Rose Flower was a little old lady who had no children.  Each day, as Rose Flower tended the green growing things in her yard, she said to them, "You are perfect as you are."  The growing things flourished, thrived, and bloomed.  Yet Rose Flower wished for children to gladden her spirit.

One day, Rose Flower, who loved the color red, was looking for some ladybug friends.  She carefully turned over a graceful green leaf, and opened her mouth in amazement.  For there on the leaf lay two tiny six-year-old children, just the size of ladybugs.  One child was a girl and one child was a boy.  Rose Flower exclaimed, "Why, you are perfect as you are!"  She took the two tiny children home with her to live on the windowsill of her house.

Every day the good lady fed the two children a crumb of bread and a drop of rain water.  The two flourished, and thrived.  They were doing so well that Rose Flower decided to name them.  She named the tiny girl Rosie, for a rose can be a beautiful gift, and the little girl was certainly that.  Rose Flower named the boy Michael, which means "one who is like God."  Together, the names of the children meant, "a gift from God", which they most certainly were.

The children liked to watch Rose Flower go about her tasks.  Tiny Rosie, who had a kind soul, noticed the blessings the kind woman bestowed on everyone she met.  Michael, who had excellent eyes, noticed the greatest and smallest details of each object Rose Flower’s hands so lovingly touched.

One Sunday, Michael and Rosie were sunning themselves on the windowsill.  Rosie was thinking grateful thoughts about all her many blessings.  Unexpectedly, Michael spied something very shiny hanging on the wall.  Now Michael had excellent eyes, and by squinting, he could just determine that the object was a shiny key.  He watched every day, and saw that Rose Flower used the key when she opened a door on the other side of the room.  Finally, Michael asked her, "What is behind that door on the other side of the room?"

"Ah, Michael,"  answered the little old lady.  "You are observant indeed!  That door leads to The Secret Garden of Delights, in which can be found the Fountain of Joy, Laughter, and Just Plain Silliness."  Well, that sounded like a lot of fun to Rosie and Michael, who had their own special way of being silly together.  Sometimes they would try to hide from Rose Flower, crawling up her sleeve or riding in her pocket, giggling all the while.  Michael asked, "Rose Flower, may we enter the Secret garden of Delights?"

"Of course, dear children, that is a fine idea.   But you must be tall enough to reach the key so that you can take it down from the nail and put it back.  You know how particular I am about putting things back."  Michael and Rosie knew indeed.  Once, when the children used a spool of thread to make a rope swing, Rose Flower had asked that they rewrap the thread on the spool when they were finished playing.  They surely did so, for the children loved their sweet Rose Flower who took care of them.

"Dear friend," Rosie asked, "how could we, who are as small as ladybugs, ever reach the key that is so very high and far away?"

"Easy, Heartkins!"  answered the lady,  "All you have to do is grow taller!"

"How could we do that?" Rosie asked.  "For I see that we have not grown an inch since we came here."

Rose Flower smiled at Michael and Rosie.  "Yes, that is true.  Yet  you are perfect as you are."

Rosie did not understand.  So, she sang a little song:
 

"Certainly!" Rose Flower agreed.   "You grow as your heart grows."

"Ah," they each thought. "That is the secret."  But how would they make their hearts their hearts grow?

Then the lady said, "You must experience life and respond to it.  That provides nutrients for your hearts to grow."

"Let’s do that today, Sister!"  Michael cried to Rosie.

Rose Flower was a busy lady, so she finally told them, "What a good idea for playing!  Here, I will set you in the yard, where life so plentifully abounds.  Then I must go about my household tasks."  The children hopped onto Rose Flower’s hand, and she placed them outside in the warm sunlit area, which they had been viewing from the windowsill.

"It’s just as we remembered it when we were on that leaf! " exclaimed Rosie.  "Except now we are on the brown floor.  How funny it smells!  It smells like old flowers!"

Michael sniffed, and then tasted the strange brown floor.  "Yucky!" he yelled.  Just as he yelled, Michael saw something move behind a big green stalk.  "Come on, Rosie, let’s go see!"

There behind the stalk was a huge brownish green creature, waving four stem-like objects in the air.  It seemed to be laying in a hard saucer.  "Help me!" called the turtle, for that is what he was.   "I need to get back to my rock in order to sun myself."

"Oh, the poor creature!"  cried Rosie, who had a terribly kind soul.  "I never knew such trouble could happen!  He cannot get back to his home!"

"Sure!" said Michael.  "Trouble is all around you.  All you have to do is look. "  Then Michael spied a long branch, and using it as a lever, Rosie and Michael were able to get him upright.  The poor turtle was so overcome by this great kindness, he hid his face in his shell for a moment.  Then out popped his head.

"My name is Jaja," he said.  " I see you have growing hearts.  I hope to help you one day, my friends."  And Jaja crawled slowly away.   Rosie and Michael felt peculiar and dizzy.  A green light came around them.  They closed their eyes briefly, opened their eyes, and the world looked quite different.  Everything looked a little smaller.  They could see a little higher!  Michael thought he saw a little piece of blue sky just beyond that leaf.  "Wow!" exclaimed Michael, "Jaja must have thanked us by making this giant world a little smaller!"

"No, Michael, we have become larger!"  Rosie pointed out.  Sure enough, the two children had grown twice as big.  They ran to find Rose Flower, but Rosie tripped over a stone.  Blood poured out of her knee as she tried not to cry.  "Stupid stone!" Michael yelled, and he threw the stone away as far as he could, which probably wasn’t very far.  All of a sudden, a funny, squeaky voice sounded.  "Ouch!" it said.  Michael looked away in that direction while Rosie placed a bit of dandelion leaf on her wounded knee.  "Oh!"  That feels better," she said.  "Who is doing all that yelling?"

Michael and Rosie heard a rhythmic thumping noise coming from a box.

"Who are you?  Why are you making all that noise?" asked Rosie.

The voice from the box squeaked.  "Someone threw some kind of a rock at my box, and it scared me!"

Michael looked surprised.  "Why don’t you come out of the box?" he asked.

The voice said, "I can’t get out of here.  Some children thought I was pretty and wanted to keep me.  They put me in this box with a lid, and then ran away and left me here!"

"How cruel!" Rosie exclaimed.

"No, they were just being children, and didn’t know they were harming someone," said the voice, tearfully.

Michael looked at the box and thought he might be able to figure out how to open the lid.  He just needed to turn the clasp this way, and...off came the lid!  The children eagerly looked inside the box.

There lay a beautiful red and black ladybug, about half as big as they.  The children managed to upend the box, and the ladybug crawled out, huffing with exhaustion.  The bug’s squeaky voice spoke, "Oh, great ones, thank you for rescuing me!  My name is Oo-ah-hee, and I help Rose Flower take care of her roses."  And with that, the ladybug scurried away.

"Rose Flower!" shouted Michael.  "We must get back to her!  Maybe we are tall enough now to reach the golden key!"  But before the children could move, they saw a blue mist encircle them, blocking everything form their sight.  Then the mist faded away, but everything looked greatly altered! Rosie gasped, "I feel funny, Michael!  I feel all warm inside!"

"Me too," Michael replied.  "Wow!  My head can reach up to this branch!  That is amazing!  We must be taller again!"

Rosie and Michael immediately wanted to go back to see their wisest friend.  On the way home they sang,
 
 

Rosie and Michael headed home in a hurry!  Maybe they could reach the key and get into the Secret Garden of Delights!   Rosie thought, "Maybe the garden will have a zoo."  Michael was thinking about getting a drink from the Fountain of Joy, Laughter, and Just Plain Silliness.  He hadn’t been feeling very joyful, ever since he had thrown that stone, and it had hit Oo-ah-hee’s box.  They were near the house, when Rosie heard a strange crying sound above them.  She could see nothing, but Michael said, "Hey!  There’s a little gray kitty up in that tree!  I bet she can’t get down."  But the children started going into Rose Flower’s house.

"Let’s help the kitty later," said Rosie, who was thinking that maybe there were ponies in  The Secret Garden of Delights.

Michael agreed, because he was so eager to get that key.  But he couldn’t seem to forget that kitty.  Too bad, because he wanted that key now!  What should do?  Then he noticed that just thinking about the poor kitty made him feel better about the stone that he had thrown.

"Let’s help the kitty now, Rosie," said Michael.  The two children had indeed grown taller, but they could not reach the frightened cat.  Then Michael remembered Oo-ah-ah-hee’s box.  They  found the box and brought it over to the tree, and Michael clambered up.  Yes!  He felt the soft fur of the kitty, and lifted her out of the tree.  Rosie reached out with her arms.  "Poor, poor, kitty,"  she murmured, as she stroked the soft fur.

"Meow!  I am not poor, poor, kitty!  My name is Lucky, and I am the strongest kitty in the yard.  My, that feels good," Lucky purred, as Rosie’s gentle hands stroked her fur with infinite tenderness and kindness.  Slowly, a purple haze gathered around the two children, and they fell asleep.  Lucky wandered away, out of the purple haze.  Little twinkling lights glowed all around Rosie and Michael, and when they woke up, it was starting to get dark.  The world seemed much smaller now…or was it?  Rosie tugged at Michael’s shirt.  "Michael!  I feel as though I could love the whole world! I miss Rose Flower, too.  Let’s go home."

Michael could see Rose Flower’s cottage starting to sparkle with lights in the twilight.  He smiled at Rosie, and then they started off.  They soon reached the door of the little home.  Now they could walk through a door that was the perfect size for them!  Should they knock?  Why not be polite?  Rosie delicately tapped at the door, while Michael observed the many ways the home seemed changed, even as it seemed so very much smaller.  Rose Flower answered the door, wiping her hands on her apron and smelling of fresh bread.

"Why, heartkins," she exclaimed, "How you have changed!  Your hearts are grown immensely!  Yet I see you are still perfect as you are.  What adventures you must have had!"  And with that, Rose Flower gave Michael and Rosie the first of many hugs she would give them.  They all sat down at the table near the windowsill.  Rosie and Michael told the lovely old lady all about Jaja, Oo-ah-hee, and Lucky.  Rose Flower clucked over the wound on Rosie’s knee, and admired the way in which she had stanched the flow of blood with the dandelion leaf.

Rosie and Michael loved talking to dear Rose Flower, but their eyes kept straying to the golden key on the wall.  It was so easy to see now.  Michael did not have to squint at all.  Surely they were tall enough now to reach that key.

Rose Flower noticed the preoccupation of the two children, and pointed to the key.  "Go ahead, my dears.  The time for your reward may have come."

The children ran to the wall that held the key.  Michael reached the wall first, and tried to grasp the little object.  Michael could feel the cold metal in his fist.  But the key would not budge!  It was stuck to that nail.  Rosie stood on her tiptoes and then pulled at that key.  No luck!  They couldn’t get it.  After all their hard work and adventures, not to get the key!  It was too much!  Tears started rolling down the cheeks of the seekers.

Rosie sniffed, and thought of an idea.  "Michael," Rosie whispered, Let’s try to get the key together."  The two children then both held hands and reached for the key with their other hands.  The key began to glow with a golden light!  But still it did not budge.  Almost without thinking, Rosie and Michael began to intone,
 

Clink!  The much desired key fell to the floor in a shining streak.  Michael picked up the key, which now felt extraordinarily warm, and handed the key to Rosie.  Victory was now upon them!

Rosie held the softly glowing key in her hand.  Thought the key was warm, Rosie felt no discomfort.  She glanced at Rose Flower.  Somehow Rosie felt that the kind old benefactress should be in charge of this moment.  But Rose Flower was smiling her familiar and wise smile, and was pointing toward the door that lead to the Secret Garden of Delights.

"Go ahead, Heartkins," the lady said in a low whisper.  You have flourished and thrived.  Now it is time to bloom."  Rosie looked over at Michael, whose widened eyes were fixed on that mysterious door.  Rosi focused on the door then, and inwardly felt very excited, in a different way than she ever had before.  With the golden key held in her hand before her, she made her way to the door.  Michael, of course, was right there with her every step of the way.  She placed the key into the small hole in the knob of the door, and asked Michael to turn the key.  The key turned with a satisfying "thunk".

Michael removed the key, handed it to Rosie, and pushed open the door.  Oh, oh, the fragrant air!  The aroma of pines and roses!  Oh, the sound of many children playing!  Oh, the mists of purple twilight hush, tinged with a golden brilliance!  The two children hung back in awe for a moment, then stepped into the garden.  Michael’s excellent vision immediately recognized the magnificent three-tiered fountain that was musically gurgling in the center of the garden.  It was filled with tiny bluebirds bathing in its small pond.  Rosie slipped the key into her pocket as she took in the whole view.  She saw a small enclosure beyond the fountain, and guessed it might be some kind of zoo.  Both children headed in the direction to which they were each drawn by the beauteous sights.

Michael reached the fountain in a few strides, and immediately discovered that he was desperately, incredibly thirsty!  It took only a few moments to slake his thirst with the  cold, crystal water.  All of a sudden, Michael felt his spirits rising higher and higher!  Michael laughed out loud, jumped higher than he had ever jumped, and ran around the fountain, kicking off his shoes as he ran!  Then he sang,
 

 He laughed at the funny song, and sang it over and over again!  He felt as if he could take off and fly!

Meanwhile, Rosie had walked slowly over to the enclosure, holding her breath.  What would she find there?  The purple mist swirled about her legs as she peered over the rose-trellised walls.  "Ah," Rosie  softly breathed.  "The darling ponies!"  For several frisky ponies frolicked on the green grass.  They were colored in pastel hues of the rainbow.  One of the ponies flicked an ear at the sound of her voice, and trotted over to Rosie.  She reached her hand over the wall, and the pony, who was surprisingly sea-green and lavender, nuzzled her hand.  Rosie sighed with satisfaction.  Surely this was worth the injury she had received on her knee when she tripped on that stone so long ago!

Michael and Rosie had many adventures and made many discoveries in the Secret Garden of Delights.  They met the other children that they had heard playing, and made many friends.  They met Jaja, Oo-ah-hee, and Lucky there in the garden once again.  They played in the joyful fountain, and rode the delightful ponies.  The children were now blooming in every cell of their beings.  Certainly, their hearts were as big and as full as they could possibly be.  Soon, it would be time to go home and tell Rose Flower about their experiences.  But, just before it was time to go home, Michael looked up into the sky.  There he spied a twinkling star, hanging in the purple dusk of the evening.

"I just wonder," thought Michael,  "if we could ever get tall enough to reach that shining star.  Probably not.  Guess I’ll just ask Rose Flower when we get back.  She’ll probably just say, "You are perfect as you are."

And the two children, so alike, and yet so different from each other, quietly clasped hands together and headed back to their beloved Rose Flower, who awaited them at home.
 

The End

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