The Girl With the Flowers

(Photo Credit)

There once was a girl who wanted nothing more than to be loved. She was a peasant with no family, who lived in a tiny town. Every time she looked in the mirror all she could see was dirt and ugly.

She would always sigh to herself, “No one could ever love me like this.”

One day as the girl was out picking berries and flowers, a handsome, strong, and mighty king rode up to her on a magnificent horse. The girl fell to the ground immediately and worshiped him, hiding her face on the stones.

“Oh great and mighty King, I am not worthy to look at you. Please pass me by.”

“Nonsense,” the king said as he stretched out his strong hand. “Fair maiden, get up. Your face was not meant to be mangled by dirt and stones.” With great fear the girl lifted herself up, knowing that once the king saw her common and dirty face, surely he would leave her. She held out her basket, catching the berries and flowers that were starting to tumble out. “Forgive me for my common face your Majesty. Please accept this offering; it is all I have on me.”

The king stretched his hand farther, took the basket, and set it in front of him. “My what beautiful flowers, but they hold no candle to the light of your gorgeous face. Come maiden, let me make a royal daughter of you. My kingdom is yours to inherit.”

The girl’s jaw dropped. This couldn’t be so! She was just a peasant–not fit to be a princess! “Your Majesty, you must be mistaken for someone else.”

“No my daughter,” The king said as he took the girl’s had and raised her up. “I have chosen you. Now come and take your place.”

The girl smiled. Someone loved her. Someone thought she was beautiful. Someone wanted her for her who she was.

So the girl went to the king’s palace, where he gave her a tiara and had her dressed in a beautiful gown. She also freely received jewels, decadent food, and servants. He showered her with love every chance he got–all he asked was for her faithfulness and that she stay within the palace borders.

The new princess couldn’t have been happier as the months passed. When he birthday came, the girl woke up early, put on her silk robe, and went out to the palace courtyard. She marveled at the bushes and the flowers the king had planted in her honor. They were the same type of flower that she had picked the day she met her king.

She walked up to a bush and smelled a flower, but then movement distracted her from its sweetness. Beyond the courtyard and into the forest was a handsome peasant man riding a horse. Suddenly the princess remembered where she came from and missed her home.

“The king has no right to keep me here,” she thought.

She decided to sneak out of the palace and into the forest, where she talked with the man who adored her with his sweet charm. After the day was over, the girl discovered that she had fallen in love with the peasant. Surely her father would understand.

As she entered the courtyard, she was whisked away by the guards into the palace. Once she was delivered to the king, she saw how upset he was.

“I was worried sick about you!” He cried.

“I’m sorry Father, but I have fallen in love. Please let me go. I know what is best for me.”

“Nonsense!” The king yelled with mighty thunder. “I was searching for just the right nobleman for you. Don’t you realize that I know what you need? You have broken your promise, and since you have rebelled you can no longer be called my daughter.”

The girl threw off the tiara in defiance. Then she stomped out of the palace and into the forest to where her true love awaited her. “My love! Please run away with me!”

But the man was not there. The girl wandered around the forest for three days in search of her true love, but did not find any sign of him. The girl’s heart was crushed. She was rejected from the man she thought loved her. She tried to go back to the palace, but no one would let her in. She had rebelled against the king, and now she had no one.

The girl started to wander the forest again, alone and sobbing. Now she knew for sure that no one loved her, not even the king. She had no idea what to do now as she had betrayed the only one she should have loved.

Just as she started to enter the deep woods, the girl heard a magnificent horse in the distance. She turned in shock to see a royal horse ridden by a valiant man who looked like a younger version of the king. It was his only son.

The girl bowed down immediately as the mighty man commanded his horse to halt in front of her. Had he come to shame her?

“Forgive me my Lord,” the girl begged. “I have betrayed your father, the king.”

The king’s son got down from his horse and knelt beside the girl. “All is well now sister.”

The girl looked up at his face, astonished. Was she still considered to be family after all she had done? “Why are you here?” She asked.

“To bring you home.” The king’s son said smiling. “I took the punishment on your behalf. Come home with me now dear sister.”

The girl couldn’t believe this. “This is ridiculous…why in the world would you be punished for my wrong doing?”

The king’s son helped the girl onto his horse. “Because I love you, and so does your father. We wanted to show you how much we really love you. You are family no matter what.”

The girl’s heart swelled as they rode back to the palace. Once there, she was delivered to the king’s throne. She bowed before him and humbled herself, apologizing for her betrayal and thanking him for punishing his only son.

The king wrapped her in his arms and placed the tiara back on her head. “Your wrong is forgiven my daughter. I will remember it no more. I love you more than anyone else ever could, and I just want you to trust me.”

The girl smiled as she remembered how much the King really did love her and all that he did for her. “I know my King, I trust you. I love you.”

Then as the princess hugged her king, she noticed  the table beside his royal throne. There sat a vase with the dried out flowers she had picked the day he had chosen her. She smiled and thanked him once more, knowing that she would never look back again.

I hope you enjoyed my story! Is there any part of it that you, as a woman, can identify with? How do you see the Gospel displayed here? Please comment and discuss below!

Thanks for reading 🙂