Page:Notes on the folk-lore of the northern counties of England and the borders.djvu/371

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The following remarkable story, communicated to me by Mr. Joseph Crawhall, was taken down from the lips of an old inhabitant of Newcastle-on-Tyne. The old man said he had known it all his life, and there can be little doubt that it is an ancient tale of that place. I have never met with the story before, but it bears a resemblance to some of Mr. Ralston’s Russian Folk-Lore stories, and, like the nursery tale of Toads and Diamonds, it shows the good results of courtesy and kindness:

There was once an old woman who hired a servant-girl to keep her house clean and tidy. She told the girl to rise early and sweep out every corner, but to be sure not to sweep the chimney, and every night she went through the same, saying she was never to put her brush, up the chimney. One morning, however, the servant thought she would put the brush up the chimney; she did so, and down fell a bag of money. She took it up and ran away.

As she went along she came to a gate, which spoke, and said to her, “Pretty maiden, will you open me, for I have not been opened for many a year?” “Open yourself,” said the girl, “I have no time to open you.” So she went on, and came to a cow, and the cow said, “Pretty maiden, stop and milk me, for I have not been milked for many a day.” “Milk yourself,” said the girl, “I have no time to milk you.” So she went on, and came to a mill, and the mill said, “Pretty maiden, will you turn me, for I have not been turned for many a day.” “Turn yourself,” said the girl, “I have no time to turn you.” By this time the girl began to get tired, so she hid the bag in the mill-hopper.

When the old woman got up in the morning, and missed the girl, she went straight to the chimney, and found her money was gone. So she set off directly after the girl, and when she came to the gate she said, “Gate o’ mine, gate o’ mine, have you seen a maid o’ mine, with