More Tales of the RidingsMoorman, F. W. (Frederic William)
General
More Tales of the Ridings
Moorman, F. W. (Frederic William)
Yorkshire (England) -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
"When lile Doed heerd him tell o' squirrels, he bethowt him o' t'
squirrel i' t' basket an' wanted to set forrard.
"'Bide a bit,' says Melsh Dick, 'an' I'll show thee more squirrels nor
iver thou's seen i' all thy life.'
"With that he taks a whistle out of his pocket; 'twere Just like a penny
tin whistle, but 'twere made o' t' rind o' a wandy esh, an' Melsh Dick
had shapped it hissen wi' his whittle. Then he put t' whistle to his
mouth an' started to blow. He blew a two-three notes, an' sure enif,
there was a scufflin' i' t' trees an' i' less nor hauf-a-minute there
were fower or five squirrels sittin' on t' boughs o' t' espins. When
Doed saw t' squirrels i' t' mooinleet, he were fair gloppened. He
glowered at 'em, an' they glowered back at him, an' their een were as
breet as glow-worms.
"All t' while Melsh Dick kept tootlin' wi' his whistle an' t' squirrels
com lowpin' through t' trees, while t' espins round t' dub were fair
wick wi' 'em. You could hardlins see t' boughs for t' squirrels. 'Twere
same as if all t' squirrels i' Bowland Forest had heerd t' whistle an'
bin foorced to follow t' sound. They didn't mak no babblement, but just
set theirsens down on their huggans, pricked up their lugs, cocked their
tails ower their rigs, and kept their een fixed on Melsh Dick.
"Well, when Melsh Dick thowt he'd gethered squirrels enew, he started to
play a tune, an' 'twere an uncouth tune an' all. Soomtimes 'twere like
t' yowlin' o' t' wind i' t' chimley, an' soomtimes 'twere like t'
yammerin' o' tewits an' curlews on t' moor. But when t' squirrels heerd
t' tune, they gat theirsens into line alang t' boughs, an' there were
happen twelve squirrels on ivery bough. Then they gat agate o' lowpin';
they lowped frae tree to tree, reet round t' dub, wi' their tails set
straight out behind 'em. They were that close togither, 'twere just like
a gert coil o' red rope twinin' round t' watter; and all t' time they
kept their faces turned to Melsh Dick, an' their een were blazin' like
coals o' fire. Round an' round they went, as lish as could be, an' lile
Doed just hoddled his breeath an' glowered at 'em. He'd seen horses
lowpin' in a ring at Slaidburn Fair, but 'twere nowt anent squirrels
lowpin' i' t' espins round t' dub.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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