Once upon a time, there was an old woman who longed to make an apple pie.
She had plenty of flour, butter, sugar, and cinnamon, but she didn't have any apples.
All she had was a tree full of plums.
The more the woman thought about that apple pie, the more she craved it.
So one day she filled a basket with her plums and headed down the road.
"I will find someone who will trade me some apples for my plums!" she said.
The old woman had walked only a short distance when she spotted a young woman in a yard.
Perhaps this young woman would barter with her.
The old woman called to the young woman.
"Excuse me. Do you have any apples? My heart is set on making an apple pie.
I will give you my whole basket of plums in exchange for some apples."
The young woman shook her head. "I don't have any apples," she said regretfully.
"However, my husband adores plum jelly with his cooked goose.
"Will you take a bag of feathers in exchange for your plums?"
"One pleased is better than two disappointed," the old woman declared.
Soon the old woman had exchanged her plums for the feathers.
Then she walked down a hill and came upon a garden bursting with beautiful lilies, lilacs, and roses.
The old woman paused at the gate to admire the flowers.
Nearby she heard a man and a woman arguing loudly.
"Cotton!" said the woman.
"Straw!" insisted the man.
The couple continued arguing until the woman finally spotted the visitor.
"Look," the woman said to her husband.
"There is an old woman at our gate. Perhaps she can settle our dispute."
"It's worth a try," he agreed.
"Excuse me," the wife called to the old woman.
"If you were making a pillow for your grandfather's bed, would you stuff it with cotton or straw?"
"Neither," the old woman responded briskly.
"I would stuff it with feathers. A feather pillow is fit for a king," she continued.
"In fact, I have a bag of feathers that I would happily trade for some apples."
The husband and wife exchanged glances. They had no apples, but perhaps they could offer the old woman something else.
Soon, with a bouquet of lovely flowers in her basket, the old woman was on her way again.
After traveling for a while, she encountered a handsome lord.
The young man seemed full of despair.
"My lord," inquired the old woman, "why do you look so sad?"
"I promised to meet my lady," he replied solemnly.
"But I have forgotten the ring I intended to give her.
Now I must go to my love empty-handed."
"You shall have a gift for your lady," the old woman declared.
"I was hoping to barter these flowers for some apples, but love is certainly more delicious than an apple pie."
With a flourish, she presented the bouquet to the young lord.
The lord's face instantly brightened.
"Thank you!" he said to the old woman, overcome with gratitude.
"However, I cannot accept such a beautiful gift without giving you something in return. Here, please take my gold chain."
It was the woman's turn to be delighted.
"With this precious gold chain, I can buy all the apples in the king's market, and still have some money left over!" she thought.
She hurried to town as fast as her feet could carry her.
She had almost arrived at the market when she noticed a poor mother huddled with her children.
"My children are starving," the mother murmured.
"We have no food, and I have no money."
The old woman glimpsed the precious gold chain in her basket.
"Never shall someone say that I made apple pie for dinner and let my neighbor starve," she said softly.
Slowly, she reached into the basket for the chain.
The old woman headed for home with her empty basket.
She had not walked very far when the poor mother and her children chased after her.
"We have only one thing to give you," said the mother.
"Please take this puppy. His love will be a reminder of our appreciation."
The old woman thanked the family, and then gently placed the puppy in the basket.
As she turned a corner, she saw a tall tree—laden with ripe, juicy apples!
Nearby stood an old man.
"That's a fine tree of apples," the old woman called to him.
The man nodded and looked away. "Yes, it's a fine tree, but I have no one to share it with.
My wife died years ago, and all of my children live far away."
Just then the puppy barked and poked his head out of the basket.
The lonely old man beamed at the sight of the puppy.
The old woman smiled too. A wonderful idea had occurred to her.
Soon the old woman was walking toward home again.
At last her basket was filled with apples for a pie.
"If you try long enough and hard enough," she said contentedly, "you will get some apples for plums."