My Life Lesson Learnt From Portugal

The brightly coloured “Galo de Barcelos” (Rooster of Barcelos) is one of the most common emblems of Portugal. The legend, from the 15th century, tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man who had been falsely accused and sentenced to death.

The story, in all its many variations, symbolizes faith, justice and good luck or honesty, integrity, trust and honour and it is these values that permeate through the generations regardless of which version of the story you adhere to.

The life lesson here is that universal values persist no matter how they are symbolized in stories or legends.