And he did what he had been thinking. One day he secretly got up early in the morning, and called that brother and took him into the vineyard which was close by the place. He chose one vine with good grapes to eat. Sitting down with that brother next to the vine, he began to eat some grapes so that the brother would not be ashamed to eat alone, and while they were eating them, that brother was cured and together they praised the Lord God. As long as he lived, he very often recalled among the brothers, with great devotion and flowing tears, the mercy and piety the holy father had shown to him.

29
HOW HE STRIPPED HIMSELF AND HIS COMPANION
TO CLOTHE A POOR OLD WOMAN

In Celano at winter time when blessed Francis was wearing a piece of folded cloth as a cloak, which a friend of the brothers had lent him, an old woman came up to him begging for alms. ^{Acts 3:2} He immediately unfastened the cloth from his neck, and, although it belonged to someone else, he gave it to the poor old woman, saying: "Go and make yourself a tunic; you really need it."

The old woman laughed; she was stunned—I don't know if it was out of fear or joy—and took the piece of cloth from his hands. She ran off quickly, so that delay might not bring the danger of having to give it back, and cut the cloth with scissors. But when she saw that the cut cloth would not be enough for a tunic, she returned to the holy father, knowing his earlier kindness, and showed him that the material was not enough cloth for a tunic. The saint turned his eyes on his companion, who wore the same cloth on his back. "Do you hear what this poor woman says?" he said. "For the love of God, let us endure the cold: give this poor woman the cloth so she can finish her tunic." And immediately the companion offered his as he had done; and so both were left naked, so the poor woman could be clothed.

30
HOW HE CONSIDERED IT A THEFT NOT TO GIVE A CLOAK
TO SOMEONE WHO HAD A GREATER NEED

Once, when he was coming back from Siena, he met a poor man, and said to his companion: "We must give back to this poor man the mantle that is his. We accepted it on loan until we should happen to find someone poorer than we are." The companion, seeing the need of his

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⁴Et sicut cogitavit, ita fecit. Surrexit enim quadam die summo mane, et vocavit illum fratrem secreto, et duxit eum in vineam quamdam quae erat juxta locum. ⁵Et elegit unam vitem in qua erant bonae, uvae ad manducandum, et sedens juxta vitem cum illo fratre,coepit comedere de uvis, ne ipse frater verecundaretur comedere solus. ⁶Et manducantibus illis liberatus est frater ille, et Dominum pariter laudaverunt.
⁷Unde ipse frater toto tempore vitae suae recordatus est illius misericordiae et pietatis quam ostendit et fecit ei pater sanctissimus, atque cum magna devotione et lacrimarum effusione hoc inter fratres saepius referebat.

Qualiter nudavit se et socium
ut vestiret pauperculam vetulam.
Caput 29.

¹Apud Celanum, tempore hiemali, cum beatus Franciscus haberet pannum plicatum in modum mantelli, quem sibi accommodaverat quidam amicus fratrum, occurrit ei quaedam vetula, petens eleemosynam. ²Qui statim pannum solvit a collo, et licet esset alienus dedit pauperi vetulae, dicens: « Vade, et fac tibi tunicam, quia satis indiges ».

³Arrisit vetula et stupefacta, nescio timore an gaudio, pannum de manibus ejus sumpsit, et ne mora periculum repetitionis traheret, cucurrit velocius, et pannum cum forficibus incidit. ⁴Cum autem invenisset pannum non sufficere sibi pro tunica, ad primam benignitatem sancti patris recurrit, indicans ei pannum pro tunica nimis modicum exstitisse. ⁵Vertit sanctus oculos ad socium, qui tantumdem pannum portabat ad dorsum, et ait illi: « Audis quid haec paupercula dicit? Amore Dei sustineamus algorem, et da isti pauperculae illum pannum, ut ejus tunica compleatur ». ⁶Et statim, sicut dederat ipse, dedit et socius. Sicque uterque nudus remanet ut paupercula vestiatur.

Quod reputabat furtam non dare
mantellum magis egenti.
Caput 30.

¹Cum semel reverteretur de Senis, pauperem quemdam obvium habuit, et ait socio: « Oportet ut reddamus mantellum pauperculo cujus est; mutuo enim ipsum accepimus, donec pauperiorem nobis inveniremus ». ²Socius autem, considerans pii patris necessitatem,