tly open he entered
softly. He found the garden filled with every kind of flowers and
plants, and in a corner was a tall rose-bush full of beautiful
rose-buds. Wherever he looked no living soul appeared from whom he might
ask a rose as a gift or for money, so the poor man, without thinking,
stretched out his hand, and picked a rose for his Zelinda.

Mercy! scarcely had he pulled the flower from the stalk when there arose
a great noise, and flames darted from the earth, and all at once there
appeared a terrible Monster with the figure of a dragon, and hissed with
all his might, and cried out, enraged at that poor Christian: "Rash man!
what have you done? Now you must die at once, for you have had the
audacity to touch and destroy my rose-bush." The poor man, more than
half dead with terror, began to weep and beg for mercy on his knees,
asking pardon for the fault he had committed, and told why he had picked
the rose; and then he added: "Let me depart; I have a family, and if I
am killed they will go to destruction." But the Monster, more wicked
than ever, responded: "Listen; one must die. Either bring me the girl
that asked for the rose or I will kill you this very moment." It was
impossible to move him by prayers or lamentations; the Monster persisted
in his decision, and did not let the poor man go until he had sworn to
bring him there in the garden his daughter Zelinda.

Imagine how downhearted that poor man returned home! He gave his oldest
daughters their presents and Zelinda her rose; but his face was
distorted and as white as though he had arisen from the dead; so that
the girls, in terror, asked him what had happened and whether he had met
with any misfortune. They were urgent, and at last the poor man, weeping
bitterly, related the misfortunes of that unhappy journey and on what
condition he had been able finally to return home. "In short," he
exclaimed, "either Zelinda or I must be eaten alive by the Monster."
Then the two sisters emptied the vials of their wrath on Zelinda. "Just
see," they said, "that affected, capricious girl! She shall go to the
Monster! She who wanted roses at this season. No, indeed! Papa must stay
with us. The stupid creature!" At all these taunts Zelinda, without
growing angry, simply said: "It is right that the one who has caused the
misfortune should pay for it. I will go to the Monster's. Yes, Papa,
take me to the garden, and the Lord's will be done."

The next day Zelinda and her