Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
Share image
1
271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
257
"Wheresoe'er
they
move,
before
them
Swarms
the
stinging
fly,
the
Ahmo,
Swarms
the
bee,
the
honey-maker;
Wheresoe'er
they
tread,
beneath
them
Springs
a
flower
unknown
among
us,
Springs
the
white
man's
foot
in
blossom."
Between
certain
birds
and
plants
there
exists
many
curious
traditions,
as
in
the
case
of
the
nightingale
and
the
rose.
According
to
a
piece
of
Persian
folklore,
whenever
the
rose
is
plucked,
the
nightingale
utters
a
plaintive
cry,
because
it
cannot
endure
to
see
the
object
of
its
love
injured.
In
a
legend
told
by
the
Persian
poet
Attar,
we
are
told
how
all
the
birds
appeared
before
Solomon,
and
complained
that
they
were
unable
to
sleep
from
the
nightly
wailings
of
the
nightingale.
The
bird,
when
questioned
as
to
the
truth
of
this
statement,
replied
that
his
love
for
the
rose
was
the
cause
of
his
grief.
Hence
this
supposed
love
of
the
nightingale
for
the
rose
has
been
frequently
the
subject
of
poetical
allusion.
Lord
Byron
speaks
of
it
in
the
"Giaour":--
"The
rose
o'er
crag
or
vale,
Sultana
of
the
nightingale,
The
maid
for
whom
his
melody,
His
thousand
songs
are
heard
on
high,
Blooms
blushing
to
her
lover's
tale,
His
queen,
the
garden
queen,
his
rose,
Unbent
by
winds,
unchilled
by
snows."
Thackeray,
too,
has
given
a
pleasing
rendering
of
this
favourite
legend:--
"Under
the
boughs
I
sat
and
listened
still,
I
could
not
have
my
fill.
'How
comes,'
I
said,
'such
music
to
his
bill?
Tell
me
for
whom
he
sings
so
beautiful
a
trill.'
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
