Happy Heart wanted a partner whose heart fit against her own. But no one ever came close enough to see her. She lived at the edge of the meadow, in a small heart-shaped cottage. Its walls were pink brick, its door round and wooden. Every day she waited by the window. Every day the path stayed empty. The trouble was simple. Strangers passed on the far road. They never turned toward her home. From that distance they saw only a plain cottage and never her pink eyes or bright smile. She could not charm anyone she could not meet. One morning she looked hard at her cottage. Bare walls. A dull door. Nothing to make a traveler stop and knock. "If they won't come to me," she said, "I'll give them a reason." She left the cottage and searched the meadow. Near a stone she found a white rose creature. It had soft layered petals and a slender green stem. Small leaves grew along its side. When Happy Heart leaned close, the rose turned its bloom toward her, curious. "I need help," Happy Heart said. "My home is quiet. No one stops. Will you grow across my walls, so people notice?" The rose creature stretched its stem toward the cottage. It liked the sunny bricks. It climbed the door and curled around the windows. Soon white blooms covered the walls. The plain cottage became a bright thing that caught the eye from far away. But Happy Heart worried a beautiful house was not enough. A guest needed a welcome inside too. She hurried in and opened her cupboard. She found an elegant box of chocolates, each piece glossy and dark. She set it on the table by the door, lid open, ready to share. Then she waited. By afternoon a traveler on the far road stopped walking. He stared at the rose-covered cottage. He turned off the road and followed the path to her door. He knocked. Happy Heart opened it. For the first time, someone stood close enough to see her pink eyes and her bright lips. She smiled and held out the box of chocolates. "Come in," she said. "Rest a while." The traveler took a chocolate and stepped inside. Her plan had worked. The cottage was welcoming now, and people would stop. But as the traveler sat down, he spoke of the road behind him. "Others are coming," he said. "Word spreads fast about a house like this. By evening you'll have a crowd at your door." Happy Heart's heart lifted, then tightened. She had wanted to be noticed. Now she would be noticed by many at once. Somewhere in that crowd might be the one whose heart fit hers. But how would she find him among so many strangers?