The English Gipsies and Their Language Part 21

'Pre yeck divvus a Rommany dye dukkered a rakli, and pookered laki that a kaulo rye kaumed her. But when the chi putchered her wongur, the rakli penned, "Puri dye, I haven't got a poshero to del tute. But pen mandy the nav of the kaulo rye." Then the dye sh.e.l.led avree, very hunnalo, "Beng is the nav of tute's pirryno, and yuv se kaulo adusta."

If you ch.o.r.e puri juvas tute'll lel the beng.

TRANSLATION.

On a day a Gipsy mother told a girl's fortune, and said to her that a dark (black) gentleman loved her. But when the woman demanded her money, the girl said, "Old mother, I haven't got a halfpenny to give you. But tell me the name of the dark gentleman." Then the mother roared out, very angry, "Devil is the name of your sweetheart, and he is black enough."

If you cheat old women you will catch the devil.

GUDLO XIV. OF THE GIPSY WHO STOLE THE HORSE.

Yeckorus a mush ch.o.r.ed a gry and jalled him avree adree a waver tem, and the gry and the mush jalled kushti bak kettenus. Penned the gry to his mush, "I kaums your covvas to wearus kushtier than mandy's, for there's kek chucknee or mellicus (pusimigree) adree them." "Kek," penned the mush pauli; "the trash I lel when mandy jins of the prastramengro an' the b.i.t.c.herin' mush (krallis mush) is wafrier than any chucknee or busaha, an' they'd kair mandy to praster my miramon (miraben) avree any divvus."

TRANSLATION.

Once a man stole a horse and ran him away into another country, and the horse and the man became very intimate. Said the horse to the man, "I like your things to wear better than I do mine, for there's no whip or spur among them." "No," replied the man; "the fear I have when I think of the policeman and of the judge (sending or "transporting" man, or king's man) is worse than any whip or spur, and they would make me run my life away any day."

GUDLO XV. THE HALF-BLOOD GIPSY, HIS WIFE, AND THE PIG.

'Pre yeck divvus there was a mush a-piin' ma his Rommany chals adree a kitchema, an' pauli a chairus he got pash matto. An' he penned about mullo baulors, that _he_ never hawed kek. Kenna-sig his juvo welled adree an' putched him to jal kerri, but yuv pookered her, "Kek--I won't jal kenna." Then she penned, "Well alang, the chavvis got kek habben."

So she putchered him ajaw an' ajaw, an' he always rakkered her pauli "Kek." So she lelled a mullo baulor ap her dumo and wussered it 'pre the haumescro pre saw the foki, an' penned, "Lel the mullo baulor an' rummer it, an' mandy'll d.i.c.k pauli the chavos."

TRANSLATION.

Once there was a man drinking with his Gipsy fellows in an alehouse, and after a while he got half drunk. And he said of pigs that had died a natural death, _he_ never ate any. By-and-by his wife came in and asked him to go home, but he told her, "No--I won't go now." Then she said, "Come along, the children have no food." So she entreated him again and again, and he always answered "No." So she took a pig that had died a natural death, from her back and threw it on the table before all the people, and said, "Take the dead pig for a wife, and I will look after the children." {218}

GUDLO XVI. THE GIPSY TELLS THE STORY OF THE SEVEN WHISTLERS.

My raia, the gudlo of the Seven Whistlers, you jin, is adree the Scriptures--so they pookered mandy.

An' the Seven Whistlers (_Efta Sh.e.l.lengeri_) is seven spirits of ranis that jal by the ratti, 'pre the bavol, parl the heb, like chillicos. An'

it pookers 'dree the Bible that the Seven Whistlers sh.e.l.l wherever they praster atut the bavol. But aduro timeus yeck jalled avree an' got nashered, and kenna there's only shove; but they pens 'em the Seven Whistlers. An' that sims the story tute pookered mandy of the Seven Stars.

TRANSLATION.

Sir, the story of the Seven Whistlers, you know, is in the Scriptures--so they told me.

An' the Seven Whistlers are seven spirits of ladies that go by the night, through the air, over the heaven, like birds. And it tells (us) in the Bible that the Seven Whistlers whistle wherever they fly across the air.

But a long time ago one went away and got lost, and now there are only six; but they call them the Seven Whistlers. And that is like the story you told me of the Seven Stars. {219}

GUDLO XVII. AN OLD STORY WELL KNOWN TO ALL GIPSIES.

A Rommany rakli yeckorus jalled to a ker a-dukkerin'. A'ter she jalled avree, the rakli of the ker missered a plachta, and pookered the rye that the Rommany chi had ch.o.r.ed it. So the rye jalled aduro pauli the tem, and latched the Rommany chals, and b.i.t.c.hered them to staruben. Now this was adree the puro chairus when they used to nasher mus.h.i.+s for any bitti covvo. And some of the Rommany chals were nashered, an' some pannied.

An' sar the gunnos, an' kavis, and covvas of the Rommanis were chivved and pordered kettenus 'pre the bor adree the cangry-puv, an' kek mush tooled 'em. An' trin dood (or munti) pauli, the rakli was kairin' the baulors' habben at the kokero ker, when she latched the plachta they nashered trin dood adovo divvus. So the rakli jalled with the plachta ta laki rye, and penned, "d.i.c.k what I kaired on those chuvvenny, chori Rommany chals that were nashered and pannied for adovo bitti covvo adoi!"

And when they jalled to d.i.c.k at the Rommanis' covvas pauli the bor adree the cangry-puv, the gunnos were pordo and chivved adree, chingered saw to cut-engroes, and they latched 'em full o' ruppeny covvos--rooys an'

churls of sonnakai, an' oras, curros an' piimangris, that had longed o'

the Rommany chals that were nashered an' bitschered padel.

TRANSLATION.

A Gipsy girl once went to a house to tell fortunes. After she went away, the girl of the house missed a pudding-bag (literally, _linen cloth_), and told the master the Gipsy girl had stolen it. So the master went far about the country, and found the Gipsies, and sent them to prison. Now this was in the old time when they used to hang people for any little thing. And some of the Gipsies were hung, and some transported (literally, _watered_). And all the bags, and kettles, and things of the Gipsies were thrown and piled together behind the hedge in the churchyard, and no man touched them. And three months after, the maid was preparing the pigs' food at the same house, when she found the linen cloth they lost three months (before) that day. So the girl went with the cloth to her master, and said, "See what I did to those poor, poor Gipsies that were hung and transported for that trifle (there)!"

And when they went to look at the Gipsies' things behind the hedge in the churchyard, the bags were full and burst, torn all to rags, and they found them full of silver things--spoons and knives of gold, and watches, cups and teapots, that had belonged to the Gipsies that were hung and transported. {221a}

GUDLO XVIII. HOW THE GIPSY WENT TO CHURCH.

Did mandy ever jal to kangry? Avali, dui koppas, and beshed a lay odoi.

I was adree the tale tem o' sar, an' a rye putched mandy to well to kangry, an' I welled. And sar the ryas an' ranis d.i.c.ked at mandy as I jalled adree. {221b} So I beshed pukkenus mongin some geeros and d.i.c.ked upar again the chumure praller my sherro, and there was a deer and a kanengro odoi chinned in the bar, an' kaired kushto. I shooned the rashai a-rakkerin'; and when the shunaben was kerro, I welled avree and jalled alay the drum to the kitchema.

I latchered the raias mush adree the kitchema; so we got matto odoi, an'

were jallin' kerri alay the drum when we d.i.c.ked the raias wardo a-wellin'. So we jalled sig 'dusta parl the bor, an' gavered our kokeros odoi adree the puv till the rye had jessed avree.

I d.i.c.ked adovo rye dree the sala, and he putched mandy what I'd kaired the cauliko, pash kangry. I pookered him I'd pii'd dui or trin curros levinor and was pash matto. An' he penned mandy, "My mush was matto sar tute, and I nashered him." I pookered him ajaw, "I hope not, rya, for such a bitti covvo as dovo; an' he aint cammoben to piin' levinor, he's only used to pabengro, that don't kair him matto." But kek, the choro mush had to jal avree. An' that's sar I can rakker tute about my jallin'

to kangry.

TRANSLATION.

Did I ever go to church? Yes, twice, and sat down there. I was in the lower land of all (Cornwall), and a gentleman asked me to go to church, and I went. And all the ladies and gentlemen looked at me as I went in.

So I sat quietly among some men and looked up on the wall above my head, and there were a deer and a rabbit cut in the stone, beautifully done. I heard the clergyman speaking; and when the sermon was ended (literally, made), I came out and went down the road to the alehouse.