`` My roses are yellow , '' it answered ; `` as yellow as the hair of the mermaiden who sits upon an amber throne , and yellower than the daffodil that blooms in the meadow before the mower comes with his scythe . But go to my brother who grows beneath the Student 's window , and perhaps he will give you what you want . '' So the Nightingale flew over to the Rose-tree that was growing beneath the Student 's window . `` Give me a red rose , '' she cried , `` and I will sing you my sweetest song . '' But the Tree shook its head . `` My roses are red , '' it answered , `` as red as the feet of the dove , and redder than the great fans of coral that wave and wave in the ocean-cavern . But the winter has chilled my veins , and the frost has nipped my buds , and the storm has broken my branches , and I shall have no roses at all this year . '' `` One red rose is all I want , '' cried the Nightingale , `` only one red rose ! Is there no way by which I can get it ? '' `` There is away , '' answered the Tree ; `` but it is so terrible that I dare not tell it to you . '' `` Tell it to me , '' said the Nightingale , `` I am not afraid . '' `` If you want a red rose , '' said the Tree , `` you must build it out of music by moonlight , and stain it with your own heart 's - blood . You must sing to me with your breast against a thorn . All night long you must sing to me , and the thorn must pierce your heart , and your life-blood must flow into my veins , and become mine . '' `` Death is a great price to pay for a red rose , '' cried the Nightingale , `` and Life is very dear to all . It is pleasant to sit in the green wood , and to watch the Sun in his chariot of gold , and the Moon in her chariot of pearl . Sweet is the scent of the hawthorn , and sweet are the bluebells that hide in the valley , and the heather that blows on the hill . Yet Love is better than Life , and what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man ? '' So she spread her brown wings for flight , and soared into the air . She swept over the garden like a shadow , and like a shadow she sailed through the grove .
The young XXXXX was still lying on the grass , where she had left him , and the tears were not yet dry in his beautiful eyes .
Nightingale Rose-tree Student Sun bluebells daffodil life-blood mermaiden mower scythe