auty.

Now, one day the princess looked at herself so long and so earnestly
that she fell fast asleep in her velvet chair, with the golden mirror in
her lap. While she slept, a gust of wind blew the casement window open,
and a rose that was growing on the wall outside peeped in. It was a poor
little feeble white rose, which had climbed up the wall in a straggling
fashion, and had no particular strength or beauty or sweetness. Every
one who saw it from the outside said, "What a wretched little plant!
Why is it not cut down?" and the rose trembled when it heard this, for
it was as fond of life as if it were beautiful, and it still hoped for
better days. Inside, no one thought about it at all; for the beautiful
princess never left her chair to open the window.

Now, when the rose saw the princess it was greatly delighted, for it had
often heard of her marvellous beauty. It crept nearer and nearer, and
gazed at the golden wonder of her hair, her ivory skin under which the
blushes came and went as she slept, and her smiling lips. "Ah!" sighed
the rose, "if I had only a tinge of that lovely red, I should be finer
than all the other roses." And as it gazed, the thought came into its
mind: "Why should I not steal a little of this wondrous beauty? Here it
is of no use to anybody. If I had it, I would delight every one who
passed by with my freshness and sweetness, and people would be the
better for seeing a thing so lovely."

So the rose crept to the princess's feet, and climbed up over her satin
gown, and twined about her neck and arms, and about her lovely golden
head. And it stole the blush from her cheek, and the crimson from her
lips, and the gold from her hair. And the princess grew pale and paler;
but the rose blushed red and redder, and its golden heart made the room
bright, and its sweetness filled the air. It grew and grew, and now new
buds and leaves and blossoms appeared; and when at last it left the
velvet chair and climbed out of the casement again, it was a glorious
plant, such as had never before been seen. All the passers-by stopped to
look at it and admire it. Little children reached up to pluck the
glowing blossoms, and sick and weary people gained strength and courage
from breathing their delicious perfume. The world was better and happier
for the rose, and the rose knew it, and was glad.

But when the princess awoke, she took up her golden mirror again, and
looking in it, saw a pale and wrinkled and gray-