CONTO 4
O Milagre do Senhor Jesus da Pedra
Mariana Botelho; André Batista; Sofia Martins
Hello children, my name is John and I’ve travelled all over the world and I’m fascinated by all medieval things.
I’m here to tell you about a legend I was told when I first visited the village of Óbidos.
I’m going to tell this story in English, because I haven’t learnt to speak Portu-guese fluently yet, but I’m going to do my best to tell it exactly as it was told to me.
The story begins like this …
Once upon a time…..many, many years ago, in the beautiful town of Óbidos, there was a small farmer called Tomás. He lived with his grandmother, Dona Rosa, a very wise lady who told old stories about the earth and the sky. Tomás loved listening to her stories, but lately he had been feeling sad. It hadn’t rained for a long time in that region, to the point where you could see the agricultural fields drying up. The crops were no longer growing, the animals were thirsty, and the locals were beginning to worry about the situation.
One day, Tomás went to a distant field to collect firewood. He was with his best friend, Margarida, and his four-legged best friend, Pingo, a curious and playful little dog. As they went through the field looking for dry branches, Pingo ran into a clump of brambles and started barking non-stop…
– O que foi, Pingo? —asked Tomás worriedly, running after the dog.
Margarida helped to clear away the thorny branches and, to the surprise of the two friends, they saw a carved stone, covered in earth and dry leaves. It was an image of Jesus Christ on the cross! The stone looked very old and very special. The two were so amazed that they didn’t know what to say to each other…
– Tomás! Será que isso significa alguma coisa? – asked Margarida, her eyes shining. Margarida had always been a very hopeful girl from a very young age and, as soon as she saw that stone, she immediately felt that there was something special about it.
Before they could think any further, they heard a noise coming from the village. It was Mr. António, the miller, carrying empty sacks of flour.
This gentleman had always been well known by everyone for his good humour and cheerfulness, but lately he no longer seemed to be the same, now sadness seemed to take over…
– Crianças, o moinho sem água não funciona, a roda parou de girar! Estamos todos sem farinha para fazer pão! – lamented the miller.
Margarida looked at Tomás and had an idea. — Vamos levar esta Cruz para a vi-la! Talvez ela possa ajudar-nos de alguma forma.
Carefully, the two friends picked up the stone and carried it to the central square. Before long, everyone in the village was gathered around it: Dona Rosa, the miller António, Senhora Isabel, who looked after all the chickens in the area, and even Senhor Manuel, the grumpiest blacksmith who never believed in myths or miracles.
– O que encontraram, meninos? – Dona Rosa asked, examining the cross care-fully. Tomás told how they had found the stone hidden among the brambles and how Pingo seemed to guide them there. People started talking amongst them-selves, and soon they decided to place the Cross in the centre of the village and pray for the rain to return. During the evening, the locals held a small proces-sion. They lit the Cross with candles, sang and asked God to bring back the rain. The children stayed up late, looking up at the dark, starry sky, waiting for some sign so that they could celebrate.
The next morning, when the first ray of sunshine appeared on the horizon, a cool breeze blew through the village. The clouds began to form slowly, and then… Plim! Plim! The first rain drops fell from the sky!
– Está a chover! – Margarida shouted, jumping with joy
People came out of their houses and ran outside, laughing and dancing with happiness at finally being in the rain. The mill started working again, the wells filled up and the crops grew again. It seemed like a dream come true, Mr. António regained his glow and smile. Everyone in the village believed that this was a miracle and decided to build a large shrine to protect that sacred Cross.
Over time, that place became the Sanctuary of Senhor Jesus da Pedra, a place of faith and hope. And so Tomás, Margarida, Pingo and all the inhabitants of Óbi-dos never forgot the day when a simple farmer found a miraculous stone… and changed the history of the town forever!