The Fern Flower

Once upon a time in a small village in the Polish countryside, there lived a young boy whose name was Johnny. Everyone knew him as Snoopy, though, because Johnny always wanted to know as much as possible about everything. He was interested in all sorts of things, from how to bake bread to the best ways of cutting down trees. And his favourite stories were those involving heroes or clever people who had achieved big things.

One evening, all the villagers were gathered around a bonfire, telling stories. In those days there were no televisions, and common people often didn’t even know how to read. So one of their favourite pastimes was listening to each other tell all kinds of stories while the fire crackled and glowed.

That evening, the storyteller was a very old lady. People said that when she was young she had travelled the world and seen things that the other villagers would never even dream of. When everyone was sitting comfortably and gazing into the dancing flames, the lady began to tell a story.

“Saint John’s night, or midsummer night, is the shortest night of the year. And on that night, deep in the darkest part of the forest, the ferns come into flower. And those are not just any old flowers! They are golden, glittery flowers that will make any wish come true for the person who finds them,” began the old lady, setting the mysterious scene.

The villagers stopped watching the dancing flames and hung on her every word. If only they could find these magical fern flowers too!

Johnny “Snoopy” was also listening excitedly. He decided that next midsummer night, he would set out to look for a fern flower.

“The magical flowers disappear when the cock crows,”…