Reading Notes: The Ballad of Saint Giles and the Deer, Part B

• The Ballad of Saint Giles and the Deer

• An old man lives alone in a forest
• No one ever comes to this forest
• Saint Giles is the hermits name
• He lives in a rocky cave under a tree
• Saint Giles has a friend that is a deer
• The deer wanders the forest freely
• The deer is gentle and comes to saint giles when he calls for her
• The deer is very tame
• When Saint Giles calls for her, she prances to him happily
• She provides milk for him
• Saint Giles was happy living alone and being friends with the deer
• He enjoyed all of the woodland creatures
• Nobody had ever bothered him and he had never heard other humans in his forest
• One dewy morning in the spring, he heard a whistle from a silver horn
• Horses started galloping and dogs were barking causing a disruption in the forest
• Saint Giles sat there sadly and lonely all night
• He did not like people who hunted and killed
• He did not like the rich people
• He went to open his door and was scared what would be out there
• When he opened his door he found hope
• Saint Giles deer friend was waiting for him at the door
• The deer was at the door because the dogs had tracked her down and she was scared for her life
• Saint Giles decided he was not going to let his deer die
• He would rather die that his deer so he jumped in front of the deer
• A hunter hit Saint Giles with an arrow and he fell to the ground bleeding
• The hunter feels so bad that he hit a brave and kind old man
• The king comes to check out what happened and he helps heal the old mans wound
• Saint Giles taught the king his Christian ways
• The king left once Saint Giles was healed
• The deer and Saint Giles lived happily ever after

Saint Giles and Red Deer

Bibliography:

The Ballad of Saint Giles and the Deer

The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts by Abbie Farwell Brown (1900).

Story and Picture Source