~~~Black Tulip ~~~~
In the little town of Dort in Holland, there lived a tulip grower, Cornelius Van Baerle. He grew five kinds of tulip of new shape and new color. He wanted very much to grow a black tulip because a prize of one hundred thousand guilders was offered to anyone who could first gtow a black tulip without any other colour on it at all.
In the next house to Cornelius lived a maned Isaac Boxtel. He was also a tulip grower. He was a afraid that Cornelius might grow a black tulip and win the prize. He told the officers of the government that Cornelius was making plans against the government. And Cornelius was made a prisoner.
Rosa, daughter of the prison-keeper, a beautiful girl of about 18 years of age, fell in love with Cornelius. It was she that helped Cornelius to grow black tulip in her own room. Jacob, who was really Boxtel, stole the tulip when it flowed. Rosa went after him. In the end she not only won the black tulip, but also proved that Cornelius was not a guilty.
An officer came into the room.
"Where is the prisoner?" he asked.
"Here I am, Sir," said Cornelius.
"Are you Doctor Cornelius Van Baerle?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Then follow me," said the officer.
"Oh! Is he going to shoot me?" thought Cornelius. "And so it all ends."
The officer walked on;Cornelius followed.
"And I shall never see Rosa again," thought Cornelius.
They reached the outside of the prison. Cornelius expected to see a line of soldiers all ready to shoot him. He saw some soldiers, but they were not standing in line, and they had no guns. They were just talking to each other. "Tell me," he said, "where am I to go now?"
The officer pointed to a carriage drawn by four horses.
"Get in," said the officer.
"Oh," said Cornelius, "they are going to take me into the centre of the city before they kill me."
The carriage drove to whole day. At five o'clock in the evening they had travelled about eighty miles. They spent the night in the carriage. Next morning they came into Harrlem.
The fifteenth of May in the year 1673 was a great day in the city of Haarlem. It was always a great feast day --the Feast of the Tulip. This year's Feast day was one of special importance because of the Black Tulip.
All had been make ready in an open square for the Prince to give the prize of one hundred thousand guilders to the happy person who had produced a black tulip. The great men of the city marched in a long line into the square. First came Mr Van Herysen, President of the Flower-growers. Behind him came other important people among the Flower-growers of Harrlem. Behind them came learned men, Judges, officers and lords. In the centre of all these people was carriedthe Black Tulip. It stood upon a cloth of white silk with gold round the edge.
All the people shoutedwhen Mr Van Herysen appeared. They shouted again for the Flower-growers and the lords and judges and learned men, and they shouted louder still when the Black Tulip itself appeared.
Mr Van Herysen spoke. He spoke for some time. "And now," he said, "I will ask the winner of the prize, the grower of the Black Tulip, to come forward and show himself."
Mr Isaac Boxtel came forward. His eyes were fixed not upon the Black Tulip, but upon the bag of gold--one hundred thousand guilders----which lay beside it. He could not receive it yet, because the Prince had not yet come. He looked at the faces of the people in the crowd; he was afraid that he might see the face of Rosa. Was she there? Was there any danger that she might appear and cause trouble? He looked carefully. No,she was not there.
In the centre of the square there was a raised place on which was set a gold chair for the Prince and a table upon which the Black Tulip would be set.
Two lines of beautiful girls walked on each side of the tulip as it was carriedup and set upon the table. All the people shouted again.
Far qway, in the street beyond the crowd. a carriage might have been seen.----It might have been seen, but everyone was looking at the Black Tulip. The carriage was covered with dust and the horses were tired. It had travelled far.
