--an' annered the tem apre, he was in the
bero, an' didn't jin if there was any puvius about, so he bitchered the
chillico avree. An' the chillico was a dove, 'cause dove-us is like
Duvel, an' pash o' the Duvel an' Duvel's chillico. So the dove mukkered
avree an' jalled round the tem till he latchered the puvius; for when he
dickered a tan an' lelled a holluf-leaf, he jinned there was a tem, an'
hatched the holluf apopli to his Duvel. An' when yuv's Duvel jinned
there was a tem, he kaired bitti tiknos an' foki for the tem--an' I don't
jin no more of it. Kekoomi. An' that is a wery tidy little story of the
leaf, and it sikkers that the holluf was the first leaf. Tacho."

"Sir, I will tell you the oldest word for a leaf--and that is an olive.
(Don't you know that the olive was the first leaf? so olive must be the
Rommany word, since Rommanis is the oldest language of all.) For when
the first man was made and created in the world--and that was the great
God himself, I expect--and brought the land out, he was in the ship, and
didn't know if there was any earth about him, so he sent the bird out.
And the bird was a dove, because _dove_ is like _Duvel_ (God), and half
God and God's bird. So the dove flew away and went around the world till
he found the earth; for when he saw a place and took an olive-leaf, he
knew there was a country (land), and took the olive-leaf back to his
Lord. And when his Lord knew there was land, he made little children and
people for it--and I don't know anything more about it. And that is a
very tidy little story of the leaf, and it shows that the olive was the
first leaf."

Being gratified at my noting down this original narrative from his own
lips, my excellent old friend informed me, with cheerfulness not
unmingled with the dignified pride characteristic of erudition, and of
the possession of deep and darksome lore, that he also knew the story of
Samson. And thus spake he:--

"Samson was a boro mush, wery hunnalo an' tatto at koorin', so that he
nashered saw the mushis avree, an' they were atrash o' lester. He was so
surrelo that yeckorus when he poggered avree a ker, an' it had a boro
sasterni wuder, he just pet it apre his dumo, an' hookered it avree, an'
jalled kerri an' bikin'd it.

"Yeck divvus he lelled some weshni juckals, an' pandered yagni-trushnees
to their poris and mukked 'em jal. And they nashered avree like puro
bengis, sig in the sala, when sar the mushis were sutto