One day she went out to a mountain that was totally deprived of water to prune maple trees, and she forgot to take water along with her. The heat was unbearable and she began to faint from thirst. When she could no longer work and was lying nearly lifeless on the ground, she began intently to call upon her patron, Saint Francis. In her exhaustion she drifted off to sleep. And there was Saint Francis, who called her by name. "Get up," he said, "and drink the water that is provided by divine gift for you and for many!" At the sound the woman yawned but, overcome by drowsiness, fell back asleep. She was called again, but fell back on the ground in her weariness. But the third time, strengthened by a command of the saint, she got up. She grabbed a fern next to her and pulled it from the earth. When she saw that its root was all wet, she began to dig around it with her finger and a twig. Immediately the hole was filled with water and the little puddle grew into a spring. ^{Est 10:6} The woman drank, and when she had had enough, she washed her eyes. They were clouded by a long illness, and she could see nothing clearly. Her eyes were enlightened, their old roughness removed, and were flooded as if with new light.

The woman ran home and told everyone about the great miracle, to the glory of Saint Francis. News of the miracle spread and reached the ears of everyone, even in other regions. Many troubled by various diseases came running from every direction, and putting the health of their souls first, through confession, they were then freed of their illnesses. The blind recovered their sight, the lame their walk, the swollen grew slim, and for various illnesses their appropriate remedy was offered. That clear spring still flows, and a chapel in honor of Saint Francis has been built there.

¹⁷At the hermitage of Sant'Urbano he was suffering from a severe illness, when with a weak voice he requested some wine. The response was that there was no wine there to give him. He ordered some water to be brought, and when it was brought he blessed it with the sign of the cross. Immediately the element was transformed to another use; it lost its own taste and took on another. What had been pure water became excellent wine. What poverty could not provide, holiness furnished. Once he tasted it, he recovered easily. That marvelous conversion was the cause of his marvelous healing, and the marvelous healing a proof of the marvelous conversion.

¹⁸In the province of Rieti a serious plague broke out, destroying cattle so cruelly that almost none remained.^a A certain God-fearing man ^{Jb 1:1} was instructed in a dream to go quickly to the hermitage of the

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