Shi-shi is a mulberry fairy.
She lives in a mulberry tree in Suzuo,China on a branch of a very tall mulberry tree. From her perch she watches her silk caterpillar friends munching on delicious leaves all day long. Her favorite food is the purple, juicy mulberry; but her mommy tells her to eat some green leaves every day so be strong. Shi-shi flies around most of the day exploring with her friend Seri the silk moth. When they get tired they go home to their gossamer hammock and tell each other stories.
One day Seri told Shi-shi about the princess, Si-ling who discovered silk when she was only a little girl. She was drinking tea with her father the Yellow Emperor under a mulberry tree in their garden when a cocoon fell into her tea cup. It started to unravel in her hot tea. Lao Tzu pulled the thread out and showed her father. They called it "silk" and she ran inside the palace to show her mother. They wove the thread into cloth and made Si-ling a soft, shiny gown. She loved it so much that she wore it everywhere. Soon all of the other Chinese princesses were begging their mothers for silk gowns too! Silk became the cloth of the royalty in China for many thousands of years.
Shi-shi fell asleep rocking in her hammock, dreaming of princesses dancing with silk.