The Seven Dancing Sisters.Iroquois. Pleiades

Many years ago there was a village which sat within a wild and beautiful forest. In the village there were seven sisters who were wild, beautiful, and best friends. Each day after chores they would dance together in the forest for hours and hours. There were slow dances, fast dances, sad dances, and powerful dances-- they did them all.

One evening, their twirls and stomps were interrupted by an alluring song. This haunting melody that seeped through the forest and captured the ears of the seven sisters. They forgot everything but the music. There were no thoughts of dinner or warm fireplaces, only of the enchanting song which filled the forest.

Empowered by the music, they began to dance to the beat. All seven were entranced by the music; and, without thinking they danced their circle towards the sound. They passed by trees and mossy rocks, sidestepping roots -- all while their eyes were closed. They passed by branches and birds, leaping over nests. And they passed by treetops and owls, stretching their hands out to the stars. Still they danced towards the sound.

They had danced higher above the forest, but still moved towards the haunting melody unaware. Below the sisters the village had shrunk small, but above them the stars had grown more brilliant. The melody, you see, had come from the stars themselves. The Seven Sisters saw that the song came from Black Bear(??), with her twinkling bear nose and big bear shoulders, she had sung the mysterious song.

The sisters were in awe, they had been dancing to the great bear's beautiful song! So, they returned to their circle of twirling and stomping with new energy-- oh to dance for the sky!

Suddenly, the youngest sister heard a small voice from below.

"My daughters! Come home!" Their mother cried out.

Breaking away from her six sisters, the youngest raced down from the heavens without hesitation. She passed the owls and tree branches and right when she was about to leap into her mothers arms the earth swallowed her up. In front of her mother there was now only a hole from which a tiny sprout sat.

"You must all stay in the sky," whispered the Moon, "If you leave the stars, you'll crash into the earth and die. You are all with us now."

Mother wept and wept for her daughters, and her tears watered the small sprout at her feet. Every night, Mother came out and watched her daughters, but every night ended in tears.

After many months, the sprout had grown into a mighty tree. One night, the spirit of the youngest daughter lept from the top of the tree and into the sky to join her sisters. With joy they began to dance again, twinkling and twirling in the night sky. The stars around them even moved away to give them space. However, the youngest daughter had not jumped far enough to be within their circle, she sat right outside the circle. But do not worry, they danced with her all the same.

Mother finally smiled, for her daughters were together again and doing what they loved. Every wintertime, she would gather the village children like this, and she would tell them the tale of the seven dancing sisters.

'Be careful' she would warn, ' of going in the woods at night. Never follow the mysterious music-- beautiful as it may be-- you may get trapped in the stars.'