It was a time of beginnings when wishes came true. It was spring. The trees shook their branches gently in the breeze, while the sun made a patchwork of light and shadow on the forest floor. The snow had melted, and grass began to grow around the stone cottage where Charmene lived with her mother and her brother Nickolas.
Inside the cottage, Charmene was putting the last of the sticks in the fireplace. She was already dressed, and her shiny golden hair was neatly combed. Her green dress had a plain white apron, but it didn't have a pocket. Charmene rarely had any thing to put in a pocket.
Nickolas was pulling on his trousers, and hopping on one foot. He was trying to hurry, because he had been promised a job at a neighbor's farm, and he did'nt want to be late.
Charmene's mother was resting on a crude cot. She had been sick all winter. The children had done all the chores. Nickolas gathered and cut firewood. Charmene cooked and cleaned. It had been difficult , but they had managed.
Charmene fluffed the pillow behind her mother's head. "The snow is almost all melted,"she said. "I'm going to have to get some water from the stream." Then Charmene turned to Nickolas. "You'd better hurry",she said.
"I'm almost ready", said Nickolas. He was fully dressed. "I'll bring bread for supper", he cried as he ran out the door.
Charmene watched him as he ran down the path towards the neighbor's cottage. She turned to her mother. "I'm going to get the water. I'll try to find some berries for lunch. I should be back soon". She picked up a bucket from the earthen floor. "you will get some rest won't you?"she asked.
"Be careful, dear,"said her mother. "I wish I could come with you".
"Maybe soon", said Charmene. "I'll be careful". She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. She could hear the birds singing in the woods. It wasn't far to the stream, but she hated to leave her mother alone, even for a minute. Her eyes filled with tears, and she trudged down the path away from the cottage and into the woods.
The pathway was rough and Charmene's shoes were old and worn. She had only gone a short way when the forest sounds were silenced by her sobbing. Two singing birds stopped to watch her pass, and a fluffy white rabbit stopped eating a green leaf to gaze at her. A brown-eyed fawn scampered into the bushes. However, Charmene took no notice of the creatures. She was standing next to a berry bush, but she didn't see it either. She didn't know that she was being watched by a lovely lady standing by the berry bush. Her eyes were so full of tears; she could barely see the path .
Charmene was still crying when she reached the stream. She knelt down to fill her bucket with water. It was turquoise and glimmered with silver highlights as the sunlight danced upon the surface. Charmene was unaware how beautiful it was.
The face of the lady appeared reflected in the water. She was standing behind Charmene."I should think you could have filled that bucket with your tears,"said the lady. Charmene was startled by the strange voice. "Why do you disturb the stream that refreshes my animals?"
Charmene turned to look at her and the fawn that stood by her side. The lady was dressed in a short white robe, trimmed in silver, which fell in soft folds from her smooth shoulders to her knees. She wore a quiver, filled with arrows, and carried a bow in her right hand. A silver crescent held her brown hair in place.
"I meant no harm," said Charmene.
"No harm?", asked the lady. "The forest creatures celebrate the coming of spring. You interrupt their festivities with your sobbing. You drown out the bird's song with your tears. No harm?", she asked again.
"I only wished to please my mother. She's sick," explained Charmene, as she started to cry again.
"So that's what is making you so terribly unhappy. "
"I was going to get some berries for lunch, and fresh water to drink. I thought that would please her,"said Charmene.
"How do you expect to bring joy to your mother, when she sees tears in your eyes, and hears sobbing in your voice?", asked the lady.
"I'm sorry,"said Charmene. "I'll put the water back."
"You may keep the water, if you will stop making it yourself. Show me that you have strength and courage."
"What do you wish me to do?", asked Charmene.
"What do I wish you to do? First, I wish you to stop crying. Then, start smiling. It is the first step on the way to laughter. Joy will follow."
"I don't see how that will help,"said Charmene, but she did stop crying.
"You don't see berry bushes with your eyes full of tears, either,"said the lady. Charmene smiled, because she knew that the lady was right. It was a big smile, and it did help."It takes the strength of a lioness to smile when you are unhappy. Because you granted my wish, I shall grant yours,"said the lady.
"But I didn't wish for anything,"said Charmene.
"You said that you wished to please your mother, and so you shall..." As the lady spoke these words, little clusters of golden flowers started to grow where Charmene's tears had fallen on the ground. "There is magic in the word 'please' ,"said the lady. "These golden flowers can be used to make wine, the leaves can be eaten, and the roots can be washed and dried in the sun. When you are ready to use the roots, you can roast them over the fire and make a nice coffee. They shall be called 'dent-de-lion' or 'lion's teeth', because you have a smile on your face and the courage of a lioness in your heart. Now fill your apron with the flowers and go home to your mother," said the lady.
"How can I thank you?", asked Charmene.
"When the flowers become as white as the hairs on your mother's head, blow the seed into the wind."
"But my mother's hair is brown," said Charmene.
"It will become white in time." The lady smiled as she turned and walked into the forest.
Charmene filled her apron with flowers, picked up the bucket of water, and started home. The path was covered with flowers. The birds were singing again.
When Charmene reached the cottage, she showed her mother the flowers. "They are good to eat ", she told her mother with a smile. "I'll wash some for supper."
"They are very beautiful", said her mother. "I'm feeling better already."
When Nickolas returned home, he brought fresh bread in one hand, just as he had promised, and flowers in the other. He had picked flowers from the path too. He thought that his mother and sister would like them.
That was the beginning...Children have been picking "dent-de-lion","lion's teeth", or "dandelions" ever since. Little girls and boys still bring them home to their mothers, and still blow the seeds into the wind.
Story by Elissa Catherine Alter
copyright 1980
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