The following is a myth from the Philippines, that I found on the net, but wanted to rewrite, without all the errors:

Once upon a time, in a small village long ago, there lived a beautiful maiden named Rosa. She was known for her exquisite charm and extraordinary kindness. There were a lot of handsome young men who kept on courting her, they all wanted to capture her heart, but neither one of them got attention from Rosa. She insisted she would never marry, she did not even dream of getting married. Rosa wanted to offer her whole life serving Bathala by helping those who were in need. Whenever there were people who were sick, whenever there were people who were suffering, whenever there were people who needed comfort, Rosa was always ready to help in the name of Bathala. Everybody loved Rosa.

Cristobal however, one of her greatest admirers, wanted Rosa to be his no matter how hard it was or how impossible it seemed. Cristobal had very strong devotion for Rosa. One night, when the maiden went to the garden to get some fresh air, Cristobal tried to assault Rosa. “Whether you like me or not, you will be mine!” Cristobal said. Rosa got scared, she prayed wholeheartedly to Bathala:
“Bathala, please don’t let this man desecrate your faithful servant who wants to offer her whole life to you.” Immediately after that, Rosa got unconscious and died. The incident filled Cristobal with so much apprehension, that in his fear he burried the maiden in the garden, and ran away as fast as he could, never to return to the village ever again.
Of course nobody saw Rosa after that..

A couple of days later, people noticed a very odd plant growing in Rosa’s garden. A plant nobody had ever seen before. It had a red flower and the stems had many big thorns on them. The first girl who saw the flower became attracted to it instantly. She tried to pick it, but when she got hold of the stem she screamed in pain, “Ouch! Ouch! The thorns pricked me! Apparently this plant does not want to be touched!”
And such was the truth. It was Bathala’s will to make his loyal dead servant a beautiful flower, a flower which stems would be filled with thorns that serve as its protection against those who want to take it for themselves. The rose’s thorns served as a warning that the flower does not want to be touched.