Next to a grand mansion stood a beautiful garden. The garden was filled with many beautiful flowers and trees, including roses, peonies, and neatly trimmed shrubs. The flowers were colorful and fragrant, so much so that even the wind would pause to take a few extra breaths as it passed by.
People from nearby heard about the beautiful garden and would come to visit on weekends or holidays. Some schools even organized field trips, with teachers leading the children around and pointing out the flowers: “Look, that’s a tulip, and that’s a violet.”
But just outside the beautiful garden, near a small path, there was a large thistle.
Thistles are wild plants with serrated leaves and small spines all over their bodies. They are not as delicate as the flowers in the garden and do not have a pleasant scent. No one plants them intentionally; they grow on their own from the soil. Over time, their roots spread and multiplied, forming a cluster that resembles a small green hill.
No one paid any attention to it. Passersby didn’t even glance at it. Only an old donkey that pulled a milk cart every day would occasionally stick its head over and look at the thistle, smiling and saying, “Hey, you look pretty lively! I’d love to take a bite out of you!” But its neck was too short to reach.
A special girl came and recognized the plant
One day, many guests arrived at the garden. There were rich people from the big city and young ladies dressed in beautiful clothes. They strolled and chatted in the garden, and some played a game called “hammer ball” (which involved hitting a ball through a small gate with a small hammer).
Each of the young ladies picked a flower and pinned it to the pocket of the young man next to her as an ornament. Everyone chose the most beautiful flowers: red roses, pink carnations, yellow sunflowers…
But there was one girl from Scotland who looked around for a long time, but none of the flowers were good enough for her.
As she walked along, she suddenly looked up at the garden outside—she saw a cluster of thistles growing outside the fence.
The thistle was blooming with a large purple flower, shining brightly in the sunlight. As soon as she saw it, her eyes lit up and the corners of her mouth turned up.
She turned to the son of the mansion’s owner and said, “Can you pick a flower for me from that plant outside? It’s the one with thorns and purple flowers.“
The young man was a little surprised: ”But that’s just a weed. It’s dirty.“
The girl smiled and said, ”No, it’s not just a weed. In Scotland, it’s our national flower! It’s on our national emblem. It represents courage and dignity. Please pick one for me.”
The young man listened, immediately climbed over the fence, and carefully picked the biggest and most beautiful flower. He pricked his hand on the thorns and frowned in pain, but he still smiled and handed the flower to her.
The girl took the flower and pinned it on the young man’s shirt pocket with her own hands.
A wild flower suddenly became “very honorable”
Many people saw this scene.Everyone noticed that the noble Scottish lady had chosen a wildflower growing by the roadside and personally pinned it on the most distinguished young man in the area!
What was even more unexpected was that not long after, people heard that the lady and the young man had fallen in love, gotten engaged, and eventually married! The wedding was very grand, and everyone said they were a “perfect match,” a good marriage.
And from that day on, that thistle became a “legend.”
What about the thistle growing outside the fence? It didn’t know about any of this, but it could feel the change.
It felt as if sunlight was shining into its body, warming it, and dew was moistening its roots. It thought to itself, “So I can do something so important too?I was just a weed by the roadside, but one of my flowers crossed the fence and was pinned to the groom’s chest!“
The more it thought about it, the more excited it became. It began to talk to every new bud on its body: ”Do you know what happened?Our sister has been worn by the most respectable person! We will definitely be invited into the garden, and maybe we can even live in a flowerpot!“
It repeated over and over, ”I will definitely be moved to the garden! Definitely!“
It also comforted the other flower buds, ”Don’t be afraid, you will have good days too! Maybe one day, you will also be worn in someone’s pocket.”
But no one came to find it.
Day after day passed, and people came and went in the garden, but no one ever came to the fence again.
Bees and wasps often came, flying to the thistle flowers to collect nectar. After they finished, they flew away, leaving empty petals swaying in the wind.
The thistle watched them and felt a little angry: “You guys, you take things and run away without even saying thank you! If I could move, I’d sting you!”
Flowers bloomed one by one, then withered one by one. New buds continued to sprout, but no one picked them, and no one took them into the garden.
A few small daisies and plantains nearby listened to the thistle’s story. They were so engrossed that they thought the thistle was amazing and would surely end up in a big house one day.
The old donkey still passed by every day, looking at the thistle and saying, “Hey, old friend, you’re still here! If I could get closer, I’d really like to taste you.”
But the thistle no longer wanted to be eaten. It was thinking, “I helped so much, why hasn’t anyone come to take me away?”
It began to feel that it was “of noble birth”
As time went by, the thistle felt more and more that it was special.
It remembered what the Scottish lady had said about it being the “national flower” and began to wonder, “Could I be related to the thistles of Scotland? Maybe my ancestors came from Scotland? Perhaps hundreds of years ago, I was even painted on the king’s coat of arms!”
The more it thought about it, the more it believed it: “I’m not just an ordinary weed; I have noble blood!”
A nettle growing nearby heard this and laughed, “I also think I’m special. If someone uses me properly, I can be turned into fabric and made into clothes!”
The two of them continued to dream their dreams.
Summer passed and autumn came. The flowers in the garden slowly withered and the leaves fell one by one. The wind grew cold and the sun was no longer warm.
The gardener’s apprentice sang while working in the garden:
- Climbing up the mountain and coming down again,
- The world remains the same!
But the thistle felt different. It said, “I’m different! I brought about a good marriage! Although I didn’t move on their wedding day, I contributed to it!”
The last flower became a “silver memory”
A few weeks passed, and the weather grew even colder. Almost all of the thistles’ flowers had wilted, leaving only one.
This flower was no longer bright, its purple color had turned silver-white, and its petals were dry, but its shape remained, like a small silver sunflower standing quietly in the cold wind.
Just then, the young couple who had gotten married came to the garden. They held hands and walked to the fence.
The wife looked out and said, “Hey, that big thistle is still there. All the flowers have fallen off.”
The husband looked and pointed to the silver-white flower bud and said, “No, there’s still one—a flower like a ghost, still standing there.”
“How beautiful!” said the wife. “I think it looks like a painting. Can we carve a flower like this on our portrait frame? Just like this one.”
The husband nodded, climbed over the fence, and gently picked the withered flower bud. As he did so, the thorns on the bud pricked his finger lightly.
They carried the “silver flower” into the house and hung it in the living room. Their portrait hung on the wall, with a purple thistle flower painted on the groom’s pocket, and the frame was to be carved with the silver-white flower.
The wind carried the story far away
The air can “hear” words. It carried the couple’s words away, blowing across the grass and through the forest, until they reached the ears of the thistle.
The thistle heard: “My last child has also been taken inside… not into a flower pot, but into a painting, into their home.”
It remained silent for a long time, no longer thinking, “I want to go to the garden” or “I want to live in a flower pot.”
It suddenly understood one thing:
- “As long as my child can enter that warm home,
- then I, as its mother,
- even if I have to stand outside this fence forever,
- there is nothing to regret.”
The sun gave it one last word
At that moment, the sun shone on it, warmly.
The sun said, “It’s good that you think that way. You are no longer just an ordinary blade of grass.”
The thistle asked, “Then where will I go? Will I go into a flower pot? Or will I also be carved into a picture frame?”
The sun smiled and said, “You don’t have to go anywhere. You are already in the best place—in a story.”
And so the story ended.
The truth behind the story
This thistle never actually moved. It wasn’t moved to the garden, it didn’t live in a flower pot, and no one watered it every day.
It was just a wild grass growing by the roadside, exposed to the wind and sun, living and dying on its own.
But it did something special: one of its flowers caught the eye of a special person. This person gave it meaning—she said it was the “national flower of Scotland” and a “symbol of courage.”
From then on, this wild flower was no longer just a plant; it became a memory, a symbol, and an emotional attachment.
Later, the flower was worn by a groom, painted in a portrait, and even the dried petals were treasured. And that old thistle, though no one took it away, entered a world that was not originally its own through its “child.”
It did not become a flower in a garden, but it lives on in a story—which is more lasting than being planted in a flower pot.
What lesson does this story teach us?
1. It is not only “being seen” that counts as value
This thistle grew by the roadside, ignored and unpraised. It was not as fragrant or beautiful as the flowers in the garden. But because of one special person, one of its flowers was chosen.
This shows that the value of a person or a thing does not lie in where it is, but in whether someone understands its meaning.
Just like some people who work quietly, without praise or attention. But their words or actions may quietly change someone else’s life.
2. Sometimes, love is “jumping over the fence”
The garden represents the “respectable world,” while the area outside the fence represents the “neglected places.” Miss Scotland didn’t just stare at the beautiful flowers; she saw the thistles outside.
This tells us that true appreciation is not just about seeing the superficial glamour, but about seeing what others cannot see.
In life, we should also learn to “climb over the fence” and look at the people and things that are overlooked. Perhaps there, a unique flower is blooming.
3. Your “children” can take you to the place of your dreams
The thistle itself couldn’t enter the garden, but its flowers did. It achieved its wish in another way.
This is like parents raising children: they may not have gone to college, but their children did; they may never have traveled abroad, but their children did. Although they didn’t walk that path themselves, they saw a wider world through their children.
Each of us can be “that thistle”—perhaps we are ordinary ourselves, but our efforts and our love will live on through others.
4. Don’t always think about what you should get, but think about what you have left behind
At first, the thistle always thought, “I’m so important, why won’t they let me in?” It expected rewards and attention.
But in the end, it realized that true satisfaction does not come from entering the garden, but from having one’s “children” remembered and cherished.
Life is the same. We don’t necessarily have to become famous or wealthy, but we can leave behind a little warmth, a little beauty, a little meaning. Even a single word or a smile can blossom in someone else’s heart.
5. Everyone can live in a story
The sun said, “You are already in a fairy tale.”
This is a gentle statement. It tells us that it is not only heroes, rich people, and celebrities who can be written into stories. A blade of grass can also be the protagonist.
As long as you have ever given your heart, been remembered by someone, or quietly influenced the world in some small way, you are in a story, living forever.
Finally, I want to say:
This story seems to be about a blade of grass, but it is actually about each and every one of us.
You may think you are ordinary, like a blade of grass growing by the roadside; you may feel that no one notices you, like the thistle that the donkey looks at but cannot reach.
But remember:
Even if you never enter a “garden” in your entire life, as long as you have bloomed a flower, and been genuinely loved by someone, you have already lived in a beautiful story.
That is enough.
