The Vain Poinsettia

A fable by Esther Schönwandt

In the village center there was a little flower shop. A few weeks before Christmas the most gorgeous looking white poinsettia joined the red poinsettias in shop window. Every morning the shop girl would move the pot of the white poinsettia a little bit to the side so that the smaller red poinsettias can be admired by people passing by as well. However the white poinsettia was not at all happy about that. She did not want to give up her spot in the limelight. And under no circumstance did she want to share her space with the common red skinny plants. So every night once the shop girl had gone home, the gorgeous white poinsettia would push the small poinsettias aside and took center stage again. As a result many pedestrians would stop and admire the beautiful white plant in the window.

Of course many people fond of the white poinsettia thought of maybe purchasing it. That did not fit into the snobby poinsettia’s plan. She had no desire to stand in somebody’s living room and not being admired anymore by as many people as she does right now. So every time a potential customer would enter the shop to have a closer look at her, she would let her leaves hang to look much less attractive.

The days went on and the vain poinsettia was very happy in the shop window looking her very best every day, and sparkled in the glow of the street light every night.

Christmas came closer. More and more people entered the flower shop but so far nobody has dared to purchase the white poinsettia. For some reason everybody always thought that the plant looked so much more gorgeous in the window than up close. And so in the afternoon of Christmas Eve the poinsettia was still in the window. Now she is all by herself, as all the red ones found a home for Christmas. Finally she thought, I have the stage to myself! And she spread her leaves as far as she could.

At five that evening, the shop girl finished her work and had gone home. The streetlight illuminated the last remaining poinsettia even brighter than during the past nights. But something was different. There was not a single person strolling through the streets and admiring the festive shop windows. On Christmas day not even the shop girl showed up. This meant that the white poinsettia was left without any water and attention.

Once the shop girl came back to work after the Christmas holidays, she found the white poinsettia with all her leaves on the ground. So the shop girl took the pot and threw it in the dumpster.

2008