Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 27, 1916.djvu/339

Rh present in the sick-room, and after all was over she and the mother were sitting together in a downstairs room, when a slight noise was heard upstairs, rousing them both. The mother wanted to go up to the dead child, but the other restrained her. "You mown't [must not] go upstairs. It's Little Lucy. Yes, she's dead, ma'am, but her spirit bain i gone yet. We mown't disturb her."

(From the speaker herself, who died in 1904.)

.

The Story of the Wicked Sparrow.

Told by W. Shanavonian, first Dragoman to the American Embassy, Constantinople.

There was or there was not a sparrow that went out for a walk. After he had gone up hill and down dale a thorn ran into his foot. Then he returned to town and went to the baker and begged him to take out the thorn. The baker graciously did so, and threw the thorn into his oven. But the sparrow after a time returned to the baker and said:

"Baker, I want my thorn back."

The baker replied:

"But I have thrown it into the oven!"

"Yes," said the sparrow, "but nevertheless I want it back, or let me have a loaf of bread instead; my thorn or a loaf! "

And the sparrow used such language as children should never hear, and grown people should never repeat. The baker, in order to avoid any further trouble with the impudent sparrow, gave him the bread, with which he disappeared.

He went up hill and down dale until he came to a place where there was a flock of sheep and a number of shepherds who were just going to have their breakfast. But as the poor fellows had no bread they were throwing a quantity of earth into their milk.

The sparrow asked them:

"Brother shepherds, why are you throwing earth into your milk?"