June — Secret of the Bird Language, 207 



parent may have pretended to know the language of 

 the birds to amuse or govern his children, and after- 

 wards the tradition of this may have remained. The 

 same pretension is to be found in Oriental story. But 

 there is one peculiarity about it in the neighborhood of 

 the Val Ste. VeYonique, which is this. He who knows 

 the bird-language is forbidden by the popular supersti- 

 tion to communicate it to any one until he lies upon 

 his death-bed, when he may teach it to one member of 

 his family ; who, of course, is bound by the same law. 

 Now as it generally happens that a man lying upon 

 his death-bed has other things to think about than the 

 transmission of bird-lore, the consequence of course is 

 that the knowledge of it is conveniently attributable to 

 people who have not transmitted it. ' My father knew 

 their language,' a peasant-girl will tell you, 'but when 

 he came to die he did not teach it us.' In this way 

 a pleasant and permanent mystery is maintained, and 

 it is still believed that one or two ancient men and 

 women know the bird-lore, and may possibly commu- 

 nicate it when they come to die, if any one is there to 

 receive it. 



