In the opposite wood, called Birkans
Wood (opposite to the Abbey House), during the summer evenings, the
nightingale:--

'Sings darkling, and, in shadiest covert hid,
Tunes her nocturnal lay.'"

Of the numerous stories connected with the origin of the mistletoe, one
is noticed by Lord Bacon, to the effect that a certain bird, known as
the "missel-bird," fed upon a particular kind of seed, which, through
its incapacity to digest, it evacuated whole, whereupon the seed,
falling on the boughs of trees, vegetated and produced the mistletoe.
The magic springwort, which reveals hidden treasures, has a mysterious
connection with the woodpecker, to which we have already referred. Among
further birds which are in some way or other connected with plants is
the eagle, which plucks the wild lettuce, with the juice of which it
smears its eyes to improve its vision; while the hawk was supposed, for
the same purpose, to pluck the hawk-bit.

Similarly, writes Mr. Folkard, [1] pigeons and doves made use of
vervain, which was termed "pigeon's-grass." Once more, the cuckoo,
according to an old proverbial rhyme, must eat three meals of cherries
before it ceases its song; and it was formerly said that orchids sprang
from the seed of the thrush and the blackbird. Further illustrations
might be added, whereas some of the many plants named after well-known
birds are noticed elsewhere.

An old Alsatian belief tells us that bats possessed the power of
rendering the eggs of storks unfruitful. Accordingly, when once a
stork's egg was touched by a bat it became sterile; and in order to
preserve it from the injurious influence, the stork placed in its nest
some branches of the maple, which frightened away every intruding
bat. [2] There is an amusing legend of the origin of the bramble:--The
cormorant was once a wool merchant. He entered into partnership with the
bramble and the bat, and they freighted a large ship with wool. She was
wrecked, and the firm became bankrupt. Since that disaster the bat
skulks about till midnight to avoid his creditors, the cormorant is for
ever diving into the deep to discover its foundered vessel, while the
bramble seizes hold of every passing sheep to make up his loss by
stealing the wool.

Returning to the rose, we may quote one or two legendary stories
relating to its origin. Thus Sir John Mandeville tells us how when a
holy maiden of Bethlehem, "blamed with wrong and slandered," was doomed
to death by fi