Saint Bonino

From an interview with Roberto Rossellini where he tells the story of Saint Bonino, the inspiration for his movie, The Miracle.

"A peasant goes into the fields with his two-year old son and a dog. He leaves the child and the dog in the shade of an oak and goes to work. When he gets back he finds the child's throat torn open, with traces of teeth on his neck: in his anguish the father slaughters the dog, and only at that moment does he notice a large snake and realizes his mistake. Conscious of the injustice he has committed, he buries the dog beneath some nearby rocks and carves an inscription on its grave: 'Here lies Bonino (the name of the dog) slain by the ferocity of men.' Several centuries elapse, there's a road past the grave, wayfarers stop in the shade of the oak and read the epitaph. Little by little they start praying, asking the intercession of the unfortunate victim buried there: the miracles resulting are so numerous that the local people build a beautiful church and a tomb in which to transfer the body of Bonino. And then they realize that the body is that of a dog."