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-;{@ The roses of St.Elizabeth @};-
In a little kingdom called Thuringia there once lived a queen who was so good and sweet beatiful that she was laved by all her subjects. Nobody ever heard her speak an unkind word, and always she went about trying to do good to her people.
Elizabeth, for that was a queen’s name, was hardly more than a girl. She had a husband who loved her very dearly, and she loved him as well. But he was older than she was, and rather grave and quiet, and sometimes Elizabeth felt just a little bit afraid of him.
One day the king rode out to hunt as usual with his courtiers and huntsmen, and after he had gone Elizabeth set out, as she often did, to visit her poor people. She took with her only one serving - maid, to help her carry the food she was taking to them; and because there was more then the maid could manage, Elizabeth herself queen though she was, filled her apron with the loaves of bread which she was going to give away.
Now it happened that the king was not in a mood for hunting that morning and he and his courtiers presently left the case and turned homewards, some somehours before it was his custom to do so, and Elizabeth and her waiting – woman had hardly left the castle when they met the cavalcade returning.
Elizabeth was overcome with confusion, and did not know what to do. She knew that her husband was good and kind, and approved of her charitable actions, but she did not knowif he would quite like to think that his wife herself went round to the cittages, carrying the loaves of bread she meant to give away. She would have turned aside and avoided him if she could, but that was impossible, for already the horsemen were clattering aroung her, some of the grand guests looking askance at seeing the wife of their king walking about the streets in such a humble manner.
But the king smiled at the wife whom he loved so dearly, and streching out his hand he drew to his horse’s side.
“What have you there, sweet wife?” he said, looking down at the burden she carried, and the courtiers and guests drew nearer to see.
Elizabeth did not know what to do or say. How could she shame her dear husband before all these grand people by teling them what she really had in her apron? For those days people had very foolish ideas about what a queen might do or might not do, a high - born lady like Elizabeth should demean herself by carrying bread to her poor people.
Elizabeth felt that she could not bear to see the scronful simles on their faces if they saw what was in her apron, and, acting on a sudden impulse, she said quickly:
“Roses.”
Directly she had said it she knew that it was wrong. She knew that she should have owned up bravely and spoken the truth, and not have been afraid of being laughed at. A crimson flush rose to her cheeks, and she hung her head, not daring to meet her husband’s eyes, while tha hands that held the apron trembled.
Her husband saw that something was wrong. Perhaps he guessed what the apron really held, for hie voice was very grave as he bent down from his horse and said kindly but firmly:
“Let me see.”
Tremblingly Elizabeth opened her apron, and the tears came into her eyes as she wondered what her husband would think of her. But a wonderfull thing had happened. There were no loaves of bread in the apron as she held it out towards her husband – the loaves had been turned into roses , red and white.
For a moment nobody spoke, then the king bent down and kissed Elizabeth tenderly.
“Go your ways, sweetheart,” he said, and rode on to the castle, leaving Elizabeth standing gazing, breathless and bewildered, at the roses that she held.
Is was wrong of her, of course, not to have told the truth, but she always so good and gentle, and tried so hard to help her poor people, that God would not let her be shamed before those proud, scornful guests. So He had truned the loaves into roses and made the untruth true.
Pandora's Magic Box
Long ago, when men first lived on the earth, they had almost everything they could wish for, for the gods who had made them gave them all the things they needed.
There was only the one gift which gods withheld from them, and that was the fire of genius, which, is they possessed it, would give them immortal souls and make them higher than all other creatures.
A servant of gods, named Prometheus, was determined to get this great gift for men, and as he could not persuede the gods to part with any of their precious treasure, he stole some of it, and carried it down to earth.
When the gods found out thet their divine fire had been stolen, they were terribly angry, they punished Prometheus by binding him to great mountain, where he had to remain for thousand years, until one day a brave man broke his chains and set him free.
But the gods were not content with merely punishing Prometheus. They wished to be avenged upon the men who now possessed to power which they had meant to keep for themeselves alone, and after they had consulted together, they thought of a way.
They made a beautiful woman, the first woman that had ever been made, and then they sen her down to the earth to a man named Epimetheus to be his wife.
And not long afterwards a messenger came from the gods to Epimetheus and his wife, whose name was Pandora, and gave into their charge a large carved box, which the were commanded to keep until it was sent for.
Epimetheus promised to take care of the box, and the messenger went away. But Pandora was filled with curiostly to open it and see. Epimetheus was shocked at the idea of breaking his trust, and refused to do as she asked, upon which Pandora flew into a temper, and husband and wife had their first quarrel.
After awhile seeing that Pandora was still so unreasonable, Epimetheus left her alone and went out, hoping to find her better state of mind when he returned. But after he had gone, Pandora's curiosity grew greater and greater, and the last she began to finger the golden cord by which the box was bound.
Almost before she knew that she was doing her finger began to busy themselves trying to unfasten the knot. It was a hard knot and difficult to untie, and Pandora was just about to leave off trying to undo it, when suddenly it seemed to untwine of it self, and the next moment th cord dropped to the ground.
And now that the box unfastenend, and nothing remained but to raised the lid, Pandora felt that she could no longer resist the temtation to take one peep.
"I will only lift it a little bit - just to have one look," she said to herself, and just as Epimetheus came back to his dwelling - place to see if his wife was in a better frame.
But alas for PAndora and Epimetheus, and alas for all the men and women who have lived upon the earth since then! No sooner was the lid opened, than out flew all the troubles that ever were in the world - all kind and sickness and pain and sorrow and wickednessand grief and anxiety, and all the other evil things that ever since vexed and hurt the souls and bodies and hearts and minds of human beings. For the gods, determining to be avenged upon men because of the treasure Prometheus had stolen, had filled the box full of all these troubles and sent it down to the earth, trusting to Pandora's curiousity to open it sooner or later.
These troubles flew about like horrible insects. They Pandora and Epimetheus with their venomous stings, and then flew aboard into the world to carry sin and sorrow and misery wherever they went.
Poor Pandora, crouched against the box which had been the cause of all her trouble, cried bitterly, and Epimetheus, filled with despair at what hada happened, adn finding the pain of the stings almost unbearable, began to scold and reproach her for what she had done. But suddenly, as he was in the middle of an angry, bitter speech, there came a voice from inside the box.
" Open the lid and let me out," said the voice, and husband and wife stopped quarreling and looked at each other, startled.
"Shall I open the box ?" asked Pandore, and Epimetheus answered rouhly:
"You can do as you lke, Since you have done so muach mischief already. I don't suppose it matters if you do a little more. So you can please yourself."
The tears came to Pandora's eyes again at the roughness of this tone, and for a minute she thought that she would not open the box. But then she heard once more a little voice inside.
"Open the lid and let me out. Please let me out."
Then once more Pandora lifted the lid of the magic box, and this time there flew out - not an evil, horrible ugly - looking truble - but a beautiful fairy - like creature with rainbow - coloured wings, which shone and glittered and sparkled in the light as though they had been made of all colours that are in earth and sea and sky.
"I am Hope," she said, as she touched the places where the troubles had sting Pandora and Epimetheus. At the touch of her gentle fingers their wounds grew well again. "And I was put into the box to make amends to humans beings for all the ills that were destined to be let loose amongst them. Do not be afraid for all the evils that will come upon you. Go bravely forward, and one day you shall find the end crowns all."
And that is how the old Greek people believed that sin and misery entered into the world, and they say that if the gods had never made woman men might still be happy in the way they used to be before they knew sin and sorrow. But though it was a woman who lifted the lid of the magic box and set free all the troubles concealed within it, yet it was a woman, too, who brought hope into the world. And hope is so great and wonderful and beautiful a thing that it more than makes amends for all evils which Pandora by hercurioisity let loose upon the earth.
^.^V
