从前有一个女人，她非常希望有一个丁点儿小的孩子。但是她不知道从什么地方可以得到。因此她就去请教一位巫婆。她对巫婆说：“我非常想要有一个小小的孩子！你能告诉我什么地方可以得到一个吗？”
          “嗨！这容易得很！”巫婆说。“你把这颗大麦粒拿去吧，它可不是乡下人的田里长的那种大麦粒，也不是鸡吃的那种大麦粒啦，你把它埋在一个花盆里，不久你就可以看到你所要看的东西了。”
          “谢谢您，”女人说，她给了巫婆三个银币。于是她就回到家来，种下那颗大麦粒。不久以后，一朵美丽的大红花就长出来了。它看起来很像一朵郁金香，不过它的叶子紧紧地包在一起，好像仍旧是一个花苞似的。

There was once a woman who wished very much to have a little child, but she could not obtain her wish. At last she went to a fairy, and said, “I should so very much like to have a little child； can you tell me where I can find one?”

“Oh, that can be easily managed,” said the fairy. “Here is a barleycorn of a different kind to those which grow in the farmer's fields, and which the chickens eat； put it into a flower-pot, and see what will happen.” 

“Thank you,” said the woman, and she gave the fairy twelve shillings, which was the price of the barleycorn. Then she went home and planted it, and immediately there grew up a large handsome flower, something like a tulip in appearance, but with its leaves tightly closed as if it were still a bud.