CHAPTER XIII
ANIMAL PORTENTS
The following are believed to foretell death: Rats leaving a house; a hare or white rabbit crossing your path; a cow lowing three times in your face; a shrewmouse running over your foot.
It is unlucky to keep a kitten born in May. It should be drowned, as a May cat is supposed to suck a child’s breath.
Goslings hatched in May bring no luck to the owner.
It is unlucky to bid a price for an animal that is not for sale. The animal is apt to die within a month.
To covet another’s beast will bring you bad luck.
If a pig is killed while the moon is waning, it will be unprofitable and the bacon will shrink in the pot.
A gray horse brings good luck. Spit on the little finger and rub it on the horse, and money will come to you.
If you see a young spring lamb with the head towards you, it means good fortune.
It foretells bad luck if rats gnaw one’s clothing.
It is unlucky to kill a cricket. These insects were esteemed by the ancients as a symbol of hospitality. Their singing was often used to foretell good or bad events.
A hare crossing the path of a traveller is a sign of bad fortune. A white hare, however, is regarded as a good sign.
A pig appearing to a traveller is a good sign. If a sow be accompanied by a litter of pigs, it denotes a successful trip.
The tail of a lizard is considered a lucky mascot in France, just as is the hind leg of a rabbit in this country.
To meet a white horse is considered unlucky unless the person spits at it to avert trouble.
To meet a white horse indicates that you will soon see a red-haired girl.
Rooks are believed to foretell death by leaving the house near which they have built their nests.
Killing a spider is considered unlucky. Small spiders, called “money-spinners,” indicate good luck, and their webs are not to be destroyed.
If black ants appear in a house it is a sign of good luck, but red ants bring misfortune.
To meet a goat unexpectedly is bad luck; to meet a sheep is a good sign.
HOWLING OF DOGS
The howling of dogs has always been considered a sign of coming disaster. Dogs are supposed to have a peculiar sense of coming trouble. In case of sickness, a dog is supposed to foretell the outcome.
An old writer says: “As odd and unaccountable as it may seem, dogs scent death even before it seizes a person.”
In the “Odyssey,” the dogs of Eumæus are described as terrified at the sight of Minerva though she was invisible to human eyes.
The howling of dogs is believed to presage death, especially in houses where some one is lying ill.
When dogs tremble and wallow upon the earth it is a sign of wind and storm.
Horses and cattle are often supposed to have this trait in common with dogs: Their keen sense of smell, or perhaps some sense which mortals do not possess, enables them to discover illness and danger.
BLACK CATS
There are conflicting beliefs regarding the influence of black cats. Some consider them a sure sign of good luck, others regard them with dread and awe.
A black cat without a single white hair is lucky, particularly if it comes to you unsolicited.
If you start out to undertake any new work or to hunt and a black cat crosses your path, you will be very lucky in your undertaking.
If you try to coax a black cat to come and he runs away, you will be disappointed in your results.
To kill a black cat is very unlucky, and means misfortune for a year.
Among Egyptians, cats were regarded with religious awe. They were mummified and buried in the graves with human beings.
Witches had a fondness for black cats, and used them in their divinations. In soothsaying, cats have always played an important role.
The brain of a black cat was considered an important ingredient in the recipes and prescriptions of the witches in the Middle Ages.
The meowing of a black cat at midnight is a bad omen, and foretells a death.