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. 
