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The Rose—Elf玫瑰花精In themidst ofa garden there grewa rosebush,quite coveredwith roses,and in the mostbeautifulof themall therelived an elf-anelfso tinythat nomortal eyecould seehim.But hewas aswellmade andas perfectas anychild could be,and he had wingsreaching fromhis shoulderstohis feet.Behind eachpetal of the rosehe hada tinybedroom.Oh,how fragranthis roomswere,and howbright andtransparent thewalls,for theywere thebeautiful palepink petalsof therose!All daylong the little elfrejoiced in the warmsunshine as he flewfrom flowerto flowerordanced onthe wingsof thefluttering butterfliesand measuredhow manysteps hewou1d havetotake topass alongall theroads andpaths on a singlelinden leaf.You see,what wecall theveinson aleaf werehighroads andbyways tohim.It wasa long journey,and he had begunit ratherlate,so beforehe finished,the sunhad gonedown!It turnedvery cold,dew fell,and thewind blew,so nowit washigh timehe wenthome.He hurriedasfast as he could,but to his dismayhe foundthat the rose hadclosed itspetals forthe night!Not asingle rosestood open!He couldntget in!Now,the poorlittle rose elf wasterriblyfrightened,for hehad neverbeen outat night before;hehadalways slumberedsweetly andsafelybehind thewarm rosepetals.This wouldsurely bethe deathof him!Suddenly heremembered thatat theother end of the gardentherewas anarbor oflovely honeysuckle,those flowerswhich lookedlike bigpainted horns.In one of them,perhaps,he couldgo downandsleep safelytill morning.Swiftly hef1ew to the farendof the garden.But suddenlyhe stopped!Quiet!There werealreadytwo peoplein the arbor.The loveliestmaiden anda handsomeyoung man.They satclosely togetherandwished theymight never,never part.They lovedeach other,even morethan thebest childcanlove itsfather andmother.〃Yet wemust part,z,the young man wassaying.Your brotherdoesn,t likeme,so heis sendingmeona longjourney,far overdistant mountainsand oceans.Farewell,my sweetestbride,forthat youwill alwaysbe tome!〃Then theykissed,and the young maidenwept andgave hima rose.But firstshe pressedon itakiss sowarm andtender that the rosepetals opened,and thenthe little elf slippedquickly inside.As heleaned histiny head against thedelicate,fragrant walls,he couldhear,“Farewell!Farewell!and hefelt thatthe rosewas beingplaced onthe youngmans heart.Ah,how thatheartbeat!The little elf couldn,t goto sleepfor itsbeating!But notlong didthe roserest undisturbedon thatthrobbing heart.As the youngmanwalked lonelythroughthe darkwood he took therose outand kissedit sooften and so warmlythatthelittleelf wasalmost crushed.Through thepetals hecould feeltheyoungmans burninglips,while theroseitself openedas ifunder thestrongest middaysun.Suddenly anotherman appeared.It wasthe pretty maiden,s gloomyand wicked brother!He drewouta longsharp knife,and while theyoungman waskissing therose,this wickedone stabbedhimto death!Then hecut offthe head and buriedheadandbody inthe softearth beneaththe lindentree.“Now hesdead andforgotten!z/the evil brother thought.,,lle,11never comeback again.He wassupposedto haveleft onalongjourney wherea manmight easilylose hislife-and sohe haslosthis.No,he wont comeback,and mysister won,t everdare askme abouthim.〃Then hekickeddry leavesover theloose earthand wenthome inthe darknessof thenight.But hewas notalone,ashethought.The little elf waswith him.For,ashedug thegrave,adried,rolled-up lindenleaf hadfallen inhis hair,and therose elfwas inthat leaf.Now themanshat wasplaced overthe leaf,and itwas verydark inthere where thelittleelf trembledinfear andanger atthe wickeddeed.In the early morning,the evilman reachedhome.He tookoffhis hatand wentinto his sisters bedroom.There laythe prettymaiden,dreaming ofher beloved,whom shethought faraway travelingover mountainsand throughthe forests.The wicked brotherleaned overher andlaughed-the hideouslaugh ofa devil-and the withered leafdropped fromhishair onto her bedcover.But hedidn,t notice,and prettysoon heleft herroom toget a littlesleep himself.Now thelittleelfcrept quietlyout of thewitheredleaf,slipped into theearof thesleepinggirl,and toldher,as ina dream,the dreadfulstory of the murder.He describedthe spot inthe woodswhere herbrother hadkilled hersweetheart,and the place underthe lindentree wherethe body wasburied,and thenwhispered,“And so that youmay notthink thisall adream,youwill finda witheredleaf of the treeon yourbedspread!z,And whenshe awokeshe foundthe leaf.Oh,what bitter,bitter tearsshe shed!Yet tono onedid shedare betrayher grief.All thatdayher window stood open,and thelittleelf could easilyhave escapedto theroses andall theotherflowers ofthe garden,but hecould notbear toleave thesorrowing girl.In thewindowstooda bushthat boreroses everymonth,and hefound aspotinoneofthose flowersfromwhere hecould watchthe poorgirl.Often herbrother cameinto theroom,merry with an evilmirth,and shedared notsay aword ofthe griefin herheart.When nightcame shestole outofthehouse and into theforest totheplacewherethelinden treestood.She brushedaway theleaves,dug into the earth,andsoat lastcame tothe bodyof herbeloved.How she wept then,and howshe prayedto Godthat shetoo mightdie!She wouldgladlyhave takenthebodyhome with her,but sincethat wouldbe impossible,she tookup thepale head,with itsclosed eyes,kissed thecold mouth,and witha tremblinghand brushedthe dirtfrom thebeautifulhair.“This,at least,I cankeep,〃shewept.Then sheburied thebody again andscattered theleaves oncemore overit.But thehead,together withalittlesprig froma jasminebushwhich bloomedinthewood wherehehadbeen killed,she tookwithhertoherhome.As soonas shereached herroom shebrought thebiggest flowerpotshe couldfind,andinthisshe laidthe deadman,s head,covered itwith earth,and plantedthe sprigof jasmine.The littleelf couldno longerbear tosee suchgrief.Farewell,farewell,he whispered,andthen heflew outtohisrose inthegarden.But itwas witheredand fadednow,and onlya fewdryleaves clungtothebush.〃Alas!〃sighed theelf.〃How sooneverything goodand beautifulpassesaway!”But atlast hefound anotherrose,and madehis homein safetybehind itsdelicate,fragrant petals.But everymorning hewould flytothepoor maidenswindow,and healways found her there,weepingover the flowerpot.Softly herbitter tearsfell uponthe jasminespray,and everyday asshebecame palerand palerthe spriggrew fresher and greener.New shootsappeared,one afteranother,and littlewhite budsburst forth,and theseshe kissed.When herwicked brothersaw herdo thathe scoldedherandasked why she actedso silly.He didn,t likeit anddidnt understandwhyshewas alwaysweeping overthe flowerpot.He didnot knowwhatclosed eyeswere there,and whatred lipshad therereturned todust.And theprettymaidenleaned herheadagainsttheflowerpot,and thelittleelffoundherthere,fallen intoa gentleslumber.So hecrept againinto herear andwhispered toher ofthat eveninginthearborand ofthe scentoftheroses and the lovesoftheelves.Then she dreamed sosweetly,and whileshedreamedher lifepassed gentlyaway.She dieda quietdeath andwas inHeaven withherbeloved.And thejasmine flowersopened theirbig white bells andgave outtheir wonderfulsweetfragrance.It wasthe onlyway theyknew toweep forthe dead.When thewickedbrothersaw thebeautiful bloomingplant,hetookit forhimself asan inheritancefromhis sister,and putit inhis bedroomclose besidehis bed,for itwas gloriousindeed tolookat,and itsfragrance wassweet andfresh.But thelittle rose elf wentwith it,and flewfromblossom toblossom;in eachlived atiny soul,and toeach hetold thestory ofthe murderedmanwhose headeven nowrested underthe earthbeneath them.He toldthem ofthe evilbrotherand thepoor sister.〃We know it!〃replied eachlittle soulinthe flowers.Did wenot springfrom thosemurderedeyes andlips We knowit!Weknowit!〃they repeated,and noddedtheir headsinanodd way.The roseelfcouldnot understand how theycouldbeso quietabout it,and heflew outto thebeesgathering honeyand toldthem theterrible storyabout thewickedbrother.So theyreportedit totheir Queen,and theQueen commandedall thebees tokill themurderer thevery nextmorning.But thenightbefore,the firstnight afterhissister,s death,whiletheevilbrotherwas asleepinhis bedbeside thefragrant jasmine,the flowersopened,and outof eachblossom camea tinyspirit-invisible,but armedwithasharp littlepoisoned spear.First,they creptinto hisears,and toldhim wickeddreams;then theyflew acrosshis lips,and piercedhis tonguewith theirpoisoneddarts.“Now wehave avengedthe deadman!”they cried,then flewback againintothewhitebellsofthe jasmine.When themorning came,andthewindows ofthe bedroomwere opened,theroseelf andthe wholeswarmof beeswith theirQueen sweptin tokill him.But hewas alreadydead,and peoplestood aroundhis bedand said,“The scentofthejasminehas killedhim!”Then theroseelfunderstood thevengeance oftheflowersand toldit totheQueen,and sheand herwhole swarmof beesceaselessly hummedaround theflowerpot andcould notbedriven away.When aman pickedup thepot abee stunghim onthe hand,sothathe letit fallandit brokeinto pieces.Then thepeople sawthe whitenedskull andknew thatthe deadman onthebed wasa murderer.So theQueen beehummed inthe airand sangofthevengeance ofthe flowersandabout theroseelf,andhowbehind thesmallest leafthere dwellsOne whocan discloseandrepay everyevil.。