There was once a beautiful goddess called Venus, and she loved the
handsome young god Adonis. Poor Adonis died from the wound of a wild
boar he was hunting, and, when Venus heard of this, she ran
grief-stricken through the woods in despair, to look for and aid her
beloved Adonis.
As she was running along, her foot was pricked by a thorn, and the blood
that flowed from the wound suddenly sprang up into a beautiful red rose.
[Illustration: Story page illustration featuring a detailed black and
white pen-and-ink sketch of blooming rose bushes.]
Afterwards, Venus sat and wept because Adonis was dead; and where her
tears fell on the ground there blossomed a lovely white rose.
[Illustration: Illustration of six children in Edwardian clothing
gathering bright red berries from a large rowan tree in a hilly
landscape.]
[Illustration: Story header titled 'The Rowan' featuring a winged fairy
child nestled among leafy rowan branches with red berries.]