The Legend of the Red Rose
In a distant village, a kind man lived with his seven daughters in their modest home. Their mother had passed away, so the girls lovingly took care of their father and the household. The man led a simple life but was content, thankful to God for everything, especially for his beautiful and talented daughters who cared for him and kept him from feeling lonely after his wife's death.
The girls worked hard and helped their father with everything without complaint. It was their father's habit to go to the village market every week to buy necessities. He would ask his daughters what they wanted from the market, and they would request simple things.
One day, as the father was about to head to the market as usual, he asked his youngest daughter what she would like him to bring her. She innocently and simply said, "I want a red rose to plant, Daddy, and to smell its fragrance." The father replied, "Alright, let it be as you wish." He then asked his other daughters, and the eldest also requested a red rose. The father said, "No, your younger sister asked for a red rose. Choose other colors." The colors ranged from white to blue, yellow, purple, pink, and orange, and the father agreed to their requests and went to the market.
When the father returned from the market with roses for each of his daughters, they planted and took care of them. However, the red rose was the most beautiful; it grew and bloomed, and its fragrance could be smelled from afar. The father began calling his youngest daughter the Red Rose, which increased the resentment of her sisters towards her.
The daughters conspired to get rid of the Red Rose. They asked their father to allow her to accompany them to the fields to enjoy nature. The father refused out of fear that she might hurt herself or get lost in the forest, but the daughters insisted, assuring him that they would take care of her since she was their pampered little sister. Reluctantly, the father agreed.
The daughters went to the fields, singing happily, leaving their father at home, worried. When they reached the fields, they played, sang, and enjoyed their time among the flowers and butterflies. As it was time to return, the youngest daughter had fallen asleep from exhaustion. The sisters gathered around her, and one of them started planning how to get rid of her. She said, "Let's leave her here to get lost." Another suggested, "No, let's leave her in one of the caves." Another proposed, "Let's leave her in the forest to be eaten by wild animals." The eldest said, "No, we will kill her and get rid of her once and for all."
The others initially protested, but the eldest took out a large knife from her bag and, with the help of the others, slit the Red Rose's neck. They buried her in a hole and covered it with dirt.
The daughters’ return was delayed, increasing their father's worry. When he saw them, he ran to them to check on their safety. He was shocked and could not believe that his daughter had been taken by a wild animal. The father endured his grief, entrusted his matter to God, and continued to water the Red Rose and care for it as a memory of his beloved daughter.
In the fields, where the Red Rose was buried, a shepherd was tending his sheep. When he grew tired, he sat to rest on a small mound of dirt. Suddenly, he heard a mournful groan and a weak voice saying, "Oh shepherd, oh shepherd, do not harm me, I am the Red Rose whose blood they shed." The shepherd was terrified and ran away with his sheep in fear.
The news of the voice from beneath the dirt spread until it reached the father of the girls while he was at the market. He asked about the place where the voice was heard and rushed there. When he touched the dirt, he heard the voice saying, "Oh father, oh father, do not harm me, I am the Red Rose whose blood they shed." The father realized that this was his daughter and asked who had done this to her. The voice fell silent, and the father knew that his daughters were the culprits. He returned home and brought all his daughters to the grave, making them sit one by one in front of it. Whenever one sat down, the voice cried, "Oh sister, oh sister, do not harm me, I am the Red Rose whose blood you shed." When the eldest daughter sat, the voice cried out, "Oh sister, oh sister, do not harm me, I am the Red Rose whose blood you shed."
The father realized that his eldest daughter was the one who had killed his beloved daughter. He was furious and nearly killed her, but the grave shook, the dirt moved, and the Red Rose emerged, covered in blood, to everyone's astonishment. The Red Rose said, "No, father, God has revealed the truth, so do not harm my sister. I have forgiven her, and it is enough that you found me and learned the truth."
The daughters wept and confessed what they had done, asking for forgiveness from their younger sister, who forgave them. Their father took them all back home. The sisters treated her wounds and took care of her until she recovered, and love was restored among them. Their father was at peace, knowing his seven daughters were safe, and the days passed peacefully in their village.