Tom Thumbkins, Bill Wilkins,
Long Daniel, Bessy Bobtail,
And Little Dick.
See Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes, p. 206.
[17] It is interesting to note the finger-lore of the people, e.g. Gubernatis, vol. i. 166, says: "The little finger, although the smallest, is the most privileged of the five." It is the one that knows everything; in Piedmont, when the mothers wish to make the children believe that they are in communication with a mysterious spy, who sees everything that they do, they are accustomed to awe them by the words, "my little finger tells me everything." See also vol. ii. p. 151.
In Holderness, Yorkshire, it is a common superstition that if you pinch anyone's little finger when they are asleep, they will tell you their secrets; or, as some say, "if you can bear your little finger pinching you can keep a secret." If you see a white horse, spit over your little finger for luck. Schoolboys make their bargains irrevocable by spitting over their little fingers.[A] In Petalaks (a parish in East Bothnia, about twenty miles from Wasa) every one believes in a "bjero"[B] or "mjero," which is one respect resembles Sampo in Kalevala, insomuch as he brings good luck to his possessor. Sometimes he looks like a ball of yarn, but more often like a hare. The way he is manufactured is as follows:—A wafer spared from the Communion, some wool stolen from seven cow-houses on Maundy Thursday, and a drop of blood from the little finger of the left hand. During the performance the manufacturer must curse and swear without ceasing. The wool is to be spun on Easter morn when the sun dances; the thread to be wrapped round the wafer, and the whole put in the churn. Whilst churning, the spellmaker sings, "Milk and butter thou must bring to me; I shall burn in hell-fire for thee." After a time the "bjero" springs out, and asks, "What will you give me to eat?" "Raisins and almonds," is the reply. And all is complete. See Suomen Muinaismusto-yhtiön Aikakauskirja, ii.; Helsingissa, 1877, p. 133; Vidskepelser insamlade bland allmogan i Petalaks, 1874; Skrock och vidskepliga bruk hos svenska allmogen i Vasabygden. Af. Prof. Freudenthal, Helsingfors, 1883, p. 8; and Rink's Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, p. 440.
[A]Cf. Tylor's Primitive Culture, vol. i. p. 103; vol. ii. p. 439-441.
[B] Några åkerbruksplägseder bland svenskarne i Finland, af. dr. J. Oscar Rancken, pp. 17, 24, 32.
[18] Tegnér: Prologen till Gerda.
[19] See variants given in Henderson's Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties, pp. 258, 262.
Cf. Riddle set to three soldiers by the devil, and found out by the help of his grandmother. Grimm, vol. ii. pp. 152, 425. Also, Vernaleken, p. 206.
[20] A similar plant occurs in "The Merchant," in the Pentamerone.