Volume I Part 48 (1/2)

Hecklebirnie

A play among children in Aberdeens.h.i.+re. Thirty or forty children in two rows, joining opposite hands, strike smartly with their hands thus joined on the head or shoulders of their companion as he runs the gauntlet through them. This is called ”pa.s.sing through the mires of Hecklebirnie.”-Jamieson.

The editors of Jamieson append a lengthy note connecting the name of this game with the northern belief that the wicked were condemned to suffer eternal punishment in Hecla, the volcanic mountain in Iceland.

See ”Namers and Guessers.”

Hen and Chicken

Chickery, chickery, cranny crow, I went to the well to wash my toe, When I got back a chicken was dead.

This verse is said by the Hen to her Chickens, after which they all go with the Hen to search for the dead Chicken. On their way they meet the Fox. The following dialogue between the Fox and Hen ensues, the Hen beginning:-

What are you doing?

Picking up sticks.

What for?

To make a fire.

What's the fire for?

To boil some water.

What's the water for?

To boil some chickens in.

Where do you get them from?

Out of your flock.

That I'm sure you won't.

-Derbys.h.i.+re (_Folk-lore Journal_, i. 386).

The game is played in the usual manner of ”Fox and Goose” games. One is chosen to be the Hen, and one to be the Fox. The rest are the Chickens.

The Chickens take hold of each other's waists, the first one holding the Hen's waist. At the end of the dialogue the Fox tries to get hold of one of the chickens. If he succeeds in catching them, they all with the Fox try to dodge the Hen, who makes an effort to regain them.

It is known at Winterton under the name of ”Pins and Needles.” The players stand in a row, one behind another, with one of the party as their Leader. Another player, called ”Outsider,” pretends to scratch the ground. The Leader asks, the questions, and the Outsider replies-

What are you scratching for?

Pins and needles.

What do you want your pins and needles for?

To mend my poke.

What do you want your poke for?

To put some sand in.

What do you want your sand for?

To sharpen knives with.