The Man Who Loved Wolfhounds
A St. Patricks�s Day Folktale
By Gerald Hausman
There was once an English slave, who lived and labored in Ireland. One night he had a dream in which he saw himself liberated: he was on a ship surrounded by dogs. The next morning Patrick ran away, fleeing his bondage as a slave. He came to the edge of the sea and saw a great ship. It was the same one he had dreamed about. When night fell and the cover of darkness cloaked him, the slave went aboard the ship, and hid himself in the hold. After a time, he realized that he was not alone. He was encircled by dogs � huge, great-chested wolfhounds. The dogs growled but did not move. Then he understood that they were chained, and he felt great pity for them. Immediately, the dogs sensed the intruder�s kindness. They began to cry and to lick his feet. Then they settled all round him. Suddenly, out of the darkness, there came a voice. The captain of the ship and some of his crew entered the hold. There, they saw the wolfhounds, which had been chained because they were unruly, lying at the feet of a strange, beatific man.
The captain eyed the odd stowaway and the circle of wolfhounds, who, moments before had acted wild. He knew a good thing when he saw it. "Young man," he said, "I don�t know who you are, or how you got here, but I shall ask no questions of you. Stay with us and be the keeper of the dogs." So it was agreed. The escaped slave became, not just a keeper of dogs, but a friend of men. And after traveling to many ports, he finally settled in Ireland, the land which he had run away from. However, now he was a free man, like any other. And yet, there was always something about him that set him apart.
Once, while wandering in a forest, he was attacked by a pack of wolfhounds. By raising his palms upward, he calmed them. Moments later, a hunter appeared, a man in royal garments. He was the great Irish prince, Dichu. The sight of so many dogs licking the hands of a perfect stranger surprised the prince. "My dogs answer only to me," he said roughly.
"I answer to all things that live," said the stranger. The prince saw at once that this was no ordinary fellow. Watching his dogs as they swirled around the stranger, the prince laughed. "If my dogs think so much of you, then I shall do the same." It was the beginning of a long friendship between the two men. And in time, the soft-spoken Englishman, the former slave and the keeper of dogs, became known all over Ireland as Saint Patrick.
credit: Gerald and Loretta Hausman
authors of Dogs of Myth (for children) and The Mythology of Dogs (for Adults)
More coming soon!
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