A long, long time ago, when Mother Earth was young, the Great One created a man and a woman who lived together in harmony and loved each other very much. Things were going very well for the man and woman until one morning when the woman became very angry with the man and walked out of their lodge, slamming the door shut behind her. The man, who did not understand why the woman had become so angry, thought to himself, "She must not be feeling well," and left it at that. Hours passed, and the woman did not return. The man began to worry and went outside to look for her, but she was gone. Way off in the distance, he could see her climbing the mountain to the west, and he began to get tears in his eyes. He set after her, but he knew that she was too far away, and he would not be able to catch up. Now he was crying out of sadness for losing her, and he began to pray with his head in his hands. "oh Great One." he pleaded desparately, "I love her so very much, and she has gone away. I will never be able to catch up, and I do not know what to do." "What is the problem?" asked the Great One. This made the man a little angry because the Great One is supposed to know everything that happens and why. Besides that, the man didn't really know what the problem was, or why the woman had left. He was very sad though, and could not think straight, but he did his best to explain what he knew. "Are you sure you did not do anything?" asked the Great One. "I don't know," replied the man. "Are you sure that you did not fail to do something?" asked the Great One. "I'm not sure," sighed the man. "She is getting further and further away, and I do not know what to do." "I know that "I know that your love for her is great, and your heart is true," said the Great One. "I will do what I can to slow her down." The man expressed much thanks, and continued on his journey up the mountain. Meanwhile, the Great One caused a huckleberry bush full of ripe huckleberries to spring up along the woman's path. But the woman was so angry that she ignored the huckleberries, and didn't even slow down. Next, the Great One put some prickly blackberries along her path, thinking the blackberries would stick to her clothes and slow her down. As the woman walked through the blackberries, they stuck to her clothes, but she just ignored them, and didn't even look down. "Aha!" thought the Great One. "I must make her look down in humility before she will stop and listen to what is in her heart." So he put a little plant on the ground with leaves that hid a luscious, sweet-smelling fruit shaped like a heart. When the woman came to the little plant, the aroma was so wonderful that she got down on her knees to find out what smelled so good. When she bowed her head to pick one of the fruits and saw the beautiful little heart-shaped berries, she let go of her anger, and forgot why she had been angry in the first place. The first thing she thought was to pick some of these delicious strawberries for her husband, whom she loved with all her heart. She picked only the smaller ones so that the big ones could grow, and she gave thanks to Mother Earth and the Great One for offering this special gift. Then she started back home, toward the east. Before long, she saw her husband in the distance coming toward her. Excitedly, she ran to him, and they hugged each other for a very long time in the setting Sun. Then she gave him the bright red strawberries she had picked for him, and together they gave thanks to the Great One for being reunited again. The woman thought about how sad she would have been to never see her husband again. She told him that she would never leave him, and just then, she noticed that the little strawberries were very fragile, and yet very beautiful. The man and woman were thankful for thier love of one another, and together they enjoyed the juicy strawberries that the Great One had provided to Mother earth. And so, it is good. Our connections serve a very important purpose for us, just as we serve a very important purpose in the beauty of the Greater Circle. All things are connected, and we are all related. For this and more, we have much to be thankful. If we are walking in the woods together, and I bend down to pick up a stick, I ask you, "What is this?" you invariably will reply, "It is a stick." I will correct you and say, "No, it is part of a tree."

Long ago, the Old Ones say that in the year of the Great Harvest, the land of the Cherokees was becoming too thickly populated. The people realized that they needed more lands in order to grow and prosper. So the Peace Chief sent out a delegation of the leading men of the nation to talk with the neighboring Ani Tsigsu (Chickasaws), who claimed large areas of suitable lands toward the southwest. Now the Chickasaws were not as strong as the Cherokees, for they had been at war for a long time with their enemies. The Cherokees sat in council with the Chickasaws to arrange the terms of the exchange of territory. This council lasted for many days. There were many courtesies to be observed before business could be started. At the beginning, it was polite to sit in complete silence. The the didahnvwisgi (physician-priest, commonly referred to as "medicine men") enacted the lengthy invocation. After the invocation, the ancient and sacred Tsola (tobacco) Pipe Ceremony must be performed. The pipe was passed leisurely around to each council member, who took his turn on the sacred medicine. Some elaborate speeches of greeting and the presentation of gifts expressed the good will of the visitors. These were answered by the hosts. These amenities must not be hurried, lest it appear that the Cherokees were eager to have their business done with and go on home. At the end of each day, the Chicksaws prepared an elaborate feast, which was served by the young maidens. The most beautiful maiden of them all was the daughter of the Chickasaw War Chief. Among the Cherokee group was Tlanewa (the hawk), nephew and heir of one of the powerful Cherokee War Chiefs. The first night he sat for a long time around the campfire composing a love song. The next afternoon he did not appear at the council meeting. He was playing the new song and she secretly went to meet him by the bend in the river. They enjoyed the thrill of a forbidden adventure. They gathered wild flowers and waded barefoot across the stream, following after the shrill cry of a blue dove. Tlanewa told her of the land of his people, where the mountains touch the sky and the sun always stands still. He knew that he was expected to choose a wife from the proper clan of an important Cherokee village in order to increase the power and solidarity of the Nation. And she, too knew that a brave warrior had spoken to her parents for her. But the Redbird Spirit of love pays no heed to the notions of Nations, and fluttered at the breast of the young lovers. So the young lovers agreed that when the council was ended and his people went on their way homeward, Tlanewa would come for her. They planned that if he should be detained she would hide in a thicket at the bend of the river and he would come for her there. Finally the council ended between the Chickasaws and the Cherokees. The Chickasaws agreed to move back a day's walk to allow for the expansion of the Cherokee Nation, and to share their hunting lands with the Cherokees. Many of the Chickasaw warriors objected to the trading away of their lands and wanted to fight for them, but the civil Chief could see that there was no chance of keeping the land for themselves. He argued that it was better to trade away than to lose it, along with the lives of many warriors. But when the Cherokees left, the daughter of the Chickasaw War Chief could not be found. The Chickasaw warriors began a search for her. They were the first to find her, hiding in the thicket at the bend of the river. When Tlanewa arrived, he found her dead. He buried her there at the bend of the river. Then he rejoined his own group and began the long journey homeward. The next spring, Tlanewa returned and found among the deep green leaves growing over the mound, the soft brown petals of a sweet-smelling bush. He knelt beside it and called it his Sweet One, for he had claimed the Chickasaw maiden for his own. He carried the bush back to his homeland and planted it. But, long before the long winter was over, he grew eager to see and to be with his Sweet One. So he went back to her grave and waited until his own death came. But the bush with deep brown flowers spread throughout the lands of the Cherokees. And to this day, the Cherokee Sweet Shrub opens her eager face and sweet smell in early spring to welcome the return of her loved one.

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel, all claimed that they were the most important, the most useful, the favorite. GREEN (itseiyusdi) said, "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for the grass, trees, leaves, without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority. BLUE (sagonege) interruped, "You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing" YELLOW (dalonige) chuckled, "You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world.The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun" ORANGE (adalonige) started next to blow her trumpet, "I am the color of Health and Strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I sevre the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes and pawpaw. I dont hang around all the time ,but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you." RED (gigage) could stand it no longer: He shouted out, "I am the ruler of all of you, I am blood, life's blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and love the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy." Purple (gigaigesdi) rose up to his full height: He was very tall and spoke with great pomp, " I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, Chiefs , and Bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me they listen and obey" Finally, INDIGO spoke, much more quitely than all he others , but with just as much determination. Think Of Me. I am the color of silence.You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superifical. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace" And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightning and thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessy. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort. In the midst of the clamor, Rain began to speak : "You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose? unique and different! Join hands with one another and come to me. Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. The rain continued, "From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace.The rainbow is a sign of HOPE of tomorrow." And as Whenever a good rain washes the world and a Rainbow appears in the sky let us remember to appreciate one another.