by: Elena Bagwell
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Basilica of Begona
Bilbao, Spain
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When I landed in Bilbao there was
much for me to see. I heard from some locals to visit the
Basilica of Begona, where the Virgin of Begona is worshipped.
When I came upon the Basilica its presence startled me. It is set
atop a hill that I reached by walking from the Medieval Quarter.
The Basilica dominates the landscape of Bilbao and commands everyone's
attention forcefully. Being in its
presence was very spiritual. I passed through the large park
surrounding the Basilica and entered through the enormous wooden doors
that worshippers had passed through since the 16th century. The
interior of the Basilica was very eerie. It was large, cold, and
smelled like it had not been exposed to sunlight in ages.
However, there was plenty of sunlight seeping in through the beautiful
stained glass windows. I made
my way through the corridors, passed the altar and by a series of
statues of saints. I came upon a tiny stained glass window that
could have been easily overlooked had the colors not been so
vivid. Floating in the middle of a bright red backbround was the
image of a dove. Staring at the stained glass overwhelmed me with
a feeling of peace, and I closed my eyes as I let the warmth of the sun
enter my body. Suddenly a live dove appeared and whispered a
story into my ear as he perched on one of the pews.
The Saintly Orphan Girl...
"I once had a friend who God entrusted me to take care of every day. My duty was to bring her food and keep her alive for God told me that she was very special, and that he had a plan for her. She was a young orphan girl, who lived in solitude so I was her only companion and she grew very fond of me.
One day the orphan girl happened to spot two policemen dragging a girl much like her to a nearby prison. The girl was either to be executed or imprisoned. Seeing the poor fate of this young girl, my friend could not help but to be grateful for her own piety and holiness. She thought to herself had the troubled girl lived a life similar to hers, she would not be punished for her bad actions.
Instantly, God punished my young friend for the pride she thought of. Her punishment was that I no longer bring her food and keep her company. Some time passed and the orphan girl became very lonely without me. She went to visit a priest so that she could confess her sins and be forgiven. As soon as she did so, the priest explained to her that she must attend the birth of three children as her punishment. At the three births the orphan girl was to take note of the gifts given to the children.
The girl did as she was told and first approached the Queen, who was giving birth to a baby Prince. The Queen allowed her company and the young girl watched as the boy was born with a white string circled around his neck. Immediately, the orphan girl knew the boy would either be hung of guillotined when he turned 18.
The next child was a little girl who was born with a red string attached to her wrist. The orphan girl understood this to mean that the baby girl would turn out a ruined young adult.
The third child was a boy born with a blue ribbon tied to his finger, which meant that he would grow up to be kind and to serve God.
Unable to forget the fate of the young Prince, she returned to the royal family and helped to care for the boy. Each time she held him she could not help but to say "Poor child!" Eventually, the Queen overheard her and asked her why she considered her child not to be fortunate. The orphan girl kept her silence until the date of the Prince's 18th birthday drew near. She could not silence herself any longer, and told the royal family of the fate of their child. The King and Queen, in turn, told their son who decided that he needed to leave the house urgently.
The Prince traveled for quite some time before he came to another town. He came across a house connected to a large shop. Since the Prince was very well educated, the shopkeeper hired him to work in his shop. Overtime, word spread of this young man and the town grew to love him dearly. However, the Prince had some secrets of his own and eventually the townspeople caught on. Each night the Prince would leave the house, but no one ever knew where he would disappear to. One night his master cut a hole above the shop and spied on the Prince leaving once dark arrived. The Prince walked a distance before falling down upon his knees, on which he walked until he reached a church. For a week the master watched the Prince do the same thing every night.
One night was different, however. On the eigth night of spying the master witnessed an angel come down from heaven. The angel came down to the Prince, placed a white string around his neck, and lifted him into the air. Several seconds later the angel placed the Prince gently on the ground and disappeared.
The master was so shocked that he did not hesitate to confront the boy. The Prince explained to his master that his penance was fulfilled and that he was allowed to return home.
The master, seeing the holiness and obedience of this boy, did not want the Prince to leave without him marrying his daughter. The Prince agreed to it, but on the condition that he received his parent's approval.
The royal family was overly joyous upon the safe return of their son. The Prince told his story of penance and that he had been forgiven by God. Then the Prince told the story about his master's daughter and his parents agreed to the marriage. And everyone lived and died happily ever after," finished the dove.
"I never saw the young orphan girl again, but I still think of the girl and the good that she created out of her own sins," said the dove.
Once he had finished telling his story the dove spread his wings and flew out of the Basilica of Begona, and disappeared over the tops of the trees...
Author's Note:
The reason I chose to retell "The Saintly Orphan Girl" was because I needed a story whose plot could fit into my frametale and make sense. I wanted to place my main character in a church in Bilbao, so I found a religious story to fit that atmosphere. I liked the inclusion of the dove in the original story, especially since doves are a common religious symbol. Also, I didn't want to chose a story that was negative because I wanted to start my frametale off with a positive feeling. This story seemed to do that and I also thought it would serve as a good inspiration for my main character, Stella.
I thought the most interesting part of the story was the inclusion of the dove. He was hardly spoken of, but he still played an important role in the story. That's why I chose to play up his character by giving him the part of the storyteller. It also surprised me to find out that the entire story wasn't about the orphan girl. Based on the title, I expected for the main character to be the girl so it came as a surprise to see the plot veer off course to focus on the Prince. I think that is an important element for my readers to recognize. I also would like my readers to realize the indirect connection between the orphan girl in the story and my main character, Stella. It's my attempt to provide a little inspiration to the main character.
There wasn't a lot that I altered and the length of the story remained the same. I did add some to the beginning and some to the end so that the story would fit appropriately into my frametale. The only thing I did change was the location of the string on each of the babies that were born. I de-emphasized the roles of the Queen and King in my retelling because I didn't think they were very important to the plot. I emphasized the role of the dove because he was important to the plot.
Bibliography:
Story Title: The Saintly Orphan Girl
Story Websource: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/basque/bl/bl68.htm
Book Title: Basque Legends
Author: Wentworth Webster
Year: 1879
Return to my Storybook!!
Proceed to Story 2: The Witch and the New-Born Infant
The Saintly Orphan Girl...
"I once had a friend who God entrusted me to take care of every day. My duty was to bring her food and keep her alive for God told me that she was very special, and that he had a plan for her. She was a young orphan girl, who lived in solitude so I was her only companion and she grew very fond of me.
One day the orphan girl happened to spot two policemen dragging a girl much like her to a nearby prison. The girl was either to be executed or imprisoned. Seeing the poor fate of this young girl, my friend could not help but to be grateful for her own piety and holiness. She thought to herself had the troubled girl lived a life similar to hers, she would not be punished for her bad actions.
Instantly, God punished my young friend for the pride she thought of. Her punishment was that I no longer bring her food and keep her company. Some time passed and the orphan girl became very lonely without me. She went to visit a priest so that she could confess her sins and be forgiven. As soon as she did so, the priest explained to her that she must attend the birth of three children as her punishment. At the three births the orphan girl was to take note of the gifts given to the children.
The girl did as she was told and first approached the Queen, who was giving birth to a baby Prince. The Queen allowed her company and the young girl watched as the boy was born with a white string circled around his neck. Immediately, the orphan girl knew the boy would either be hung of guillotined when he turned 18.
The next child was a little girl who was born with a red string attached to her wrist. The orphan girl understood this to mean that the baby girl would turn out a ruined young adult.
The third child was a boy born with a blue ribbon tied to his finger, which meant that he would grow up to be kind and to serve God.
Unable to forget the fate of the young Prince, she returned to the royal family and helped to care for the boy. Each time she held him she could not help but to say "Poor child!" Eventually, the Queen overheard her and asked her why she considered her child not to be fortunate. The orphan girl kept her silence until the date of the Prince's 18th birthday drew near. She could not silence herself any longer, and told the royal family of the fate of their child. The King and Queen, in turn, told their son who decided that he needed to leave the house urgently.
The Prince traveled for quite some time before he came to another town. He came across a house connected to a large shop. Since the Prince was very well educated, the shopkeeper hired him to work in his shop. Overtime, word spread of this young man and the town grew to love him dearly. However, the Prince had some secrets of his own and eventually the townspeople caught on. Each night the Prince would leave the house, but no one ever knew where he would disappear to. One night his master cut a hole above the shop and spied on the Prince leaving once dark arrived. The Prince walked a distance before falling down upon his knees, on which he walked until he reached a church. For a week the master watched the Prince do the same thing every night.
One night was different, however. On the eigth night of spying the master witnessed an angel come down from heaven. The angel came down to the Prince, placed a white string around his neck, and lifted him into the air. Several seconds later the angel placed the Prince gently on the ground and disappeared.
The master was so shocked that he did not hesitate to confront the boy. The Prince explained to his master that his penance was fulfilled and that he was allowed to return home.
The master, seeing the holiness and obedience of this boy, did not want the Prince to leave without him marrying his daughter. The Prince agreed to it, but on the condition that he received his parent's approval.
The royal family was overly joyous upon the safe return of their son. The Prince told his story of penance and that he had been forgiven by God. Then the Prince told the story about his master's daughter and his parents agreed to the marriage. And everyone lived and died happily ever after," finished the dove.
"I never saw the young orphan girl again, but I still think of the girl and the good that she created out of her own sins," said the dove.
Once he had finished telling his story the dove spread his wings and flew out of the Basilica of Begona, and disappeared over the tops of the trees...
Author's Note:
The reason I chose to retell "The Saintly Orphan Girl" was because I needed a story whose plot could fit into my frametale and make sense. I wanted to place my main character in a church in Bilbao, so I found a religious story to fit that atmosphere. I liked the inclusion of the dove in the original story, especially since doves are a common religious symbol. Also, I didn't want to chose a story that was negative because I wanted to start my frametale off with a positive feeling. This story seemed to do that and I also thought it would serve as a good inspiration for my main character, Stella.
I thought the most interesting part of the story was the inclusion of the dove. He was hardly spoken of, but he still played an important role in the story. That's why I chose to play up his character by giving him the part of the storyteller. It also surprised me to find out that the entire story wasn't about the orphan girl. Based on the title, I expected for the main character to be the girl so it came as a surprise to see the plot veer off course to focus on the Prince. I think that is an important element for my readers to recognize. I also would like my readers to realize the indirect connection between the orphan girl in the story and my main character, Stella. It's my attempt to provide a little inspiration to the main character.
There wasn't a lot that I altered and the length of the story remained the same. I did add some to the beginning and some to the end so that the story would fit appropriately into my frametale. The only thing I did change was the location of the string on each of the babies that were born. I de-emphasized the roles of the Queen and King in my retelling because I didn't think they were very important to the plot. I emphasized the role of the dove because he was important to the plot.
Bibliography:
Story Title: The Saintly Orphan Girl
Story Websource: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/basque/bl/bl68.htm
Book Title: Basque Legends
Author: Wentworth Webster
Year: 1879
Return to my Storybook!!
Proceed to Story 2: The Witch and the New-Born Infant