There once lived a kind young witch in a forest far removed from humans. She had a small cottage by a brook that playfully gurgled and bubbled by day, and gently flowed at night. She lived happily in the forest, tending to her flowers and playing in the brook. She was happy, save for one thing. She wanted someone to talk to. She couldn't understand the birds, insects and animals, and they could not understand her.

So, she set to work on a spell. A spell to enchant the forest so that the animals within would gain the power of human speech. With the knowledge of her ancestors, and her own desire, she closed her eyes, waved her hands, and chanted her spell.

The wind blew, the sun hid behind the trees, and the forest went silent. When the young enchantress opened her eyes, everything seemed to be back in place. Her cottage was still standing behind the gurgling brook, the trees were where they always had been, and the sun peered through the clouds again.

However, there was one noticeable change. All around her, the young sorceress could hear conversations.

The birds were chatting away to one another, the squirrels calculating their supply of nuts, and even the ladybugs were discussing which tree had the best leaves.

The young girl was overjoyed. She would not have to be lonely ever again.

Many happy years passed, and the young witch grew. She grew into a beautiful woman with hazelnut coloured hair, and sky blue eyes. Although she grew older and more intelligent with magic, she still didn't know anything of humans. Her only company had been with the animals.

After many years of prosperity, there came a drought. Many animals and plants died. The sorceress grew sad and decided she should seek the help of others.

One sunny day, she packed a few things into a basket, and called a few animals to her side.

"I am going to seek help from others outside of our forest. I will make sure no one will starve again." She said with determination.

The animals sobbed. They would miss their kindly witch and knew it might be a long time before they would see her again. She gave them each a hug and promised she would be back as soon as she could. She told them to look after one another, and not to cry. With that, she walked off into the deep forest.

After a few hours of walking, she came to a clearing. She was out of the forest now and was tired. She laid down in some soft grass and fell asleep.

Upon awakening, the enchantress found herself face to face with a human! She yelped and jumped up, about to flee, when the human grabbed hold of her wrist.

"Please do not run!! I mean you no harm. Please, tell me what you are doing here in the middle of a field, and let me take you to my home. I will be able to take care of you." The human said in a soothing voice.

The witch breathed deeply, trying to calm herself. She looked at this human. It appeared to be a man.

"He does not appear to be a bad person." she thought to herself. He studied him. He had black hair, green eyes and wore a dark blue coat. "Ok.." she said carefully. "I will tell you about myself."

They both sat down and she told him of her life and the reason she was out of her forest. He looked surprised when she explained she was a witch. He only seemed worried.

After she was done with her story, the man told her, "I am Prince Willheim, and I want to take you home. I will take care of you and you will not have to worry ever again about being hungry. I will even make sure your animal friends are taken care of. I must beg of you however, that you do not reveal to anyone that you are a witch. They will lock you away and accuse you of being mad."

The girl happily agreed upon hearing that her animals would be taken care of. She also agreed to keep her life secret. They set off for the castle at once.

Upon arriving, the witch wanted to prepare for her return to the forest to take care of her animals, but the Prince told her to rest first, and they would prepare the next day.

Although the Prince had good intention, he did not indeed believe her story. He was afraid that since she had lived in the forest all her life, she had lost her sense of reality. But since she was so beautiful and kind, he loved her and decided to keep her in the castle at all costs.

The next day, the sorceress asked when they might set out for the forest.

"Soon, my darling, soon." said the Prince. "But first, come have some breakfast. Then I will show you my gardens."

Day after day, this continued. The girl would ask about the forest, and the Prince would distract her somehow. Soon, years had passed. They had become married, and even though her life had been rich and full, she continuously asked about her forest.

One day, as the Princess was walking in the gardens, she noticed a small bird flying in the air. It made a few circles in the air and then dropped to the ground. The Princess ran to it and saw that it was very weak. She gently picked it up and patted it. It looked up at her and instead of the usual birdsong, it started to talk.

"Please help.. we are so weak.. there is barely enough to eat.." it said in a small voice. It dropped its head and gave into its exhaustion.

The Princess gasped. It was a bird all the way from her enchanted forest. She decided that the time had come to go home. She went to the Prince and told him of the events in the garden. The Prince became enraged and ordered her to be locked in her room. He now feared that her madness had finally taken over her.

Night fell, and the enchantress changed herself into a mouse. She laid in wait. Soon, her maid came with her meal, and she slipped out through the open door. She scurried through the castle and into the study where the Prince was reading. She scurried into the middle of the room. The Prince saw the mouse and got up to chase it away when the sorceress changed herself back right in front of him. The Prince jumped back and nearly had a heart attack.

"The time has come that I have to go back to my forest and save my dying friends. I stayed with you for all these years, and now it is time that you listen to what I want. If you do not follow along with what I want, I will still do it." She told him.

The Prince was surprised but he still loved the Princess and wanted to please her, so he decided to help her.

The next day, they set off to the forest. After so many years of drought, it had begun to look old and decayed. The witch gazed at it with sad eyes. She was sorry that she had ever left. She looked at her cottage and the brook that she had loved so much and knew there was only one way to restore the forest. She turned to her husband and said, "Darling, I do love you and you have been very kind to me these past years. But, there is something I must do. I have to restore this forest and go back to where I came from. I will have to use all my strength and spirit to cast my final spell."

The Prince looked at his wife sadly but knew what she must do. He nodded silently and embraced her one last time.

The enchantress closed her eyes and floated slowly into the air. A shining light shone around her and slowly grew and grew until you could not look directly into it anymore. When the light died down, the Princess was gone, but in her place on the ground was a small red and yellow flower, that became known as "lady slippers".

The Prince looked around and saw the trees, the grass and the flowers begin to grow back. He knelled next to the flower and vowed that he would protect the forest for the rest of his life. Which he did, and when his life came to its end, he in turn became a flower known as the "snowdrop windflower."