And one night my father, sixty years ago (literally, now), was walking through the woods to his tent, and he heard a little cry like little ladies talking real old Gipsy, and so he went from one great tree to the other (i.e., concealing himself), and after a while he saw a little lady, and she was crying out as if for her life, “Rom-ma-ny, Rom-ma-ny jō-ter!” So my father cried again, “Gipsy, here!” But as he hallooed there came a great blast of wind, and the little ladies and all flew away in the sky like birds in a storm, and all he heard was a laughing and “Rom-ma-ny jō-ter!” softer and softer, till all was done.
And you can see by that that the goblins (dwarfs, mannikins), and fairies, and ghosts, and witches, and all talk real old Gipsy, because that is the old Egyptian language that was talked in the Scripture land.
GUDLO XXIII. OF THE RICH GIPSY AND THE PHEASANT.
Yeckorus a Rommany chal kaired adusta wongur, and was boot barvelo an’ a boro rye. His chuckko was kāshno, an’ the crafnies ’pré lester chuckko were o’ sonnakai, and his graias solivaris an’ guiders were sār ruppeny. Yeck divvus this here Rommany rye was hawin’ habben anerjāl the krallis’s chavo, an’ they hatched adrée a weshni kānni that was kannelo, but saw the mushis penned it was kūshtidearer. “Bless mi-Duvel!” rākkered the Rommany rye shukár to his juvo, “tu and mandy have hawed mullo mass boot ’dusta cheiruses, mi-deari, but never soomed kek so wafro as dovo. It kauns worse than a mullo grai!”
Boro mushis an’ bitti mushis sometimes kaum covvas that waver mushis don’t jin.
TRANSLATION.
Once a Gipsy made much money, and was very rich and a great gentleman. His coat was silk, and the buttons on his coat were of gold, and his horse’s bridle and reins were all silver. One day this Gipsy gentleman was eating (at table) opposite to the king’s son, and they brought in a pheasant that smelt badly, but all the people said it was excellent. “Bless me, God!” said the Gipsy gentleman softly (whispering) to his wife, “you and I have eaten dead meat (meat that died a natural death) many a time, my dear, but never smelt anything so bad as that. It stinks worse than a dead horse!”
Great men and small men sometimes like (agree in liking things) that which other people do not understand.
GUDLO XXIV. THE GIPSY AND THE “VISITING-CARDS.”
Yeckorus a choro Rommany chal dicked a rāni hatch taller the wuder of a boro ker an’ mukked adovo a bitti lil. Then he putched the rakli, when the rāni jessed avree, what the lil kaired. Adoi the rakli pukkered lesco it was for her rāni ta jin kun’d welled a dick her. “Āvali!” penned the Rommany chal; “that’s the way the Gorgios mukks their patteran! We mukks char apré the drum.”