Week 2 Story: The Rose in the Garden

 

The Rose. Source: DaronHagen.

The Rose in the Garden

    There were a mother and three daughters that lived in a big city known as Dallas, Texas. The mother, who loves to exercise and ride her bike through the city, asked the daughters if they needed anything from the store, which was just a few blocks away from their apartment. Like most children. Two of the daughters were quick to name a list of all the things they could think of that they wanted. They wanted a new phone, a new laptop, some more make up, as well as many other things. The mom replied and said, "I am not buying you two all of those things. You have brand new phones and are fortunate to already have very nice things." The two daughters then made an ugly face to their mother since they learned they would not be receiving what they wanted.

    The mother turned to the third daughter, the youngest of the bunch, and asked: "Is there anything I can get for you at the store?"

    "Well... there's nothing I really need, but if you really want to get me something, I would love a rose! Roses are my favorite flowers."

    So the mother set off for the store on her bicycle. The city streets and sidewalks were fairly crowded for a Wednesday afternoon. When the mother arrived at the store, she bought many things. She bought some stuff for dinner that evening and some other stuff that she was running low on. The two older daughters began to text her to hurry and come back, so the mother felt as if she was in a rush.

    The mother left the store and not long after realized she had forgotten to get a rose for her youngest daughter. She really loved her youngest daughter and did not want to disappoint her. The mother knew there was a botanical garden just a block away, so she started peddling quickly in that direction.

    The botanical garden was full of roses. There were so many roses in the garden that it looked as if there was a sea of red. She looked around for a second and chose a rose. Immediately after she picked the rose from the ground, one of the groundskeepers yelled: "Hey lady! We work hard to grow these beautiful roses, so we don't need people like you stealing them."

    The groundskeeper began to approach the mother. The mother was terrified as she began shaking in fear. When he finally came up to her, he said, "I'm sorry for yelling at you and probably embarrassing you as well. We do work hard on these roses, so I just ask that you please don't do it again."

    The mother shook her head and agreed. However, the groundskeeper had an idea. He smiled at the mother and said, "I don't see a ring on your finger. What do you say I get to take you out on a date, and we can forget this little instance ever happened." The groundskeeper was a fine-looking man and the mother was flattered by the comment, so she agreed.

    The mother hopped back on her bike with the rose in hand and headed home. When she finally made it back home, she was exhausted. She quickly put up all the groceries and got dinner started. The youngest daughter walked into the kitchen and said, "Hey! Were you able to get me a rose?"

    "Of course dear! You think I would forget something like that?," the mother replied.

    "Never mama, you're the best! I hope it wasn't too much trouble getting it for me!," replied the daughter.

    The mother chuckled to herself and said, "Nope, not at all."

    A few weeks later, the groundskeeper and the mother went on their date. He took her to one of the finest restaurants in Dallas. The two really hit it off and actually began dating. They really suited each other well, and after dating for three years, they decided to get married. The wedding was a huge celebration and had a huge cake and lots of decorations. They made sure to have roses as the centerpieces on all the tables, remembering the time they met.

Author's Note:

    I decided to keep some elements the same from the source story. I kept the plot very similar because in both stories the mother has to find a rose for her youngest daughter. I decided to modernize the story a little bit and make the story feel like it was happening in modern-day in a big city. The biggest change to the story occurs towards the end. In the original story, the mother takes a rose from a palace's garden that is in a forest. A basilisk then comes out and demands that the mother bring him her daughter to nurse him every day. The daughter ends up having to cut the basilisk's head off, which eventually becomes a youth that she marries. I changed this ending up a bit. Instead of having a basilisk, I had a groundskeeper. The groundskeeper then went on to marry the mother instead of the daughter getting married in the story. I really wanted to have a more modern take on the story and make it feel like it is something that happened in a current period of time.

Bibliography. "The Three Roses" from The Key of Gold by Josef Baudis (1922). Web source.