The Story of the First Strawberry
Quarreling husband and wife reconciled through the gift of strawberries, symbol of love and forgiveness.
In the beginning, when the world was still young and the people had just come to live upon the earth, there dwelt the first man and the first woman. They loved one another dearly, but as all couples do, they quarreled. One morning harsh words passed between them, sharper than flint. The woman, wounded in her heart, turned her back and walked away, vowing never to return.
The man watched her go, pride burning hotter than sorrow. “Let her leave,” he thought. “I will not follow.” But as the day lengthened, the silence of the house grew heavy, and his anger cooled into regret. Still, his wife’s figure dwindled upon the path, her steps carrying her farther and farther away.
The Sun looked down and took pity on the pair. “It is not good that love should be lost so easily,” the Sun said. So the Sun cast his rays upon the path ahead of the woman, bringing forth gifts from the soil to soften her heart.
First, from the earth sprang blueberries, small and dark. But the woman did not pause. Next came blackberries, red then ripened to deep purple, sweet upon the tongue. Still she walked on, her face stern, her heart heavy. The Sun tried raspberries, then serviceberries, yet none slowed her steps.
At last the Sun caused a new fruit to bloom: strawberries, bright as fire, shaped like hearts, their fragrance drifting like a song through the air. The woman stopped. She bent to gather them, their sweetness filling her mouth, their beauty stirring memory of her husband’s love.
As she lingered among the berries, the man, who had at last set out in pursuit, came upon her. Breathless, he spoke words of apology, his anger gone, his heart laid bare. She looked at him, then at the strawberries in her hand, and her sorrow melted. They embraced there upon the path, reconciled, their bond renewed.
So the Cherokee tell that strawberries are the fruit of forgiveness, given by the Sun to remind humankind that love, though strained, can be mended. To this day, when strawberries ripen, they are seen as symbols of affection, reconciliation, and the sweetness that follows bitterness.
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