Hundreds of years ago, a Roman army came north from England to make war on Scotland. The Scots, a brave people, loved their country very much. They fought hard to drive the enemy out of Scotland, but there were too Romans. It looked as if the Romans would win.
One night, the leader of Scots marched his soldiers to the top of a hill. "We will rest here tonight, my men," he said "Tomorrow we will fight one more battle. We must win or we will die.
They were all very tired, so they ate their supper quickly and fell asleep. There were four guards on duty, but they, too, were very tired, and one by one, also fell asleep.
The Romans were not asleep. Quickly they gathered at the foot of the hill. Slowly they climbed up the hillside, taking care not to make a sound. Closer and closer they came to the sleeping Scots. They were almost at the top. A few minutes more, the war would be over. Suddenly, one of them put his foot on a thistle(蓟). He cried out and his sudden cry woke the Scots. In a moment, they were on their feet and ready for battle. The fighting was hard but it did not last long. The Scots wiped out the Romans and saved their country.
The thistle is not a beautiful plant. It has sharp needles all over it. Few people like it. But the people of Scotland liked it so much that they made it their national flower.
