The mandrake legend: a dog, a root and a fatal shriek

"to pull up that would cause death to any creature hearing it" — Traditional mandrake instructions, as quoted by M. C. Cooke
"So one must stop his ears carefully, and, having tied a dog to the root, run away." — Traditional mandrake instructions, as quoted by M. C. Cooke
"The dog is then called, and pulling up the root, is instantly killed." — Traditional mandrake instructions, as quoted by M. C. Cooke
"When thou goest to law, put the mannikin under thy right arm, and thou shalt succeed, whether right or wrong." — A Leipzig burgess advising his brother in Riga, 1675, quoted by Cooke
"This is the salient feature of the superstition." — M. C. Cooke, on the dog-and-shriek legend

The mandrake legend: a dog, a root and a fatal shriek

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