The Milk-White Doo.

Scottish Fairy and Folk Tales, by George Douglas, [1901], at sacred-texts.com

THE MILK-WHITE DOO. ^{1  2}

THERE was once a man that wrought in the fields, and had a wife, and a son, and a dochter. One day he caught a hare, and took it hame to his wife, and bade her make it ready for his dinner. While it was on the fire, the good-wife aye tasted and tasted at it, till she had tasted it a' away, and then she didna ken what to do for her goodman's dinner. So she cried in Johnie her son to come and get his head kaimed; and when she was kaiming his head, she slew him, and put him into the pat. Well, the goodman cam hame to his dinner, and his wife set down Johnie well boiled to him; and when he was eating, he takes up a foot, and says: "That's surely my Johnie's fit."

"Sic nonsense! it's ane o' the hare's," says the goodwife.

Sync he took up a hand, and says: "That's surely my Johnie's hand."

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"Ye're havering, ¹ goodman; it's anither o' the hare's feet."

So when the goodman had eaten his dinner, little Katy, Johnie's sister, gathered a' the banes, and put them in below a stane at the cheek o' the door--

Where they grew, and they grew,
To a milk-white doo,
That took its wings,
And away it flew.

And it flew till it cam to where twa women were washing claes, and it sat down on a stane, and cried--

"Pew, pew,
My minny me slew,
My daddy me chew,
My sister gathered my banes,
And put them between twa milk-white stanes;
And I grew, and I grew,
To a milk-white doo,
And I took to my wings, and away I flew."

"Say that owre again, my bonny bird, and we'll gie ye a' thir claes," says the women.

Pew, pew,
My minny me slew," etc.

And it got the claes; and then flew till it cam to a man counting a great heap o' siller, and it sat down and cried--

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Pew, pew,
My minny me slew," etc.

"Say that again, my bonny bird, and I'll gie ye a' this siller," says the man.

Pew, pew,
My minny me slew," etc.-

And it got a' the siller; and syne it flew till it cam to twa millers grinding corn, and it cried-

Pew, pew,
My minny me slew," etc.

"Say that again, my bonny bird, and I'll gie ye this millstane," says the miller.

Pew, pew,
My minny me slew," etc.

And it gat the millstane; and syne it flew till it lighted on its father's house-top. It threw sma' stanes down the lum, ¹ and Katy cam out to see what was the matter; and the doo threw all the claes to her. Syne the father cam out, and the doo' threw a' the siller to him. And syne the mother cam out, and the doo threw down the millstane upon her and killed her. And at last it flew away; and the goodman and his dochter after that

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Lived happy, and died happy,
And never drank out of a dry cappy.

Footnotes

71:1 Robert Chambers, Popular Rhymes of Scotland.

71:2 Pigeon.

72:1 Talking nonsense.

73:1 Chimney.