Chapter 54
The Loveliest Rose in the WorldTHERE lived once a great queen, in whose garden were found
at all seasons the most splendid flowers, and from every land in
the world. She specially loved roses, and therefore she possessed
the most beautiful varieties of this flower, from the wild
hedge-rose, with its apple-scented leaves, to the splendid Provence
rose. They grew near the shelter of the walls, wound themselves
round columns and window-frames, crept along passages and over the
ceilings of the halls. They were of every fragrance and
color.
But care and sorrow dwelt within these halls; the queen
lay upon a sick bed, and the doctors declared that she must die.
"There is still one thing that could save her," said one of the
wisest among them. "Bring her the loveliest rose
