Once a little Gorgio put on a woman’s gown and went to an old Gipsy mother to have his fortune told. And she told him, “You’ll marry a Fair Man with black eyes.” Then the young man gave her a sixpence and said, “If this sixpence were as big as the lie you told me, you could fill all hell with silver.” But, stop a bit! after a while—maybe in a week, maybe a month, maybe in a year, maybe the other day—he married a girl by the name of Fair Man, and her eyes were as black as my sweetheart’s.
There are always two sides to a prediction.
GUDLO IV. HOW THE ROYSTON ROOK DECEIVED THE ROOKS AND PIGEONS.
’Pré yeck dívvus a Royston rookus jālled mongin the kaulo chiriclos, an’ they putched (pootschered) him, “Where did tute chore tiro pauno chúkko?” And yuv pookered, “Mandy chored it from a bikshérro of a pigeon.” Then he jālled a-men the pigeons an’ penned, “Sárishan, pals?” And they pūtched lesti, “Where did tute lel akovo kauli rokámyas te byáscros?” And yuv penned, “Mandy chored ’em from those wafri múshis the rookuses.”
Pāsh-rātis pen their kókeros for Gorgios mongin Gorgios, and for Rommany mongin Rommany chals.
TRANSLATION.
On a day a Royston rook [{206}] went among the crows (black birds), and they asked him, “Where did you steal your white coat?” And he told (them), “I stole it from a fool of a pigeon.” Then he went among the pigeons and said, “How are you, brothers?” And they asked him, “Where did you get those black trousers and sleeves?” And he said, “I stole ’em from those wretches the rooks.”
Half-breeds call themselves Gorgio among Gorgios, and Gipsy among Gipsies.
GUDLO V. THE GIPSY’S STORY OF THE GORGIO AND THE ROMMANY CHAL.
Once ’pré a chairus (or chýrus) a Gorgio penned to a Rommany chal, “Why does tute always jāl about the tem ajaw? There’s no kushtoben in what don’t hatch acäi.” Penned the Rommany chal, “Sikker mandy tute’s wóngur!” And yuv sikkered him a cutter (cotter?), a bar, a pāsh-bar, a pāsh-cutter, a pange-cullo (caulor?) bittus, a pāsh-krooner (koraúna), a dui-cullos bittus, a trin-mushi, a shuckóri, a stor’óras, a trin’óras, a dui’óras, a haura, a poshéro, a lúlli, a pāsh-lúlli. Penned the Rommany chal, “Acovo’s sār wáfri wóngur.” “Kek,” penned the Gorgio; “se sār kushto an’ kirus. Chiv it adrée tute’s wast and shoon it ringus.” “Āvo,” penned the Rommany chal. “Tute pookered mandy that only wáfri covvas keep jāllin’, te ’covo wóngur has jālled sar ’pré the ‘tem adusta timei (or timey).”