这篇小品，最初发表在哥本哈根出版的 1868年1月 26日的《新闻画报》上。“谁是最幸运的?”安徒生提出这个问题。他在答案中否定了这个“最”字。“每个人都有份，而且每个人将从它们那里得到自己的一份。”这也是安徒生所具有的民主主义精神的一种表现。
" WHAT lovely roses!" said the sunshine." And ev-ery bud will unfold，and be equally beautiful.They are my children! I have kissed them into life!"
" They are my children!" said the dew." I have suckled them with my tears."
" I should think that I am their mother!" said therose hedge."You others are only god-parents， who gave christening gifts，according to your means and good will."
" My lovely rose-children!"said all three of them，and wished every blossom the greatest luck，but only one could be the luckiest，and one must be also the leastlucky;but which of them?
" That I shall find out!" said the wind." I travel farand wide， force myself through the narrowest chink; I know about everything outside and inside."
Every blossomed rose heard what had been said，every swelling bud caught it.
Then there came through the garden a sorrowful， loving mother，dressed in black;she plucked one of the roses，which was just half-blown，fresh and full;it seemed to her to be the most beautiful of them all.Shetook the blossom into the quiet， silent chamber， where only a few days ago the young， happy daughter had romped about， but now lay there， like a sleeping marblefigure， stretched out in the black coffin.The motherkissed the dead child，then kissed the half-blown rose，and laid it on the breast of the young girl， as if it by itsfreshness and a mother's kiss could make the heart beatagain. It was as if the rose were swelling;every leaf quiv-ered with delight at the thought，" What a career of lovewas granted to me! I become like a child of man， receivea mother'kiss and words of blessing， and go into the unknown kingdom， dreaming on the breast of the dead!Assuredly I am the luckiest among all my sister!"
In the garden，where the rose-tree stood， walked the old weeding-woman ;she also gazed at the glory of the tree，and fixed her eyes on the biggest full-blown rose. One drop of dew， and one warm day more， and the leaves would fall;the woman saw that and thought that as it had fulfilledits mission of beauty， now it should serve its purpose of usefulness. And so she plucked it， and put it in a newspa- per ; it was to go home with her to other leaf stripped roses，and be preserved with them and become pot-pourri， to be mixed with the little blue boys which are called lavender， and be embalmed with salt.Only roses and kings are em- balmed. " I am the most honoured!" said the rose， as the woman took it." I am the luckiest! I shall be embalmed!"
There came into the garden two young men， one wasa painter，the other a poet;each of them plucked a rose， beautiful to behold. And the painter made a picture of therose on canvas， so that it thought it saw itself in a mirror. "In that way"， said the painter，"it shall live for many generations， during which many millions and millionsof roses will wither and die!"
" I have been the most favoured! I have won thegreatest happiness!"
The poet gazed at his rose， and wrote a poem aboutit， a whole mystery，all that he read，leaf by leaf， in therose." Love's Picture-book"; it was an immortal poem. "I am immortal with that，" said the rose，" I am theluckiest!"
There was yet，amongst the display of roses，one which was almost hidden by the others;accidentally， fortu-nately perhaps， it had a blemish， it did not sit straight onits stalk， and the leaves on one side did not match those onthe other; and in the middle of the rose itself， grew a lit-tle， deformed，green leaf; that happens with rose!
"Poor child!" said the wind， and kissed it on thecheek.
The rose thought it was a greeting，a homage; it hada feeling that it was a little differently formed from theother roses，that there grew a green leaf out of its interi-or， and it looked upon that as a distinction.A butterflyflew down upon it， and kissed its leaves. This was a woo- er; she let him fly away again.There came an immenselybig grasshopper; he sat himself certainly upon anotherrose，and rubbed his shin-bone in amorous mood—that isthe sign of love with grasshoppers . The rose he sat on didnot understand it， but the rose with the distinction did，for the grasshopper looked at her with eyes which said，"Icould eat you up out of sheer love!" and no farther canlove ever go;then the one is absorbed by the other! Butthe rose would not be absorbed by the jumper.
The nightingale sang in the clear starry night.