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A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden, and

the Amaranth said to her neighbour, "How I envy you your beauty

and your sweet scent! No wonder you are such a universal

favourite." But the Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her

voice, "Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time: my petals

soon wither and fall, and then I die. But your flowers never

fade, even if they are cut; for they are everlasting."

THE MAN, THE HORSE, THE OX, AND THE DOG