The English Gipsies and Their Language Part 20

TRANSLATION.

Once a poor man sat down to make threepence-worth of skewers {210} for a butcher. There came along a gentleman, who said, "Hold my horse, and I'll give you a sixpence." While he held the horse a lady said to him, "Carry this basket to my house, and I'll give you a s.h.i.+lling." So he got a boy to hold the horse, and said to him, "You shall have half the money." Well, as he was carrying the basket and hurrying along fast across the road he saw a gentleman, who said, "If you'll go to the house and bring my dog to me, I will give you half-a-crown." So he got another boy to carry the basket for half the money, while he went for the dog.

Going along, he saw a rich farmer, who said, "Come and help me here to get my cow out of the ditch, and I'll give you five s.h.i.+llings." So he got it. But at the end of the day, when he was counting his money, he said, "What a pity it is I lost the threepence I might have got for the skewers!" (literally, meat-woods.)

A man must always put the grain in the ground before he can cut the harvest.

GUDLO VIII. THE STORY OF THE GIPSY'S DOG.

'Pre yeck divvus a choro mush had a juckal that used to ch.o.r.e covvas and hakker them to the ker for his mush--ma.s.s, wongur, horas, and rooys. A rye kinned the juckal, an' kaired boot dusta wongur by sikkerin' the juckal at wellgooras.

Where barvelo mus.h.i.+s can kair wongur tacho, chori mus.h.i.+s have to loure.

TRANSLATION.

On a day a poor man had a dog that used to steal things and carry them home for his master--meat, money, watches, and spoons. A gentleman bought the dog, and made a great deal of money by showing him at fairs.

Where rich men can make money honestly, poor men have to steal.

GUDLO IX. A STORY OF THE PRIZE-FIGHTER AND THE GENTLEMAN.

'Pre yeck chairus a cooromengro was to coor, and a rye rakkered him, "Will tute mukk your kokero be koored for twenty bar?" Penned the cooromengro, "Will tute mukk mandy pogger your herry for a hundred bar?"

"Kek," penned the rye; "for if I did, mandy'd never pirro kushto ajaw."

"And if I nashered a kooraben," penned the engro, "mandy'd never praster kekoomi."

Kammoben is kushtier than wongur.

TRANSLATION.

On a time a prize-fighter was to fight, and a gentleman asked him, "Will you sell the fight" (_i.e_., let yourself be beaten) "for twenty pounds?"

Said the prize-fighter, "Will you let me break your leg for a hundred pounds?" "No," said the gentleman; "for if I did, I should never walk well again." "And if I lost a fight," said the prize-fighter (literally, master, doer), "I could never 'run' again."

Credit is better than money.

GUDLO X. OF THE GENTLEMAN AND THE OLD GIPSY WOMAN.

Pre yeck chairus a Rommany dye adree the wellgooro rakkered a rye to del laker trin mus.h.i.+ for kushto bak. An' he del it, an' putchered laki, "If I b.i.t.c.her my wongur a-mukkerin' 'pre the graias, ki'll manni's bak be?"

"My fino rye," she penned, "the bak'll be a collos-worth with mandy and my chavvis."

Bak that's pessured for is saw (sar) adoi.

TRANSLATION.

On a time a Gipsy mother at the fair asked a gentleman to give her a s.h.i.+lling for luck. And he gave it, and asked her, "If I lose my money a- betting on the horses, where will my luck be?" "My fine gentleman," she said, "the luck will be a s.h.i.+lling's worth with me and my children."

Luck that is paid for is always somewhere (literally, there).

GUDLO XI. THE GIPSY TELLS OF THE CAT AND THE HARE.

Yeckorus the matchka jalled to d.i.c.k her kako's chavo the kanengro. An'

there welled a huntingmush, an' the matchka taddied up the choomber, pre durer, pre a rukk, an' odoi she lastered a chillico's nest. But the kanengro prastered alay the choomber, lonG.o.durus adree the tem.

Wafri bak kairs A choro mush ta jal alay, But it mukks a boro mush To chiv his kokero apre. {213}

TRANSLATION.

Once the cat went to see her cousin the hare. And there came a hunter, and the cat scrambled up the hill, further up, up a tree, and there she found a bird's nest. But the hare ran down the hill, far down into the country.

Bad luck sends a poor man further down, but it causes a great man to rise still more.

GUDLO XII. OF THE GIPSY WOMAN AND THE CHILD.

Pre yeck chairus a chi jalled adree a waver tem, an' she rikkered a gunno pre laki dumo with a baulo adree. A rakli who was ladge of her tikno ch.o.r.ed the baulo avree the gunno and chivved the chavi adree. Pasch a waver hora the chi shooned the tikno rov (ruvving), and d.i.c.ked adree the gunno in boro toob, and penned, "If the baulos in akovo tem puraben into chavos, sa do the chavos puraben adree?"

TRANSLATION.

Once a woman went into a strange land, and she carried a bag on her back with a pig in it. A girl who was ashamed of her child stole the pig from the bag and put the baby in (its place). After an hour the woman heard the child cry, and looked into the bag with great amazement, and said, "If the pigs in this country change into children, into what do the children change?"

GUDLO XIII. OF THE GIRL THAT WAS TO MARRY THE DEVIL.