Pussy Willow

Long ago, a mother cat was crying on the bank of a river in which her kittens were drowning. The willows at the river's edge longed to help her, so they swept their long graceful branches into the water in order to rescue the tiny kittens. Gripping on tightly, the kittens were brought safely to shore. Every springtime since, says the tale, the willow branches bring forth their tiny buds at the tips, where the kittens originally clung. Those buds have the same silky feel as a kitten's soft fur.