Once upon a time there was an old couple who had only one child: a daughter. She was so beautiful it can hardly be described in words.
The girl was extraordinarily beautiful, and was always admiring herself in the mirror. But her soul was not nearly as beautiful as her body. She was stubborn and selfish. Everything had to be exactly how she wanted it or else she would throw a fit.
Her parents were tired of her stubbornness, but she was their daughter, so they had to cope with her character flaws.
Everybody in the village heard about the girl’s nasty personality. Nobody wanted to be friends with her or marry her. This really concerned her parents.
One day some matchmakers from another village came to see the family. They had heard about the daughter’s incredible beauty but not about her unpleasant behavior. Hoping that the matchmakers could arrange a good future for their daughter, the parents took extra care to treat them as nicely as possible.
When it came time for the daughter to talk to the matchmakers, she was stubborn and rude as always.
Her parents were distressed. She was only letting herself down by driving everyone away. The parents were so upset that they cursed her: “May you turn into a willow and stay quiet rather than upsetting everyone!”
The damnation of parents is very powerful, so the daughter turned into a willow.
Willows always weep, as if admitting guilt. People take this as a kind of apology and treat the trees well, hoping that the daughter has learned her lesson and now won’t take good treatment for granted.
