278 GOOSE 



the rock of geese. In " Biorlinn Chlann Raonuill/' occurs this 

 line : — 



'S togaihh siuil rithe bho Uithist na cradh-gheadh. 

 And raise sjiil on her from Uist of the shell-geese. 



Uist in Gaelic is also spelled Uibhist and Uidhisd. 



Geese are said always to fly in two lon^ lines and to form a 

 letter of the ali)ha])et, viz., A. If wild geese are observed on their 

 arrival g(ung towards the sea, it is an augury of good weather to 

 follow, the reverse if seen flying hillwards ; in their flight the 

 Irishman says the leader brings up the rear. George Ebers says, 

 " When God Almighty wrote the law on the tables of stone, a flock 

 of wild geese flew over Mount Sinai, and one of them smeared 

 out a letter with its wing, and since that time they have always 

 flown in lines that make a letter of the alphabet, and all their 

 kind have to submit to be stripped of their wing feathers for men 

 to write with." A more commonplace and well-known saying is, 

 on the occasion of a heavy fall of snow, "the Welshmen are 

 plucking their geese." 



Ach biadh bu docha leat na 'n t-im, geobachan nan gugachan. 

 But food that thou would'st prefer to butter, the gizzards of 

 the (young) Solan goose. (Stewart.) 

 Bho nach fhaod mi beantuinn do'n gheadh mor, pronnaidh mi 

 na h-iseanan. 



As 1 cannot (may or dare not) touch the big goose, I'll 

 pound the goslings. Probably said by a fool bitten by 

 a gander. 

 Cha daoire 'n geadh na 'shailleadh. 



The goose is no dearer than his salting. The goose could 

 be got for nothing in the days of the salt tax. 

 Cha 'n fhaide gob an geadh na gob an gannrail. 



The goose's beak is no longer than the gander's. This may 

 be questioned. 

 Cho bodhar ri giadh a's t-Fhoghar. 



As deaf as a goose in autumn. 

 Coimeas a gheoidh bhric 's a mhathar. 



The comparison of the grey goose to his mother. Easily 

 made and somewhat superfluous. 

 Far am bi geoidh bidh callan. 



When there is geese there will be cackling (or noise). 

 Far am bi geoidh bidh iseanan. 



Where geese are will goslings be. 

 Geoidh 'us cearcan nach toil a cheile. 



Geese and hens that love not each other. 

 Innsidh na geoidh a's t-Fhoghar. 



The geese will tell it in autumn. The approach of winter, 

 when the wild geese are heard piping aloft. 

 Is coltach ri cheile an geadh breac 's a mhathair. 

 The grey goose and its mother are alike. 



