Long, long ago, a flower fell to earth, and Ashma was born. Her face was as white as the purist alabaster, her skin as smooth as the finest silk, her cry was soft, her laugh as cheerful as a cricket. When she combed her hair, it gleamed like moonlight on a still lake. The carefree Ashma grew into the most beautiful of all maidens. This story is based on a narrative poem of the Sani ethnic group in southwest China’s Yunnan Province.