Saint Blaise was a friend to all: humans, plants, animals, basically everything! However, he did have a special way with animals. He loved animals, and they loved him in return. Saint Blaise was a doctor, and he healed all kinds of diseases and was always wanted by people. But despite this, he always saved time to help the creatures in need. And in this way, his popularity grew, and he was honored all around the world.
Now one day, Saint Blaise was caught in a dilemma. The neighborhood taxi driver was a poor, old woman who had very few possessions; she didn't even own the taxi! It was owned by the neighborhood and only used for such purposes. Now this woman had a pig named Buck. Buck was the woman's only friend. They shared meals together, slept together, bathed together. Buck was even allowed in the taxi. However, one day a wolf took Buck up in his mouth and ran away. The woman was at a loss for words or actions; she felt completely helpless and feared for Buck's life. As Saint Blaise went on his morning rounds around the neighborhood, he saw the woman crying, and he felt sorry for her. He hated seeing people suffer. The woman explained what had happened, and Saint Blaise dropped to the ground and closed his eyes. The woman was thoroughly confused, but then, all of a sudden, the wolf appeared! Saint Blaise had called for the wolf without even speaking! Saint Blaise opened his eyes and stared into the eyes of the wolf. After several minutes, he got up, held the women's hands and said that Buck was gone. It was too late. The woman started bawling, but Saint Blaise spoke up and said that he had a solution. The wolf, when confronted by Saint Blaise, realized he had done something wrong and wanted to right his wrong. He was willing to sacrifice his life to appease her. The woman was surprised, unsure of what to say. But Saint Blaise spoke up again, "I don't think we should take the wolf's life. Instead, dear woman, you have lost a friend. Why don't you gain another?" The woman was confused. "What do you mean?" she said. Saint Blaise wanted the wolf to be the woman's caretaker, protector, and friend. The woman wasn't too sure; she couldn't trust the wolf, not yet anyway. From that day on, the wolf shadowed the woman, staying with her at all times, but never beside her. He always kept a couple steps behind. Over time, the wolf proved himself to her. He had rescued her from robbers and dogs and even saved her from falling into a ditch once. The woman was eventually able to forgive the wolf, and they became the best of friends. The woman would always miss her pig, but that day she had gained the most loyal friend in the world. And it was all because of the wise, kind-hearted Saint Blaise.
Now one day, Saint Blaise was caught in a dilemma. The neighborhood taxi driver was a poor, old woman who had very few possessions; she didn't even own the taxi! It was owned by the neighborhood and only used for such purposes. Now this woman had a pig named Buck. Buck was the woman's only friend. They shared meals together, slept together, bathed together. Buck was even allowed in the taxi. However, one day a wolf took Buck up in his mouth and ran away. The woman was at a loss for words or actions; she felt completely helpless and feared for Buck's life. As Saint Blaise went on his morning rounds around the neighborhood, he saw the woman crying, and he felt sorry for her. He hated seeing people suffer. The woman explained what had happened, and Saint Blaise dropped to the ground and closed his eyes. The woman was thoroughly confused, but then, all of a sudden, the wolf appeared! Saint Blaise had called for the wolf without even speaking! Saint Blaise opened his eyes and stared into the eyes of the wolf. After several minutes, he got up, held the women's hands and said that Buck was gone. It was too late. The woman started bawling, but Saint Blaise spoke up and said that he had a solution. The wolf, when confronted by Saint Blaise, realized he had done something wrong and wanted to right his wrong. He was willing to sacrifice his life to appease her. The woman was surprised, unsure of what to say. But Saint Blaise spoke up again, "I don't think we should take the wolf's life. Instead, dear woman, you have lost a friend. Why don't you gain another?" The woman was confused. "What do you mean?" she said. Saint Blaise wanted the wolf to be the woman's caretaker, protector, and friend. The woman wasn't too sure; she couldn't trust the wolf, not yet anyway. From that day on, the wolf shadowed the woman, staying with her at all times, but never beside her. He always kept a couple steps behind. Over time, the wolf proved himself to her. He had rescued her from robbers and dogs and even saved her from falling into a ditch once. The woman was eventually able to forgive the wolf, and they became the best of friends. The woman would always miss her pig, but that day she had gained the most loyal friend in the world. And it was all because of the wise, kind-hearted Saint Blaise.
Woman and Wolf; Source: Pixabay
Author's Note: "Saint Blaise and His Beasts" is a story from the Saints and Animals module. In the story, Saint Blaise was a doctor, and he took care of both people and animals. In the original story, the wolf had taken a women's pig, but when confronted by Saint Blaise, he returned the pig. I was a bit surprised that the pig hadn't been eaten yet, so I changed the story!
Bibliography. "Saint Blaise and His Beasts" from The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts by Abbie Farwell Brown. Web source.
Hi Jessica!
ReplyDeleteI also wrote about this same story! I thought the change in the fate of the pig was a very logical twist to the original plot. I may consider making a similar addition to the story I wrote. I wonder if perhaps a little more backstory could be provided for the character in the Authors note? It seems like many who haven't read the story could benefit from a little more explanation of the original inspiration for the story.
Also, my reason for choosing this story to write about was because my family is from Armenia, why did you pick this story over the other stories? I like how you had the pig and the taxi driver lady be so close and friendly, it painted a nice picture. And it also gave the ending much more meaning a context. Great story!
Hi Jessica! I really enjoyed your retelling, especially how you took something you thought was illogical and changed it to make a better ending. One thing, practically, that I noticed was that most of the story was in one big block of text, which made it a little hard to read. Breaking up the text, or even making some of it into dialogue between Saint Blaise and the taxi driver, might be helpful!! But overall, I thought you did a thorough and detailed job of retelling a neat story!
ReplyDeleteHi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI think that was a logical deviation from the story line that you incorporated into your story! I think the way you told it made sense though I don't really understand how the taxi driving is relevant to the story.. A little more background on that would be super helpful!! I think you could also benefit from breaking up your story into smaller paragraphs to help with flow!
Overall, good job!