HADDOCK. The black spot on each side of a haddock, near the gills, is the impression of St. Peter’s finger and thumb, when he took the tribute money from the fish’s mouth. The haddock has spots on either side, which are the marks of St. Peter’s fingers when he catched that fish for the tribute.--Metellus, _Dialogues, etc._, 57 (1693). HAIR. If a dog bites you, any evil consequences may be prevented by applying three of the dog’s hairs to the wound. Take the hair, it is well written, Of the dog by which you’re bitten; Work off one wine by his brother, And one labor by another. Athenæus (ascribed to Aristophanês). HARE. It is unlucky if a hare runs across a road in front of a traveller. The Roman augurs considered this an ill omen. If an hare cross their way, they suspect they shall be rob’d, or come to some mischance.--Ramesay, _Elminthologia_, 271 (1668). It was believed at one time that hares changed their sex every year. HEDGEHOG. Hedgehogs foresee a coming storm.--Bodenham, _Garden of the Muses_, 153 (1600). Hedgehogs fasten on the dugs of cows, and drain off the milk. HORSE. If a person suffering from whooping-cough asks advice of a man riding on a piebald horse, the malady will be cured by doing what the man tells him to do. JACKAL. The jackal is the lion’s provider. It hunts with the lion, and provides it with food by starting prey, as dogs start game. LADY-BUG. It is unlucky to kill a lady-bug. LION. The lion will not injure a royal prince. Fetch the Numidian lion I brought over; If she be sprung from royal blood, the lion Will do her reverence, else he will tear her. Beaumont and Fletcher, The Mad Lover (1617). The lion will not touch the true prince.--Shakespeare, _1 Henry IV._ act ii. sc. 4 (1598). The lion hates the game-cock, and is jealous of it. Some say because the cock wears a crown (its crest), and others because it comes into the royal presence “booted and spurred.” The fiercest lion trembles at the crowing of a cock.--Pliny, _Natural History_, viii. 19. According to legend, the lion’s whelp is born dead, and remains so for three days, when the father breathes on it, and it receives life. LIZARD. The lizard is man’s special enemy, but warns him of the approach of a serpent. MAGPIE. To see _one_ magpie is unlucky; to see _two_ denotes merriment, or a marriage; to see _three_, a successful journey; _four_, good news; _five_, company.--Grose. Another superstition is: “One for sorrow; two for mirth; three, a wedding; four, a death.” One’s sorrow, two’s mirth, Three’s a wedding, four’s a birth, Five’s a christening, six’s a dearth, Seven’s heaven, eight is hell, And nine’s the devil his ane sel. _Old Scotch Rhyme._