Once upon a time this fable was a film, made by French director Edmond Séchan. The film won a Golden Palm award for short films at the 1963 Canne film festival. And twenty years later he retold the fable as a book from which these words are taken.
The old woman lives and works in a dark building in Paris. On a sewing-machine (máquina de coser) as aged as she is, she makes evening bags, handbags with pearl embroidery (bordado) and silver fringe (flecos) , for elegant ladies and festive occasions.
Every morning and evening the old woman works .But for a short time in the afternoon, when the weather is pleasant, she closes her sewing-machine , takes her handbag-an ordinary handbag- and goes out.
She has followed the same path for many years, through the Tuileries gardens, near where she lives. As she walks slowly around the impeccable flowerbeds, she dreams of her childhood gardens, filled with the perfume of peonies and lilacs.
On her way home one evening, she sees a discarded flowerpot ( maceta). The azalea it holds is dead. Still the soil (tierra ) is good and the pot can be used, so the lady carries it upstairs. A flowerpot. Some earth (tierra) . Good. She holds the pot close, her eyes shining.
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