Page:History of Buckhaven in Fifeshire.pdf/8

 they could either hang or drown him. Na, na, quo' Wise Willie, wemauna cast out wi' him at the first, as he's gotten the twa burdens o' fish, he'll e'en gang his wa, and fash us nae mair; he is o'er souple to be catch'd in a net; a' your pith will neither hang him nor drown him, and the kintry he comes frae is a' het coals, sae he'd never burn; we'll gae to him in a civil manner, and see what he wants. Get out Witty Eppie and Lingle-tail'd Nancy, wi' the Bible and Psalm-book; so aff they came in a crowd, either to kill the deil or catch him alive; but, as they came near the place, the ass fell a-braying, which caused many of them to faint andrun back. Na, na, quo' Willie, that's no the deil's words at a', it's my Lord's trumpeter routing on his brass whistle. Willie ventured on till he saw the ass's twa lugs. Now, said Willie, come for- ward an' hand him fast, I see his twa horns; hech, sirs! he has a white beard like an auld man. So they inclosed the poor ass on all sides, thinking it was the deil: but when Wise Willie