“Colman the monk was so eager to imitate the poverty of Christ that he had no property and no earthly possessions whatever – unless his three dearest friends could be called possessions. These friends were a cock, a mouse and a fly. The cock used to crow in the middle of the night in order to wake Colman for prayer. The mouse would then wake Colman in the morning by gnawing at his clothes and nibbling his ears. Even when Colman was utterly exhausted from his long night vigils, and when his body craved sleep, the mouse kept nibbling until Colman got up – to ensure that Colman never gave in to the sin of sloth. But the fly’s service was the most remarkable. When Colman sat down to read the Scriptures, the fly would walk down the page at precisely the same pace as Colman read the lines. And if Colman was called away on some business, or if he looked up from the page to reflect on what he had read, the fly stayed at the line. Thus when Colman continued reading, he could find his place at once. At length these three creatures died, so Colman lost their service and companionship. And, his heart heavy with sorrow, he wrote to his spiritual friend, Columba, abbot of Iona. Columba replied both in jest and in wisdom: ‘To you, the cock, mouse and the fly were as precious as the richest jewels, so rejoice that God has taken those jewels to himself.’ ”
6th century Celtic Christian story
Photo: Fly and Pasqueflower, Hewlett Gulch, Roosevelt National Forest, CO; March 26, 2014
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