Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1893-06-15

favor to ask Of you. Sell me the rose
tree which bears these roses. will give
you whatever you may demand for it."
But the mother answered: Much hon
ored queen, ] cannot co this with my
rose tree. | cannot sell il. Only one
thing l can &C, if yor are willing. You
have a prince. and l VIII bestow it on
the prince, to have it for his own and
to keep it honorcd and loved as if it were
q living princess"
Your wish shall be granted, madam,
so that we may only have the rose tree
in the palace. and you may come with
it and live near us also"
81 have no wish for that, your mai
esty. My rose tree is the only thing
care for. wish that to be happy, for
1t is all | have to love in the world.
Swear to me by the life of your son that
it shall be as you say"
II swear to you by the life of my only
son that the tree which brings forth these
roses shall be honored in this palace as
II 1t were real living princess"
MAY God grant you long life, my
queen. Come by yourself tomorrow,
and take away the rose tree from my
house."
The ball took place in heevening, and
all wondered at the queens roses. Where
had she found them? 1t was quite mar
veil Such flowers in the middle of win
ter!
The next morning the queen lost no
time before going to secure the rose tree.
When the prince heard of the agreement
which his mother had made with the
woman he jumped for joy and got a
golden vase ready in the palace in which
the rose tree was to be planted. The
queen and the prince went together in
gold chariot, and stopping before the
humble cottage where the mother and
dwelt they alighted. The mother had
mentioned nothing to her daughter, ex-
cept that the queen kindly intended to
come in person to thank her for the gift
Of roses.
AS soon as the mother and daughter
went out to receive the royal visitors,
the daughter, as she bent down to kiss
the queens hand, smiled merely from a
grateful feeling, and rose fell from her
mouth. The queen at first did not un-
derstand how this came to pass, but the
prince ran Immediately to pick it up to
give to his mother, and the girl behold
ing him smiled again in her great Joy,
when the second rose fell
At one and the same moment the
queen and the prince understood it all.
The queen became very angry, because
she remembered directly that she was
bound by her cath to receive the girl as
daughter-in-law. She turned, how
ever, to look at her again, when she saw
that the girl was really SO very beauti-
full and SO very good that without mo-
ment's longer reserve she threw her arms
around her, saying aloud as she kissed
her: "You are poor girl no longer, but
a princess henceforth. You shall come
and live in our palace, you and your
mother also."
Now that It has all turned out ex-
actly as you wished it," she added, ad-
dressing the mother, ''tell me, lady CO.
mother-in-law, how your daughter ac-
quired SO great charm as to shower
roses from her mouth whenever she
laughs"
The mother Immediately told her all
about the fairies and their three prom
ised gifts to her daughter when she was
an infant, and how the first and the last
promise had both come true.
oaoo,,,1 l, q =, 1-,,. - II. !,
said the queen, with some curiosity; show
was it that did not happen, for, poor as
you were, had pearls fallen from her eyes
you could have sold them?'
''That did not happen" answered the
mother, because I never made her
weep. I sought only to see her happy
and smiling, preferring to live poor in
my daughters gladness than to become
rich by her grief"
When the queen heard these words she
embraced and kissed her, saying, tYou
have indeed been good mother, and it
is an honor to queen to make you her
eo-mother-in-law."
The girl, who had listened to all that
her mother had said, was now SO over
come by her emotion that her eyes filled
with tears and two large pearls rolled
down. The prince stopped to pick them
up.
"These are not tears of sorrow," he
said. "They are tears Of joy. I will
take them and have them made into ear
rings, and you shall wear them on the
day on which you become my princess"
Translated for Cassell Publishing Com
pany From the Greek by Mrs. Ednonds.