Not less known are stories of Old Thomas (Vana Toomas)- the symbol and guardian of the city of Tallinn. A weather vane in the figure of a warrior was placed on top of the spire of Tallinn Town Hall in the 16th century. The legend tells that Toomas was a pleasant boy who excelled at the springtime contests involving firing crossbow bolts at a painted wooden parrot on top of a pole. Due to his low-born social status and the contests being organized by Tallinn´s Baltic German elite of the time, the talented boy was unable to receive a prize. Instead he was rewarded with a job- he became the town guard for life. Immortilized in a copper weather vane, Toomas continues to keep an eye on Tallinn and its citizens even nowadays.