Each egg is
always marked with a little black cross, ostensibly for the purpose of
distinguishing them from the others, but also supposed to be
instrumental in producing good chickens, and preventing any attack from
the weasel or other farm-yard marauders. The last egg the hen lays is
carefully preserved, its possession being supposed to operate as a charm
upon the well-doing of the poultry. In some cases, though less commonly,
the one laid on Good Friday is preserved, from the same reason. When a
baby is first taken out to see its friends, it is customary for them to
give it an egg: this, if preserved, is held to be a source of good
fortune to the future man. (Vide _Brand_, ii. p. 48.) The first egg laid
by a pullet is usually secured by the shepherd, in order to present to
his sweetheart,--the luckiest gift, it is believed, he can give her.
_Crows._--To see a crow flying alone is a token of bad luck. An odd one,
perched in the path of the observer, is a sign of wrath.
_Owls._--The ominous screech of this, the most ominous of all birds, is
still heard with alarm; and he remains with us, as in Chaucer's days,
"The oule eke that of deth the bode bringeth."
When, as sometimes happens, he exchanges the darkness of his ivy bush
for the rays of the sun at noon-day, his presence is looked upon as
indicative of bad luck to the beholder.
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