250 



BIRDS IN LEGEND 



visits its nest the nest must be stopped up with wood. The 

 bird will open it by touching it with a spring-wurzel. Mean- 

 time a fire or a red cloth must be placed near by, which will 

 so frighten the bird that it will let the magic root fall." 



The English antiquary Aubrey (1626-97) records an 

 anecdote of a keeper of a baronial park in Hereford- 

 shire who "did for exponent's sake drive an iron naile 

 thwert the hole of the woodpecker's nest, there being 

 a tradition that the damme will bring some leafe to 

 open it. He layed at the bottom of the tree a cleane 

 sheet, and before many houres passed the naile came 

 out, and he found a leafe lying by it on the sheet. They 

 say the moonwort will do such things." The moonwort 

 is a fern which was formerly reputed to have power to 

 draw nails out of horseshoes. 



From such roots as these grew the superstitions and 

 legends innumerable of plants that would cure a snake 

 (another lightning-symbol) or other animal of wounds, 

 or even restore the dead. A tradition of the Middle 

 Ages is that two little birds were seen fighting till one 

 was exhausted. "It went away and ate of a certain 

 herb and then returned to renew the battle. When the 

 old man who witnessed the encounter had seen this done 

 several times he took away the herb on which the bird 

 was wont to feed, whereupon the little bird, unable to 

 find its plant, set up a great cry and died." It is a 

 foolish little story, but illustrative. 



One reads of magic crystals, and of gems with mar- 

 vellous properties that would open mountains in which 

 princes or glittering treasures were hidden. A curious 

 example of this is related by Leland 97 anent the con- 

 stant and ordinarily fruitless hunt for treasure in ancient 

 Etruscan tombs, which went on in Italy for centuries. 



