ONCE UPON A TIME…
Could easily be NOW as THEN or WHEN.
The story goes that a thief was sentenced to death in this ONCE UPON A TIME mode for stealing some bread. Before he he was taken to the gallows he was allowed to make a statement to the King.
“Your Majesty,” the thief summoned humbly, “I am the only man living who knows how to plant apple seeds that will grow and bear fruit over night. To atone for my crime, I would merely like to teach you and your court the secret. I’ll just need a shovel, these hand full of seeds I carry around, and a young maiden who has not tasted love’s first kiss.”
Well, the King was a little intrigued and so he took the thief to a nearby field to learn this most awesome secret.
The thief knelt down and quickly dug a small hole.
“Now,” the thief said, “the water must be poured in the hole by a young maiden.”
The King’s own daughter stepped forward and poured the water in the freshly dug hole.
“We are now ready for the actual planting of the magical seeds,” the thief said addressing the King and his honored Court.
“The seed can only be placed in the earth by someone who has never taken a single item that didn’t belong to them, no matter how small or how long ago.”