North of the Clouds, South of the Stars

Once upon a time, there was a poor farmer. While he was poor, he was rich in love. He fell in love with the baker’s daughter. By the age of twenty he married her. They moved to a small farm near the forest. As the years passed they had three children. The eldest was named Rose, the next Lily, and the youngest was named Willow. The farmer grew sad as he watched his daughters grow up. He loved his family, but he was so poor that it was hard to take care of them.
Willow was the smartest of the three sisters. She always knew of the money problem. So every night, till she was eighteen, she would make a wish. Her wish would always be the same.
“I wish for my family to be rich. Rich in crops and animals. So we can sell them and have a bit of money.”
One day a large brown bear heard a whisper in the north wind. It was the wish of a virtuous young woman. He started his journey towards her home.
Willow was in the garden, picking withered crops, when she noticed something move in the forest. She stood up and went to take a closer look. She suddenly heard a twig snap behind her. She turned and gasped at the sight. It was a very large brown bear. She, very slowly, started to move backwards.
“Wait! Don’t move!” The bear’s voice rumbled.
Willow nearly fainted then. A talking bear! “You can talk? But how-“
“I can talk, as I always have.”
Willow looked at his curiously. “What is a magical bear doing here?” she asked.
The bear leaned back and sat down. “I have heard you wish. I have come to grant it.”
Willow smiled excitedly. She nearly ran to hug the bear. Then she remembered something. Everything comes with a price. “If you help me then what do you want in return?” she asked cautiously.
“I shall make your family rich till the end of time. But you only need to come with me and be my bride.”
“Your bride? But you’re a bear!” Willow couldn’t believe it! A bear wanted a bride. And he picked her! But for what reason?
The bear saw that she was in deep thought so he laid down. He stared up at her. He saw her brown eyes narrow in concentration. She was beautiful, he thought.
“If I say yes, how soon do we leave?” Willow asked.
“Tomorrow morning. You need not bring anything with you. I shall give you tonight to say your goodbyes. I’ll meet you here again tomorrow.” The bear stood and walked away. Willow still had more questions but she guessed that they will have to wait for tomorrow.
It was morning and Willow said her good byes. None of her family liked the fact that she was leaving with a bear. But Willow wouldn’t hear of it. She had already made up her mind. It was already dawn when Willow crept out from her room. The rest of the house was still sleeping as she slipped out the door. She wandered into the forest. She came to the place where she met the bear and sat down at the base of a trunk of a tree. She didn’t have to wait long. The bear tumbled out from the trees.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
Willow nodded. The bear shook his coat and laid down.
“Climb onto my back,” he said.
Willow did so. She wrapped her hands into the bear’s soft fur and climbed onto his back. She felt like she was on top of an oversized horse.
“Hold on tight,” the bear warned as he stood up.
Willow’s grip tightened. The bear started running. She had never seen a bear run so fast! The wind whipped through her hair and she could barely keep her eyes open. Willow buried her face into the bear’s back.
Soon enough the bear stopped. Willow leaned up to see why the bear had paused. In front of them was a log cabin, the size of a castle.
“This is my, and now your, home.”