The Worlds Most Foolish Traveler

There once were two chrysanthemums growing side by side in a field, one white, one yellow. One day a gardener came and took a liking to the yellow flower. He offered to take her to his home and make her far more beautiful then she was now. The yellow flower jumped at this chance and waved to her sister as she was carried away in the gentle hands of the gardener. The yellow flower's petals grew long and soft and she looked perfect. Although the lady yellow was living a luxurious, leisurely life, she sometimes thought of her white sister alone in the field with no one to talk to. But then she forgot about it once the gardener came to work on her beauty. One day a man came saying he was looking for a flower to put on the lord's crest. The gardener showed the man his best flower, the yellow chrysanthemum. But the man shook his head saying that the flower had too much style and that he wanted something more simple. They yellow flower was disappointed but tried not to dwell on it. The man crossed the field with the white chrysanthemum. He came up to her and said,"How would you like to be the object on my lord's crest. We would make sure you have a very nice life." The white flower agreed and was soon planted in a small planter by herself on a windowsill in the lord's mansion. The lord and his family agreed it was perfect for their crest. So artisans came and painted the flower on all of the family's belongings. The white flower no longer need a mirror for she saw her face on lacquer boxes, robes, and the family's most prized possessions. As for the yellow chrysanthemum, her luxury was short lived. One day she felt a terrible feeling coming through her leaves and then she fell over and lay dead on the ground. The white flower was carefully conserved and constantly tended to,but the gardeners were careful not to disrupt her simple beauty for they knew that was why the family had chosen her instead of the fancy yellow one, who was now dead in a gardener's garden.