In ancient India, there was a beautiful and kind - hearted princess. She lived in a magnificent palace. Behind the palace, there was a very large lotus pond. The lotuses in the pond were always in full bloom, white and pink, extremely beautiful. The princess loved this lotus pond very much and would play by the pond every day.
One day, the princess came to the lotus pond as usual. She saw a particularly large and beautiful lotus. Under the sunlight, that lotus seemed to emit a golden glow. The princess couldn't help but approach the lotus gently. She whispered to the lotus, "Hello. You are the most beautiful lotus I've ever seen." To the princess's surprise, the lotus swayed gently as if it was responding to her words.
Since then, the princess would come to chat with this lotus every day. She shared her life in the palace with the lotus. Once, she told the lotus that a grand banquet was held in the palace. There were many guests from afar. They were dressed in beautiful clothes and dancing merrily. The lotus also seemed to be listening to the princess's words carefully. Its petals swayed slightly in the wind as if expressing its joy.
The princess would also tell the lotus about her troubles. One time, she had a little quarrel with the prince of the neighboring country and she felt very aggrieved. The lotus listened quietly to the princess's cry. After the princess finished, a small butterfly landed on the lotus as if it was an emissary sent by the lotus to comfort the princess. When the princess saw the butterfly, she stopped crying and smiled.
As time passed, the relationship between the princess and the lotus grew deeper and deeper. At night, the princess would bring her small blanket to the lotus pond and enjoy the moon in the sky with the lotus. The moonlight shone on the lotus pond, like dressing the whole pond in a silver gauze. The princess leaned against the lotus pond and said softly to the lotus, "You are my best friend. No matter what happens, I will always be with you." The lotus also swayed gently under the moonlight as if making the same promise to the princess.
But the good times didn't last long. One year, a rare drought hit this country. The water in the lotus pond began to dry up slowly and the lotuses became listless. The princess was very worried. She had people transport water from a far - away place and pour it into the lotus pond bucket by bucket. But the drought was so severe that the water was quickly evaporated. The lotus with which the princess had the closest relationship also began to wither and its petals fell off one by one.
The princess was extremely sad. She stayed beside the lotus and kept crying. She said to the lotus, "You must hold on. I can't lose you." Although the princess had done her best, the lotus still withered gradually. Finally, only the dry branches were left.
The princess was very sad. She carefully collected the branches of the lotus and took them back to the palace. She put the branches beside her bed and looked at them every day, recalling the wonderful time with the lotus.
One day, the princess had a dream. She dreamed that she came to the lotus pond again. The lotus pond was filled with water again and that lotus was in bloom once more, more beautiful than before. The lotus said to the princess, "Thank you, my friend. Your love and care have given me new life." When the princess woke up from the dream, she found that a heavy rain had fallen outside the window and the drought was over.
The princess hurried to the lotus pond. To her surprise, at the place where the original lotus grew, a small lotus seedling had grown again. The princess smiled happily. She knew that her friendship with the lotus could continue.
