Thorns of the Rose

28 Thorns of the Rose A grandmother and grandfather were trying to comfort their granddaughter who had just grabbed the stem of a rose and cut herself on a thorn. Through her tears, she asked her grandfather, “ How can something so pretty have thorns?" The grandfather thought for a moment, and then he began to tell her a story. " Many years ago, there was a young man who saw a beautiful woman. He wanted to marry her. But she was difficult to talk to and hard to get to know. She didn't talk to people very much. Everyone who approached her turned away in disappointment. She refused to let them get close. Some people said the girl was like a rose with a thorn. " " She was like that rose?" asked the child. “ Yes, she was. But not in the way you think, " the grandfather said. " She had a difficult childhood. She lived with her father and stepmother. She always tried to be perfect to please her parents. If anything went wrong, it was always her that was blamed. Her stepmother said the girl's beauty was a curse. "

“ As the girl grew older, she kept people away to protect herself. In a way, she was like the rose, which has thorns so that it can protect itself. " The child said, “ I see. What happened to them?" The grandmother took over the story then. " The young man wrote the girl beautiful letters every day, and he delivered his letters with flowers, " she said. “ In each of these letters, he wrote a beautiful story that brought great joy to the girl. Gradually, she learned to trust people. Soon after that, they got married. Now she loves to have people around her, and she especially loves her granddaughter. ' The grandmother then hugged the little girl. Shocked, the child asked, “ You mean you were that girl, Grandma?” The grandmother took the child's hand, put it against her soft, wrinkled face and said, " Yes, that was me. But as you can feel, there are no thorns left. "