The legend of the child abandoned in the woods

A long time ago, there lived a man in Saint-Denis who was so poor that he decided to abandon his son rather than see him go hungry. Under the pretence of going to fetch firewood, he took his son into the woods and then left him to fend for himself.

The boy followed a path and came to an abandoned house; there was a light inside, but no one was to be seen. The little boy, glad to have found shelter for the night, went in and lay down to sleep. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a voice ordering him to dig near the door. He obeyed and found a pot full of gold, but he did not touch it as it belonged to the owner of the house. The voice ordered him to dig twice more, and the boy found two more pots full of gold. When the voice asked him what he would do with all that gold, he replied that he would keep one pot for himself as a reward for his labour, whilst he would give the larger one to a priest to distribute to the poor. The following morning, the master’s pot had disappeared; the boy then took the remaining ones and set off. Shortly afterwards, he met a priest who, after listening to him, decided to take him in and have him trained to become a priest.
Once he had become a priest, the bishop sent him to Saint-Denis because the village had been left without a parish priest. One day, an old man sent for him and confided his sorrows to him. The elderly gentleman had spent his life tormented by the fact that he had abandoned his own child in the woods. Although he had gone back to look for him, he had never managed to find him again. The priest, deeply moved, realised that the man was his father and, after forgiving him, revealed his identity. The old man finally found peace and died peacefully in his son’s arms. A long time ago, there lived in [[Saint-Denis]] a man so poor that he decided to abandon his son rather than see him go hungry. Under the pretence of going to fetch firewood, he took his son into the woods and then abandoned him to his fate. The child followed a path and came to an abandoned house; there was a light inside, but no one was to be seen. The little boy, glad to have found shelter for the night, went inside and lay down to sleep. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a voice ordering him to dig near the door. He obeyed and found a pot full of gold, but did not touch it as it belonged to the owner of the house. The voice ordered him to dig twice more, and the boy found two more pots full of gold. When the voice asked him what he would do with all that gold, he replied that he would keep one pot as a reward for his labour, whilst he would give the largest one to a priest to distribute to the poor. The following morning, the master’s pot had disappeared; the boy then took the remaining pots and set off. Shortly afterwards, he met a priest, who, after listening to him, decided to take him in and have him trained to become a priest. Once he had become a priest, the bishop sent him to Saint-Denis because the village had been left without a parish priest. One day, an old man sent for him and confided his sorrows to him. The elderly gentleman had spent his life tormented by the fact that he had abandoned his own child in the woods. Although he had gone back to look for him, he had never managed to find him again. The priest, deeply moved, realised that the man was his father and, after forgiving him, revealed his identity. The old man finally found peace and died peacefully in his son’s arms.