Brigid's Cloak, by Barrie Maguire
As the story is told, St. Brigid went to the King of Leinster to tell him she needed land upon which to build a convent.
"You do, do you?" replied the king. "How much do you need?"
"We need only the land my cloak will cover - no more", answered Brigid.
"Well if that's all!" said the amused king, "You shall have it. That can be settled easily."
On hearing that, Brigid removed her cloak and laid it on the ground. Then to the absolute amazement and astonishment of everyone watching, the cloak began to grow. It grew and grew. It stretched all round at once, stretching itself out and rapidly gaining speed. Startled the king jumped back. The cloak was like a living thing.
Finally it stopped. Brigid looked around her. In every direction her cloak stretched. It covered acre upon acre of rich, green, pastureland. With twinkling eyes she said, "Thanks be to God."
"And thanks be to me," said the king. "Make good use of it."
What a lovely, whimsical tale. I like the wit of it. The painting that illustrates it is wonderful.I'm a lover of fog and I often think of fog as a blanket. Mist can be a blanket as well, but land? Land as a blanket is a new idea to me and one I will muse on for a while!
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Vicki
Cil Saileach
Glad you are taken by Barry's art and his telling of this tale. Your meditations on it have a beauty of there own.
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