The Harnet and the Bittle.

  A harnet zet in a hollur tree—­
  A proper spiteful twoad was he;
  And a merrily zung while he did zet
  His stinge as shearp as a bagganet;
    Oh, who so vine and bowld as I? 
    I vears not bee, nor wapse, nor vly!

  A bittle up thuck tree did clim,
  And scarnvully did look at him;
  Zays he, “Zur harnet, who giv thee
  A right to zet in thuck there tree? 
    Vor ael you zengs so nation vine,
    I tell ’e ‘tis a house o’ mine!”

  The harnet’s conscience velt a twinge,
  But grawin’ bowld wi’ his long stinge,
  Zays he, “Possession’s the best laaw;
  Zo here th’ sha’sn’t put a claaw! 
    Be off, and leave the tree to me,
    The mixen’s good enough for thee!”

  Just then a yuckel, passin’ by,
  Was axed by them the cause to try;
  “Ha! ha!  I zee how ’tis!” zays he,
  “They’ll make a vamous munch vor me!”
    His bill was shearp, his stomach lear,
    Zo up a snapped the caddlin’ pair!

    Notes.—­Observe z and v for initial s and f; harnet,
    hornet; bittle, beetle; zet, sat; proper, very; twoad,
    toad, wretch; a, he; stinge, sting; bagganet, bayonet.

    Thuck, that; clim, climb; giv, gave; zet, sit; ael, all.

    Th’ sha’sn’t, thou shalt not; mixen, dung-heap.

    Yuckel, woodpecker; axed, asked; vamous munch, excellent
    meal; lear, empty; caddlin’, quarrelsome.

SOUTHERN (Group 3):  ISLE OF WIGHT.

The following colloquy is quoted in the Glossary of Isle of Wight
Words, E.D.S., 1881, at p. 50.

I recollect perfectly the late Mr James Phillips of Merston relating a dialogue that occurred between two of his labourers relative to the word straddle-bob, a beetle....  At the time of luncheon, one of them, on taking his bren-cheese (bread and cheese) out of a little bag, saw something that had found its way there; which led to the following discourse.

  Jan. What’s got there, you?

  Will. A straddlebob craalun about in the nammut-bag.

  J. Straddlebob?  Where ded’st leyarn to caal ’n by that neyam?

  W. Why, what shoud e caal ’n?  ’Tes the right neyam, esn ut?

  J. Right neyam?  No!  Why, ye gurt zote vool, casn’t zee ’tes a
  dumbledore?

  W. I know ’tes; but vur aal that, straddlebob’s zo right a
  neyam vor ’n as dumbledore ez.

  J. Come, I’ll be blamed if I doant laay thee a quart o’ that.

  W. Done! and I’ll ax Meyastur to-night when I goos whoam, bee’t
  how’t wool.

  Accordingly, Meyastur was applied to by Will, who made his decision
  known to Jan the next morning.