Tale of a rooster

As a child I always loved this rooster that sat on my Grandma's coffee table.  I had not seen him for years until I walked into an office at work the other day.  I asked the office occupant about the rooster and made the comment that my Grandma had one just like that and I always loved it.  He explained to me the back story of the rooster and I thought I would share.  

The story of the rooster begins in Barcelos, which is located in north-west Portugal.  Often pilgrims would pass through Barcelos as part of their pilgrimage to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, and they would rest at various inns along the way.  While in Barcelos one pilgrim stopped to rest at an inn, and the inn keeper complained that his silver had been stolen.  Since the pilgrim was in the area at the time, he was blamed for the theft and was stated to be hanged on the town plaza.  

Knowing that he was innocent the pilgrim pleaded to speak with the local judge in order to appeal his case, and begrudgingly the judge agreed to see him.  When the guards took the pilgrim to the judge's home he was in the middle of a large dinner, and the main course of the meal was a large roasted rooster that sat in the center of the table.  The judge ignored the pilgrim's plea of innocence, saying there was no proof that he did not commit the theft.  

Still certain of his innocence and his belief in a fair and loving God, the pilgrim fell to his knees and started praying.  At that point he noticed the rooster sitting in the center of the table, and he prayed that God would prove his innocence by making the rooster come back to life and crow in protest to the hanging.  

Unconvinced, the judge ordered the guards to take the pilgrim away and the hanging was still scheduled to go ahead as planned.  

Just before the hanging was to take place, witnesses claim to have seen the rooster stand up from the table and start crowing, just as the pilgrim prayed it would.  Realizing what the crowing meant, the judge quickly released the pilgrim from the gallows immediately.  The pilgrim was freed and continued on his way to the Santiago de Compostelo thanks to being saved by the wonderful crowing rooster!

The symbol of the rooster now acts as a reminder of the miracle and moral of this story, and is said to bring good luck!



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