Shetland Folk-Lore
it in Norwick, Unst, about forty years ago, but I had quite forgotten it until it was reproduced in the valuable work referred to. It is as follows:
“Fira hunga, fira gunga,
Fira staad ipo skö,
Twa veestra vaig a bee,
An' een comes atta driljandie.”
This riddle, as explained by Dr. Jacobsen, has reference to the cow, viz.:
“Four hanging—the teats,
Four going—the legs,
Four standing upwards—horns and ears,
And one comes behind shaking—the tail”
I have heard in several parts of Shetland what appears to be an Anglicised variant of the same:
“Four hingers and four gangers,
Twa luckers and twa crookers,
Twa laavers and ae dillie-daunder.”
Again, here is another riddle, the meaning of which is a woman milking a cow :
“Tink-tank, twa in a bank,
Ten about four.”
182
