844 - SKUNK

Brother Paul was very pious and never failed to attend a ceremony or his periods of solitude. However, whenever he could he sneaked off to the nearby child's playground and, checking no one was watching, he jumped on the big kids swing and swung away, his habit fluttering in the wind. A Mum and child approached the playground. The Mum whispered "shush" to her child and they crept up to the playground wondering if they might spy the monk. Soon there were several families watching. As the monk jumped off the swing, the families all ducked and let the monk return to his monastery without seeing them. Finally they were able to have a good laugh and the kids could jump on the equipment. The monk returned to the monastery in time to attend to the animals in his care. In his case this included a skunk called Horace.