The Dragon's Rose

In a relatively isolated village, there lived a mother with her three daughters, Emerald, Ruby, and Jane. The mother did not possess great wealth, but she did her best to ensure her daughters had everything they deserved, and if you asked her, she would say they deserved the world.

Because the village was isolated, the mother often had to travel to a neighboring village in order to acquire certain necessities. The day soon came that the mother had to make her weekly journey to the neighboring village. Before departing, she asked her three daughters if they required anything. Two of her daughters, Emerald and Ruby, requested a multitude of items that – if you asked anyone in the village – they did not in fact need. The mother, knowing that fulfilling such a request would put a considerable dent on her wallet and be a significant burden, ultimately acquiesced because it was well known that her daughters deserved the world. She then asked her third daughter, Jane, if she wanted anything. Surprisingly, Jane only requested three red roses. Jane’s uniqueness lay in her normality. Unlike her sisters, Emerald and Ruby, Jane did not yearn for a life of opulence. The mother eagerly accepted Jane’s request and set off.

At the village, the mother spent quite a bit of time gathering everything that Emerald and Ruby asked for. Once her task was complete, she began to make the long trek home. It was on the way back that the mother realized that she had forgotten Jane’s roses. She dejectedly continued on her journey until she came across a peculiar sight. There, hidden in the forest, was the most extravagant rose garden she had ever witnessed. The mother quickly plucked three roses from the garden for Jane – she would hate to disappoint her daughter by not fulfilling her simple request after all. However, as soon as she gathered the flowers, a dragon appeared. The fierce dragon let out a mighty roar that shook the mother to her very core. He demanded that the woman pay for the flowers she stole for him by giving him something of equal value – her daughter. In fear of her mortal life, the mother quickly agreed and fled the scene.

Upon her arrival at home, the mother presented everyone with what they had asked for. Jane was ecstatic at the sight of the lovely roses. It was then that the mother sadly informed Jane that she must return to the rose garden in order to pay for the roses. The mother had spent quite a bit of time debating going through with the agreement she made with the dragon on the way back. In the end, she decided that she did not want to risk the lives of those who had no role in the matter. If Jane had not requested the roses, then none of this would have ever happened. And so, it was decided, rather one-sidedly at that, that Jane would be the one to suffer any and all consequences for her selfish request. For the most part, Jane was fine with the arrangement, although she was a little worried about what the future had in store for her.

Jane eventually made her way to the rose garden where she was encountered the awesome creature. The dragon then informed her that she must nurture him for three days. Not left with much of an option considering the dragon’s potentially deadly weapons, Jane agreed.

The three days passed quickly for both of them. At the conclusion of the third day, the dragon presented Jane with an abnormal request. He wanted her to burn him alive, and he threatened her with death if she did not comply. Although she was hesitant and did not want to end the life of such a magnificent creature, Jane complied with his request. The fire Jane attempted to start quickly took and the dragon let out a painful bellow as he was consumed by the flames. Jane stayed by his side until the fire died out and all that remained was ash. It was then that a beautiful human man arose from the ashes. He declared that because Jane had liberated him from his prison, he had to marry her. In addition, they would also have a grand party. Everyone, including Jane, was to have an incredible time at both events. They both lived together after that.

The end.

Author's note:

I tried to keep the main plot the same. Per the original story, the story revolves around a mother and one of her three daughters. The mother attempts her best to make sure that her daughters receive everything they request, but two of the daughters tend overshadow the third daughter. However, the third daughter was not unnoticed for long as a large basilisk eventually demands from the mother that she give him her third daughter in exchange for taking flowers from his garden. The daughter willingly goes and is later surprised to find that the basilisk was actually a human man.

I did make some minor changes to the character names to better reflect their personalities. For example, the two daughters that request many things from the mother are named after precious jewels to reflect their desire for a life of opulence. I also changed the creature featured in the story because I love dragons, and they can be just as, if not more, intimidating and fierce as any basilisk. I chose to have the dragon burn because dragons breathe fire. I thought it would be a suitable end for the creature to be consumed by the very element they wield.

Bibliography: "The Three Roses " from Czech Folklore by Josef Baudis. Web Source.

Image Information: Three Roses of Love. Source: Pernilla Rydmark. Dragon. Source: Pexels