The Valentine Story

CEBU, Philippines - One morning, a rowdy rooster named Bantam approached the kittens Blackfoot, Whitefang and Stripe. "Would you guys know about the story behind Valentine's Day?" the feathery fowl inquired.

"Like… who was this Valentine person, and why is February 14 named after him?"

Being the pupils of Brad, the world's smartest rat, the three kittens remembered that they had asked their teacher the same question the year before. It was on a day when they saw a lot of people walking with heart-shaped cards and flowers, and they wanted to know what it was all about. In answering their question, teacher Brad told them the story about Valentine's Day.

"You know, we asked Brad the same question last year," said Stripe, the smartest of the three.

"Yeah," seconded Blackfoot. "We were really curious why there were so many people bringing flowers and cards. The teacher told us that it was a special day called Valentine's Day and people were celebrating it by giving gifts to those they love."

"We were also told one of the many legends about Valentine's Day - why it came to be and who Valentine was," Whitefang added.

Stripe related the rest of the story: "The legend has it that Valentine was actually a priest a long time ago, in a time when an emperor named Claudius II ruled."

"Convinced that married men did not make good soldiers, Emperor Claudius declared that young men would no longer be allowed to get married.

"The people of the kingdom were enraged by the emperor's order, especially the young lovers who were already planning to get married but were suddenly prohibited from living together. But they could not defy Emperor Claudius, because he had a very strong army.

"Valentine, being a priest, felt that the emperor's order was too harsh and decided to help young couples by marrying them in secret.

"It went okay for a time, until the emperor found out about the secret marriages.

"He ordered for Valentine to face trial. And finding Valentine guilty of disobeying his declaration, Emperor Claudius imposed the strictest of punishments for Valentine's actions - the death penalty.

"Valentine's death saddened the people of the kingdom so much that they kept the memory of his deeds alive by remembering the day of his death - marking Valentine's Day as more than just a day celebrated by only the young couples in love, but by everyone in general."

Glad to hear the story, Bantam cackled his gratitude to the kittens, and then turned away smiling. (FREEMAN)