August 29. “Button, I’ll tell you a story today.”

“Wonderful. You’ve made my day.”

“It’s actually folklore but it’s a lovely little story.”

“I love folk tales. Your translations—Tales My Grandmother Told Me—are all folk tales. Aren’t they? I’ve read quite a few.”

“There was once a king. He had three beautiful daughters. One day, the king called all his three daughters and asked them if they loved him and how much. The elder daughter told him that she loved him as much as a house full of jewels. The next daughter told him she loved him as much as all the gold he possessed. The youngest daughter told him she loved him as much as salt. This made the king so angry that he banished this daughter from his kingdom.”

“But why salt? Why did she tell him she loved him as much as salt?”

“Let me complete the story, Button.”

“I’m sorry.”

“The youngest princess was a favourite with everyone. Their hearts broke seeing her plight and hatched a plan in consultation with her. One day, she cooked all the king’s favourite dishes without adding any salt to them. The king tasted each dish and found that there was no salt in any of the dishes and wanted to know who had prepared them. The head chef then told him that his youngest daughter had cooked all the dishes without salt just to tell him how salt was the main ingredient in every dish and how without it, a dish could be totally bland and tasteless. The king realized his mistake, apologised and called his daughter back.”

“Nice story.”

“I want you to tell me a story whenever you are ready.”