St. Patrick’s Figurines

The owner at Vaillancourt Folk Art has a tough job. She has to design new figurines every year: a new one for Santa, a new one for the Easter Bunny, and even a new one for St. Patrick.

For St. Patrick, she was running out of ideas. In years past, she made a figure with the standard bishop’s hat and staff. Another year, she made one with a clover. She had made one with snakes slithering away from Patrick’s feet. She made one with two little leprechauns standing next to Patrick. She even made one so that Patrick looked a little like Santa Claus in green with a longer beard and a bigger belly.

She was out of ideas. That night, just a few days from St. Patrick’s Day, she tossed and turned in her bed in a fitful sleep.

But meanwhile, in the Vaillancourt store, all the figurines were coming to life—for some reason. Some climbed down the aisles and others stayed on their shelves. The figurines on the floor joined hands to make a big circle around the store that looped through the aisles. Then, they wound their way through the aisles. They danced up one aisle and down the next. The ones on the shelves clapped and kept time by stomping their feet.

The figures danced faster and faster. They looped around the store faster and faster.

A police officer saw lights on in the store and heard a commotion. She stopped her squad car and went to the store window. Lights were flashing inside and the noise was getting louder. It sounded like a party but the officer could not see anything because the figures were all so short. The office then drove to the owner’s house to get her to open the store.

The circle of figures danced faster and faster as they looped around the aisles of the store. Suddenly, a swirling cloud of glitter began to rise above the figures. The cloud rose and rose and spun faster and faster.

Suddenly, near the top of the cloud, a faint form began to emerge.

The forming figure had borrowed features and colors from the St. Patrick figures that were dancing on the floor. The forming figure eventually became complete in shape, color, and details. It gently settled on a desk in the painting room of the store.

Meanwhile, the owner wasn’t sleeping well, so she heard the police officer arrive. Together, they went to the store. Upon approaching the store, the owner and the officer heard nothing and all the lights in the store were off.

Upon opening the store, the owner saw that nothing was out of place, nothing was broken, and nothing was disturbed. The officer scratched her head. They looked through the entire store.

As they were exiting, the owner saw a new figure on the painting table. It was then she knew that St. Patrick helping her with her work.

It was a St. Patrick figure like none before it. St. Patrick, of course, was in a green vestment. His hand was above his eyes as he looked forward into the future. In his other hand, he held in front of him a platter that contained many things. On the platter was a ceramic plate of corned beef and cabbage. Next to it, was a small pint of Guinness beer followed by some soda bread. Finally, there was a small replica of people dressed in green walking in a St. Patrick’s Day parade.

St. Patrick was looking into the future at all the things that St. Patrick’s Day would become—all the things that symbolize the celebration of his day.

The owner thanked the officer and returned home. She could relax now and quickly fell asleep. When she woke in the morning, she wasn’t sure if it was all a dream or if it was real. But the new figurine in the store told her that it was all definitely real. The owner was so grateful for all the help from St. Patrick in making his new figure for this year.