Living in a thistle is not easy, not even for a pixie.
Not everyone can see
the thistle’s beauty. They are terribly
prickly and tough, and they grow so big!
I like it though. It
suits me. The flowers are lovely, and the spines protect me from enemies, just
like once, long ago they protected the people of Scotland, maybe more than once.
I’ll tell you the the tale...
…You see, the Danes were attacking, secretly in the night—or was it Vikings attacking?-- Or maybe both, but at different times.
Anyway, whoever it was came in sight of the castle, and saw the moat around it.
“Get ready, men” said their leaders . “We’re going to swim that moat, and scale the castle wall to surprise the Scots inside. Don’t any of you make a sound, now.”
So all the attackers ran, fast and silent to the moat and jumped in to swim across...
At that point, their well-laid plans sort of broke down, because the moat was not filled with water, it was filled with thistles growing thick and close together!
Well, with all the screaming and carrying on of the soldiers in the thistles, the castle defenders woke up. They looked over the wall, and laughed and laughed, and the attacking army ran away, embarrassed and sore. I’m sure they were pulling out thistle slivers for days and days!
At least that’s the story I tell. Others tell other tales about it, and maybe they’re all true. However it happened, the people of Scotland made the thistle their national flower, and they’re proud to be as tough and lovely as this amazing plant.
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