Daphne was a young Greek goddess, and Apollo, the god of the sun, fell
desperately in love with her. But, charming as Apollo was, Daphne did
not like him, and whenever she saw him she ran away.
One day she was flying through the woods to escape from Apollo, and,
terrified lest he should overtake her, she implored the water gods to
change her form. No sooner had she expressed this wish, than her feet
became fastened to the ground, and lengthened themselves into roots, her
hair turned into leaves, and her arms to boughs, so that when Apollo
came to where he had last seen her running from him, he found instead a
beautiful laurel tree.
Then Apollo declared that as she was no longer Daphne, and, therefore,
could not be his love, as a laurel she should be his tree, and that a
crown of her leaves should be the reward of the highest honour and fame.
Apollo further declared that her boughs should never be bare in
winter-time, but should always be clothed with glistening emerald
leaves.
[Illustration: Color illustration of a radiant, winged angel holding
white lilies and appearing to a young shepherd with a flock of sheep
under a starry night sky.]
[Illustration: Story header titled 'The Christmas Rose' featuring a
dense black and white sketch of blooming hellebore flowers draped over a
textured banner.]