88 A CURIOUS TRADITION. 



ment merite leur place sur la porte de nos granges, et 

 plutdt que de les tuer, Ton ferait bien mieux d'etablir 

 chez nous, comme cela s'est fait avec succes dans 

 certaines localites, de hauts perchoirs dans nos campagnes 

 pour attirer ces oiseaux bienfaisants." 



Among the many curious legends which exist with 

 reference to this bird, we may mention one to which 

 Shakespeare has alluded in Hamlet : 



" They say the owl was a baker's daughter." 



Hamlet, Act iv. Sc. 5. 



Mr. Staunton, in his edition of Shakespeare's Plays, says 

 this has reference to a tradition still current in some parts 

 of England. " Our Saviour went into a baker's shop where 

 they were baking, and asked for some bread to eat. The 

 mistress of the shop immediately put a piece of dough into 

 the oven to bake for him, but was reprimanded by her 

 daughter, who, insisting that the piece of dough was too 

 large, reduced it considerably in size. The dough, 

 however, immediately afterwards began to swell, and 

 presently became of an enormous size. Whereupon 

 the baker's daughter cried out, ' Wheugh ! wheugh ! 

 wheugh ! ' which owl-like noise, it is said, probably 

 induced our Saviour, for her wickedness, to transform her 

 into that bird." 



Mr. Douce represents this story as still current amongst 

 the common people in Gloucestershire.* According to 



* " Illustrations of Shakespeare, and of Ancient Manners." 1807. 



