u2018travelled\u2019 north of the Tweed. Since 1880, again, there has been a\n    great influx of English Gypsydom,\u2014one reason that fortune-telling\n    seems to be not illegal in Scotland. In his notes upon Campbell\u2019s\n    story in Orient und Occident (ii. 1864, pp. 679\u2013680), Reinhold\n    K\u00f6hler makes an odd slip, very unusual with him. He renders \u2018the\n    Mischief\u2019 by \u2018das Ungl\u00fcck,\u2019 and is puzzled why poor Ungl\u00fcck should\n    be so scurvily handled.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 75.\u2014THE FOX\n\nBrian, the son of the king of Greece, fell in love with the hen-wife\u2019s\ndaughter, and he would marry no other but she. His father said to him\non a day of days, before that should happen that he must get first for\nhim the most marvellous bird that there was in the world. Then here\nwent Brian, and he put the world under his head, till he came much\nfurther than I can tell, or you can think, till he reached the house of\nthe Carlin of Buskins. [147] He got well taken to by the carlin that\nnight; and in the morning she said to him, \u2018It is time for thee to\narise. The journey is far.\u2019\n\nWhen he rose to the door, what was it but sowing and winnowing snow. He\nlooked hither and thither, and what should he see but a fox drawing on\nhis shoes and stockings. \u2018Sha! beast,\u2019 said Brian, \u2018thou hadst best\nleave my lot of shoes and stockings for myself.\u2019\n\n\u2018Och!\u2019 said the fox, \u2018it\u2019s long since a shoe or a stocking was on me;\nand I\u2019m thinking that I shall put them to use this day itself.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thou ugly beast, art thou thinking to steal my foot-webs, and I myself\nlooking at thee?\u2019\n\n\u2018Well,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018if thou wilt take me to be thy servant, thou\nshalt get thy set of shoes and stockings.\u2019\n\n\u2018O poor beast!\u2019 said he, \u2018thou wouldst find death with me from hunger.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ho! hoth!\u2019 said the fox, \u2018there is little good in the servant that\nwill not do for his own self and for his master at times.\u2019\n\n\u2018Yes, yes,\u2019 said he, \u2018I don\u2019t mind; at all events thou mayst follow\nme.\u2019\n\nThey had not gone far on their journey when the fox asked him if he was\ngood at riding. He said he was, if it could be known what on.\n\n\u2018Come on top of me a turn of a while,\u2019 said the fox.\n\n\u2018On top of thee! Poor beast, I would break thy back.\u2019\n\n\u2018Ho! huth! son of the king of Greece,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018thou didst not\nknow me so well as I know thee. Take no care but that I am able to\ncarry thee.\u2019\n\nBut never mind. When Brian went on top of the fox, they would drive\nspray from each puddle, spark from each pebble. And they took no halt\nnor rest till they reached the house of the Giant of Five Heads, Five\nHumps, and Five Throttles.\n\n\u2018Here\u2019s for thee,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018the house of the giant who has the\nmarvellous bird. And what wilt thou say to him when thou goest in?\u2019\n\n\u2018What should I say but that I came to steal the marvellous bird?\u2019\n\n\u2018Hu! hu!\u2019 said the fox, \u2018thou wilt not return. But,\u2019 said the fox,\n\u2018take thou service with this giant to be a stable-lad. And there is no\nsort of bird under the seven russet rungs of the world that he has not\ngot. And when he brings out the marvellous bird, say thou, \u201cFuith!\nfuith! the nasty bird, throw it out of my sight. I could find braver\nbirds than that on the middens at home.\u201d\u2019\n\nBrian did thus.\n\n\u2018S\u2019tia!\u2019 said the big one, \u2018then I must go to thy country to gather a\npart of them.\u2019\n\nBut Brian was pleasing the giant well. But on a night of the nights\nBrian steals the marvellous bird, and drags himself out with it. When\nhe was a good bit from the giant\u2019s house, \u2018S\u2019tia!\u2019 said Brian to\nhimself, \u2018I don\u2019t know if it is the right bird I have after every\nturn.\u2019 Brian lifts the covering off the bird\u2019s head, and he lets out\none screech, and the screech roused the giant.\n\n\u2018Oh! oh! son of the king of Greece,\u2019 said the giant, \u2018that I have\ncoming to steal the marvellous bird. The prophet was saying that he\nwould come to his gird.\u2019\n\nThen here the giant put on the shoes that could make nine miles at\nevery step, and he wasn\u2019t long catching poor Brian. They returned home\nto the giant\u2019s house, and the giant laid the binding of the three\nsmalls on him, and he threw Brian into the peat-corner, and he was\nthere till the morning on the morrow\u2019s day.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 said the giant, \u2018son of the king of Greece, thou hast thy two\nrathers\u2014Whether wouldst thou rather thy head to be on yonder stake, or\ngo to steal the White Glaive of Light that is in the realm of Big\nWomen?\u2019\n\n\u2018A man is kind to his life,\u2019 said Brian. \u2018I will go to steal the White\nGlaive of Light.\u2019\n\nBut never mind. Brian had not gone far from the giant\u2019s house when the\nfox met with him. \u2018O man without mind or sense, thou didst not take my\ncounsel, and what will now arise against thee? Thou art going to the\nrealm of Big Women to steal the White Glaive of Light. That is twenty\ntimes as hard for thee as the marvellous bird of that carl of a giant.\u2019\n\n\u2018But what help for it now but that I must betake myself to it?\u2019 said\npoor Brian.\n\n\u2018Well, then,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018come thou on top of me, and I am in hopes\nthou wilt be wiser the next time.\u2019\n\nThey went then further than I can remember, till they reached the knoll\nof the country at the back of the wind and the face of the sun, that\nwas in the realm of Big Women.\n\n\u2018Now,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018thou shalt sit here, and thou shalt begin at\nblubbering and crying; and when the Big Women come out where thou art,\nthey will lift thee in their oxters; and when they reach the house with\nthee, they will try to coax thee. But never thou cease of crying until\nthou get the White Glaive of Light; and they will leave it with thee in\nthe cradle the length of the night, to keep thee quiet.\u2019\n\nWorthy Brian was not long blubbering and crying when the Big Women\ncame, and they took Brian with them as the fox had said. And when Brian\nfound the house quiet, he went away with the White Glaive of Light. And\nwhen he thought he was a good way from the house, he thought he would\nsee if he had the right sword. He took it out of the sheath, and the\nsword gave out a ring. This awoke the Big Women, and they were on their\nsoles. \u2018Whom have we here,\u2019 said they, \u2018but the son of the king of\nGreece coming to steal the White Glaive of Light.\u2019\n\nThey took after Brian, and they were not long bringing him back. They\ntied him roundly (like a ball), and they threw him into the peat-corner\ntill the white morrow\u2019s day was. When the morning came, they asked him\nto be under the sparks of the bellows, [148] or to go to steal the Sun\nGoddess, daughter of the king of the gathering of Fionn.\n\n\u2018A man is kind to his life,\u2019 said Brian. \u2018I will go steal the Sun\nGoddess.\u2019\n\nNever mind. Brian went, but he was not long on the path when the fox\nmet him. \u2018O poor fool,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018thou art as silly as thou wert\never. What good for me to be giving thee counsel? Thou art now going to\nsteal the Sun Goddess. Many a better thief than thou went on the same\njourney, but ever a man came never back. There are nine guards guarding\nher, and there is no dress under the seven russet rungs of the world\nthat is like the dress that is on her but one other dress, and here is\nthat dress for thee. And mind,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018that thou dost as I ask\nthee, or, if thou dost not, thou wilt not come to the next tale.\u2019\n\nNever mind. They went, and when they were near the guard, the fox put\nthe dress on Brian, and he said to him to go forward straight through\nthem, and when he reached the Sun Goddess to do as he bid him. \u2018And,\nBrian, if thou gettest her out, I will not be far from you.\u2019\n\nBut never mind. Brian took courage, and he went on, and each guard made\nway for him, till he went in where the Sun Goddess, daughter of the\nking of the gathering of Fionn, was. She put all-hail and good-luck on\nhim, and she it was who was pleased to see him, for her father was not\nletting man come near her. And there they were.\n\n\u2018But how shall we get away at all, at all?\u2019 said she in the morning.\n\nBrian lifted the window, and he put out the Sun Goddess through it.\n\nThe fox met them. \u2018Thou wilt do yet,\u2019 said he. \u2018Leap you on top of me.\u2019\n\nAnd when they were far, far away, and near the country of Big Women,\n\u2018Now, Brian,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018is it not a great pity for thyself to give\naway this Sun Goddess for the White Glaive of Light?\u2019\n\n\u2018Is it not that which is wounding me at this very time?\u2019 said Brian.\n\n\u2018It is that I will make a Sun Goddess of myself, and thou shalt give me\nto the Big Women,\u2019 said the fox.\n\n\u2018I had rather part with the Sun Goddess herself than thee.\u2019\n\n\u2018But never thou mind, Brian, they won\u2019t keep me long.\u2019\n\nHere Brian went in with the fox as a Sun Goddess, and he got the White\nGlaive of Light. Brian left the fox with the Big Women, and he went\nforward. In a day or two the fox overtook them, and they got on him.\nAnd when they were nearing the house of the big giant, \u2018Is it not a\ngreat pity for thyself, O Brian, to part with the White Glaive of Light\nfor that filth of a marvellous bird?\u2019\n\n\u2018There is no help for it,\u2019 said Brian.\n\n\u2018I will make myself a White Glaive of Light,\u2019 said the fox; \u2018it may be\nthat thou wilt yet find a use for the White Glaive of Light.\u2019\n\nBrian was not so much against the fox this time, since he saw that he\nhad got off from the Big Women.\n\n\u2018Thou art come with it,\u2019 said the big man. \u2018It was in the prophecies\nthat I should cut this great oak-tree at one blow, which my father cut\ntwo hundred years ago with the same sword.\u2019\n\nBrian got the marvellous bird, and he went away. He had gone but a\nshort distance from the giant\u2019s house when the fox made up to him with\nhis pad to his mouth.\n\n\u2018What\u2019s this that befell thee?\u2019 said Brian.\n\n\u2018Oh! the son of the great one,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018when he seized me, with\nthe first blow he cut the tree all but a small bit of bark. And look\nthyself, there is no tooth in the door of my mouth which that filth of\na Bodach has not broken.\u2019\n\nBrian was exceedingly sorrowful that the fox had lost the teeth, but\nthere was no help for it. They were going forward, walking at times,\nand at times riding, till they came to a spring that there was by the\nside of the road. \u2018Now, Brian,\u2019 said the fox, \u2018unless thou dost strike\noff my head with one blow of the White Glaive of Light into this\nspring, I will strike off thine.\u2019\n\n\u2018S\u2019tia,\u2019 said Brian, \u2018a man is kind to his own life.\u2019\n\nAnd he swept the head off him with one blow, and it fell into the well.\nAnd in the wink of an eye what should rise up out of the well but the\nson of the king that was father to the Sun Goddess.\n\nThey went on till they reached his father\u2019s house. And his father made\na great wedding with joy and gladness, and there was no word about\nmarrying the hen wife\u2019s daughter when I parted from them.\n\n\n    \u2018On the 25th of April 1859, [at Inverary], John [MacDonald] the\n    tinker gave the beginning of this as part of his contribution to\n    the evening\u2019s entertainment. He not only told the story, but acted\n    it, dandling a fancied baby when it came to the adventure of the\n    Big Women, and rolling his eyes wildly. The story which he told\n    varied from that which he dictated in several particulars. It\n    began:\u2014\n\n    \u2018\u201cThere was a king and a knight, as there was and will be, and as\n    grows the fir-tree, some of it crooked and some of it straight. And\n    it was the King of Eirinn, it was. And the queen died with her\n    first son, and the king married another woman. Oh! bad straddling\n    queen, thou art not like the sonsy, cheery queen that we had ere\n    now.\u201d\n\n    \u2018And here came a long bit which the tinker put into another story,\n    and which he seems to have condensed into the first sentence of the\n    version which I have got and translated. He has also transferred\n    the scene from Ireland to Greece, perhaps because the latter\n    country sounds better, and is further off, or perhaps because he\n    had got the original form of the story from his old father in the\n    meantime.\n\n    \u2018Some of the things mentioned in the tinker\u2019s version have to do\n    with Druidical worship\u2014the magic well, the oak-tree, the bird. For\n    the Celtic tribes, as it is said, were all guided in their\n    wanderings by the flight of birds. The Sun Goddess, for the Druids\n    are supposed to have worshipped the sun, and the sun is feminine in\n    Gaelic. These are all mixed up with Fionn and the Sword of Light\n    and the Big Women, personages and things which do not appear out of\n    the Highlands.\u2019\n\n    The whole of this last paragraph seems to me more than\n    questionable, for \u2018The Fox\u2019 is beyond all question identical with\n    the Polish-Gypsy story of \u2018The Golden Bird and the Good Hare\u2019 (No.\n    49, pp. 182\u20138), in the excellent Servian version of which it is a\n    fox, not a hare. Druidism is hardly to be looked for in either\n    Poland or Servia. In some respects the Polish-Gypsy story is better\n    than the Tinker one, but in others the Tinker version is greatly\n    superior. Each, indeed, supplies the other\u2019s deficiencies. The\n    original beginning, given by Campbell, seems to point to a form of\n    the story where, as in the Indian versions of \u2018The Bad Mother,\u2019\n    cited on p. 35, note, the hero is sent on his quest by a\n    stepmother. In his notes on the Gaelic story in Orient und Occident\n    (ii. 1864, pp. 685\u20136), Reinhold K\u00f6hler cites an interesting\n    Wallachian version.\n\n\n\n\nNO. 76.\u2014THE MAGIC SHIRT [149]\n\n\u2018There was a king and a knight, as there was and will be, and as grows\nthe fir-tree, some of it crooked and some of it straight; and he was a\nking of Eirinn,\u2019 said the old tinker, and then came a wicked\nstepmother, who was incited to evil by a wicked hen-wife. The son of\nthe first queen was at school with twelve comrades, and they used to\nplay at shinny every day with silver shinnies and a golden ball. The\nhen-wife, for certain curious rewards, gave the step-dame a magic\nshirt, and she sent it to her stepson, \u2018Sheen Billy,\u2019 and persuaded him\nto put it on. He refused at first, but complied at last, and the shirt\nwas a great snake about his neck. Then he was enchanted and under\nspells, and all manner of adventures happened; but at last he came to\nthe house of a wise woman who had a beautiful daughter, who fell in\nlove with the enchanted prince, and said she must and would have him.\n\n\u2018It will cost thee much sorrow,\u2019 said the mother.\n\n\u2018I care not,\u2019 said the girl, \u2018I must have him.\u2019\n\n\u2018It will cost thee thy hair.\u2019\n\n\u2018I care not.\u2019\n\n\u2018It will cost thee thy right breast.\u2019\n\n\u2018I care not if it should cost me my life,\u2019 said the girl.\n\nAnd the old woman agreed to help her to her will. A caldron was\nprepared and filled with plants; and the king\u2019s son was put into it and\nstripped to the magic shirt, and the girl was stripped to the waist.\nAnd the mother stood by with a great knife, which she gave to her\ndaughter. Then the king\u2019s son was put down in the caldron; and the\ngreat serpent, which appeared to be a shirt about his neck, changed\ninto its own form, and sprang on the girl and fastened on her; and she\ncut away the hold, and the king\u2019s son was freed from the spells. Then\nthey were married, and a golden breast was made for the lady.\n\n\n    \u2018And then,\u2019 adds Mr. Campbell, \u2018they went through more adventures\n    which I do not well remember, and which the old tinker\u2019s son vainly\n    strove to repeat in August 1860, for he is far behind his father in\n    the telling of old Highland tales. The serpent, then, would seem to\n    be an emblem of evil and wisdom in Celtic popular mythology.\u2019\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX\n\n\nP. 249.\u2014The following nigger folk-tale, first printed by me in the\nAthen\u00e6um for 20th August 1887, p. 245, was taken down by an American\nacquaintance, Mr. J. P. Suverkrop, C.E., in 1871, at Sand Mountain,\nAlabama, from the recitation of his negro servant, Dick Brown, a \u2018boy\u2019\nabout thirty years old, who was a native of Petersburg, Virginia, and\nthere had got it from his granny. It seems to be clearly a variant of\n\u2018The Master Smith\u2019 (Clouston, ii. 409) and of Grimm\u2019s No. 147, \u2018The Old\nMan made Young Again\u2019 (ii. 215, 444). If so, it must be a comparatively\nrecent transmission from one race (Aryan) to another (non-Aryan), yet\nit is as thoroughly localised as folk-tale well could be.\n\n\n\n\nDE NEW HAN\u2019.\n\nWunst dar wer a sawmill on de aige of a wood not a thousan mili from\nheah, wid a branch a-runnin by a-turnin de wheel. An ole colored man,\nhe kep de mill an wer a very fine kine of man; but he son Sam, what\nhelp him, didn\u2019 take arter de ole man, but wer a triflin, no account\nsort o\u2019 young nigger; an de ole man had to wuk right sharp to git\nalong. One day \u2019long come a poor-lookin sort o\u2019 man, sayin he wanted to\nlarn de saw-millin, an he wuk fur a yeah fur nuffin. De ole man wer\nglad to git his help, an de young \u2019un \u2019lowed he could shif some o\u2019 his\nwuk on to de New Han\u2019. So de New Han\u2019 he went to totin boads and doin\nchores round de mill. De ole man he like de New Han\u2019 fus class, an\nallus gin he jes as good as he git hisself; but de son he make hisself\nbig to de New Han\u2019 behind de ole man back, an order him roun to do dis\nan dat. De New Han\u2019 he never say nuffin, but jes go \u2019long \u2019bout he own\nbisness. De ole man he cotch Sam \u2019busin an a-bossin de New Han\u2019 aroun,\nand he club he good fur hit more\u2019n a few times. One day an ole man come\nfur a load o\u2019 plank, and he war a-groanin wid de misery in de back, an\na-wishin he were young an spry like as he used to.\n\nDen up speak de New Han\u2019, an he say, \u2018Ef you all go in de woods \u2019ceptin\ndis man an me, whar you can\u2019t see nuffin goin on, an wait till I\nholler, I\u2019ll fix dis man right up good; but you all mus promis not to\npeek, for suffin bad happen ef yo do.\u2019\n\nSo dey promis. An de ole man an he son go in de woods wher dey can\u2019t\nsee nuffin. An de New Han\u2019 he say to de man wid de misery in he back,\n\u2018Go lay down on de saw-frame.\u2019\n\nDen he up wid de saw, an cut he in two. Den he up wid de two pieces of\nde man, an trow em into de branch, an de pieces jine togidder, an de\nole man wid de misery in he back come outer de branch a live an well\nman an quite young like an frisky. Den he fell a-thankin de New Han\u2019,\nbut he jest tole he to shet up. An den he hollerd. Sam and he fader\ncome a-runnin, an was mighty exprised when dey seen de young-lookin\nnigger in de place of de ole limpin man. But de New Han\u2019 wouldn\u2019t say\nnuffin \u2019bout it. So dey jest shet up, an things carried on same as\nusual till de ole man he got word his mudder very bad, an he must start\nright off fur to see her. Befo he go he dun tole Sam not fur to ac\nobstropolus wid de New Han\u2019, case ef he did, so sho\u2019 would he git a\ndubbin soon ez he got back. But Sam he forgit jes so soon de ole man\ngone, an behave wery overbearin an obstropolus.\n\nFinally de New Han\u2019 say to Sam, \u2018Ef you don\u2019 quit behavin, I\u2019se gwine\nto leave when my yeah up, an dat\u2019s to-morrer.\u2019\n\nDen Sam ac real owdashus, an tole him, \u2018Go along now, yo fool.\u2019\n\nSho\u2019 enuff nex dey de New Han\u2019 dun gone, an no one seed him go, an no\none pass he in de road or in de wood. Well, de wery nex day \u2019long come\nde nigger what was made young an likely by de New Han\u2019, an \u2019long wid\nhim come he ole woman totin a baskit wid a elegant fat possum an sweet\ntaters dat fairly made Sam mouf water. After passin de time o\u2019 day an\nso on, de man ax arter de New Han\u2019, sayin he want him fix up de ole\nwoman same like he do him.\n\nSam say, \u2018O, he be back to-morrer. Jes leave de possum, an come agin.\nI\u2019ll gin it to him when he come.\u2019\n\nBut de man too smart fur dat, an wouldn\u2019 leave hit.\n\nSo Sam \u2019fraid he gwine to lose de possum, so he say, \u2018De New Han\u2019 dun\ngone off fur to see he sic fader, an dun tole me fo\u2019 he go for to ax\nyou an do same what he done to you.\u2019\n\nSo den de man tole Sam, an Sam tell de man to go in de wood an shet he\neyes. Den Sam he saw de ole woman in two, an frow de pieces in de\nbranch; but dar dey stay. Den Sam git skeered, an go down to de branch,\nan try to jine de pieces, but dey wont jine. An de ole \u2019oman\u2019s husban\ncome a-runnin and a-hollerin outer de wood case he see suffin wrong; an\nde neighbers come, an dey take Sam an try he, an fin\u2019 he guilty.\n\nAn de judge he put on he black hat an say, \u2018Hang Sam by de neck ontil\nhe mus be quite ded, an de Lor hab mussy on pore Sam.\u2019\n\nDen Sam\u2019s ole fader come a-runnin, an he fall down, an beg for Sam; but\ndo\u2019 he roll in de dus, an cry, de judge won\u2019 let Sam go. Den dey all go\n\u2019way solemn like to de gallus. An de judge ax Sam, do he got anything\nto say for hisself. An Sam see de New Han\u2019 stan a-laffin in de crowd.\nAn he think how bad he dun treated de pore man.\n\nSo he say, \u2018Brudren an sistren, min\u2019 what I gwine tell you. Don\u2019 ac\nhighminded an biggity wid no one, case ef I hadn\u2019 ac dat way to a man\nin dis here very crowd, I\u2019d a been heavin saw-logs instid o\u2019 gwine to\nbe hung dis day.\u2019\n\n\u2019Den all he frinds fall a-cryin an a-rollin, but de New Han\u2019 jump up\nlongside Sam, an say quick like to he, \u2018Do you shore enuff sorry for\nyou acshuns?\u2019\n\nDen Sam say, \u2018Deed an deed I\u2019s sorry, an I ax pardon an hope yo\u2019ll\nforgive me when I\u2019s gone.\u2019\n\nDen de New Han\u2019 speak out big an loud to de crowd, an say, \u2018How come yo\ngwine to hang dis heah man when de ole \u2019oman he kill is a-standin right\ndar?\u2019\n\nSho\u2019 enuff dar was she standin long o\u2019 her ole man. So dey let Sam\ndown, an dey had great jollification; but dey never see de New Han\u2019\nfrom dat day to dis nowhar.\n\n\n\n\nJOHN BUNYAN.\n\nFolk-tales are scarcely literature, but a question affecting the\nworld\u2019s literature arises out of these Gypsy folk-tales. Was the author\nof The Pilgrim\u2019s Progress an English peasant or a Gypsy half-breed? The\nRev. J. Brown, in John Bunyan: his Life, Times, and Work (1885), shows\nthat the family of Bunyan\u2014a name spelt in thirty-four different\nways\u2014was established in Bedfordshire as early at least as 1199, and\nthat in 1327 a William Bownon was living at Elstow on the very spot\nwhere John Bunyan was born in 1628. There is a gap in the Bunyan annals\nbetween 1327 and 1542, when one finds a William Bonyon of Elstow, as in\n1548 a Thomas Bonyon, aged forty-six or more. Next come a Thomas\nBunyon, \u2018Pettie Chapman,\u2019 who died in 1641, and his son, also Thomas\nBunyon (1603\u201376), who, says Mr. Brown, is \u2018usually spoken of as a\ntinker, but describes himself as a \u201cbraseyer.\u201d\u2019 This second Thomas took\nfor his second wife in 1627 an Elstow woman, Margaret Bentley\n(1603\u201344), and John was the first child of that marriage. He, as every\none knows, was an itinerant though house-dwelling tinker (Brown, pp.\n64, 119, 158, etc); and his eldest son, John, \u2018was brought up to the\nancestral trade of a brazier, and carried on business in Bedford till\nhis death in 1728\u2019 (id. pp. 201\u20132). That is all of the essential to be\ngleaned about Bunyan\u2019s pedigree; we know nothing as to his grandmother\nor great-grandmother.\n\nWith this evidence, then, before him, Canon Venables pronounced, in the\nDictionary of National Biography (vii., 1886, p. 276), that \u2018the\nantiquity of the family in Bunyan\u2019s native county effectually disposes\nof the strange hallucination, which even Sir Walter Scott was disposed\nto favour, that the Bunyans, \u201cthough reclaimed and settled,\u201d may have\nsprung from the Gipsy tribe.\u2019 By no means necessarily, as may be seen\nfrom a single example. During 1870\u201375 I often came across members of\nthe Bunce family in Oxfordshire, Wilts, Herts, and Somerset. Stephen\nBunce, of Wiltshire yeoman ancestry, had thirty years earlier married\nPh\u0153be Buckland, a thorough-bred Gypsy woman, had himself turned\ntent-dweller, and \u2018travelled\u2019 the southern counties till his death.\nThey had a largish family; and many, perhaps most, of their sons and\ndaughters have married Gypsies of more or less purity. One son was (and\nmaybe is still) a small farmer and horse-dealer, living in a house of\nhis own at Pewsey. Now, if a son or a grandson of his rose to eminence,\nhe could not by Canon Venables\u2019 argument be a Gypsy, because, forsooth!\nthe Bunces are an old Wiltshire family.\n\nThe chief upholder of Bunyan\u2019s Gypsy ancestry was Mr. James Simson, a\nScoto-American of New York, the editor of Walter Simson\u2019s History of\nthe Gipsies (1865), and author of John Bunyan and the Gipsies (1882)\nand a whole host of similar pamphlets. He pointed out that Bunyan\nwrites in his Grace Abounding: \u2018For my descent, it was, as is well\nknown to many, of a low and inconsiderable generation; my father\u2019s\nhouse being of that rank that is meanest and most despised of all the\nfamilies of the land.\u2019 And again: \u2018After I had been thus for some\nconsiderable time, another thought came into my mind, and that was,\nwhether we were of the Israelites or no. For, finding in the Scriptures\nthat they were once the peculiar people of God, thought I, if I were\none of this race, my soul must needs be happy. Now, again, I found\nwithin me a great longing to be resolved about this question, but could\nnot tell how I should. At last, I asked my father, who told me, No, we\nwere not.\u2019 And yet again: \u2018I often, when these temptations had been\nwith force upon me, did compare myself to the case of such a child whom\nsome Gipsy hath by force took up in her arms, and is carrying from\nfriend and country.\u2019\n\nKidnapping has never been a Gypsy practice (In Gypsy Tents, pp.\n244\u201346), nor, though it were, would a Gypsy, even a converted Gypsy, be\nlikely to use it as an illustration. But Mr. Simson\u2019s two first\npassages are really pertinent. The Anglo-Israelite craze was not\ndevised till 1793; and it is hard to conceive why about 1645 an English\npeasant-boy should have speculated on a Jewish origin for himself and\nhis kindred. But with a Gypsy it would not the least surprise me. I\nhardly ever see Frampton Boswell, an English Gypsy of fifty, but he\nreturns to the question, \u2018And there\u2019s one thing, Mr. Groome, I\u2019ve been\nwanting to ask you about, and that is where you think our people\noriginated.\u2019 Hindoos, Jews, and Egyptians are regularly passed in\nreview, but Frampton cannot make up his mind, as neither can he about\nR\u00f3mani, except that \u2018for certain \u2019tisn\u2019t one of the Seven Languages.\u2019\n\nTinker in Bunyan\u2019s day indubitably carried a suggestion at least of\nGypsydom. I have not been able to see The Tinker of Turvey, [150] or\nCanterbury Tales (Lond. 1630, ed. by J. O. Halliwell), to which Mr.\nBrown refers, but from his few quotations on p. 34 it seems evident\nthat that \u2018strolling Tincker and brave mettle-man\u2019 regarded himself as\nsomething widely different from an ordinary English artificer. Sir\nThomas Overbury in his well-known Characters (1614) describes \u2018The\nTinker,\u2019 the companion of whose travels \u2018is some foul sun-burnt quean,\nthat since the terrible statute recanted gypsism and is turned\npedlaress. So marches he all over England with his bag and baggage,\u2019\netc. In an article by A. H. A. Hamilton on \u2018Quarter Sessions under\nCharles I. from original records of Devon\u2019 (Fraser\u2019s Mag., Jan. 1877)\nis a quotation concerning \u2018sundry suspect persons, Roagues both sturdy\nand begging vagrant, some whereof pretend to be petty chapmen [like\nBunyan\u2019s grandfather], others peddlers, others glassmen, tynckers,\nothers palmesters, fortune readers, Egiptians, and the like.\u2019 Brazier\nis a frequent designation of Gypsies at the present day\u2014e.g. the\nbaptismal register of Hill, Sutton Coldfield, has \u2018Jan. 27, 1866,\nMiriam Kate Agnes, daughter of Benjamin and Mira Boswell, cutler and\nbrazier\u2019; and that of Boothroyd, Dewsbury, has \u2018Mary Jane dr of Thomas\nand Mary Green, Dewsbury Moor, Brazier of the Gipsey tribe.\u2019 The\noccurrence in the Bunyan pedigree of such Gypsy \u2018Christian\u2019 names as\nMantis and Perun, Delar\u012bfa and Meral\u00edni, would be a strong point, but\nis entirely lacking. On the other hand, \u2018gaujified\u2019 or gentilised\nGypsies often drop such names; two brothers of my acquaintance, Oti and\nLazzy, became thus plain William and George. A contemporary description\nof Bunyan (Brown, p. 399) as \u2018tall of stature, strong-boned, though not\ncorpulent, somewhat of a ruddy face, with sparkling eyes ... his hair\nreddish,\u2019 runs rather against the theory of Bunyan\u2019s Gypsy ancestry,\nbut not conclusively, for I have known two Gypsy brothers, one very\nswarthy, the other red-haired.\n\nThe strongest corroboration of that theory was unknown to both Mr.\nSimson and Mr. Brown. In Notes and Queries for January 24, 1891, p. 67,\n\u2018R.\u2019 cited an entry from the parish register of St. Mary\u2019s, Launceston:\n\u20181586, March the ivth daie was christened Nicholas, sonne of James\nBownia, an Egiptia rogue.\u2019 Here \u2018Egiptia\u2019 (? Egipti\u0101) must stand for\n\u2018Egiptian\u2019; \u2018Bownia\u2019 similarly should be \u2018Bownian,\u2019 and, if so, we have\nveritable Gypsy Bunyans. It may seem a far cry from Launceston in\nCornwall to Elstow in Bedfordshire, were nomads not in case; in time,\nthe interval between this baptism and the birth of \u2018the inspired\ntinker\u2019 is but forty-two years.\n\nBut, anyhow, whether Bunyan was Gypsy [151] or Gentile, folk-tales\n(plus the Bible) seem to me quite as likely a source of inspiration for\nhis Pilgrim\u2019s Progress and Holy War as (say) the fourteenth century\nP\u00e9lerinage de l\u2019Homme or the siege of the Anabaptists at M\u00fcnster. I do\nnot believe this has ever before been suggested; I will merely suggest\nit, and leave the working out of it to folklorists.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] According to the Spectator (24th December 1897) ten thousand\nGypsies wintered in Surrey in 1896\u201397!\n\n[2] I shall have frequent occasion to refer to the Gypsy Lore Journal\n(3 vols. 1888\u201392), which should in time be one of the libri rarissimi,\nas the issue was limited to 150 copies, many of which are sure to have\nperished. There are complete sets, however, at the British Museum, the\nBodleian, the Edinburgh Advocates\u2019 Library, Leyden, Berlin, Munich,\nCracow, Rome, Madrid, Harvard, and twelve other public libraries.\n\n[3] Aliqui in the Latin may stand for either some of the Gypsies or\nsome of the townsfolk, more probably the latter. \u00c6neas Sylvius\nPiccolomini (Pope Pius II.) speaks, a very few years after this, of the\nNorthumbrian women staring at him \u2018as in Italy the people stare at an\nEthiopian or an Indian.\u2019\n\n[4] This passage was cited as far back as 1785 by Jacob Bryant in\nArch\u00e6ologia, vii. 393; but another on p. 57 of the Itinerarium has\nhitherto escaped Gypsiologists. I give it in the original Latin:\u2014\u2018Item\nsciendum est, quod in s\u00e6pedictis civitatibus [Alexandria and Cairo] de\nomni secta alia ab illorum viri mulieres lactantes juvenes et cani\nprav\u00e6 venditioni exponuntur ad instar bestiarum; et signanter indiani\nschismatici et danubiani, qui omnes utriusque sexus in colore cum\ncorvis et carbonibus multum participant; quia hii cum arabis et\ndanubianis semper guerram continuant, atque cum capiuntur redemptione\nvel venditione evadunt.... Pr\u00e6dicti autem Danubiani, quamvis ab\nIndianis non sunt figura et colore distincti, tamen ab eis\ndistinguuntur per cicatrices longas quas habent in facie et\ncognoscuntur; comburunt enim sibi cum ferro ignito facies illas\nvilissimas terribiliter in longum, credentes se sic flamine [? flammis]\nbaptizari ut dicitur, et a peccatorum sordibus igne purgari. Qui\npostquam ad legem Machometi fuerunt conversi christianis deteriores\nsunt Saracenis, sicut et sunt Radiani renegati, et plures molestias\ninferunt.... Item sciendum, quod in pr\u00e6fatis civitatibus tanta est\neorum multitudo, quod nequaquam numerari possunt.\u2019 There is much in\nthis passage that remains obscure; but it seems clear from it that in\n1322 there were in Egypt large numbers of captives, male and female,\nold and young, from the Danubian territories. They were black as crows\nand coal, and in complexion and features differed little from Indians,\nexcept that their faces bore long scars produced by burning (? a kind\nof tattooing, like that of the Gypsy women in 1427 at Paris on p.\nxii.). On conversion to Mohammedanism these Danubians were worse to the\nChristians than the Saracens. Were these Danubians, or some at least of\nthem, Gypsies, prisoners of war, from the Danubian territories? and did\nsome of them buy back their freedom and return to Europe? If so,\nperhaps one has here an explanation of the hitherto unexplained names\n\u2018Egyptian,\u2019 \u2018Gypsy,\u2019 \u2018Gitano,\u2019 etc., and of the story told by the\nwestern immigrants of 1417\u201334 of renegacy from the Christian faith.\n\n[5] E. A. Sophocles in the Introduction to his Greek Lexicon of the\nRoman and Byzantine Periods (Boston, U.S., 1870, p. 32) regards Mazaris\nas probably an imaginary character of an anonymous writer of the\nfourteenth century, according to whom \u2018Peloponnesus was at that time\ninhabited by a mongrel population, the principal elements being\nLaced\u00e6monians, Italians, Peloponnesians, Slavs, Illyrians, Egyptians\n(\u0391\u1f30\u03b3\u03cd\u03c0\u03c4\u03b9\u03bf\u03b9), and Jews.\u2019\n\n[6] Of the Gypsies of Cyprus, as indeed those of Crete, Modern Greece,\nLesbos, etc., we know practically nil. A writer in the Saturday Review\nfor 12th January 1878, p. 52, quoted, without giving date or source,\nthese words of a Cretan poet:\u2014\u2018Franks and Saracens, Corsairs and\nGermans, Turks and Atzingani, they have tried them all, and cannot say\nwho were better, who worse.\u2019\n\n[7] According to Captain Newbold, the Gypsies of Syria and Palestine\n\u2018vend charms, philtres, poisons, and drugs of vaunted efficacy\u2019; in\n1590 Katherene Roiss, Lady Fowlis, was \u2018accusit for sending to the\nEgyptianis, to haif knawledge of thame how to poysoun the young Laird\nof Fowlis and the young Lady Balnagoune.\u2019\n\n[8] It is just worth noting that St. Columbanus (543\u2013615) was\naccustomed to celebrate the Eucharist in vessels of bronze (aeris),\nalleging as a reason for so doing that Our Lord was affixed to the\ncross by brazen nails.\u2014Smith\u2019s Dict. Christ. Antiqs., s.v. Chalice.\n\n[9] Cf. supra, p. xi., line 13.\n\n[10] Information supplied by M. Omont of the Biblioth\u00e8que Nationale at\nParis, and by Prof. von Dobsch\u00fctz of Jena, shows that the komodromos\npassage is to be found in neither of these two MSS. It has still to be\nsought for, then.\n\n[11] In his Beitr\u00e4ge zur Kenntniss der deutschen Zigeuner (Halle, 1894,\npp. 5\u20136), Herr Richard Pischel maintains, as it seems to me,\nsuccessfully, that the \u2018Bemische lute\u2019 (Boehmische Leute) at W\u00fcrzburg\nbetween 1372 and 1400 were real Bohemians and not Gypsies.\n\n[12] No Greek loan-word has more interest for us than param\u00edsi or\nparam\u00edsa, a story (Mod. Gk. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03bc\u03cd\u03b8\u03b9). It occurs in the dialects of the\nRoumanian, Hungarian, Bohemian, Polish, German, and English Gypsies. I\nheard it myself first in 1872 near Oxford, from old Lolli Buckland, in\nthe curious sense of stars:\u2014\u2018As you kistas k\u00e9rri ke-r\u00e1ti, r\u00e9ia, t\u00fati\u2019ll\ndik the param\u00edshis vellin\u2019 avri adr\u00e9 the leeline\u2019 (As you ride home\nthis evening, sir, you\u2019ll see the stars coming out in the darkness).\nHow she came to apply the word thus, I cannot say, perhaps from the\nmere jingle of stars and stories, perhaps from the notion of the stars\nforetelling the future. Again, in 1879, from one of the Boswells, I\nheard the verb p\u00e1ramis, \u2018to talk scandal, tell tales.\u2019 And lastly, Mr.\nSampson got paramissa in its proper sense of \u2018story\u2019 from the old\ntinker Philip Murray, who, though no Gypsy himself, had an unrivalled\nknowledge of Gypsydom and R\u00f3mani (Gyp. Lore Jour., iii. 77).\n\n[13] In Chronicles of a Virgin Fortress (1896), Mr. W. V. Herbert gives\nan extraordinary story of one of the Stanleys, who, forced to fly\nHampshire for some offence, found his way to Bulgaria, and as \u2018Istanli\u2019\nbecame a Gypsy chieftain and public executioner of Widdin about 1874.\nTom Taylor\u2019s returned \u2018lag\u2019 of p. xvii recurs also to memory, and John\nLee, the Gypsy recruit of \u2018John Company,\u2019 from whom on the outward\nvoyage in 1805 Lieut. Francis Irvine of the Bengal Native Infantry took\ndown a R\u00f3mani vocabulary of 138 words (Trans. Lit. Soc. Bombay, 1819).\n\n[14] In 1894 there was a small band of Bosnian Gypsies at St. Jean de\nLuz on their way to Spain. They were evidently well-off.\n\n[15] The tented Gypsies in Calabria in May 1777, described in Henry\nSwinburne\u2019s Travels in the Two Sicilies (2nd ed. ii. 168\u2013172), were\nalmost certainly not Italian Gypsies, but Caldarari. Borrow speaks of\nthe foreign excursions of the Hungarian Gypsies, which frequently\nendure for three or four years, and extend to France, even to Rome (The\nZincali, 1841, i. 13); and Adriano Colocci tells in Gli Zingari (Turin,\n1889), p. 181, how in the Apennines of Fossato he encountered Hungarian\nGypsies who seemed quite at home there, as also how at Kadi K\u00f6i in Asia\nMinor he had discourse with a band of Neapolitan Gypsies.\n\n[16] Against this statement I must set what was quite a typical remark\nof an English Gypsy, a Boswell:\u2014\u2018That\u2019s a thing, sir, I should be\ndisdainful of, to be j\u00favalo\u2019 (verminous).\n\n[17] Query, Solomon Jones? Jones I know for a real Gypsy surname.\n\n[18] I take some little pride in having myself been a means of\npreserving two of our best\u2014I had almost said, our only two really\ngood\u2014English folk-tales. These are \u2018Cap o\u2019 Rushes\u2019 and \u2018Tom Tit Tot,\u2019\nwhich were told by an old Suffolk servant to Miss Lois Fison when a\nchild, and which she communicated to Nos. 23 and 43 of a series of\n\u2018Suffolk Notes and Queries,\u2019 edited by me for the Ipswich Journal in\n1876\u201377. Thence my friend, Mr. Clodd, unearthed them a dozen years\nafterwards; and on the latter he has just issued a masterly monograph.\n\n[19] The London tinker\u2019s story, however, seems more closely to resemble\n\u2018The Claricaune\u2019 in Crofton Croker\u2019s Fairy Legends and Traditions of\nthe South of Ireland (ed. by Thos. Wright, N.D. pp. 98\u2013112).\n\n[20] Since writing this, I have learned, through the kindness of Mr.\nRufus B. Richardson of the American School of Classical Studies at\nAthens, that \u2018nothing remains of Paspati\u2019s collections except a few\nnotes, which will be brought out in a new edition of his works.\u2019\n\n[21] Cf. the Indian story of \u2018Prince Lionheart and his Three Friends\u2019\n(F. A. Steel\u2019s Wide-awake Stories, p. 59):\u2014\u2018In front of the horse lies\na heap of bones, and in front of the dog a heap of grass,\u2019 etc.\n\n[22] The notes of that story are unfortunately lost, but it is a\nversion of Grimm\u2019s No. 36, \u2018The Wishing-table, the Gold-ass, and the\nCudgel in the Sack,\u2019 Basile\u2019s first tale in the Pentamerone (1637),\netc. No European folk-tale is more widely spread than this in India,\nwhere we find \u2018The Story of Foolish Sachuli\u2019 (Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian\nFairy-tales, p. 27), \u2018The Indigent Brahman\u2019 (Rev. Lal Behari Day\u2019s\nFolk-tales of Bengal, p. 53), and \u2018The Jackal, the Barber, and the\nBrahman\u2019 (Mary Frere\u2019s Old Deccan Days, p. 174). A fragment of the\nstory comes into our Slovak-Gypsy one of \u2018The Old Soldier\u2019 (No. 60).\n\n[23] See for this Celtic secret jargon the article \u2018Shelta,\u2019 by Mr. J.\nSampson, in vol. ix. of Chambers\u2019s Encyclop\u00e6dia (1892), p. 389.\n\n[24] So I had written when I learned, through the kindness of Lord\nArchibald Campbell, that John MacDonald the younger, known variously as\n\u2018John Fyne,\u2019 \u2018Long John,\u2019 and \u2018Baboon,\u2019 got a cottage on the Argyll\nestate, but was never either a keeper or an under-keeper in the Duke\u2019s\nemploy. He was, however, a keeper for a short while on the neighbouring\nestate of Ardkinlas. \u2018Long John,\u2019 writes Lord Archibald, \u2018as far as I\nknow, had no R\u00f3mani. His daughters still tramp the country.\u2019 I may add\nhere that Mr. Arthur Morgan, of the Crofters\u2019 Commission, who knows the\nHighlands as few, is strongly of opinion that the tinkers are not\nCelts: \u2018the Highlanders never regard them as such.\u2019 This though they\nspeak Gaelic, but much intermixed with odd words.\n\n[25] Kounavine apart, we have but one hint of story-telling by Gypsies\nin Asia. In Blackwood\u2019s for March 1891, pp. 388\u20139, the late Mr.\nTheodore Bent had an article on an arch\u00e6ological tour in \u2018Cilicia\nAspera,\u2019 a district lying on the southern slopes of the Taurus\nMountains, in which was this passage: \u2018Periodically a travelling tinker\ncomes among them [the mountain tribes], the great newsmonger of the\nmountain. He chooses a central spot to pitch his tent, and the most\nwonderful collection of decrepit copper utensils is soon brought from\nthe neighbouring tents and piled around. He usually brings with him a\nyoung assistant to look after the mule and blow the bellows; and with\nnitre heated at his fire he mends the damaged articles, gossiping the\nwhile, and filling the minds of the simple Yourouks who stand around\nwith wonderful tales, not always within the bounds of veracity. When\nhis work is done, he removes to another central point, and after he has\namassed as many fees as his mule can carry, for they usually pay in\ncheese and butter, he returns to his town, and realises a handsome\nprofit.\u2019 I have not seen a small work on the Yourouks by M. Tsakyroglou\n(Athens, 1891), giving their popular songs, etc.\n\n[26] Not unique; occurs also in Wratislaw\u2019s Bohemian story, No. 2, p.\n21. But I let the lines stand for a warning against the vanity of\ndogmatising.\n\n[27] According to the Archduke Josef\u2019s great Czig\u00e1ny Nyelvatan (1888),\np. 342, \u2018chronological reasons force us to the conclusion that Solario\nwas not a Gypsy. He came by the name of Zingaro as being the son of a\ntravelling smith (farrier), and as having himself first engaged in that\ncalling.... Since the Gypsies only made their appearance in Italy in\n1422, it is clear that Solario could not be of Gypsy parentage.\u2019 If it\ncould be proved that Italy in 1382 had its travelling smiths, called\nZingari, it would be clear that then there were Italian Gypsies. A\nsimilar instance of arguing from a foregone conclusion occurs in the\nremark of a German lexicographer of 1749, that, \u2018the common people gave\nthe name Zihegan to land-tramps before Gypsies ever were heard of.\u2019 The\nsaid Zihegan could not of course be Gypsies, because Gypsies were then\nnon-existent.\n\n[28] Some one will be sure to point out, if I do not, that most or all\nof these incidents occur also in non-Gypsy European folk-tales, and\nthat therefore they are not peculiar to the Gypsies. Precisely: that is\na possible confirmation of my theory.\n\n[29] To which add the slang pal, a comrade, from the R\u00f3mani, pral,\nbrother.\n\n[30] I have discussed the subject-matter of the last two pages more\nfully in my paper, \u2018The Influence of the Gypsies on the Superstitions\nof the English Folk\u2019 (Trans. Internat. Folklore Congress, 1891, pp.\n292\u2013308).\n\n[31] That, however, is a vulgar error; the Gypsies are one of the\npurest races in Europe.\n\n[32] I have sometimes wondered, what if a folklorist, making a little\ntour in Wales, in a Welsh inn-garden had come on a venerable Welsh\nharper, playing ancient Welsh airs, and speaking Welsh more fluently\nthan English? He would have drawn him, of course, for folk-tales, and\nlo! a perfect mine of them\u2014long, unpublished stories, all about magic\nsnuff-boxes and magic balls of yarn, the kings of the mice and the\nfrogs and the fowls of the air, griffins of the greenwood, golden\napples and golden castles, sleeping princesses, and all the rest of it.\n\u2018Eureka!\u2019 that folklorist would have shouted, and straightway meditated\na new Welsh Mabinogion. Welsh\u2014Celtic\u2014not at all necessarily; his old\nWelsh bard might have been just John Roberts the Gypsy.\n\n[33] It is a great pity Mr. Curtin has not specified when, where, and\nfrom whom he got his stories; all we are told is that they were\ncollected by him \u2018personally in the West of Ireland, in Kerry, Galway,\nand Donegal, during the year 1887.\u2019 It is almost incomprehensible that\nhe never alludes once to Campbell\u2019s collection.\n\n[34] These two birds, which recur also in Norse, Swedish, and German\nversions of the story (Orient und Occ. ii. 108\u20139), at once recall the\nparrot and the main\u00e1 in \u2018The B\u00e9l-Princess\u2019 (Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy\nTales, pp. 149\u2013150) whose discourse revives the prince\u2019s recollections.\nSee also p. 412 of Mrs. Steel\u2019s Wide-awake Stories.\n\n[35] For an excursus, of true German erudition, on Gypsies and\nhedgehogs, see R. Pischel\u2019s Beitr\u00e4ge zur Kenntniss der deutschen\nZigeuner (Halle, 1894, pp. 26\u201330). He shows that hedgehogs are a Gypsy\ndelicacy from Wales to Odessa, and that the Gypsies probably brought\nthe taste from the foothills of the Himalayas, where hedgehogs are\nplentiful.\n\n[36] \u2018\u0393\u03c5\u03c6\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03ac,\u2019 says Hahn in a footnote. \u2018The sedentary Gypsies as a\nrule are smiths, therefore Gypsy and Locksmith are synonymous in the\ntowns.\u2019\n\n[37] Only four years ago Mr. Joseph Jacobs wrote: \u2018It is at any rate\nclear, that the only considerable addition to our folklore knowledge in\nthese isles must come from the Gaelic area.\u2019 And since then a\nfolklorist has expressed himself in the Athen\u00e6um as \u2018pretty certain\nthat as to complete stories of any length there are none such to be\nfound in Wales at the present day.\u2019\n\n[38] Told by an old sedentary Gypsy woman of Adrianople.\n\n[39] Lit. \u2018the lad there became dry\u2019; but that is how an English Gypsy\nwould put it.\n\n[40] Kl\u00e1ka. \u2018Claca,\u2019 says Grenville Murray, \u2018signifies a species of\nassembly very popular in Wallachia. If any family has some particular\nwork to do on any particular account, they invite the neighbourhood to\ncome and work for them. When the work is completed there is high glee,\nsinging and dancing, and story-telling.\u2019\u2014Doine; or, Songs and Legends\nof Roumania (Lond. 1854), p. 109 n.\n\n[41] In Wlislocki, p. 104 note, the devil has a duck\u2019s foot. In F. A.\nSteel\u2019s Indian Wide-awake Stories, p. 54, the hero detects a ghost by\nher feet being set on hind part before.\n\n[42] On p. 110 Dr. Barbu Constantinescu gives a long and terrific\nformula for bewitching with the evil eye.\n\n[43] The notion of a dead girl turning into a flower is very common in\nIndian folk-tales. Cf. Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy Tales, pp. 145, 149,\n244, 247, 248, 252, etc.; and Mary Frere\u2019s Old Deccan Days, No. 6,\n\u2018Little Surya Bai,\u2019 pp. 79\u201393.\n\n[44] D\u00e1 pes pe sher\u00e9sti, lit. gave, or threw, herself on her head. In\nGypsy stories this undignified proceeding almost invariably precedes\nevery transformation. Cf. \u2018The Red King and the Witch,\u2019 \u2018The Snake who\nbecame the King\u2019s Son-in-law,\u2019 \u2018Tropsyn,\u2019 etc.\n\n[45] For golden boy cf. Dr. Barbu Constantinescu\u2019s own \u2018The Golden\nChildren,\u2019 No. 18, also Hahn, ii. 293. The two apples seem to be\nbirth-marks.\n\n[46] For the bursting of monsters, cf. Dasent\u2019s Tales from the Norse,\npp. 27, 240; and Ralston, p. 130.\n\n[47] Our queen\u2019s great-great-great-grandfather, George I., was a firm\nbeliever in the vampire superstition (Horace Walpole\u2019s Letters, vol. i.\np. cix.).\n\n[48] Cf. Grimm, No. 56, \u2018Sweetheart Roland,\u2019 i. 226.\n\n[49] i.e. Pretend to be ill. English Gypsies employ the same phrase\nalike in R\u00f3mani and in English.\n\n[50] Lit. \u2018put himself.\u2019\n\n[51] See note on No. 6, \u2018God\u2019s Godson.\u2019\n\n[52] Baldpate makes the same remark in No. 2, p. 8, but the\nconventional answer is wanting there.\n\n[53] So I had written; but I have since read Maive Stokes\u2019 story of\n\u2018The Demon conquered by the King\u2019s Son\u2019 (Indian Fairy Tales, No. 24,\npp. 173 and 288). Here it is the demon step-mother, who, pretending her\neyes are bad, sends the hero to fetch tigress\u2019s milk, an eagle\u2019s\nfeather, night-growing rice and water from the Glittering Well. He\nspeaks, however, of her as his \u2018mother.\u2019 e.g. on p. 180. Compare \u2018The\nSon of Seven Mothers\u2019 in F. A. Steel\u2019s Indian Wide-awake Stories, pp.\n98\u2013110, and Knowles\u2019 Folk-tales of Kashmir, pp. 1 and 42.\n\n[54] There is obviously an omission, at this point, of a wager or\nsomething of that sort.\n\n[55] See note on No. 46.\n\n[56] See footnote 2 on p. 16.\n\n[57] Clearly Mr. Mayhew was no folklorist. The boy\u2019s claim to have\ninvented the story is worth noting.\n\n[58] The Roumanian-Gypsy word is Baht, which in one form or another\n(bakht, bahi, bok, bach\u00ed, etc.) occurs in every Gypsy dialect\u2014Turkish,\nRussian, Scandinavian, German, English, Spanish, etc., and which Pott\nderives from the Sanskrit (ii. 398\u20139). But the curious point is that in\nDozon\u2019s Contes Albanais (1881), p. 60, we get \u2018Va trouver ma Fortune,\u2019\nand a footnote explains, \u2018Fortune, en turc bakht, esp\u00e8ce de g\u00e9nie\nprotecteur.\u2019 Paspati, again, in his Turkish-Gypsy vocabulary (1870), p.\n155, gives\u2014\u2018Bakht, n.f. fortune, sort, hasard.... Les Grecs et les\nTurcs se servent tr\u00e8s souvent du m\u00eame mot\u2019; and Miklosich, too, cites\nthe Modern Greek \u03bc\u03c0\u03ac\u03ba\u03c4\u03b9 (Ueber die Mundarten, vii. 14). The occurrence\nof this Gypsy word as a loan-word in Modern Greek and Turkish is\nsuggestive of a profound influence of the Gypsies on the folklore of\nthe Balkan Peninsula. Bakht, fortune, is also good Persian.\n\n[59] This is a little puzzling, but it must mean that all the speeches\nseemingly by the princess were really made by the watchmaker\u2014that he\nmaintained the dialogue.\n\n[60] Lit. Greek.\n\n[61] This is the first real remark on the part of the princess, who,\nwoman-like, cannot stand a stupid male remark about the price of a\ndress.\n\n[62] This change from the third to the second person is in the\noriginal.\n\n[63] What \u2018pearly hay\u2019 is I know not, but it stands so in the original.\n\n[64] The last four words fairly beat me, but such seems their literal\nmeaning. In the Roumanian rendering, \u2018le-a facut doue mere.\u2019\n\n[65] See footnote 2 on p. 16.\n\n[66] The meaning of these three words is obscure. According to\nMiklosich, they are a magic formula with which the boy summons the\nempress from her grave behind the door. Or, perhaps, at this point the\nboy shows his pearly teeth.\n\n[67] Slov. Vah, Ger. Waag, a river of Northern Hungary.\n\n[68] By rights this question should be put to the grand-parents.\n\n[69] Zenele, a Roumanian loan-word, is rendered \u2018zen\u00e6\u2019 in the Latin\ntranslation; \u2018b\u00f6se weibliche Genien,\u2019 \u2018evil feminine spirits,\u2019 in the\nvocabulary.\n\n[70] She says much worse in the original.\n\n[71] This phrase occurs also in our No. 24, in a Wallachian story cited\nby Hahn (ii. 312), and, if I mistake not, in Ralston, but I have\nmislaid the exact reference. The Romani tr\u00fashul, cross, is from the\nSanskrit trisula, the trident of Siva.\n\n[72] Bowdlerised.\n\n[73] Cf. the very curious \u2018Story of Lelha\u2019 in Campbell\u2019s Santal\nFolk-tales, p. 80:\u2014Boots, the youngest brother, presses his three\nbrothers \u2018to attempt the removal of the stone, so they and others to\nthe number of fifty tried their strength, but the stone remained\nimmovable. Then Lelha said, \u201cStand by, and allow me to try.\u201d So putting\nto his hand, he easily removed it, and revealed the entrance to the\nmansion of the Indarpuri Kuri.\u2019\n\n[74] Cf. Hahn, i. 140, lines 4\u20137.\n\n[75] Anastasia.\n\n[76] Ruthenian mountaineers of the Carpathians.\n\n[77] With this episode of the horse compare that of the pony in \u2018Brave\nSeventee Bai\u2019 (Mary Frere\u2019s Old Deccan Days, No. 3, p. 30).\n\n[78] That is, of course, the prince\u2019s poor little blow had seemed to\nher like a caress.\n\n[79] Cf. footnote on p. 80.\n\n[80] This, it seems, is the comrade\u2019s name.\n\n[81] A very Gypsy touch this, for the fiddlers of course would be\nGypsies, so the meanness of dispensing with their services would appeal\nto the Gypsy mind.\n\n[82] Observe, he had become a seer already.\n\n[83] Lit. they raised him on the hands.\n\n[84] See footnotes on p. 16.\n\n[85] No use is made of these. Was the ship to be made of them?\n\n[86] Hahn has the selfsame story up to this point, only not so well\ntold, \u2018Von dem Sch\u00f6nen und vom Drakos\u2019 (No. 3, i. 75\u201379, and ii.\n178\u201386).\n\n[87] As a kind of block evidently. I do not remember this elsewhere.\n\n[88] It should be remembered that Austro-Hungarian Gypsies have all to\nserve in the army.\n\n[89] The text runs, \u2018So he, the king\u2019s son,\u2019 etc., but this makes\nnonsense.\n\n[90] This inquiry as to the secret of the hero\u2019s strength should by\nrights be made, not by the emperor, but by a former lover.\n\n[91] Cf. supra, pp. 28, 33, 35.\n\n[92] Cf. supra, pp. 28, 33.\n\n[93] This suggests that the cat and the princess really were one. Cf.\nfootnote on No. 46.\n\n[94] Cf. footnote 2, p. 16.\n\n[95] Cf. note on the Polish-Gypsy story of \u2018The Brigands and the\nMiller\u2019s Daughter,\u2019 No 47, p. 171.\n\n[96] Urme.\n\n[97] He threw the hat in the direction of the light, so that when he\nhad descended, and could no longer discern the light, he might know by\nthe hat in which direction to find it. So in Grimm, No. 111 (ii. 103).\n\n[98] The idea may be far-fetched (literally), but this passage has a\nvery Oriental flavour. Cf. \u2018A Simple Thief\u2019 in Campbell\u2019s Santal\nFolk-tales, p. 126.\u2014The thieves \u2018went to a rich man\u2019s house, and dug a\nhole through the wall. They then said, \u201cYou creep in.\u201d\u2019\n\n[99] The text for the next ten lines is very corrupt, like the\nnarrative. I have Bowdlerised much, and omitted a good deal more.\n\n[100] This is wrong; and from this point onward there is some\nconfusion\u2014the son, not the mother, seeming to become the narrator.\n\n[101] Cf. Hahn, i. 186 and ii. 52.\n\n[102] Now first mentioned. The whole story is confused.\n\n[103] This answer presupposes the presence of at least three robbers.\n\n[104] This method of killing the robbers is exactly the same as that\nfollowed by the youth in the Moravian-Gypsy story of \u2018The Princess and\nthe Forester\u2019s Son\u2019 (No. 43, p. 147). Cf. too, No. 8, \u2018The Bad Mother,\u2019\npp. 25, 30, where the lad kills eleven of twelve dragons, and Hahn,\nvol. ii. p. 279.\n\n[105] For cutting three red stripes out of back, cf. \u2018Osborn\u2019s Pipe\u2019\n(Dasent\u2019s Tales from the Fjeld, p. 3), which = the Welsh-Gypsy tale of\n\u2018The Ten Rabbits\u2019 (No. 64); also Dasent\u2019s Tales from the Norse, \u2018The\nSeven Foals,\u2019 p. 380. Cutting three strips out of the back occurs also\nin a Russian story epitomised by Ralston, p. 145; and cutting a strip\nof skin from head to foot in Campbell\u2019s West Highland tale, No. 18 (cf.\nsupra, p. 124), which Reinhold K\u00f6hler connects with the pound of flesh\nin the Merchant of Venice (Orient und Occident, 1864, pp. 313\u2013316).\n\n[106] Our story here has a curious resemblance with pp. 122\u20133 of \u2018Le\nTrimmatos ou l\u2019Ogre aux Trois Yeux,\u2019 a vampire story from Cyprus, in\nLegrand\u2019s Contes Grecs (1881). Query: Was \u2018Mr. Fox\u2019 originally a\nvampire story?\n\n[107] It is the general custom among pious people in Poland, on\nentering a house, or when meeting one another, to give the greeting,\n\u2018Jesus Christ be praised.\u2019 To which the response is, \u2018From age to age.\u2019\n\n[108] Albanian folk-tales open with a similar formula (Dozon\u2019s Contes\nAlbanais, 1881, p. 1).\n\n[109] The Gypsy word, rashani, originally means \u2018priestess.\u2019\n\n[110] Cf. Campbell\u2019s Tales of the West Highlands, i. 61, and iv. 283;\nand Dozon\u2019s Contes Albanais, 27, note.\n\n[111] It should by rights be a drake; still, the swan is suggestive of\n\u2018swan-maidens.\u2019 Nor does she strictly adhere to her self-prescribed\nrules of metamorphosis.\n\n[112] Apparel.\n\n[113] So in the Bukowina-Gypsy story of \u2018The Mother\u2019s Chastisement,\u2019\nNo. 9, p. 29. Cf. Maive Stokes\u2019s Indian Fairy Tales, p. 245.\n\n[114] God.\n\n[115] Liege.\n\n[116] Poverty = poor, possibly confused with paltry, is very common\namong English Gypsies.\n\n[117] Cf. footnote, p. 212.\n\n[118] Cf. Noah Young\u2019s name for elder, mi-duvel\u2019s kandlo ruk (\u2018God\u2019s\nstinking tree\u2019); some other Gypsies, including Isaac Herren, call it\nwuz\u00e9n. Oliver Lee\u2019s name for ivy is chirikl\u00e9skro ruk (\u2018bird\u2019s tree\u2019),\nbecause it was the tree brought back by the dove into the ark, and this\nis the reason that birds are fond of clustering round it. Holly is\nmi-duvel\u00e9skro ruk (\u2018God\u2019s tree\u2019; cf. Cornish Aunt Mary\u2019s Tree); and\nGypsies pitching their tent against a holly-bush are under divine\nprotection.\u2014J. S.\n\n[119] \u2018As cunning as a bushel o\u2019 monkeys\u2019 is a favourite figure of a\nGypsy friend of mine.\n\n[120] Cf. also Hahn, Nos. 22, 70, 98, and i. 308.\n\n[121] Cf. footnote on p. 118. John Roberts also was an old soldier.\n\n[122] Much the same phrase recurs in \u2018An Old King and his three Sons in\nEngland\u2019 (No. 55), and in \u2018Ashypelt\u2019 (No. 57). Cf. also Goldsmith\u2019s\nVicar of Wakefield chapter xiii.:\u2014\u2018They now travelled far, and farther\nthan I can tell, till they met with a company of robbers.\u2019\n\n[123] Cf. notes on \u2018The Green Man of Noman\u2019s Land,\u2019 No. 62.\n\n[124] Gypsies have different kinds of whistles, one peculiar to each\nfamily, by which they can recognise one another at a distance or in the\ndark.\n\n[125] Dordi = \u2018look-ye,\u2019 a common Gypsy exclamation.\n\n[126] Valentine and Oliver are both Welsh-Gypsy Christian names.\n\n[127] See footnote on p. 212.\n\n[128] This point is lost, of course, in my English rendering of the\nR\u00f3mani portions of this story. In the original MS. the youngest brother\nuses the broken dialect put by John Roberts in the mouths of all\nEnglish Gypsies, while the two others speak in the very deepest R\u00f3mani.\n\n[129] The Jacobite engraver, Sir Robert Strange, thus tethered his\nhorse on the eve of Culloden (Life, i. 59).\n\n[130] Presumably the royal arms of England would be engraved on his\nwatch, and his princely initials embroidered on his\npocket-handkerchief.\n\n[131] In another Welsh-Gypsy story, \u2018Jack the Robber,\u2019 summarised on\npp. 48\u20139, the master says, \u2018If you can\u2019t do that, Jack, I\u2019ll be behead\nyou.\u2019\n\n[132] That story is of very wide and seemingly recent dispersion. It\noccurs in Norway (\u2018The Three Lemons,\u2019 Dasent\u2019s Tales from the Fjeld, p.\n158); Sicily (\u2018Die Sch\u00f6ne mit den sieben Schleiern,\u2019 Laura Gonzenbach,\nNo. 13, i. 73, which offers striking analogies to \u2018An Old King\u2019 and\n\u2018The Accursed Garden\u2019); Zacynthus (\u2018Die drei Citronen,\u2019 Bernhard\nSchmidt, No. 5, p. 71), etc.; also in India (\u2018The Bel Princess,\u2019 Maive\nStokes, No. 21, p. 138).\n\n[133] See note on p. 212.\n\n[134] The next eight Welsh-Gypsy stories were told, like the last, in\nR\u00f3mani, by Matthew Wood to Mr. Sampson; and the English summaries of\nthem given here are by Mr. Sampson.\n\n[135] I am reminded of Poly Mace, the champion\u2019s cousin. He was camping\nat Golden Acre near Granton, and told me one Sunday that he knew a\nsea-captain who had a familiar: would I care to see it? Of course I\nwould; had he seen it? what was it like, then? \u2018Well, it\u2019s a very\ncurious kind of a little, wee, teeny dragon, that is, Mr. Groome;\nchanges colour, it does, according to where you puts it.\u2019 I found Poly\nmeant a chameleon.\n\n[136] I Shuvali R\u00e2ni is the R\u00f3mani title of this story.\n\n[137] The first half of this story, which, like the next, was told to\nMr. Sampson in English by Cornelius Price, is here omitted, having been\nalready summarised on pp. 48\u20139.\n\n[138] Montford Bridge, over the Severn, near Shrewsbury.\n\n[139] Valiant.\n\n[140] A corruption probably of \u2018Welcome.\u2019\n\n[141] A passage in \u2018The King of Erin and the Queen of the Lonesome\nIsland\u2019 (Curtin\u2019s Myths and Folk-lore of Ireland, p. 98) offers a\ncurious parallel:\u2014\u2018They fought an awful battle that day from sunrise to\nsunset. They made soft places hard, and hard places soft; they made\nhigh places low, and low places high; they brought water out of the\ncentre of hard grey rocks, and made dry rushes soft in the most distant\nparts of Erin till sunset.\u2019\n\n[142] Of course, \u00a31 notes in Scotland.\n\n[143] In the Welsh-Gypsy story Ashypelt gets no whisky, also no Bible.\n\n[144] Haversack.\n\n[145] Went home.\n\n[146] \u2018This word,\u2019 says Campbell, \u2018I have never met before.\u2019\n\n[147] A sock, a brogue of untanned leather or skin, commonly worn with\nthe hairy side outward; Lat. cothurnus, Welsh cwaran, French\ncothurne.\u2014J. F. C.\n\n[148] \u2018Bolg seididh, bag of blowing. The bellows used for melting\ncopper in the mint at Tangier in 1841 consisted of two sheepskins\nworked by two men. The neck of the hide was fastened to the end of an\niron tube, and the legs sewed up. The end of each bag opened with two\nflat sticks; and the workmen, by a skilful action of the hand, filled\nthe bag with air as they raised it, and then squeezed it out by\npressing downwards. By working the two bags turn-about, a constant\nsteady blast was kept on a crucible in the furnace, and the copper was\nsoon melted. The Gaelic word clearly points to the use of some such\napparatus. I believe something of the kind is used in India; but I saw\nthe Tangier mint at work.\u2019\u2014J. F. C.\n\nWere Mr. Campbell still living I would call his attention to \u2018something\nof the kind\u2019 much nearer home than India or Tangiers, viz. the\nScottish-Gypsy method of smelting iron in a furnace of stone, turf, and\nclay, three feet in height and eighteen inches in diameter: \u2018the\nmaterials in the furnace are powerfully heated by the blasts of a large\nhand-bellows, generally wrought by females, admitted at a small hole a\nlittle from the ground\u2019 (Walter Simson\u2019s History of the Gipsies, 1865,\np. 234). In the Gypsy Lore Journal for January 1892, pp. 134\u2013142, is an\narticle by Henri van Elven on \u2018The Gypsies of Belgium,\u2019 with excellent\nillustrations of a Hungarian-Gypsy furnace and bellows, corresponding\nto Simson\u2019s description. And there are also illustrations and minute\ndescriptions of the Gypsy furnace and bellows in Kopernicki\u2019s masterly\nmonograph on \u2018Les Zlotars ou Dzvonkars, Tsiganes fondeurs en bronze\ndans la Galicie Orientale et la Bukovine,\u2019 communicated by Bataillard\nto the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 d\u2019Anthropologie (Paris, 1878). From a footnote here on\np. 519 we learn that \u2018the Calderari often use two of these bellows at\nonce, making them work turn-about to right and to left, so as to\nproduce a constant blast.\u2019 One is tempted to conclude that the mint at\nTangiers in 1841 was worked by Gypsies, that here we get an explanation\nof those mysterious visits of the Hungarian Calderari to Northern\nAfrica, referred to in the Introduction. It sounds surprising, but Mr.\nCampbell, I doubt not, would have been quite as surprised to learn that\nthe church bell of Edzell in Forfarshire was cast in the woods by\nGypsies in 1726; that about 1740 the Border Gypsies practised engraving\non pewter, lead, and copper, as well as rude drawing and painting; that\nabout the beginning of this century the Gypsies had a small foundry\nnear St. Andrews, which the country-folk called \u2018Little Carron\u2019; that\nKillin in 1748 had its tinker silversmith, whose secret of enamel\ninlaying died with him; or that the silver Celtic Lochbuy Brooch, a\npound in weight, was made by a Mull tinker \u2018in the reign of Queen\nElizabeth, about the year 1600\u2019 (Strand Magazine, January 1897, p.\n115). I myself have sat and watched a Gypsy lad, a Boswell, fashion a\npretty silver finger-ring out of a shilling I had given him, and have\nthought of the hoard of a travelling silversmith which in 1858 was\nunearthed on Skaill Links in Orkney. It comprised brooches, neck-rings,\narm-rings, silver ingots, and Cufic coins, struck at Bagdad between 887\nand 945. \u2018It seems most unlikely,\u2019 says Mr. Lang, \u2018that tales which\noriginated in India could have reached the Hebrides within the historic\nperiod.\u2019 Perhaps; but where coins could come, so surely also could\nfolk-tales.\u2014A desperate footnote this, but nothing to what has some day\nto be written on the subject of Gypsy metallurgy.\n\n[149] I have furnished a name to this nameless story, a long one, which\nCampbell got from \u2018Old MacDonald, travelling tinker.\u2019 Else I give it\njust as he gives it.\n\n[150] Turvey, a parish near Elstow, was a Gypsy abode long after\nBunyan\u2019s day; at it, in 1822\u201325, Legh Richmond buried two Gypsies\u2014James\nSmith, and his mother-in-law, Elizabeth Robinson, both of the reputed\nage of 105. Robinson was a surname of descendants of Bunyan.\n\n[151] There are those to whom the notion will seem monstrous that the\nauthor of The Pilgrim\u2019s Progress should have been \u2018a gipsy!\u2019 I would\nremind such that at the present day there is Mr. George Smith, the\nConverted Gypsy, of the Potteries, who conducts missions in Edinburgh\nand other large cities. I have never heard him myself, but I am assured\nby a competent judge that he is a really eloquent preacher. Then there\nwas William Mitchel (1672\u20131740), the Edinburgh \u2018Tinklarian Doctor,\u2019\nauthor of a score of prophetical pamphlets. There was Thomas Wright,\nthe tinker Berean of Barnsley, who baptized Ebenezer Elliott in 1781.\nAnd there was the founder of the American Shakers, \u2018Mother\u2019 Ann Lee\n(1736\u201386), a Manchester blacksmith\u2019s illiterate daughter, who married\nin 1762 the blacksmith Abraham Stanley. The conjunction of the surnames\nLee and Stanley, of the smith\u2019s craft, and of the illiteracy, renders\nit almost certain in my mind that these were Gypsies.","title":"Gypsy folk-tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":157881}