Horse Shoe

A rollicking Victorian verse retelling of one of England's most mischievous saints. St. Dunstan, who famously worked as a blacksmith before ascending to sainthood, has his harp practice interrupted by the Devil himself, who dares to mock the saint's musical abilities. What follows is a delightfully absurd act of divine retaliation: Dunstan seizes his blacksmith's tools and nails a horseshoe directly to the Devil's hoof. The agony is so exquisite that Old Clootie flees, and to this day, the Devil cannot abide the sight of iron hung above a door. Flight's verse bounces along with the energy of a pub ballad, capturing the irreverent spirit of a legend that blends the sacred with the profane. The tale explains why horseshoes have long been considered protective talismans in English folklore, transforming a humble piece of hardware into a weapon against the infernal. Funny, gleefully crude, and oddly heartwarming, this is the kind of story that makes you wish more saints had backgrounds in metalwork.