Page:Chinese Fables and Folk Stories.djvu/149

Rh "Then they all laughed and said, 'We do not. Do you not see the thorns on the roses? When we pass near we tear our dresses. When we touch them the blood flows from our hands. No, we do not like the roses. The baby cow does not like them either. They stick her nose when she tries to eat, and even mother can not pick them without scissors. Once when she had a large bunch of roses, little sister tried to get one and it stuck her hands and face so that she cried many hours. Other flowers do not make trouble like that, and we do not see why any one likes the rose best. We think it very foolish to like a trouble flower and be named for it.'

"I do not like my name-flower any more, Mü-Tsing, and I do not want to bear its name."

"Do not cry, dear child," said her mother, "and I will tell you some things about the rose. Do you like rose sugar?"

"Yes, very much," Rose answered, her face growing bright.

"And rose oil?"

"Oh, yes, Mü-Tsing."

"I thought you did not like the rose. So you ought not to like the good things it makes."

"But, Mü-Tsing, tell me why did the rose god make Chinese Fables—10