The mysterious golden roses

An old couple had a beautiful garden. At one particular place they planted a rose bush. This rose bush used to produce golden roses. The old couple used to work very, very hard in their garden and people used to deeply admire their golden roses.

One day the eldest son of the village chief was galloping by. From his horse, he saw the golden roses. He could not believe his eyes. So he reached down from his horse and grabbed a few roses. When he grabbed the roses, the whole bush came out of the ground. He did not know how it could have happened. Then suddenly the rose bush left his hands; he could not hold it. It was beyond belief. Since he could not account for it, the son of the village chief turned his horse around and again came back to the vicinity of the rose bush. When he came back, he saw the same bush with all its golden roses. Once more he grabbed some roses from the bush. Then he turned around only to see that there was no rose bush in the ground.

He felt compelled to solve this mystery. He went home and this time he brought his servants to destroy that particular plot of land. He said, “Some villagers are making fun of me.”

So he destroyed the whole plot of land. The bush and everything else was gone, completely gone. Then the son of the village chief was very, very happy. He went home and began bragging about this incident. He told his friends of the mysterious experience he had had, which he was certain would not be repeated. His father was also surprised to hear this story. His father asked his friends for an explanation, but they could not give any proper answer. So once again this young man returned to the place. This time he brought his relatives and friends in order to show them the plot of land that he had completely destroyed.

Alas! When he arrived at the place, he saw the garden and the rose bush with its golden roses growing in the same position as before. How could it happen? The son of the village chief was so sad and depressed. He could not show off to his friends that he had destroyed this place.

As he was returning home, he met with an old woman. He said to her, “You are old, very old. You are supposed to have wisdom. Can you tell me why this has happened? I destroyed that plot of land. How is it that again there is a rose bush growing there with golden roses?”

The old lady said, “I cannot answer this question, but I know someone who will be able to answer it.”

“Who is that?” asked the son of the village chief.

The old woman said, “I know of a dwarf who is really wise. I am no match for him. He will tell you the real reason why it happened.”

“This dwarf will give us knowledge?” asked the young man doubtfully.

The old lady said, “If it is beneath your dignity to go to the dwarf, then do not go. In that case, you will remain ignorant, because I know I cannot answer this question. But if you sincerely want to be illumined, then you must go to the dwarf.”

So the son of the village chief went to the dwarf with utmost reluctance. He thought that now he would hear some stupid answer from the dwarf. In fact, he was fully prepared for this.

The young man invited a few friends and together they went to see the dwarf. The young man explained his problem at great length. Then the dwarf said, “You cannot solve this problem? You have gone to schools and you have gone to college. You have studied many books. You are supposed to have knowledge, yet such a simple thing you do not know?”

The young man said, “Do not waste our time! Now, for God’s sake, if you have anything to say, kindly say it.”

The dwarf said, “This is such an easy thing! The couple who own that plot of land work very, very hard. They planted that rose bush and they also cultivate various crops. God is always pleased with people who work very, very hard. And what did you do? Merely for your own pleasure, you snatched the golden roses. God does not like that kind of behaviour. God only likes people who work very, very hard. God shows them His infinite Compassion and affection, and He gives them His own Pride. Because they were working so hard, God wanted to make them extremely happy. Therefore, He created this beautiful rose bush with golden roses. But what did you do? You just went there and destroyed it. God does not love people who destroy His creation. He loves people who build things. So, in the future, you have to work very, very hard. If you work very hard, then like this old couple, you will get astonishing results from your efforts.”

The young man and his friends immediately recognised the wisdom of the dwarf’s words. In silence, they saluted him and returned home.