The puppy dog (with the slightly reddish back) that goes around the lake without worrying about the whereabouts of the lake, that finishes writing a letter in the rain without getting rained upon. (from the Golden Legend, “Saint Bernard”)Saint Bernard always spent as little time as possible sleeping. Nothing is a greater waste of time than sleep. Sleep is a death of sorts (though God might say that the dead are only sleeping). Loud snoring. Sloppy appearance. Just so much sleeping flesh. So he felt no joy or appetite towards eating. He said that nothing tasted better than water, that drinking water refreshed the throat. He goes out into the woods and fields to contemplate. Mongolian oak tree in the woods. The beech tree was his teacher (and the beech leaves were his only source of food). (from the Golden Legend, “Saint Bernard”)