The First Strawberries - Cherokee

Hello, I am the Sun. I float high in the sky and shine my warm light on the world. I watch the birds fly and the flowers grow. My favorite thing to see was the First Man and the First Woman. They were the best of friends. But one day, I saw them have their very first argument. The First Woman’s heart was hurt. Oh no. She turned and began to walk away. Walk, walk, walk. She was leaving the First Man all alone. I saw this from up high, and I knew I had to help them be friends again. This is the story of how I made The First Strawberries.

The First Man was so sad watching his friend walk away. I saw how lonely he was, and I wanted to help. I thought, 'I will make a special treat to help her stop walking.'. First, I shined my light on some bushes. Poof. I made beautiful, round blueberries appear. But she was too sad to see them. She kept on walking. Walk, walk, walk. So I tried again. I shined my light and poof. I grew sweet, dark blackberries. They looked so juicy. But her feet kept moving forward. She was walking so fast. I worried she would never turn back. I needed one more idea, a brand new surprise full of my sunshine.

I thought of the sweetest, kindest thing I could make. I shined my warmest light down on the grass right in front of her feet. Little green plants appeared. On them, I grew bright red berries. The berries were shaped like little hearts. The sweet, sweet smell floated up to her, and she finally stopped walking. She picked one of the berries and tasted it. Mmm, it was so sweet. The sweetness helped her remember all the happy days with her friend. Her heart felt happy again. She gathered as many berries as she could and turned around. She went to share them. When they shared the first strawberries, they became friends again. This story reminds us that kindness is the sweetest gift, and every strawberry is a little reminder of love.