Once upon a time, far away in a remote village, there was a wonderful flower. It would change its appearance according to the words it heard. The flower lived in a corner of a washerwoman’s house. The washerwoman complained to the flower every day. From the complaints from the washerwoman, the flower knew what life was and knew about the cruel aspects of the world. As time passed by, from listening to the woman’s dreadful stories, the flower became uglier and uglier. When neighbours dropped by to see the washerwoman and caught sight of the flower, they would exclaim: ‘How ugly it is!’ or ‘I think it is the ugliest flower in the world!’ But they didn’t know that the leaves of this flower could cure people’s illnesses. The washerwoman knew but she could not bear to live with such an ugly flower. Day after day, the flower became sadder and lonelier because of its ugly appearance. It longed for a change.

One day, the washerwoman got married and had to move to another house. The washerwoman was marrying the meanest and ugliest man in the village, which was very convenient for her because she would be able to complain about him all the time. When she was getting ready to move and putting out on the street everything couldn’t take with her, the woman left the ugliest flower out with the rest of the rubbish. Fortunately for the flower, there passed by a beautiful and kind-hearted girl. The girl felt sorry for the flower and decided to take it home. She took care of it very patiently; she watered it with a sprinkling-can of fresh water every morning and sang beautiful songs to it. A few days later, a huge bud appeared. Then, the flower – who was so used to being ugly and having no choices – found herself in the unusual position of having to choose a colour for a petal. And then as the days passed and more petals appeared, the flower could choose more colours and whatever colours she liked.

The flower chose her colours with the greatest care. She adjusted her petals one by one. Day by day, the flower appeared more radiant. Everyone who came to the girl’s house couldn’t help but praise the beauty of the flower. ‘Oh! How lovely it is! I have never seen such an attractive bloom.’ After hearing such phrases, the flower became coquettish and vain.

As Christmas was coming, the girl was invited to a ball. She had a beautiful dress, but she was worrying about what jewel she could wear to match it. That was when she caught sight of the flower. She smiled at it. She knew the flower was just passing its prime now and that if she didn’t take it out then no one else would have the chance to admire it. The girl, though she was still young, knew that the flower must die soon. It was Christmas Eve and the girl took out her scissors to cut the beautiful flower from its stem. And the girl went to the ball with the beautiful dress and the flower. After Christmas, the flower faded and was thrown away. But it had known its moment of glory.