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What’s with this “Wren” thing?
The oldest extant version of the fable
we
are presenting here appeared in 1913 in the first volume of a two-volume anthology
of Low
Saxon folktales (Plattdeutsche
Volksmärchen “Low German Folktales”)
collected by Wilhelm Wisser (1843–1935). Read
more ...
Estuary English
Listen to
this translation narrated with native pronunciation:
Once upon a time a wren family had their nest in a garage.
One day the paren’s flew off to ge’ summink to ea’ for the kids, leavin’ the sprogs on their own. After a while the father wren came back home.
“Wo’s up?” ’e asks, “’As someone ’ad a go a’ you, kids? You look terrified!”
“Oh dad,” they say “There was a big scary man ’ere jus’ now. ’E was really fierce
an’ horrible! ’E stared into our nest with ’is big eyes. We was well scared.”
“Righ’,” says father wren, “which way d’e go?”
“’E wen’ down tha’ way,” they answer.
“Wai’ ’ere!” says father wren, “I’ll go after ’im. Don’t worry now, kids. I’ll
geddim.” An’ with tha’ ’e flew off after ’im.
When ’e go’ roun’ the corner, there’s a lion walking along. But the wren weren’ scared. ’E lands on the lion’s back and star’s givin’ ’im an earful.
“Wo’ you playin’ a’ comin’ roun’ my house and scarin’ me kids ’alf to death?”
’e shou’s.
The lion din’ ba’ an eyelid an’ jus’ kep’ walkin’.
This makes the little loud-mouth
’ave even more of a go. “You’ve got no business bein’ there, I’m tellin’ you. But if you ever come
back, well, I’m warnin’ you! I don’ really wanna do i’,” ’e says liftin’ one
of ’is legs, “but I could break your back with one stamp!”
With tha’ ’e flew back to ’is nest.
“There ya go, kids,” ’e says, “Tha’ told ’im. He won’ be back to bother us.”
Frontpage
[Orthographic] 
Once upon a time a wren family had their nest in a garage.
