Cherokee: Strawberries

Long ago the first man lived together with his wife. They were very happy together, but one day they had a quarrel. The wife decided to leave her husband, so she headed away to the east in the direction where the Sun comes from.

When the man realized that she was gone, he went after her, but she had a big head start. The woman kept walking towards the east, never stopping and never looking back. The man was afraid that he would not be able to catch up to her.

The Sun was watching and felt sorry for the man. "Are you still angry with your wife?" the Sun asked him.

"No," said the man, "I am not angry. I miss her very much!"

"Would you like to have her back again?" asked the Sun.

"Yes!" said the man eagerly.

"Then I will help you," said the Sun.

At that moment, the woman was walking by a patch of huckleberries, and the Sun shone down on the huckleberries to make them grow ripe. The woman did not notice, though, and walked on by. Farther ahead there were some blackberry bushes. Again, the Sun shone down and the blackberries grew ripe, but the woman did not pay attention.

Finally, the Sun caused a beautiful patch of strawberries to grow ripe. The woman had never seen strawberries before! She stopped to gather the berries. As she did so, she turned back towards the west. This made her think about her husband. She sat down, and her desire for her husband grew stronger and stronger. After a while, she gathered up the best strawberries to give to her husband, and then she returned the way she had come.

The man met his wife along the path, and so they went back home together and did not quarrel anymore.