Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Rosie. More than anything, she loved flowers: she had a large pink garden that she tended carefully, and the roses returned her affection by delighting her with their fragrance.
One day, Rosie sat on the porch of her house and saw something amazing: a enormous whale flying across the sky. As it flew, it could see everything below: houses and small forests, fields, and Rosie's garden too.
"What a magnificent creature!" thought Rosie. "It's bigger than anything I've ever seen in my life. With such a large body, it must have an equally large heart! And with such a big heart, it must surely be very friendly. I'll get to know it better and ask it about its aerial adventures. I'm sure in its big heart there will be room for one small me."
But the whale flew high and far away, and it never heard how loudly Rosie called out, how hard she tried to invite it to her garden, or how eagerly she tried to introduce it to each of her roses. The whale simply flew on.
Then Rosie became sad, but she decided that no matter what, she would get to know and befriend the whale. In fact, she wanted to become the Lady of the Whale's Heart (and between you and me, she had every chance: the whale was tired of his loneliness and was traveling in search of a wife).
Rosie set off to the edge of the forest to visit the Witch, asking her for wings so she could fly after the whale.
She arrived and made her request.
And the Witch replied:
I want to give you more than you ask for: I want to make you as big and flying as the whale. But you must trust me and obey me in everything.
Rosie became frightened: what if the witch made her jump off a cliff or dive headfirst into a river! But when she imagined spending her whole life knowing the whale existed yet living without him, she realized that would be a half-life, not a real life at all.
Rosie agreed. The witch waved her hands just a couple of times—and look! Rosie became big and grand, even majestic. And how she soared through the sky!
All the witch had left to do was wave her handkerchief goodbye.
Rosie floats through the sky, making little roses from clouds for her daughter, while the whale crafts a whistle from lightning for his son. They are happy together, I tell you!
