Sacrifice of a rose

A devil sat in a garden of roses
Plucked a flower
Started pulling out a petal at a time.

The leaves stood up tight and screamed:
That's a rose!
You don't pull it out.
You just look and smell.

The devil smiled and went his way
Till the flower remained no more
Just its fragrance lingered on about.

One day a prince came riding along
Spotted the devil
Tightened his bow, his aim unmistakable

Just then,
The leaves stood up tight and screamed:
Wait! That's a rose!
You don't shoot at it.
You just look and smell.