The Proud Red Rose . . .

One beautiful spring day a red rose blossomed in a forest. Many kinds of
trees and plants grew there. As the rose looked around, a pine tree nearby
said, "What a beautiful flower. I wish I was that lovely." Another tree
said, "Dear pine, do not be sad, we can not have everything."

The rose turned its head and remarked, "It seems that I am the most
beautiful plant in this forest." A sunflower raised its yellow head and
asked, "Why do you say that? In this forest there are many beautiful plants.
You are just one of them." The red rose replied, "I see everyone looking at
me and admiring me." Then the rose looked at a cactus and said, "Look at
that ugly plant full of thorns!" The pine tree said, "Red rose, what kind of
talk is this? Who can say what beauty is? You have thorns too."

The proud red rose looked angrily at the pine and said, "I thought you had
good taste! You do not know what beauty is at all. You can not compare my
thorns to that of the cactus."

"What a proud flower", thought the trees.

The rose tried to move its roots away from the cactus, but it could not
move. As the days passed, the red rose would look at the cactus and say
insulting things, like: This plant is useless? How sorry I am to be his
neighbor."

The cactus never got upset and he even tried to advise the rose, saying,
"God did not create any form of life without a purpose."

Spring passed, and the weather became very warm. Life became difficult in
the forest, as the plants and animals needed water and no rain fell. The red
rose began to wilt. One day the rose saw sparrows stick their beaks into the
cactus and then fly away, refreshed. This was puzzling, and the red rose
asked the pine tree what the birds were doing. The pine tree explained that
the birds got water from the cactus. "Does it not hurt when they make
holes?" asked the rose.

"Yes, but the cactus does not like to see any birds suffer," replied the
pine.

The rose opened its eyes in wonder and said, "The cactus has water?"

"Yes you can also drink from it. The sparrow can bring water to you if you
ask the cactus for help."

The red rose felt too ashamed of its past words and behavior to ask for
water from the cactus, but then it finally did ask the cactus for help. The
cactus kindly agreed and the birds filled their beaks with water and watered
the rose's roots. Thus the rose learned a lesson and never judged anyone by
their appearance again . . .