tttfi BOOK OF MtGRAtORV BIRDS 257 



and victorious in every struggle, nor can any man or evil 

 spirit harm him. Success follows him wherever he goes, 

 everything happens according to his wishes, and he is 

 everyone's favourite. It is not wonderful, therefore, that 

 men will bargain for a stone that can work so much good 

 for its owner. Only the raven, however, knows where to 

 find it. It is a common saying that this bird mates in 

 February, lays eggs in March, and hatches in April. 

 Now, when the raven has laid its eggs, the man who 

 determines to have the lucky stone must climb the rock 

 whereon the raven has its nest. There he must secrete 

 himself until the bird flies from the nest. Immediately 

 the man must hasten to the nest, take the eggs therefrom, 

 go away and boil them hard, and then lay them in the 

 nest again, so that the raven, when it comes back, may 

 not notice anything amiss. Then the bird resumes its 

 attempt to hatch them. When the time for incubation, 

 however, is past, it will fly off to bring the lucky stone to 

 place beside the eggs in the nest. Now the man must do 

 his best to shoot the bird, take the stone from its beak, and 

 go home with it. His fortune is thus made. 



