Reading Notes: Saint Blaise and His Beasts, Part A

This story is about Saint Blaise, the saint who loved all animals and all animals loved in return. Saint Blaise was a Christian that studied medicine, and he loved all things that lived. By all living things, I mean all living things. He did not just love the cute animals, but the beasts, too. Saint Blaise would even train untamed creatures that were often neglected. The animals learned to love Saint Blaise, and come visit him to be healed from illness and kindly talked to.


One day, one of Saint Blaise's animals deceived him. A woman came to him crying about her pig that got taken away by a wolf, so Saint Blaise took ownership for the tragedy. After speaking with the wolf sternly, asking the wolf to bring the pig back, the wolf listened. The pig was returned to the woman unharmed, and the wolf was given a reward for listening to Saint Blaise.

Saint Blaise was constantly living in his forest cave, so some could never find him. He was a Christian, honored by beasts and poor creatures for his charity to them. In these days, it was dangerous to be a Christian; so Saint Blaise continued to make cures and medicines for his favorite creatures from the comfort of his cave.

As I read this, I wondered what would happen if the wolf had not given the pig back. Would Saint Blaise turn on his animals, in hopes of never being betrayed again? Additionally, what if the animal taken was not a pig. Saint Blaise advocated for "ugly" creatures, so what if the pig were a common, typical animal, such as a cat, that is often taken with no regards? There are many ways this story's characters could be rearranged.

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