The Legend of the Shamrock

There is an honored legend from Ireland's ancient lore
Of how St. Patrick drove the snakes from Erin's lovely shore.
The wee folk were in danger from the serpents all around
That hid beneath the rocks and always moved without a sound.
But then when good St. Patrick came to preach and labor there,
He brought the shamrock with him which he planted everywhere.

And as the shamrocks flourished, all the snakes began to flee
Until they reached the shore, where they were swallowed by the sea.
Sure an' the wee folk marveled, and they asked St. Patrick why.

"The shamrock represents The Trinity," was his reply.
"Just as three shamrock leaves are joined onto a single stem,
The Trinity is three in one, and God is all of them.
The serpents learned its sacred power in Eden long ago
And cannot bear to stay here now because they fear it so,"

And ever since St. Patrick drove the serpents all away.
They've ne'er come back to Ireland's shore, not to this day.

~ Hallmark ~ Thursday, March 17 is St. Patrick's Day.

The greatest gift is the passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination.

~ Elizabeth Hardwick, American writer, literary critic (1916 - 2007) A friend of the bookshop found this quotation for us. Thank you Kimberly.