A long time ago, in a land of endless sand, there lived a family of three. 

The family lived in a special place. A place where water bubbled from the ground, and their home was cooled by the shade of date trees.

The father's father's father, had raised goats, so the father tended the goats and made milk from the goats, which the family drank every day. The mother's mother's mother knew the secrets of their trees, so the mother harvested the dates, which the family ate every day.

And all the while, their little girl played with the goats in the sun, and climbed her trees under the moon.

The family lived together for many years without seeing anyone else, though the little girl would always look toward the horizon from atop her favorite date tree.

One evening, as the sun was setting far far away, the little girl saw something.

The little girl had never seen another person before, and in her excitement, she yelled down to her mother and father, "There's someone coming!"

Mother and father both climbed their own favorite trees, and also saw the stranger riding atop of a large beast with two humps on its back, making their way closer.

As the sun was finally setting, the person arrived.

The stranger was wrapped in linen, and their head was covered in a scarf the color of their tree fronds.

As the stranger unwrapped their scarf, the little girl exclaimed, "You're a woman!"

The woman laughed a happy laugh, "Why, yes, little girl. I am a woman."

Her skin was dry, and her lips were chapped. She had run out of water the day before, and was weak from thirst.

The family invited the woman into their home for the evening and to have dinner with them.

But first, the woman cooled herself at the water with a splash to her face.

"I'm forever in your debt for inviting me into your oasis," She said.

That evening the woman told the family of her travels. She was a merchant, and her camel, as she called it, was loaded with goods that she would trade with people all across the land and sea.

"The sea?", the little girl asked.

"Yes, the sea is like the water in your oasis, except it is as endless as the sand that surrounds your home."

After the mother and father went to bed, the woman told stories of her adventures to the girl until the sky turned from black to blue again.

By the next evening, the woman had packed her things. But before she left, she gave the girl a gift.

"Thank you for sharing your home with me," She said. "I leave you with this gift." And placed a pile of what looked like tiny stones in her hand.

"Why did you give me pebbles?" The little girl asked.

"They are not pebbles", The woman said.

"They are seeds. Spread them one finger length under the ground next to the water under the shade. Give them a little water every day. Next year, I will come back, and I will show you what it is good for."

"When I leave, you will hear a sound. One sound means I will be back soon. Two means I will be back in a long time."

"And three?"

"That means I won't be back for a long long time."

The family waved goodbye as the woman left on a cool, moonlit night.

***

Gong....

***

And so, the little girl climbed her trees, and played with her goats, and now also tended to her gift from the woman in green.

One year later, again as the sun was setting, the little girl saw a speck of green on the horizon.

"Did your gift grow?" The woman asked.

"Yes, it grew. A lot! And it smells fresh and happy!", The girl said.

The woman smiled. "Bring a small bunch to dinner tonight."

Around the fire in the chilly evening, the woman and the family gathered, and the woman heated a pot of water.

"Thank you all for inviting me into your home again. Last year I gave your daughter a gift that she has grown. Now, I want you to hold out your hands."

Now rub your hands together, and breath in the scent of this gift.

The family smiled as they breathed in the foreign smell, and watched as the woman poured steaming water over the green leaves.

"People all around the world drink this mint tea while sitting around a fire just like this one. If you wish, I will trade you skins and goods that I have for what your daughter has grown this year."

The little girl was proud of her contribution to the family, and happy to be learning from the woman in green again.

The next evening, while she packed her things the woman gave the girl another gift of pebbles.

"Make these grow like you did the other gift."

***

Gong...

***

Another year goes by, and the little girl was growing bigger, as little girls do.

Again, the speck of green appeared on the distant horizon.

Around the dinner fire again, the girl brought the second gift, a purple plant to the circle.

The woman said, "Place some of the purple in your hands and rub them together. Breath in the scent of this gift."

And again the family smiled.

"The oil from this plant is used by many people to feel calm and to relax their spirits. If you wish, I will trade you tools and goods that I have for what your daughter has grown this year."

This year, as the woman left, she gave a small sapling to the girl.

"Thank you, but don't you need dates? We already have a lot of date tree

"This isn't a date tree. Take care of this tree, and next time I come back, we'll share its fruit around the fire."

***

Gong...Gong...

***

The girl was a young woman now. Her body moved with the moon in the night sky, like her mother. She was strong like her father, and she was as quick as her goats. 

It had been many seasons since the woman came, but every evening the girl still climbed her favorite tree looking for the woman in green.

One evening, the mother and father heard the familiar call from their daughter, "She's coming!"

That night, the girl brought the fruit of the tree that the woman brought many seasons ago to the fire.

Now, breathe in deeply, she said.

"This isn't just to smell."

The woman cut the fruit into slices, and placed them in the family's hands. And the family smiled from the sweet juice of their gift.

"I can't travel with these oranges through the desert, so this gift was just for you. I have nothing else I can give you, and this may be the last time that I will in your home."

The mother and father went to bed, but the girl and the woman continued to talk through the night. The woman told new stories of faraway lands and distant tribes.

The next day as the young woman tended the goats and harvested the dates, she knew that her heart was no longer in the oasis where she had lived her whole life.

That evening, her mother gave her packs of dates, and her father flasks full of milk.

The young woman cried tears of both joy and sadness as she embraced her parents.

"We love you, and we're very proud of you." They said.

A top of their camel, the woman in green pointed to a distant star.

"I will teach you how to live in strange lands, and how to speak in many tongues, and how to travel only by the stars in the night sky."

"And I will teach you how to run with goats and climb trees!" came the reply said, both women laughing into the night.

"We still don’t know each other's names!", the young woman said.

"Then I suppose we shall teach each other those as well."

Gong...gong...gong...

The End.