Photo copyrighted by Joseph Brennskag
found at www.usefilm.com.
The two brave warriors were continuing on their journey when Ududu began to tire. The elder asked his grandson if it would be alright to take a moment of rest by a nearby stream. The boy agreed, for he too was in need of rest.
"Oh, little one, I must have a moment of rest. The day is still new and I should not tarry too long. I need a drink of water and find the nearby stream to be gleaming."
Morning-Dawn, also in need of a drink, agreed to approach the stream and have a seat on the mossy rocks around the water. "Ududu, you are very wise and tell me great things. Please tell me more about the world and the Creator that you speak of."
The grandfather looked around and spied a patch of bright red berries. He went over to the patch and plucked three sweet, ripe berries off of the vine.
"Morning-Dawn, you will never grow weary of my stories. A young warrior such as yourself has much to learn about his world."
Ududu laid two of the berries in the boy's hand and brought the other to his mouth. The boy looked at the berries and smelled the sweet perfume that they emitted.
"These strawberries look mighty good, grandfather. I am a little hungry after you told me the story about Selu!" Ududu laughed and brushed the moss from off of his hands.
"Let me tell you another story about Selu and the creation of these wonderful berries. I will call this story "The Good Luck Berries". After the Creator had made man and woman it was not long when they started to quarrel. It was not meant to be so, but the man and woman had a fire within them that often burned brightly and scolded others. The fire was anger and they often hurt each other with words from the fire."
"Sometimes, I feel that fire, grandfather. The other boys won't let me play stickball with them and my fire burns bright also. I can feel it in my belly!" Morning-Dawn had known this angry feeling and told his grandfather of its power.
"Yes, Morning-Dawn, everyman knows this feeling. The warrior knows this feeling well! However, if one did not lay kindling on the fire and provide the wind for it, the fire would remain calm. Perhaps, you will understand the meaning of this after the story. The man had blown wind into the fire of the woman and she became a thunderous flame! She fled from their home and took foot to the woods. She would have rather stayed with the animals than to turn back to her helper."
"Ududu, I have also seen this flame in my mother's eyes. She has never ventured afar and I dread the day she goes past the neighboring teepees and across the buffalo valley! She usually comes back before sunset and makes knuchi for my father though." Morning-Dawn looked at his father and saw that he wanted to get back to the story.
"Unetlanv, the creator, felt sorry for the man and saw that he was crying and wanted Selu to come back. He was no longer angry and felt terrible. Sometimes we all feel that way after our fire has burned out! We have to be very careful not to scorch others with our flames. Unetlanv searched for the woman and saw her in the pathway. He set a bundle of huckleberries in her way thinking she would enjoy them and return to her husband. The woman flew by the berries and continued on. He tried some beautiful blackberries next, but they did not stop her either. Unetlanv then left a whole basket of fresh fruit at her feet and she trod right over them!"
"Selu must have been really angry, Ududu! I wouldn't pass up a basket of fruit. It is delicious!" Morning-Dawn had never seen his a-lu-li (mother) or any other a-gi-ya (woman) this mad!
"Yes, she was very angry, Morning-Dawn. Unetlanv then set the reddest berries on the pathway. Selu, smelling the berrie's perfume, bent down and admired them. She took a handful and cast them into her mouth. The taste of the berries was like honey. She was so delighted with these berries that she took a bundle of them into her deerskin dress and headed home to show her husband. She forgot all about how bright her fire had been. The two promised never to argue again and set the berries on top of the food table for remembrance. That is why we keep strawberries in the basket by the food table and next to the fire pit. They are to remind us not to quarrel and give us good luck."
"Ududu, I am rested, let's continue. I have to shoot something with my bow! I am a warrior and warriors can't tell their a-lu-li that they have no supper or skins!" Morning-Dawn took up his bow and helped his grandfather up. Ududu patted the boy's head and headed for the valley.
Author's note: I took this story from the story of "The Creation of Strawberries" at the cherokee nation website.
There are many different versions of the first strawberries but I chose this one to help intertwine the previous story with it. The Cherokee find that Strawberries are a very important part of their culture. Even now, during the Cherokee National Holiday, we eat Strawberries and poundcake or with sugar. It's kind of a tradition in Cherokee homes. Knuchi is a soup made from various nuts and spices. It is very different and quite thick for a soup. It is perhaps the most traditional soup of the nation. I changed the story by lengthening it greatly and again the grandfather is the frametale provider. I added dialogue between Ududu and Morning-Dawn and incorporated some of the Cherokee language. I think it is important to know some of the Cherokee words. It is a dying language and fortunately places like the University of Oklahoma are starting to recognize the importance of learning the language. It adds such a great cultural perspective to the tale. I also added other elements such as the fire analogy and a more detailed veiw of the fight between the man and woman. I also used nature as a means of providing the appropriate setting for the story to take place. This seemed appropriate, seeeing as how the Cherokee find nature and important part of creation.
To return to the previous story, you can go back to my storybook page, or you can just click onto my first story, Selu.. You can e-mail me comments at Dana.L.Brashear@ou.edu.