The English Gipsies and Their Language Part 26

When you del a mush cammoben to lel matchyas avree tute's panni, you'd better hatch adoi an' d.i.c.k how he kairs it.

TRANSLATION.

Once a gentleman told a Gipsy he might fish in his pond, and he would give him permission to do so for a s.h.i.+lling, but that he must only fish with a hook and a fis.h.i.+ng-pole (literally, crooked needle). So the Gipsy went with India-drab (juice of the berries of _Indicus cocculus_) made up with bread, and poisoned all the fish in the pond, and carried away his waggonful. A long time after, the gentleman met the Gipsy, and said, "You thief, did you catch the fish in my pond with a hook?" "Yes, sir, with a hook," replied the Gipsy very quietly. "And what kind of a hook?"

"Sir," said the Gipsy, "it was one of the long kind, what we call in our language a hookaben" (_i.e_., _a lie or trick_).

When you give a man leave to fish in your pond, you had better be present and see how he does it.

GUDLO XLII. THE GIPSY AND THE SNAKE.

If you more the first sappa you d.i.c.ks, tute'll more the first enemy you've got. That's what 'em pens, but I don't jin if it's tacho or nettus. And yeckorus there was a werry wafro mush that was allers a-kairin' wafri covvabens. An' yeck divvus he d.i.c.ked a sap in the wesh, an' he prastered paller it with a bori churi adree lester waster and chinned her sherro apre. An' then he rakkered to his kokerus, "Now that I've mored the sap, I'll lel the jivaben of my wenomest enemy." And just as he penned dovo lav he delled his pirro atut the danyas of a rukk, an'

pet alay and chivved the churi adree his bukko. An' as he was bes.h.i.+n'

alay a-mullerin' 'dree the weshes, he penned to his kokerus, "Avali, I d.i.c.ks kenna that dovo's tacho what they pookers about morin' a sappa; for I never had kek worser ennemis than I've been to mandy's selfus, and what wells of morin' innocen hanimals is kek kushtoben."

TRANSLATION.

If you kill the first snake you see, you'll kill the first (princ.i.p.al) enemy you have. That is what they say, but I don't know whether it is true or not. And once there was a very bad man who was always doing bad deeds. And one day he saw a snake in the forest, and ran after it with a great knife in his hand and cut her head off. And then he said to himself, "Now that I've killed the snake, I'll take the life of my most vindictive (literally, most venomous) enemy." And just as he spoke that word he struck his foot against the roots of a tree, and fell down and drove the knife into his own body (liver or heart). And as he lay dying in the forests, he said to himself, "Yes, I see now that it is true what they told me as to killing a snake; for I never had any worse enemy than I have been to myself, and what comes of killing innocent animals is naught good."

GUDLO XLIII. THE STORY OF THE GIPSY AND THE BULL.

Yeckorus there was a Rommany chal who was a boro koorin' mush, a surrelo mush, a boro-wasteni mush, werry toonery an' hunnalo. An' he penned adusta cheiruses that kek geero an' kek covva 'pre the drumyas couldn't trasher him. But yeck divvus, as yuv was jallin' langs the drum with a waver pal, chunderin' an' hookerin' an' lunterin', an' shorin' his kokero how he could koor the puro bengis' selfus, they shooned a guro a-goorin'

an' googerin', an' the first covva they jinned he prastered like divius at 'em, an' these here geeros prastered apre ye rukk, an' the boro koorin' mush that was so flick o' his wasters chury'd first o' saw (sar), an' hatched duri-dirus from the puv pre the limmers. An' he beshed adoi an' d.i.c.ked ye bullus wusserin' an' chongerin' his trushnees sar aboutus, an' kellin' pre lesters covvas, an' poggerin' to cutengroes saw he lelled for lesters miraben. An' whenever the bavol pudered he was atrash he'd pelt-a-lay 'pre the s.h.i.+nger-ballos of the gooro (guro). An' so they beshed adoi till the sig of the sala, when the mush who d.i.c.ked a'ter the gruvnis welled a-pirryin' by an' d.i.c.ked these here chals bes.h.i.+n' like chillicos pre the rukk, an' patched lengis what they were kairin' dovo for. So they pookered him about the bullus, an' he hankered it avree; an' they welled alay an' jalled andurer to the kitchema, for there never was dui mus.h.i.+s in 'covo tem that kaumed a droppi levinor koomi than lender. But pale dovo divvus that trusheni mush never sookered he couldn't be a trashni mush no moreus. Tacho.

TRANSLATION.

Once there was a Gipsy who was a great fighting man, a strong man, a great boxer, very bold and fierce. And he said many a time that no man and no thing on the roads could frighten him. But one day, as he was going along the road with another man (his friend), exaggerating and bragging and boasting, and praising himself that he could beat the old devil himself, they heard a bull bellowing and growling, and the first thing they knew he ran like mad at them; and these men hurried up a tree, and the great fighting man that was so handy with his fists climbed first of all, and got (placed) himself furtherest from the ground on the limbs.

And he sat there and saw the bull tossing and throwing his baskets all about, and dancing on his things, and breaking to pieces all he had for his living. And whenever the wind blew he was afraid he would fall on the horns of the bull. And so they sat there till daybreak, when the man who looked after the cows came walking by and saw these fellows sitting like birds on the tree, and asked them what they were doing that for. So they told him about the bull, and he drove it away; and they came down and went on to the alehouse, for there never were two men in this country that wanted a drop of beer more than they. But after that day that thirsty man never boasted he could not be a frightened man. True.

GUDLO XLIV. THE GIPSY AND HIS THREE SWEETHEARTS.

Yeckorus a tano mush kaired his cammoben ta trin juvas kett'nus an' kek o' the trin jinned yuv sus a pirryin' ye waver dui. An 'covo raklo jivved adree a bitti tan pash the rikkorus side o' the boro lun panni, an' yeck ratti sar the chais welled s.h.i.+kri kett'nus a lester, an' kek o'

the geeris jinned the wavers san lullerin adoi. So they jalled sar-sigan kett'nus, an' rakkered, "Sarshan!" ta yeck chairus. An' dovo raklo didn't jin what juva kaumed lester ferridirus, or kun yuv kaumed ye ferridirus, so sar the shtor besht-a-lay sum, at the habbenescro, and yuv del len habben an' levinor. Yeck hawed booti, but ye waver dui wouldn't haw kek, yeck pii'd, but ye waver dui wouldn't pi chommany, 'cause they were sar hunnali, and sookeri an' kuried. So the raklo penned lengis, yuv sos atrash if yuv lelled a juva 'at couldn't haw, she wouldn't jiv, so he rummored the rakli that hawed her habben.

All'ers haw sar the habben foki banders apre a tute, an' tute'll jal sikker men dush an' tukli.

TRANSLATION.

Once a young man courted three girls together, and none of the three knew he was courting the two others. And that youth lived in a little place near the side of the great salt water, and one night all the girls came at once together to him, and none of the girls knew the others were coming there. So they went all quick together, and said "Good evening,"

(sarishan means really "How are you?") at the same time. And that youth did not know which girl liked him best, or whom he loved best; so all the four sat down together at the table, and he gave them food and beer. One ate plenty, but the other two would eat nothing; one drank, but the other two would not drink something, because they were all angry, and grieved, and worried. So the youth told them he was afraid if he took a wife that could not eat, she would not live, so he married the girl that ate her food.

Always eat all the food that people give you (literally share out to you), and you will go readily (securely) through sorrow and trouble.

GUDLO XLV. THE GIPSIES AND THE SMUGGLERS. A TRUE STORY.

Yeckorus, most a hundred besh kenna, when mi dadas sus a chavo, yeck ratti a booti Rommany chals san millerin kettenescrus pash the boro panni, kun sar-sig the graias ankaired a-wickerin an' ludderin an'

nuckerin' an kairin a boro gudli, an' the Rommanis shuned a sh.e.l.lin, an'

d.i.c.ked mus.h.i.+s prasterin and lullyin for lenders miraben, sa's seer-dush, avree a boro hev. An' when len san sar jalled lug, the Rommany chals welled adoi an' latched adusta bitti barrels o' tatto-panni, an' fino covvas, for dovo mus.h.i.+s were 'mugglers, and the Roms lelled sar they mukked pali. An' dovo sus a boro covva for the Rommany chals, an' they pii'd sar graias, an' the raklis an' juvas jalled in kushni heezis for booti divvuses. An' dovo sus kerro pash Bo-Peep--a boro puvius adree bori chumures, pash Hastings in Suss.e.x.

When 'mugglers nasher an' Rommany chals latch, there's kek worser cammoben for it.

TRANSLATION.

Once almost a hundred years now, when my father was a boy, one night many Gipsies were going together near the sea, when all at once the horses began whinnying and kicking and neighing, and making a great noise, and the Gipsies heard a crying out, and saw men running and rus.h.i.+ng as if in alarm, from a great cave. And when they were all gone away together, the Gipsies went there and found many little barrels of brandy, and valuables, for those men were smugglers, and the Gipsies took all they left behind. And that was a great thing for the Gipsies, and they drank like horses, and the girls and women went in silk clothes for many days.

And that was done near Bo-Peep, a great field in the hills, by Hastings in Suss.e.x.

When smugglers lose and Gipsies find, n.o.body is the worse for it.

FOOTNOTES

{0a} The reason why Gipsy words have been kept unchanged was fully ill.u.s.trated one day in a Gipsy camp in my hearing, when one man declaring of a certain word that it was only _kennick_ or slang, and not "Rommanis," added, "It can't be Rommanis, because everybody knows it.

When a word gets to be known to everybody, it's no longer Rommanis."

{1} Lavengro and the Rommany Rye: London, John Murray.

{5} To these I would add "Zelda's Fortune," now publis.h.i.+ng in the _Cornhill Magazine_.

{21} Educated Chinese often exercise themselves in what they call "handsome talkee," or "talkee leeson" (i.e., reason), by sitting down and uttering, by way of a.s.sertion and rejoinder, all the learned and wise sentences which they can recall. In their conversation and on their crockery, before every house and behind every counter, the elegant formula makes its appearance, teaching people not merely _how_ to think, but what should be thought, and when.

{24} Probably from the modern Greek [Greek text], the sole of the foot, _i.e_., a track. Panth, a road, Hindustani.

{26} Pott: "Die Zigeuner in Europa and Asien," vol. ii, p. 293.