The flower that tells of battles
More than a thousand years ago, says an old French tale, there lived a
holy man now known as Saint Leonard. One day he gave away all his money
and everything he owned. Then he went to live by himself in a valley in
a forest.
But a dragon named Temptation also lived in that valley. This dragon was
a huge creature that breathed fire, looked like a snake, and had wings
like a bat. The dragon Temptation attacked Saint Leonard, but the holy
man chased it away. Saint Leonard and the dragon fought many terrible
battles, and the dragon always lost. The holy man chased the beast
farther and farther toward the edge of the woods. And, finally, the
dragon disappeared forever from the valley.
But a strange thing happened where each of the battles was fought.
Wherever drops of Saint Leonard’s blood fell to the ground, flowers
grew! These flowers were called lilies of the valley, in honor of Saint
Leonard’s battles in the valley against the dragon Temptation.
lily of the valley
In a French legend,these flowers first grew where drops of a saint’s
blood fell.
