_Sources._--Supplied by Mrs. Gale, now in the United States, from the
recitation of her mother who left Ireland over fifty years ago.
_Parallels._--"Noodle Tales" like this are found everywhere in Europe,
and have been discussed by Mr. Clouston in a special monograph in _The
Book of Noodles_, 1889. The "sell" at the end is similar to that in the
"Wise Men of Gotham." Kennedy (_Fireside Stories of Ireland_) gives a
similar set of adventures, p. 119 _seq._
_Remarks._--Mrs. Gale remarks that it was a common superstition in
Ireland, that if a raven hovered over the head of cattle, a withering
blight had been set upon the animals. As birds of carrion they were
supposed to be waiting for the carcases.