

Lily liked to paint. She had many colors to paint with. She liked red and yellow and blue and green. She wanted to paint a rose for her mom. She found a picture of a rose in a book and looked at it.
She took her red paint and made a big circle. Then she made smaller circles inside the big circle. She painted some green for the leaves. She was happy with her rose. She showed it to her mom.
"Look, mom, I painted a rose for you!" Lily said.
Mom smiled and hugged Lily. "Thank you, Lily, it's very pretty. I love it."
Lily was happy. She wanted to paint more roses. She looked for more colors. She saw a black paint. She wondered how a black rose would look like. She took the black paint and made another big circle. Then she made smaller circles inside the black circle. She painted some green for the leaves. She was curious about her black rose. She showed it to her mom.
"Look, mom, I painted another rose for you!" Lily said.
Mom frowned and shook her head. "No, Lily, that's not a rose. That's a black spot. Roses are not black. Black is not a pretty color for roses. You should use other colors."
Lily was sad. She liked her black rose. She thought it was different and cool. She did not understand why mom did not like it. She felt angry and hurt. She did not want to paint anymore. She threw her black paint on the floor.
"Mom, you are mean! I like my black rose! It's my rose! I can paint it any color I want!" Lily shouted.
Mom was shocked and upset. She did not mean to hurt Lily's feelings. She wanted to help Lily learn about colors and flowers. She did not like to see Lily angry and crying. She tried to calm Lily down.
"Lily, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be mean. I know you like to paint. I know you are creative. But black is not a good color for roses. It makes them look sad and sick. Roses are beautiful and bright. They have many colors, like red and pink and white and yellow. You can paint roses with any of these colors. They will look much better than black. Please, don't be mad at me. I love you and your paintings." Mom said.
Lily looked at mom. She saw mom's eyes were wet. She felt sorry for mom. She did not want to make mom cry. She realized mom was trying to teach her something. She decided to listen to mom. She picked up her black paint and put it back in the box. She took a tissue and wiped mom's eyes.
"Mom, I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to shout at you. I know you love me and my paintings. I was just curious about black. I wanted to try something new. But I see you are right. Black is not a good color for roses. It does make them look sad and sick. I will use other colors. I will paint roses with red and pink and white and yellow. They will look beautiful and bright. Please, don't be sad. I love you and your hugs." Lily said.
Mom smiled and hugged Lily. "Thank you, Lily. You are very sweet and smart. I'm glad you are willing to learn and try new things. I'm proud of you and your paintings. You can paint anything you want, as long as you use good colors. I'm happy to see you happy."
Lily smiled and hugged mom. She felt happy again. She wanted to paint more roses. She took her red paint and made another big circle. Then she made smaller circles inside the big circle. She painted some green for the leaves. She showed it to mom.
"Look, mom, I painted another rose for you!" Lily said.
Mom smiled and hugged Lily. "Thank you, Lily, it's very pretty. I love it."
