"talismanic branch that drops leaves every time she's granted a wish - until that is, there are no more leaves in which case her life is forfeit" ---- I recall reading this too, in Beaumont's book, but this time I had to chuckle, because it suggests the (in)famous strip tease dance of a certain type of treaty port teahouse geishas in the XIX century. As commemorated by the Chon Kina number in Britain's musical comedy smash "The Geisha", this dance was a sort of musical chair competition; when the geishe didn't stop with the music, one layer of clothing was the forfeit....