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029 - Stories about Birds · Manx Fairy Tales

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty eight of the Manx Fairy Tales. This is
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  Speaker 1: a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information ought to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Recording by Pinchcliff. Minx Fairy Tales by Sophia Morrison, Chapter
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  Speaker 1: twenty eight, Stories about Birds. Number one The ravens who
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  Speaker 1: ravens met once, and one asked the other in bird languide,
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  Speaker 1: is there anything new at you? The white horse is dead?
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  Speaker 1: Said he? Is he fat? Is he fat? Said the other? Delicious? Delicious?
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  Speaker 1: Said he. Then he repented that he had told him that,
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  Speaker 1: and called out bare Bones, Bare Bones. Number two Blackbird's
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  Speaker 1: morning Song. Old Robin Quirk one fine morning was sitting
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  Speaker 1: sunning himself before his cottage door, when the blackbird living
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  Speaker 1: in the Tranham tree in his garden flew down, settled
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  Speaker 1: near Robin and began to talk to him. In Manx,
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  Speaker 1: I ree Robin as gau smot, Rise Robin and take
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  Speaker 1: a smoke, char nell tom bagar, I am I have
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  Speaker 1: no tobacco, said Robin. Guione Gione buy it by it,
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  Speaker 1: cried blackbird chanel ping, I am I have not a penny, poor,
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  Speaker 1: Robin said, gao er Dale, gow Erdale, Gowerdale, Gowerdale. Credit
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  Speaker 1: it credit, It was blackbird's bad advice, chad ad Dale. Though, boy,
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  Speaker 1: they won't give me credit. Boy quite ish, quite quit it.
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  Speaker 1: Then quit it, whistled blackbird flying home, and the discussion.
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  Speaker 1: The Imprince of Sin is in them blackbirds, Robin said,
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  Speaker 1: Number three, How the wren became king of the birds
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  Speaker 1: A long long time ago, before you and I were born.
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  Speaker 1: The birds of the air gathered at tin walled from
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  Speaker 1: all etze of the wind. The meeting was to settle
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  Speaker 1: once and for all all the squabbling and fighting among
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  Speaker 1: them as to which of them was the cleverest, and
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  Speaker 1: it was agreed that the cleverest birds should be king.
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  Speaker 1: The sky was black with them, big and little, and
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  Speaker 1: soon all had gathered together. Everywhere groups of birds sat
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  Speaker 1: a row, whoeishing, scalding, or sleeping. Some were in fine
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  Speaker 1: black sunday coats, like old Parson Gull. Some clad only
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  Speaker 1: in worker day brown, like poor Brownie the hedge sparrow,
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  Speaker 1: but most wore leggings of red or yellow, while the
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  Speaker 1: cough had a new pair of bright red ones. Yellow.
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  Speaker 1: Tommy the dandy was preening himself, swinging on the top
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  Speaker 1: of a gorse old gray back. The crow perched on
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  Speaker 1: a rock above him, silent but observant, was eating flitters.
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  Speaker 1: And over all the blue arch of the sky, in
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  Speaker 1: which hung motions of broad winged eagle. The corn creak
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  Speaker 1: officially announced, Ray, Ray, Ready, Ready. Then each one got
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  Speaker 1: up in his turn, tell of all the great things
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  Speaker 1: that he could do. The falcon boasted that he and
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  Speaker 1: his mate were worth the kingdom of Man with all
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  Speaker 1: its rights. Loondou the thrush sang her best to them.
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  Speaker 1: It was a pleasure to listen to her, and for
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  Speaker 1: a moment she thought that she would be elected. Flame
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  Speaker 1: of the wood. The goldfinch spread her bright plumage, fork
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  Speaker 1: of the wind. The swallow told of her swiftness and
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  Speaker 1: travels to warm countries in the south. The curlew of
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  Speaker 1: her riches. Let the curlough be poor or fat. She
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  Speaker 1: carries a groat upon her back, said she throwing the
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  Speaker 1: mark of four, which she bears. When the cuckoo got up,
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  Speaker 1: the meadow pippet darted out from a group and danced around,
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  Speaker 1: calling out his name to draw attention to himself. The
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  Speaker 1: little fool, and saying every bird hatch her own eggs,
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  Speaker 1: so poor cuckoo wasn't heard. There was a loud voice
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  Speaker 1: dispute between the magpie and the jackdaw as to which
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  Speaker 1: the best thief. At last, Jimmy Wren got up to
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  Speaker 1: have her say. After all the grand ones had done.
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  Speaker 1: Ha ha ha, laughed the snipe, and all the birds chuckled.
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  Speaker 1: Jinny Wren got the better of them for all that,
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  Speaker 1: says she small though I am, and slender my leg,
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  Speaker 1: twelve chicks I can bring out of the egg. And
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  Speaker 1: the birds agreed that Jinny was as clever again as
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  Speaker 1: the best of em. But the eagle didn't like it
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  Speaker 1: that a little bit of a bird like Jinny Wren
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  Speaker 1: should be over him. So he considered for a minute
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  Speaker 1: and says, he middling vexed birds, it's only right that
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  Speaker 1: the best bird on the wing should you'd be king.
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  Speaker 1: Let's try heat to see er which of us can
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  Speaker 1: go the highest hollered. The old owl looked thoughtful and said,
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  Speaker 1: I never saw anything yet worth flyin for. But the
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  Speaker 1: birds said, indeed it wouldn't be a bad idea at all.
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  Speaker 1: No sooner said than done, Ginny diver the cormorant gave
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  Speaker 1: the whistle to fly, and instantly off they started speeding
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  Speaker 1: on great strong wings. Eagle led the way. The little
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  Speaker 1: ones were following, Pompey knee bore bat, bird of the barley,
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  Speaker 1: straggling far in the rear. But the seven sleepers, the bat,
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  Speaker 1: the stone chat, two egg, the cuckoo and others didn't stir.
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  Speaker 1: The sleep had fallen on them. The eagle flew up
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  Speaker 1: and up and away away to the sun till he
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  Speaker 1: couldn't lift a feather an inch higher. Then he peered
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  Speaker 1: down into the blue to the birds far far below,
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  Speaker 1: and he let a scream out from him, darmishri knie en,
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  Speaker 1: hrie knee en, I'm king of the birds, King of
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  Speaker 1: the birds. But little ginny wren was one too many
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  Speaker 1: for him. There again she had taken tight hold of
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  Speaker 1: him by a feather under his great broad wing, and
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  Speaker 1: hidden usself. And as he cried, ah misher knie een,
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  Speaker 1: she flew on top of his head and called out,
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  Speaker 1: char now, char now, tarmish eri skein not so not so,
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  Speaker 1: I'm above him, I'm above him. Down drop the eagle,
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  Speaker 1: and drop the wren. Breathless, but King of the birds.
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  Speaker 1: And that's why the boys go round on Saint Stephen's
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  Speaker 1: day to this day, singing the wren, the wren, the
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  Speaker 1: king of all birds. We've caught Saint Stephen's day in
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  Speaker 1: the gorse. Though he's small, his family as many. We pray, you,
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  Speaker 1: good woman, give us a drop to drink. And of
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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty eight