Sortez de vos clos,
Sinon je vous brulerai la barbe et les os!”
But in Germany there are two and in Italy five versions of the same song addressed to snails. It is evidently a Roman Catholic formula, based on some early heathen incantation. Thus in Tuscany they sing:—
“Chiocciola marinella
Tira fuori le tue cornelle,
E se tu non le tirerai
Calcie pugni tu buscherai.”
Both the snail and mole and mouse were, as I have said, chthonic, that is diabolical or of darkness. The horns of the former were supposed to connect it with the devil. “In Tuscany it is believed that in the month of April the snail makes love with serpents.”
There is another nursery counting-out rhyme whose antiquity and connection with sorcery is very evident. It is as follows:—
“One, two, three, four, five,