Story of the Sacred Lily

The "sacred lily" (Narcissus) that blooms at the Chinese New Year is the emblem of happiness, and whoever finds his lily blooming exactly on that day, is sure to be lucky. There is a legend connected with it that is more than a thousand years old.

Once there lived in China two orphan brothers. The eldest inherited the largest share of the ancestors' estates and also wickedly seized the younger brother's inheritance, leaving him only a few acres of rough, pebbly soil upon which nothing would grow. At one end of the ground was a marsh overgrown with rank weeds and rushes. For years the younger brother bore with magnanimous patience the rapacity of the eldest. Poverty and hunger at last broke him down...

,,, I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Widdershins, and can be found in its entirety here: Story of the Sacred Lily