Yorkshire Ditties, First Series: To Which Is Added The Cream Of Wit And Humour From His Popular WritingsHartley, John
General
Yorkshire Ditties, First Series: To Which Is Added The Cream Of Wit And Humour From His Popular Writings
Hartley, John
Dialect poetry, English -- England -- Yorkshire; Poetry of places; Yorkshire (England) -- Poetry
Ther's some born fooils, an' ther's some mak thersen fooils, an'.
ther's some get made fooils on. When we hear fowk tell tales abaat
sein' boggards, an gettin' ther planets ruled, we think it saands
fooilish. Nah an' then one turns up rayther simple, an' a body con
hardly help laffin'. It's net long sin' aw heeard tell of a owd woman
goin' to th' Pooast Office i' Bolton, an' axin to see th' maister, an,
when he coom shoo said shoo wanted to know hah monny stamps it 'ud
tak' to send a mangle to Yeaworth. He couldn't tell her, an' shoo went
away thinkin' what a fooil he wor net to know his business better nor
that, an' he thowt what a fooil shoo wor for ax in sich a question.
An' soa it is;--we're apt to think iverybody fooils but ussen, an'
them 'at belangs to us. Yo doant oft find a mother or fayther 'at
thinks ther lad's a fooil (unless he gets wed, an then they allus say
soa.) Iverybody's'child is th' grandest an' th' cliverest i'th world.
But aw couldn't help laffin' one day when I heeard a chap braggin'
abaat his lad. "Aa," he said, "he's cliverest lad of his age aw iver
met; he's nobbut thirteen year owd an' he con do owt." Just as he wor
sayin' soa th' lad coom into th' raam, aitin' a raw turnip, an' his
fayther thowt he'd show him off a bit, soa he said, "Jack a want thee
to go an' messur th' length o' that piece o' timber 'at's i'th yard,
an come tell me." Soa he gave him his two-fooit rule, an' th' lad
went. Aw thowt he wor a long time abaat it, but in a bit he coom
back. "Well Jack," said his fayther, "ha long is it? spaik up, that's
a fine lad." "Why," he says, "it's th' length o' yo'r rule, an' my
pocket comb, an' this piece o' band." "That's reight," said his
fayther, "tha con goa hoam," put aw nooaticed 'at be did'nt brag abaat
him quite so mitch at after.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account