he sala, to lel ash-wood for the yag. That was when I was a
bitti chavo, for my dadas always would keravit.

"An' we kairs it because foki pens our Saviour, the tikno Duvel was born
apre the Boro Divvus, 'pre the puv, avree in the temm, like we Rommanis,
and he was brought 'pre pash an ash yag--(_Why you can dick dovo adree
the Scriptures_!).

"The ivy and holly an' pine rukks never pookered a lav when our Saviour
was gaverin' of his kokero, an' so they tools their jivaben saw (sar) the
wen, and dicks selno saw the besh; but the ash, like the surrelo rukk,
pukkered atut him, where he was gaverin, so they have to hatch mullo
adree the wen. And so we Rommany chals always hatchers an ash yag saw
the Boro Divvuses. For the tickno duvel was chivved a wadras 'pre the
puvius like a Rommany chal, and kistered apre a myla like a Rommany, an'
jalled pale the tem a mangin his moro like a Rom. An' he was always a
pauveri choro mush, like we, till he was nashered by the Gorgios.

"An' he kistered apre a myla? Avali. Yeckorus he putchered the pash-
grai if he might kister her, but she pookered him _kek_. So because the
pash-grai wouldn't rikker him, she was sovahalled againsus never to be a
dye or lel tiknos. So she never lelled kek, nor any cross either.

"Then he putchered the myla to rikker him, and she penned: 'Avali!' so he
pet a cross apre laki's dumo. And to the divvus the myla has a trin
bongo drum and latchers tiknos, but the pash-grai has kek. So the mylas
'longs of the Rommanis."

(TRANSLATION.)--"Yes--many a time I've had to go two or three miles of a
Great Day (Christmas), early in the morning, to get ash-wood for the
fire. That was when I was a small boy, for my father always would do it.

"And we do it because people say our Saviour, the small God, was born on
the Great Day, in the field, out in the country, like we Rommanis, and he
was brought up by an ash-fire."

Here a sudden sensation of doubt or astonishment at my ignorance seemed
to occur to my informant, for he said,--

"Why, you can see that in the Scriptures!"

To which I answered, "But the Gipsies have Scripture stories different
from those of the Gorgios, and different ideas about religion. Go on
with your story. Why do you burn ash-wood?"

"The ivy, and holly, and pine trees, never told a word where our Saviour
was hiding himself, and so they keep alive all the winter, and look green
all the year. But the ash, like the oak (_lit_. st