Hornillos del Camino

I didn't put this up on the Santo Domingo post because I thought it silly. But there is a legend there about chickens.

"Santo Domingo de la Calzada, donde canto la gallina despues de asada."

It is said, or believed, depending on who you talk to, that a boy and his father were traveling through on their way to Santiago and a young girl took a fancy to the boy who would have nothing to do with her. So, she put a silver cup in his things and reported him as a thief. He was found with the cup, tried, and hung. The next morning the boy's father found his son alive, but didn't want to leave the town again without telling the judge that his son was innocent and alive due to the intervention of Santo Domingo. The judge, who was eating a chicken dinner when told said, "I'll believe that when this chicken gets up and walks". At which the chicken got up walked and crowed. To this day they keep caged chickens in the church. Really, and if you ask people from Santo Domingo if they believe that story they will tell you there other things more difficult to believe. I would tell you God works more subtly, more mysteriously. You have to pay attention. Maybe that's just me.

Here in Hornillos, a pueblo of 50 people and maybe less and a temporary population of more than 200 pilgrims, I noticed this fountain with the rooster on top.




So, I asked about it wondering if it were somehow there for a similar reason. No.

I was told by one who confessed that she might not be the best to know that during a time when people kept chickens - I didn't see any myself, but thought that could be anything over 20 yrs. ago - that the French army would come by and by morning all the chickens would be gone. So, it must have been during the Peninsular War, ca. 1800, but that wasn't said. Anyway, the people knew what was happening to the chickens and they knew the route the French would take out of town. So, they caught up with them and accused them of stealing their chickens. Which the French quickly denied. Without any proof they had started back to town when a rooster crowed from within one of the French drums. Nothing was said about what might have happened after that, but the rooster stands today as a warning not to be stealing chickens here!

And that's the truth.