allowed her to bear twin boys, even though he had been asked for only one. One was named Francesco and the other Biagio.

¹⁰⁰A noble woman of the city of Le Mans^a had a lowly servant girl whom she forced to do servile work on the feast of Saint Francis. But the girl was of nobler mind and refused, out of reverence for the feast. Human fear, however, prevailed over fear of God, and the girl did as she was told, even if unwillingly. She put her hand ^{Prv 31:19} to the distaff, her fingers plied the spindle. But immediately her hands stiffened with pain and her fingers burned unbearably. The punishment revealed the fault as the sharpness of the pain made silence impossible. The girl hurried to the sons of Saint Francis,^b revealed her offense, showed her punishment, and asked forgiveness. So the brothers marched in procession to the church and begged Saint Francis's mercy for the girl's health. As the sons begged their father she was healed, though a trace of the burning remained on her hands.

¹⁰¹A similar thing happened in Campania.^c A certain woman was frequently rebuked by her neighbors for not abstaining from work on the saint's feast. On the vigil of blessed Francis she obstinately continued to work into the evening without ceasing. But after her work she was suddenly struck with pain and shock; a weakness in her hands kept her from even ordinary tasks. She soon arose and declared that the feast she had despised should be revered. In the hands of a priest she solemnly vowed that she would forever observe the saint's feast with reverence. After her vow she was taken to a church built in honor of Saint Francis. There, after many tears, she recovered her health.

¹⁰²In the village of Olite^d a neighbor warned a certain woman to observe the feast of Saint Francis, and not to do any work. But the woman impudently replied, "If there were one saint for every trade, the number of saints would be more than the number of days." At her foolish words she immediately fell ill by divine vengeance. For many days she lost her mind and memory until, through the prayers of many to blessed Francis, her madness subsided.

¹⁰³In the town of Piglio in the province of Campania^e a woman busily went about her work on the feast of Saint Francis. A noblewoman sternly rebuked her for this, since everyone should observe

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