Well, if you believe that the
souls of the
unborn reside in watery places, like
marshes and
ponds, you might believe that storks, who frequent such places for feeding, would carry them in to the
village (where they
nest) when it's time for human babies to be born. Also, in northern
Germany, (where this legend may have originated) the
migratory white storks arrive on their breeding grounds
nine months after
midsummer.
More stork folklore:
- If a stork looks at a woman, she'll become pregnant.
- If a stork nests in your chimney, that's good luck. It may indicate a son will be born, or that it's going to be very difficult to light a fire. Some European homeowners will encourage storks on their roofs by placing a wagon wheel up there on which the storks can build a nest.
- In Morocco, if a stork nests in your chimney, your house will be empty.
- If a stork leaves the nest, that is an omen of war, pestilence, or other miscellaneous disaster that will strike
the area.
- If a stork's shadow falls on a rosebush, grief will come to your village.
- Don't kill a stork. That's just asking for trouble.
- They live a long time: at the age of 600, they stop eating solid food. At 2000 years of age they turn black.