A long, long time ago, there lived an old woman in a remote mountain village. She lived with her three granddaughters, who lost their parents when they were babies. The grandmother cherished her orphaned grandchildren as precious treasures, and took great care of them. Although she was poor, the old woman worked very hard to feed and raise her granddaughters. She often felt tired and weak, but she was happy to see the girls growing up healthily.

All three girls grew up to be beautiful ladies, and became old enough to get married. The grandmother was pleased, but at the same time she was depressed, thinking that she would be left all alone after her granddaughters found spouses. Aware of her grandma’s concerns, the first granddaughter consoled her. “Don’t worry, grandma. Even after I get married, I’ll visit you often and bring you nice food and clothes. I promise.” The second granddaughter, as if competing with her older sister, told her grandmother that she could even live with her. The old woman was glad to hear the sweet words, and wept with joy. “Oh dear, no, you don’t have to come visit me too often, and you don’t need to live with me. But thank you so much. I’ll always remember your kindness.”

In time, the three girls were all married and the grandmother was left by herself. She was now even older, and got sick often. She found it increasingly difficult to support herself. Then she recalled her granddaughters’ words. So she went to the oldest granddaughter’s house, hobbling along with the aid of her cane. When she knocked on the door of her granddaughter’s large, luxurious house, the oldest granddaughter wearing beautiful clothes and golden bracelets appeared. But she didn’t really seem to be happy to see her grandmother. She complained in an irritated tone of voice, “Oh, grandma, what are you doing here? It’s so embarrassing.”

The old woman was disappointed and sad. But she didn’t say anything, and just walked away. She felt sick and feeble, but she pulled herself together, thinking of her second granddaughter. She managed to reach the house of the second granddaughter, who was not any different from her older sister. She urged the grandmother to go to her older sister, and shut the door in the old woman’s face. The poor woman had to leave the second granddaughter’s house as well, with tears in her eyes.

Now, she thought of her third granddaughter. She didn’t really want to burden the youngest granddaughter because she had married into a poor family. But the grandmother found herself hoping to see her third granddaughter, even only for a moment, as she thought she couldn’t live much longer. The old, sick grandmother headed toward the third granddaughter’s house with heavy, painful steps. Finally, she could see the house from a distance. She gathered her last remaining strength and struggled up the hill. Unfortunately, she couldn’t take the next few steps, and she collapsed. She drew her last breath there, looking at the house of her beloved granddaughter.

The next day, the third granddaughter came out to the hill to gather some wild greens. To her surprise, she found the dead body of an old woman. When she recognized her grandmother, she burst into tears. In fact, the good-hearted granddaughter, unlike her sisters, always missed her grandmother and wanted to live with her, but her family was so poor that she couldn’t do as she wished. She always felt guilty about leaving her lonely grandmother alone. She was heartbroken to learn her grandmother died while coming to see her. She cried for a long time, holding her grandmother’s body. Then she buried her in a sunny spot on the hill.

The next spring, a mysterious flower with a drooping stem came out at the grandmother’s tomb. The same flower continued to bloom at the same site year after year, and people began to call it the grandmother flower in the belief that the flower is the spirit of the poor old woman.