Legend: Nello and Patrasche... A Dog of Flanders...

NEW! 2023-11-02 06:05:03

Theme: Blog

Nello, a 15-year-old boy from the Ardennes region, lives on the outskirts of a small farming village near the city of Antwerp in the Flanders region. He shares his humble home with his honest, bedridden grandfather Jehan Daas, and their loyal old dog, Patrasche—a large, yellow-furred, erect-eared draft dog, used for pulling dog carts and the like. Patrasche had been mistreated and discarded by a hardware store before being rescued by Jehan and a young Nello, and has since been cared for by them. Despite his impoverished life, working in the milk delivery trade, Nello dreams of becoming a painter one day. He longs to see the two altarpieces in Antwerp's Cathedral of Our Lady, painted by the 17th-century artist Rubens, renowned throughout Belgium and the world. However, viewing them requires an expensive admission fee, making it an unattainable dream for the poor Nello.

Nello’s only close friend is Alois, a 12-year-old girl who is the daughter of a windmill owner. Her father, Baas Cogez, however, does not think highly of the lowly Nello and tries to keep him away from his daughter. Moreover, one winter day, Nello is falsely accused of arson, blamed for a fire that consumed the outer edge of the windmill and a grain warehouse (though the windmill and living quarters were spared). He loses his job to a new milk buyer from the town, and just days before Christmas, he loses his beloved grandfather. To make matters worse, he is also evicted from his rented shack due to overdue rent, right on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve is also the day the results of a painting competition in town are announced. Nello had entered his best work—a chalk drawing of old Michel, a lumberjack sitting on a fallen tree. He had placed all his hopes in the competition, believing that winning would surely earn him recognition from everyone. However, he did not win.

Heartbroken, Nello, in the midst of a harsh snowstorm, returns a wallet he and Patrasche found on the road to the windmill. It contained the windmill family's entire fortune. After entrusting Patrasche to the family, Nello disappears back into the snowy night. Baas, having returned home in despair when he couldn't find the wallet, regrets his past cruel treatment of Nello and decides to take him in the next day. Additionally, the next day, a famous painter who recognized Nello’s talent at the competition decides to adopt and nurture him. But it was all too late.

Despairing for his lost future and his life, Nello, weakened by the severe snowstorm, musters his last strength to head to the cathedral. Patrasche, not wanting to be apart from Nello, follows him from the windmill to the cathedral. Just then, a streak of moonlight shines through the clouds, illuminating the altar painting, fulfilling Nello’s wish and prompting him to offer a prayer of gratitude to God. The next morning, as Christmas dawned, a boy tightly embracing his dog was found frozen to death in front of Rubens' cherished painting in the cathedral. No one could separate them, and the villagers, filled with regret, buried the boy and his dog together in his grandfather's grave, under special arrangement by the church.

Patrasche's Breed

In the original story, Patrasche is described as follows: a large dog, solidly built, with erect ears, and entirely yellow or tawny in color.