Last night I read the prologue to "Wall" (the prequel) at the end of Stardust. This morning I went to hang out some washing when I noticed a magpie sitting in a tree. One for sorrow... Then I though funny I was just reading about that last night. A second magpie appeared and I thought 2 for joy. An eerie sense began forming in my mind. As if on cue a third magpie appeared (Girl) then a fourth (Boy). I have never seen more than 4 together so when 5 and 6 arrived I was delighted. Thoughts of wealth crossed mind until...ominously number 7 settled in the tree. I knew I was witnessing something super real at that instant and I wondered if Mr Gaimans faerie tale was influencing me or the world around me. I received no secret message (that I am aware of)but it was delightful either way.

Neil seems to have a thing for the old magpies - there's the Parliament of Rooks story in Fables & Reflections where Abel tells baby Daniel that the 'one for sorrow' rhyme is all true. Then Cain murders him for telling the secret...AS far as I know, in folklore, the rhyme goes on past 7...hmm, might be worth looking into...

Hi Sammael, there appear to be many variations of the rhyme. Most of the ones I found were just as people tended to remeber them, without a literary reference:

One for sorrow,
two for joy,
three for a girl,
for for a boy,
five for silver,
six for gold,
seven for a secret,
never to be told,
eight for a wish,
nine for a kiss,
ten for a time
of joyous bliss.

Oxford University Press published this version in their 1992 The Dictionary of Superstitions:

One for sorrow,
two for mirth,
three for a wedding,
four for birth,
five for rich,
six for poor,
Seven for a witch,
I can tell you no more.

...which is the most menacing I found and my favorite.