How the Rose got its Thorns

Long, long, ago, on a very cheerful and sunny morning, a group of roses decided to drink water together. Their names were Rosy, Rose, and Rosa.

“What a lovely day,” Rosa exclaimed. “The sun is very bright today!”

“It is a lovely day indeed,” Rosy replied. Rose nodded her head in agreement. As they drank the water through their roots, they started to feel more and more refreshed. It was raining gallons the night before, so they had plenty of water to drink.

Suddenly, everything went dark. The shadow of a princess named Sleeping Beauty darkened the area. Sleeping Beauty was not a beautiful and kind woman like how the storybooks describe her to be. She was, in fact, a very ugly woman who killed every rose in her path by pulling them straight out of the ground. Although her hands were as big as chairs, her brain was the size of a pea. Her gigantic hand grabbed Rosy and Rosa. She squeezed them so hard that they couldn’t breathe. Rosy and Rosa screamed in pain as they were pulled off of their stems.

“Just remember, a happy ending is always possible,” Rosy and Rosa screamed as they were pulled away. Rose cried hysterically as she watched her friends being pulled away from her. After that incident, Rosy and Rosa were never seen again.

Three months later, all of the roses in the kingdom got together in an isolated meadow to form a plan of defense against the deadly Sleeping Beauty.

“I suggest that we build a wall made of bricks,” whispered an elderly rose.

“I think that we should try to attack Sleeping Beauty,” shouted a young rose.

Both of the ideas were declined by the council. The roses kept coming up with ideas that just weren’t going to work. When they were about to give up,  Rose stood. Rose was small for her age but she was very clever. Her petals were bright red and she appeared to be very calm.

“I suggest we grow thorns to defend ourselves, Sleeping Beauty will try to pick us but she will prick herself instead,” Rose explained. This suggestion got the council's attention. She continued, “Although we may lose some of our beauty by making this change, it will protect us. We all have to remember that a happy ending is always possible.”

The council seemed to be in deep thought. They talked about it three days. The council finally made a decision. One council member stood up.  He cleared his voice so loudly that it sounded like thunder cracking in a rain storm.

“May I have your attention please,” he said clearly. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to face him. “The council has made a decision-”

“Finally! It took you three days to make the decision!!!”  yelled an ungrateful rose. The council member looked unoffended and he continued.

“We have decided that all of the roses in the kingdom must grow thorns in order to defend ourselves against Sleeping Beauty,” the council member shouted. There was lots of  applause and everyone rejoiced. Happy shouts and and screams filled the isolated meadow. They were so joyful, for they would have safety for the rest of their lives.

Three hours later they put their plan into action. Growing the thorns was a painful but necessary process. It felt like their stems were being stretched out to form sharp pointed thorns. Some stood tall and brave, while others wailed in pain. By the time they were finished growing their thorns they were ready to face Sleeping Beauty. All of the roses in the kingdom went back home. Rose went back to the garden that she, Rosy and Rosa were from. Flashbacks of her laughing and smiling with her good friends went through her mind. These memories made her feel more and more courageous. Rose started to hear footsteps.

“A happy ending is always possible,” Rose whispered to herself over and over again as Sleeping Beauty approached her. Her enormous hands started to grab Rose. This time, it wasn’t Rose who screamed in pain. Sleeping Beauty wailed as her finger got pricked by one of Rose’s thorns. She fell to the ground in a sleep like death. A little while later she was rescued and brought back to life by a prince, but that’s another story. Anyways, Sleeping Beauty learned her lesson and never picked any roses again. All of the roses lived happily ever after.

The End