A Letter to Kentigern
by Derek Bixler
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This imaginary letter is adapted from a story called "Saint Kentigern and the Robin" in The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts by Abbie Farwell Brown. In the story, a wise old Saint named Servan has his bird killed by a group of jealous students who are attempting to frame their classmate Kentigern. Kentigern is a successful student and beloved by Saint Servan. As Servan accuses Kentigern of killing the bird, Kentigern begins to pray and God raises the robin back to life. Servan quickly realizes the boy is innocent. Saint Servan then loves Kentigern more than ever before. This fictional letter from the perspective of Saint Servan takes place immediately following that story.
Dearest Kentigern,
Let this letter serve as my formal, sincere apology to your wise young soul. I had never quite realized the extent to which your classmates were jealous of the great pride I take in your success. It never would have occurred to me that they would scheme against you and attempt to frame you for a crime so painful to my heart as the killing of my little Redbreast Robin. That bird, as you know, joins me as a treasured companion as I sing daily songs of praise to our wonderful Creator. To kill this sweet creature was truly a despicable act and not one that I should have believed you would ever take part in. My great moment of distress upon seeing this bird without life led me to unreasonable conclusions. As a saint and trusted instructor, I must learn to keep my wits about me when evaluating painful situations. In contrast, I'm exceptionally proud of the way you handled that tough situation. Your presence of mind to offer sincere prayer paired beautifully with the gracious response from the Lord, as He raised my bird to life by means of your tears. I have harshly punished the shameful classmates who framed you and will treasure you as a pupil even more than before. Surely I won't soon forget, nor the saved bird, nor our God most of all, the thoughtful response you gave today. You will go on to be a respected saint in the church; I am sure of this. All of Scotland will someday remember you for your wisdom. I cannot wait to observe the progression of your life and am proud to be your teacher and friend. After what we have seen today, surely God will continue to watch over your every move. A child of great blessings you are, Kentigern. Grace and peace to you.
With great affection, a contrite heart, and sincere gratitude,
Saint Servan
A photo of Glasgow Cathedral in Glasgow, Scotland, the city
near where this tale of Saint Servan and young Saint Kentigern
takes place. Source: Wikimedia
BIBLIOGRAPHY: The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts by Abbie Farwell Brown (1900). From the UN-Textbook unit on Saints and Animals. Story link: Saint Kentigern and the Robin.
Hey Derek!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I wanted to tell you how much I admire the story telling style you accomplished here. I like the idea of the letter writing; it gives it a formal, enchanted point of view. It is incredible that you came up with this whole letter from the context of the story. I really enjoyed reading this piece. I was curious as to what prompted you to do it in letter form, rather than maybe the Saint Servan making a public announcement? I just like to hear the thought process behind what people make-up (I guess that is part of being a psychology major!!). Some advice I would give would be possibly writing another letter in response to this one; maybe in the upcoming story weeks ask if you can alter this one or create one as a follow-up to this. I think that would be a really cool idea coming together.
Hi Derek! I love this concept of writing a letter for the story you read, and you did a great job of keeping some of the original dialect. It can be really difficult to write in an older vernacular, and it can be even more difficult to read it, but you kept a good balance of old and new which made it easier to understand. Great job!
ReplyDeleteDerek,
ReplyDeleteI love the way that you formatted this story. This was the first story I have read in this class that was formatted as a letter, and you made it work. I think it was impressive you were able to retell a story through a different medium, and still hit all the main points of the story. Excited to read more of your work!
Hi Derek!
ReplyDeleteI did not see any issues with how you wrote your story, but I would like to know more about the premise behind the letter. For example, why did Saint Servan need to send a formal letter to Kentigern? Weren't they in a close mentor-student relationship? Did Servan make an apology in person? If not, was Servan embarrassed at his accusation against Kentigern and could only apologize in writing? Or did Servan write his formal apology with an invitation to meet him in person so that Kentigern doesn't feel any pressure to forgive Servan? Did Kentigern immediately forgive Servan or is he upset that Servan believed he was capable of murdering the bird?
Other than that, I think your story is golden!