The Turquoise Story Book: Stories and Legends of Summer and Nature
General
The Turquoise Story Book: Stories and Legends of Summer and Nature
Nature -- Juvenile literature; Summer -- Juvenile literature
The rose, it knows their secret,
And the jessamine also knows:
And the rose told me the story
That the jessamine told the rose.
And the jessamine said: "At midnight,
E're the red cock woke and crew,
The fays of Queen Titania
Came here to bathe in dew.
And the yellow moonlight glistened
On braids of elfin hair;
And fairy feet on the flowers
Fell softer than any air.
And their petticoats, gay as bubbles,
They hung up, every one,
On the morning glory's tendrils,
Till their moonlight bath was done.
But the red cock crew too early,
And the fairies fled in fear,
Leaving their petticoats purple and pink,
Like blossoms hanging there.
MADISON CAWEIN.
WHY ROSES HAVE THORNS
(ALGONQUIN LEGEND)
In the far-off days of long ago roses had no thorns. The branches of the
bushes and the flower stems were smooth and delicate and made delicious
food for the animals. They greedily ate the leaves, stems, and lovely
blossoms; sometimes, indeed, they devoured the entire plant.
With grief the roses saw that each year the number of bushes was growing
fewer and they feared the time would come when there would be none of
their blossoms left to gladden the summer days. At last they held a
council to see if anything could be done to prevent the animals from
destroying the bushes. But no one could think of a way out of the
difficulty.
"We must go to Manabozho, the Great Chief," said one of them. "He will
advise us what to do."
Accordingly, it was decided that several messengers, chosen from the
council, should seek the Great Chief and tell him how the animals were
fast destroying the roses.
It was no easy matter to find Manabozho, for while he lived on earth
among the Red Men he took many disguises. They who sought him were
carried by the swiftest wind through valleys and meadows and far over
the hilltops. All along the path of their journey, whenever they asked
the question, "Where shall we find Manabozho?" they received the same
answer, "Travel on toward the sunrise. There you will find the Great
Chief. He is tending a wonderful garden."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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