The flower of honesty

In ancient China, a certain prince of the region of Thing-Zda was abt to b crowned emperor; however, according to the law, he first had to get married.since, this meant choosing the future empress, the prince needed to find a young woman whom he cud trust absolutely. On the advice of a wise man, he decided to summon all the young woman of the region in order to find the most worthy candidate.

An old lady, who had served in palace fr many yrs, heard abt the preparations fr this gathering and felt very sad, fr knew that her daughter nurtured a secret love fr the prince.

When the old lady got home, she told her daughter and was horrified to learn that she intended going to the palace.

The old lady desperately said, ' dear daughter, what on earth will u do there?

All the richest and most beautiful girls from the court will b present. It's a rediculous idea! I knw u must b suffering, but don't turn that suffering into madness.'

So the daughter replied: ' dear mother, I'm nt suffering and certainly Hvnt gone mad. I knw I won't b chosen, but it's my one chance to spend at least few moments close to the prince, and that makes me happy, even though I knw that a quite different fate awaits me.'

That night, when she reached the palace, all the most beautiful girls were indeed there, wearing the most beautiful clothes and jewellery, and prepared to seize the opportunity on offer.

Surrounded by the members of his court , the prince announced the challenge. ' I will give each of u a seed. In six months time, the woman who brings me a loveliest flower will b the future empress of China.'

The girl took her seed and planted. Though she was not skilled in gardening ,she prepared the soil with great patience and tenderness, fr she believed that if flowers grew as large as her love , then she needn't wry abt the results.

Three months passed and no shoots appeared .she tried everything,consulted the farmers and peasants, bt to no avail. Each day she felt her dream moving farther off, although her love was as alive as ever.

At last, six months were up, and still nothing grew.though she had nothing to show ,she decided to go to the palace as she knew hw much effort and dedication she had put in. Inside, she knew that this wud b her last meeting with her true love, but she wud nt miss it for the world.

The day arrived ,she appeared with her plant less pot, and saw other candidates with wonderful results. Each girl had lovelier flower than the last. Finally the longed- for moment arrived.

The prince appeared and studied each candidate with great care and attention. Having inspected he announced the result and choose her( servants daughter) as his new wife.

All present began to protest,saying it's unfair, as he had chosen the only one who failed to grow anything at all.

So the prince calmly explained the reasoning behind the challenge.

' this woman is the only one who cultivated the flower that made her worthy of becoming the empress: the flower of honesty. All seeds, I handed were sterile, and nothing cud ever hv grown from them. 

...beautiful fairy tale..brings a tear and smile at the same time...!!!