Stories and Poems for Northeastern Native Tribal Families: From A Circle Tied to Mother Earth

Nipmuc Story of the Three Sisters
Long ago there were three sisters.
Each one was very beautiful. But the
young girls were very different from
each other.
One was very tall, slender and had long blonde
smooth hair. The other sister was a little shorter.
She had long, curly, and shiny brown hair. The
third sister was shorter than the other two. Her hair
was radiant black, wavy, and was also very long.
These sisters loved each other very much. But
even though they loved each other dearly, these
differences brought about arguments among
them all the time. The endless bickering led them
to not spend any time together. Each sister kept
to herself, unless it was to disagree with one of
the others.
A few days had passed. The three sisters were
out in the garden. They were arguing among
themselves, as always. They were going at it pretty
good — shouting, pointing, and shaking their
hands in the air.
The mother asked them to stop the bickering at
once. She asked the three sisters to sit down in the
garden beside each other. But the girls were very
stubborn. Just as one sister would sit down, one
of the others would get up and leave. Then when
the other would come back and sit, another sister
would walk away. Back and forth they went, not
wanting to sit together. Not wanting to sit as one.
Their mother saw this and was upset. She urged
them to get along and share with one another.
The girls refused. So the mother thought for a long
time about what she could do.
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