Note 133 — Chapter IV · ANIMAL-WORSHIP.
Reading edition
To the Hansa is ascribed the fabulous power of being able to separate milk from water after the two have been mixed together.133 In England the goose is supposed to have some uncanny way of predicting weather.134 In Welsh belief the wild goose is a witch, especially if first seen on the first Thursday night of the lunar month.135 The ancient Greeks ascribed to the swan the gift of prophecy and song; the sacred geese of the capital were respected at Rome, and the ancient Germans considered it a prophetic bird. The goose was a favourite Buddhist emblem, and a flock of them is depicted on the Lion Pillar at Betiya in Tirhût.136