Once upon a time, there lived a little girl who wanted to give her mother a present. Now one fine day, this little girl ran out to the fields, thinking hard about what to give her mother, and what her mother would like. So she walked by the stream, pondering. Suddenly, she saw a beautiful stone lying in the stream, so wonderful that she wanted at once to get it for her mother. Ah, but then, try as she might, she could not wade to the stone, as the stream was too deep, and neither could she haul it in to the bank, for it was too far away.
And so, with a big sigh, she walked on sadly, trying not to think about the beautiful stone. She walked and walked, and finally stopped to rest under a big tree. Now suddenly the little girl looked up, and saw some shiny delicious looking fruit hanging on the tree. She thought to herself, 'I'll pick some for mother; she'll like to eat these, they look sweet. And so she tried to climb the tree. but try as she might, she could not climb the tree, for the trunk was too smooth, and she was too short to reach the branches. The little girl sat down to think, and thought to use a stick to poke the fruit down, but in the end she gave up, for still she was too short to reach the fruit. And so she walked on.
On and on she walked. By and by, she stopped by a clear pool. In it she saw many colourful fishes swimming gaily, lovely to look at. And so she thought, 'Aha, I shall catch one of these for mother instead, and put it in a bowl, it will soothe her eyes.' Ah, but then, try as she might, she could not catch any of the fish, for they were clever, and swam to hide deep in the weeds as she tried to grab them with her small hands. And so the little girl climbed out the pool wet, disappointed, and even sadder still.
And so she walked on. After a long while, the little girl turned to go home, as she had been out for a long time, and the sky was growing dark. Suddenly, she threw her her head up to look at the sky, and saw many beautiful jewels embedded in the velvet clouds, shining, twinkling in the dark. She reached out her hand to grasp them, but try as she might, she could not reach a single one of them, for they were too high up, far out of her reach. In despair, she sat down to cry, for she really wanted to bring back a wonderful present for her mother, yet all her efforts had been in vain, and she had not been able to get the stone, or the fruit, or the fish.
And so the little girl went home, and lay down to sleep sadly in her little bed.
The next morning, the little girl woke up feeling a little happier, and she went out to play with her ducklings. Suddenly, her eye fell upon some wildflowers that grew by the path, and reaching out to pick them, she saw more daisies and dandelions and bluebells further down the path. Excitedly, she ran along the path, gathering as many flowers as she could, tying them into a pretty bundle, saying to herself, 'There. I hope mother will like these, but they are so simple'. And so, she ran back to the house to give them to her mother.
And how did her mother react? Dear Reader, you shall decide the ending yourself. Good night.
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