The following well-known Wiltshire fable is from _Wiltshire Tales_, by J. Yonge Akerman (1853). I give it as it stands in the Preface to Halliwell's Dictionary; omitting the "Moral."
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.
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.
_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.