'Two birds flying high, A Chinese vessel, sailing by. A bridge with three men, sometimes four, A willow tree, hanging o'er. A Chinese temple, there it stands, Built upon the river sands. An apple tree, with apples on, A crooked fence to end my song.' No one knows the origin of this classic English children's rhyme - even today, many people have never heard the popular story of the willow pattern. The legend says it was told in China more than a thousand years ago and brought over to England…