Once upon a time there was an old woman who lived in a cottage on a hill, all by herself.
She never had any children of her own. No one ever came to visit and, thus, the
woman took to caring for her garden of beautiful flowers. Eventually not even the old woman’s garden could keep her from feeling lonesome.
One day, as the old woman was watering
her bright red roses, a witch came walking up the hill to the woman’s house. The old woman was skeptical of witches because she’d heard about all the apples and beans they tried to sell;
however, this witch seemed nicer than what the old woman imagined. They talked for a long time, and each grew fond of the other. The woman finally told the witch that she had grown lonely in
her old age. The witch, feeling sorry for the old woman, gave her a special seed for free. The witch told her to plant the seed in her best soil, to water her seed with her clearest water, and
to give her seed some extra love.