-
Once upon a time, in deep winter,
-
a queen was admiring the falling snow
-
when she saw a rose blooming in defiance of the cold.
-
Reaching for it, she pricked her finger
-
and three drops of blood fell.
-
And because the red seemed so alive against the white
-
she thought, "If only I had a child as white as snow,
-
"Lips as red as blood, hair as black as a raven's wings
-
"And all with the strength of that rose."