A Basket of Plums

She filled a basket with plums from her plum tree and, covering it over with a white cloth, hung it on her arm. For she said to herself: “There may be those in the world who have apples and need plums.” In this delightful story, first published in 1915, we meet a kind old woman to whom nothing in the world sounds more delicious than an apple dumpling. She sets out one day with a basket full of plums in search of some apples with which to make her supper. Along the way she meets a colorful assortment of people who make trades with the old woman to help fill their needs, and we learn that when you give selflessly to others, you often end up with what you most desire.