k's cloak. Then they said they would
set fire to both piles. St. Patrick accepted the challenge. (If you had
been the boy, would you have "got the wind up," do you think, or would
you have trusted St. Patrick?)

Well, they set fire to the two piles of wood. Strange to say, the green
wood blazed up, with many sizzlings and cracklings and much smoke, but
the dry wood simply wouldn't light. There was, however, a sudden flame,
and the Druid's robe on the boy flared up and was soon burnt to ashes,
leaving Benignus quite all right, and, I expect, very pleased with
himself! Meanwhile, horrible noises had been coming from the other pile,
and when the smoke and flames died down there were only charred cinders
where there had once been a Druid. But St. Patrick's cloak had not been
burnt at all.

As the King still would not believe, St. Patrick had to make another
earthquake happen, which swallowed up so many of the King's subjects
that he gave in, and said St. Patrick might preach, though he himself
never accepted the Faith.

So, on the green plains of Tara, St. Patrick preached a wonderful sermon
to the Irish, who by this time had come crowding round to see the
stranger who could beat the Druids at their own game. During this sermon
St. Patrick stooped down and picked a leaf of shamrock, and, holding it
up, showed the people how the little green leaf was _three_ and yet
_one_. He said that would help them to understand how the Blessed
Trinity is three--God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Ghost--and yet is really only _one God_. That is why the Irish wear
shamrock on St. Patrick's Day (March 17th).

[Illustration: S. PATRICK AND THE LITTLE BOY BENIGNUS.

_See page 101._]

Many more miracles did St. Patrick which I can't tell you about now; and
he went from place to place, winning thousands of men for Christ, and
giving spiritual life to their souls by baptizing them.

One Shrove Tuesday St. Patrick went up on to the top of a lonely, rugged
mountain above the sea, and there he stayed without any food all through
Lent till Easter. And all the time he prayed and prayed and prayed for
the men of Ireland and their fate on the Judgment Day. At the end of his
long and painful time of prayer God sent an angel to tell him his
request was granted. So, with his heart full of joy, St. Patrick knelt
and blessed Ireland, and as he gave his blessing hundreds of poisonous
snakes came out of their holes and went slithering away