Many years ago, there lived a man called the Old Bamboo Cutter. Every day, he went to the mountains to gather bamboo. One day, he found a strange stalk which glowed at the base. When he went to examine it, he found a little girl who was only three inches tall.
The old man thought that this child was meant to be his own, and that he was fated to find her. He brought the little girl home to his wife, who put her in a basket and took care of her.