Chapter XXXV: THE STORY OF THE McANDREW FAMILY

_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.