The Legend of the White Rose
Blackpatch : Chanced upon this interesting tale about a beautiful princess, the goddess of the forest and the white rose....
Long, long ago, lost in the mists of time, there was a beautiful young princess who went by the name of Mareena. One day she stole away from the castle guards to go to the forest to collect some wild red roses to decorate the table for the evening meal. The red rose was the symbol of her father, the king. Bouquets of red roses were customary additions to the table setting during the evening meal in the castle, but since insects had damaged the roses in the castle garden, there had been no roses to liven the evening meal for many weeks. Since today was the king’s birthday, the lords and ladies of the kingdom were going to surprise the king at the evening meal with a special play. Mareena wanted to do something even more special, so it was for this reason she had sneaked away.
Mareena was walking down a rarely used trail, looking for roses when she heard some rustling in the bushes off to her right. She stopped and peered intently into the bushes, but could see nothing. Very frightened, the princess turned around and started walking back to the main trail, but before too long she realized that she had taken the left fork instead of the right. She was lost! The rustling in the bushes continued, following behind her, slowly coming closer. All sound of movement stopped; then a series of long, low growls began. Mareena completely lost her nerve and began running in a panic, not knowing where she was going. She reached a clearing in the woods, looked around, and saw nothing. Feeling safe, her heartbeat and breathing began to slow down. Just as she felt that she had escaped her pursuers, hideous growls and snarls began - she was surrounded!
Suddenly, a pack of gray wolves burst into the clearing, and ran in a circle around Mareena, yipping and howling in glee. The circle became smaller, then smaller still. Then the largest of the animals gave a sharp bark, and all the other animals became quiet, sitting on their haunches with a hungry look in their eyes. The leader of the pack stared at Mareena with hungry red eyes. Rabid froth dripped from his mouth, and Mareena could swear that the wild animal was sneering at her. Without warning the leader howled and sprung at Mareena, preparing to sink his filthy fangs deep in her throat. Mesmerized by terror, Mareena couldn’t move. In horror she watched as the giant black beast seemed to fly through the air toward her. Just as she was ready to faint from the horror, a brilliant white flash appeared out of nowhere. The beasts, stunned, were knocked to the ground. The leader of the pack, infuriated at the interruption, swung around, ready to destroy whoever had the audacity to interfere with his feast. A soft white glow began in the treetops, formed into a ball of light, and slowly drifted to the ground. The beasts were confused at this turn of events, so they formed-up behind the leader, ready to face this potential threat to their territory. The ball of light slowly faded, and in its place stood a beautiful lady dressed in shining white garments. The leader leapt into the air toward the lady in white, ready to destroy this human who entered his domain with such impudence.
The lady in white watched calmly as the beast rapidly approached, and when he was within several feet of her, she slowly raised her hand. The beast was knocked to the ground! Terrified, the cowardly pack panicked, and ran off into the woods.
Mareena slowly got up from the ground, and stared at the woman. The lady approached Mareena, and asked her if she was injured. “Nothing serious, thank you” she said. “But who are you?”
“I am Diana, goddess of the forest, and it is my calling to protect all those who enter here with a pure heart and unselfish intentions. Though you acted without thinking of the danger you may have been in, your heart was in the right place. I will now send you home, and will give you a token to remember that, whenever you are in my forest, treat all things with love and kindness.”
Mareena became dizzy for just a moment, and the next thing she knew, she was at the front gate of the castle! All around her soldiers and ordinary citizens were prepared as if to go somewhere en masse. When she appeared, all gasped, and grew quiet. Her father, the king, pushed his way through the crowd to his daughter, and with tears in his eyes, hugged her tightly. He told her that once the castle guard discovered she was missing, he organized a search party, and they were just preparing to leave when she appeared as if by magic. Mareena told him of her rescue by the forest goddess, Diana. But she seemed confused for a moment, and the king asked her what was wrong. Mareena said that Diana was going to give her something to remind her that all living things should be treated with love and kindness, but her hands were empty. The king smiled, reached up and plucked a beautiful white rose that had been placed in his daughter’s hair.
Mareena was walking down a rarely used trail, looking for roses when she heard some rustling in the bushes off to her right. She stopped and peered intently into the bushes, but could see nothing. Very frightened, the princess turned around and started walking back to the main trail, but before too long she realized that she had taken the left fork instead of the right. She was lost! The rustling in the bushes continued, following behind her, slowly coming closer. All sound of movement stopped; then a series of long, low growls began. Mareena completely lost her nerve and began running in a panic, not knowing where she was going. She reached a clearing in the woods, looked around, and saw nothing. Feeling safe, her heartbeat and breathing began to slow down. Just as she felt that she had escaped her pursuers, hideous growls and snarls began - she was surrounded!
Suddenly, a pack of gray wolves burst into the clearing, and ran in a circle around Mareena, yipping and howling in glee. The circle became smaller, then smaller still. Then the largest of the animals gave a sharp bark, and all the other animals became quiet, sitting on their haunches with a hungry look in their eyes. The leader of the pack stared at Mareena with hungry red eyes. Rabid froth dripped from his mouth, and Mareena could swear that the wild animal was sneering at her. Without warning the leader howled and sprung at Mareena, preparing to sink his filthy fangs deep in her throat. Mesmerized by terror, Mareena couldn’t move. In horror she watched as the giant black beast seemed to fly through the air toward her. Just as she was ready to faint from the horror, a brilliant white flash appeared out of nowhere. The beasts, stunned, were knocked to the ground. The leader of the pack, infuriated at the interruption, swung around, ready to destroy whoever had the audacity to interfere with his feast. A soft white glow began in the treetops, formed into a ball of light, and slowly drifted to the ground. The beasts were confused at this turn of events, so they formed-up behind the leader, ready to face this potential threat to their territory. The ball of light slowly faded, and in its place stood a beautiful lady dressed in shining white garments. The leader leapt into the air toward the lady in white, ready to destroy this human who entered his domain with such impudence.
The lady in white watched calmly as the beast rapidly approached, and when he was within several feet of her, she slowly raised her hand. The beast was knocked to the ground! Terrified, the cowardly pack panicked, and ran off into the woods.
Mareena slowly got up from the ground, and stared at the woman. The lady approached Mareena, and asked her if she was injured. “Nothing serious, thank you” she said. “But who are you?”
“I am Diana, goddess of the forest, and it is my calling to protect all those who enter here with a pure heart and unselfish intentions. Though you acted without thinking of the danger you may have been in, your heart was in the right place. I will now send you home, and will give you a token to remember that, whenever you are in my forest, treat all things with love and kindness.”
Mareena became dizzy for just a moment, and the next thing she knew, she was at the front gate of the castle! All around her soldiers and ordinary citizens were prepared as if to go somewhere en masse. When she appeared, all gasped, and grew quiet. Her father, the king, pushed his way through the crowd to his daughter, and with tears in his eyes, hugged her tightly. He told her that once the castle guard discovered she was missing, he organized a search party, and they were just preparing to leave when she appeared as if by magic. Mareena told him of her rescue by the forest goddess, Diana. But she seemed confused for a moment, and the king asked her what was wrong. Mareena said that Diana was going to give her something to remind her that all living things should be treated with love and kindness, but her hands were empty. The king smiled, reached up and plucked a beautiful white rose that had been placed in his daughter’s hair.
The king turned around, faced his subjects, and raised his hand for silence. A hush fell over the crowd, and the king said, “On this day, my daughter was saved by a power greater than any of us. I make a proclamation that, as of now, the red rose, which has been a symbol of our kingdom for generations, is here by replaced by the white rose, which will symbolize our respect for the land, rivers, rocks and trees. From this day forward, let no man waste what has been given to us for stewardship, and to treat all of nature with understanding and love.”
From that point on, the kingdom led a blessed existence. When she became of age, Mareena married a handsome young prince from the neighboring kingdom. Of course, the church was filled with white roses. And some said that, even though the day was bright and sunny, a special white light seemed to hover over the couple as they said their vows.
- written by Joe Knight
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