ive agen!

The robin and the red-breast,
The martin and the swallow;
If you touch one o' their eggs,
Bad luck will surely follow!

ESSEX

A robin and a titter-wren
Are God Almighty's cock and hen;
A martin and a swallow
Are God Almighty's shirt and collar.

The robin red-breast and the wran
Coost out about the parritch pan;
And ere the robin got a spune,
The wran she had the parritch dune.

Robin, robin red-breast,
Laverock, and the wren,
If you harry their nest
You'll never thrive agen.

1600

What bird so sings, yet does so wail?
'Tis philomel, the nightingale;
"Jugg! jugg! terue!" she cries,
And hating earth to heaven she flies.

ESSEX

Eat birds, eat, and fear not,
Here lie I and care not,
But if my master should happen to come,
With his short whip, and his long gun,
You must fly and I must run.

I will sing you a song
Of the days that are long,
Of the woodcock and the sparrow,
Of the little dog that burnt his tail,
And shall be whipt to-morrow.

DORSET RIME

Vlee away, blackie cap!
Don't ye hurt measter's crap,
While I vill my tatie trap,
And lie down and teak a nap.

DEVONSHIRE CUCKOO RIME

March he sits upon his perch;
April he soundeth his bell;
May he sings both night and day;
June he altereth his tune;
And July--away to fly.

When the cuckoo comes to the bare thorn,
Sell your cow and buy your corn;
But when she comes to the full bit,
Sell your corn and buy you sheep.

In April the coo-coo can sing her song by rote;
In June of time she cannot sing a note;
At first koo-koo! koo-koo! sings still--
At last koo-ke! koo-ke! koo-ke!--six koo-kees to one koo.

NORFOLK

When the weirling shrieks at night,
Sow the seed with the morning light;
But when the cuckoo swells its throat,
Harvest flies from the mooncall's[A] note.

[A] _Mooncall_--the cuckoo (Norfolk).

Parson Peard,
Be not afeard,
Nor take it much in anger;
We've bought your geese
At a penny a piece,
And left the money with the gander.

A peacock picked a peck of pepper;
Did he pick a peck of pepper?
Yes, he picked a peck of pepper;
Pick, pecker, peacock!

SOUTHERN INDIA

An old story! an old story!
Clever Bra