10. ORIGIN OF THE PLEIADES AND THE PINE
I.Jong ago, when the wol'ld was new, there were ~even bO)'H who
us(\(l to Hpend all th(\ir time down by the townhoul;e playing the
g~tt~tyu'HtI game, J'olli,lg ~t ~tonc wheel along the ground and sliding a
(~urvcd ~ti(~k ~1ft(~1' it to ~trikc it. Their moth(~r.-; scolded, but it did no
good, HO on(\' dlly th(~y ('.ollected Rome gatayl1'HtI stones and boiled
thenl in th(~ P()t with th(~ ('.orn for dinn(~r, When thc bOJT~ came home
hungl'y the.ir rn()th("r~ dipp(~d out th(~ ~toncs and said, " Since J'OU like
the g1tUlyll'sti b(~tt("r than th(~ ('()rnfi(\.ld, t~tke the ~tones now for }Tom'
d' "
rnrl('r,
'I'he J)OyH w("l'e V{~l'y ~tng'1'.Y, and went down to the townhou~e, saJ'-
ing, " AH ollr moth(~I'~ tr(~~tt us thi~ way, It~t us go where we ~hall ~
n(~v('.r tl'ouble them ~tny rnore, " 'l'hey b(~gan a dance--soml:" ~~t.Y it
\\ra~ the ~'eathl:~1' dan(\(,,-~tnd went I'ound ~tlld roUlld the townhou~e,
pru,\'ing to thc ~pil'it.-; to h(~lp thl:~m, At ht~t their mother.-; ,verc
afl'~tid ~omething wa~ Wl'Ollg' and went out to look fol' them, 'rhey
~~t'V thc l)oy~ still dancing ~tl'ound the townhou~e, ~tnd a~ the}' ,v~ttched
th(,.y noti(~(\'d thut tht"il' ft~l:~t wer(~ off the e~tl'th, and th~tt with ever\'.
, ,
round th(~y I'O~(~ hight"r ~tnd higher in the ~til', 'rh{~,)' ran to get their
childl'("n, l)ut it wa...' too l~tte, fol' they 'V(~I'(~ ~tlrl:~~td)T ~tbove the l'oof of
the townhmi~e-~Lll but one, ,vho~e mothl:"r m~tn~tgl:~d to pull him do\vn
with th(~ g~ttayu'sti pole, but he ...tl'urk the g'l'ound with ~uch fol'ce
th~tt 11(\' Hallk into it and thl:,\ c.al'th <.~los("d ovel' him,
'I'he oth(\l' ~i x <.\i l'(-1I:,\d hirzh(~r ~tnd higher until the)' \vent. up to the
sky, where we see them now as the. Pleiades, which the Cherokee
still call Afii'tsutsa (1'he Boys), The people grieved long after them,
but the mother whose boy had gone into the ground came e,'elJ'.
morning and every e,'ening' to cry over the spot until the earth ,vas
damp with her tears, MJa.8:t ~3j~~le gre~~ot sprouted up and
grew day by day until it became the tall tree that \ve-.~L~.~~ the
~and the pine is of the same nature as the sta~.s and holds in
itself the same bright light,
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