Scotland The Purple
The Common Thistle is, appropriately enough, the national flower of Scotland. While its purple blossoms are small, if you get too close, you’ll feel the pain of the thistle’s barbs. The thistle, according to at least one legend, actually saved the Scots from an invasion by Norway in 1263 when a Norse invader, stealthily creeping barefoot and under cover of night, stepped on the thorny plant, alerting the sleeping Scots clansmen of the western coast of his approach by his painful outcry.
The invaders were repelled. Scotland prevailed. It should always be so.
The moral: It’s okay to be small and pretty, but anyone who tries to hurt you should feel your sting. “nemo me impune lacessit” is the motto of Scotland.
“No one provokes me with impunity.”
