[It makes his mouth curl up a little -- too soft for a Cheshire grin, too wide to be anything but a smile -- because doesn't he know a surprising amount of that kind of story? There's probably a reason that's the first story she asks for. He's just happy he can give it to her.]

Okay. There was once a boy who couldn't make any friends. No one around him wanted to be friends with him, because they thought he was a death god. But that was wrong.

[Maybe it isn't a good time to talk about gods and death. But it's important to the story.]

He met a girl who grew out of the ground. Like a flower.