The joke is palpable to the most untechnical reader; but to a student of the village community every line of the story reflects village life. The village servant, the gemeindediener represents the common-tender, field-grieve, or by whatever name the officer was called who had charge of the cultivated meadows. The villagers' lots are scattered all over the village land, so that the servant in scaring the birds would trample down everybody's crops; and in the bailiff's following him to see that all is right we have again a reflection of communal life; for it frequently happened that one villager's plot was wholly surrounded by those of others, so that no path led to it, and consequently access could only be had by recourse to the bailiff, "who, if necessary, treads down a path to the specified farthing dole."[1] In the same way the trampling of the two dozen men is legalised by the presence of the bailiff.
There are many more stories which show, like this one, that the folk-tale is the natural accompaniment of folk-life, reflecting all its phases from day to day. Nor has the folk-tale ceased entirely out of the land. It lives on in the satirical picture-stories of Punch, it has its full development in the ethical novel of writers like George Eliot. And any one who has ears to hear can learn that the spirit of folk-lore is still vigorous among the folk. All that is wanted is a little guidance to call that spirit into renewed activity. Shall that guidance be lacking? Philosophy after philosophy rises and passes away, leaving no mark behind it; our moralists are discussing—and seem likely to go on discussing—whether or not we ought to be moral; but no one marks that the ancient tales which kept the morals of the folk sweet and pure are passing away, and that new ones are not filling up their place. Non oportet, fratres mei, haec ita fieri.
- ↑ Gomme, Vill. Comm. in Municipal Institutions, Archaeologia, vol. xlvi. p. 412. For the keeper of the crops in England cf . Gomme, Index of Municipal Offices, p. 31; in India, Campbell, Modern India, p. 84; Tupper, Punjab Customary Law, vol. iii. p. 145. The spreading of a villager's share over the sections of the village land is a familiar feature of communal economy. On the entire question of the relation of folk-tales to popular morality I may refer to my Early Hebrew Life, p. 8l, et seqq.
