And touching it they clung there, for they had no harm of it.

Would you know, my lady, what happened then ?" "Yes, yes--tell me!" cried Hedwig, whose imagination was fascinated by the tale.
"As her hands rested on the spiked branches, a gentle trembling went through the Thorn, and in a moment there burst out such a blooming and blossoming as the maiden had never seen.

Every prick became a rose, and they were so many that the light of the day was tinged with them, and their sweetness was like the breath of paradise.

But below her window the Thorn was as black and forbidding as ever, for only the maiden's presence could make its flowers bloom.

But she smelled the flowers, and pressed many of them to her cheek.
"'I thought you were only a Thorn,' she said, softly.
"'Nay, fairest maiden,' answered the glorious voice of the bursting blossom, 'I am the Rose of the World for ever, since you have touched me.' "That is my story, signorina.