Pansies

This is a section from the story, Pansies by J. F. Willing, adapted by Karen Santorum. ~Once, there was a king who had a beautiful garden. When he went into it one day, he found everything drooping and fading. "Why, what's the matter here?" he asked. "Oh," the vine sighed, "I cannot grow tall and slender and beautiful like the pine tree, so I don't want to grow any more. There's no use." The pine said, "I cannot bear fruit like the apple tree. I am good for nothing. I don't want to live any more." And the apple tree said, "My flowers are just little, simple, common things; they are not beautiful and large like the roses, which everybody praise. I shan't live any longer." Because everything was finding fault with itself, all the plants looked wretched.But at last the king came to a pansy flower. It looked up at him as bright and glad and sweet as ever. He said, "Pansy, you don't seem to have fallen into this trouble. They are all finding fault, but you seem to be happy." " Yes," said the little flower, "I am happy, because I know that when you planted the seed out of which I grew, you didn't want a pine, or an apple tree, or a vine, or a rose. You just wanted a little pansy. So to please you, I am going to be the best little pansy that I can be.This made the king happy. He had to try hard to bring the other plants out of their discontent, so he was very glad that there was one flower in the garden willing to please him.Like the little pansy, you must make up your mind to be content, and to grow into the person that you were created to be.Pansies make people happy. Have you ever noticed how their bright sweet faces seem to rise toward you when you bend over them in the garden? They look just like happy, contented little people!~