"
"All right," said he. "If she's royal, she has
the right to rule this Kingdom, and if we pick
her she will surely protect us and prevent our
being hurt, or driven away."
So Betsy and Shaggy each took an arm of the
beautiful Rose Princess and a little twist of her
feet set her free of the branch upon which she
grew. Very gracefully she stepped down from
the bush to the ground, where she bowed low
to Betsy and Shaggy and said in a delightfully
sweet voice: "I thank you."
But at the sound of these words the Gardener and
the Roses turned and discovered that the Princess
had been picked, and was now alive. Over every
face flashed an expression of resentment and
anger, and one of the Roses cried aloud.
"Audacious mortals! What have you done?"
"Picked a Princess for you, that's all," replied
Betsy, cheerfully.
"But we won't have her! We want a King!"
exclaimed a Jacque Rose, and another added with a
voice of scorn: "No girl shall rule over us!"
The newly-picked Princess looked from one to
another of her rebellious subjects in
astonishment. A grieved look came over her
exquisite features.
"Have I no welcome here, pretty subjects?" she
asked gently. "Have I not come from my Royal Bush
to be your Ruler?"
"You were picked by mortals, without our
consent," replied the Moss Rose, coldly; "so we
refuse to allow you to rule us."
"Turn her out, Gardener, with the others!" cried
the Tea Rose.
"Just a second, please!" called Shaggy, taking
the Love Magnet from his pocket.
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