Lily sat proudly in the middle of the dinner table. It was Easter Sunday and she had been chosen among all the flowers at the Florist’s Shop to adorn the Easter table. Of course they chose her from the Florists. She was by far the prettiest flower there and had four perfect blooms.

Lily knew that it was too chilly outside for all but the hardiest of the spring flowers. How disgusting the tulips were for pushing their way up through the remnants of snow. She thought every flower should be raised in a hot house, like she was. She was well tended and cultivated to be the perfect lily.

She watched as the table was lengthened, the special tablecloth spread, and the china dishes set out. The chatter of young children alerted her that the guests had begun to arrive. And the bread bunny warm from the oven meant that the meal would soon be on the table.

Lily beamed. She was in the peak of bloom and knew she looked stunning. She didn’t need to hear the compliments, but she loved hearing them anyway. She couldn’t imagine any of the garden flowers outshining her glory. It was true that she was quite vain, but didn’t she have every right to be?

The meal was everything Lily hoped it would be. Everyone ate their fill and more and then laughed when dessert was announced. “No!” came the cries, but of course everyone agreed to pie and ice cream on top of the jello salad that they had already eaten.

When the dishes were finally cleared away, Lily sighed. The festivities were over and everyone adjourned to the living room to talk over the coming spring activities. Soon it would be warm enough for Lily to be set outside during the day. The garden flowers would be blooming and they could benefit from her wisdom and experience. She knew none of them could compare to her beauty.

When she was finally set outside though, her leaves had begun to droop a little, but she knew she still had a few blooms up her sleeve and the spring sunshine was just what she needed to get them to open fully. The daffodils bowed to her beauty, the bluebonnets nodded their agreement, and the young tulips were just beginning to show their colors.

Lily thought the red tulips were rather pretty, but they couldn’t compare to her brilliance, but she began to wonder about the tulip blooming closest to her when her color began to turn orange.

“Who is this?” she wondered.

“Oh, that’s my foreign cousin,” the largest red tulip replied. “She is a hybrid, a transplant,” she emphasized.

“The color is pleasing,” Lily thought. “But nothing to my blooms and I have four of them!”

But every day as the orange tulip began to bloom, she grew more and more lovely. Her petals were orange, with yellow and some red. And instead of behaving like a normal tulip, she blossomed and opened, spreading her petals almost like a rose. Lily had to admit this transplant was growing into quite a beauty. 

“Well, comes from being foreign,” Lily grumbled. “I’m a native born beauty.”

“Why is it a competition?” the pink stargazers asked. “We can appreciate your beauty and those of the tulips, the daffodils and bluebonnets, as well as our own. We think it is the combination of colors and flowers that is the most beautiful of all. We should not all wish to be lilies, but from our vantage point we can see how pretty our orange tulip friend looks next to you. The bluebonnets complement the red tulips and the yellow of the daffodils, a pleasing addition to the garden.”

Lily was thoughtful. She had never thought much of daffodils, but she could see the stargazers’ point. The yellow, red and blue did look pleasing together. And the stargazers were a type of lily that bloomed in rather pretty shades of pink. Not typical for Easter, but still distantly related to her.

While she enjoyed the honor of sitting alone on the Easter table, she had never thought about how enjoyable it was to be surrounded by friends of various colors. She could shine, knowing her own worth and still appreciate the beauty of others.

It didn’t need to be a competition.

© Sharon L Letson 2023. All rights reserved.


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