Tacho." "Sir, I will tell you the oldest word for a leaf--and that is an olive.
(Don't you know that the olive was the first leaf?
so olive must be the Rommany word, since Rommanis is the oldest language of all.) For when the first man was made and created in the world--and that was the great God himself, I expect--and brought the land out, he was in the ship, and didn't know if there was any earth about him, so he sent the bird out.
And the bird was a dove, because _dove_ is like _Duvel_ (God), and half God and God's bird.

So the dove flew away and went around the world till he found the earth; for when he saw a place and took an olive-leaf, he knew there was a country (land), and took the olive-leaf back to his Lord.

And when his Lord knew there was land, he made little children and people for it--and I don't know anything more about it.

And that is a very tidy little story of the leaf, and it shows that the olive was the first leaf." Being gratified at my noting down this original narrative from his own lips, my excellent old friend informed me, with cheerfulness not unmingled with the dignified pride characteristic of erudition, and of the possession of deep and darksome lore, that he also knew the story of Samson.

And thus spake he:-- "Samson was a boro mush, wery hunnalo an' tatto at koorin', so that he nashered saw the mushis avree, an' they were atrash o' lester.