In the Spanish town of San Facondo^a a man had a cherry tree in his garden; it annually bore abundant fruit that produced a profit for the gardener. Then the tree dried up and withered from its roots. The master wanted to cut it down, so it would not clutter the ground any longer, but a neighbor suggested that he put it under blessed Francis's care, and the man agreed. In marvelous fashion, against hope, it revived, produced leaves, blossomed, and produced fruit in its time, just as before. In thanks for this miracle the owner annually gave its fruit to the brothers.

¹⁹⁰Around Villesilos an infestation of worms was devastating the vineyards. The townspeople asked the advice of a member of the Order of Preachers about a remedy for the pestilence. He told them to choose any two saints, whomever they wished, and to select one of them by lot and make him their advocate to eradicate the pest. They chose Saint Francis and Saint Dominic. The choice fell to Saint Francis, and the people directed their prayers to him, and the pest suddenly and totally disappeared. The people consequently held him in special reverence, and have great affection for his Order. In thanksgiving for the miracle in the vineyards, they each year send a special alms of wine to the brothers.

¹⁹¹Near Palencia^b a priest owned a barn for storing grain, but to the priest's loss it was annually full of weevils, the worms found in grain.^c The priest was upset with his loss, and searching for a remedy, he assigned blessed Francis to guard the storehouse. Shortly thereafter he found all the weevils dead and heaped outside the barn, and he no longer had to put up with such a pest. The priest felt himself blessed for being heard, and was quite grateful for the favor: for love of Saint Francis he provided an annual ration of grain for the poor.

¹⁹²Some time back, when a plague of locusts devastated the kingdom of Apulia, the lord of the castle of Pietramala humbly put his land under the care of blessed Francis. That land remained, through the merits of the saint, totally unharmed by the vile plague, while the same pestilence devoured all its surroundings.

¹⁹³A noble lady of the castle of Galete^d suffered from an ulcer between her breasts, and it afflicted her both with its pain and its stench. She could find nothing to restore her health. One day by

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