The Legend of the Sunflower

by Crystal Klinger-Smith

Purple Sage Elem. Round Rock, ISD, fourth grade

Many moons ago there lived a girl named Shy Horse. She was very sad because her father Chief Powatin was having a birthday and she had to give him a present.

She decided to go ask her friend, Meeko, who lived deep in the forest, for a present.

When she finally made her way to the spot by the berry bush, out came a raccoon. "Oh", Meeko said, "What can I give my father for his birthday?"

Meeko was very wise and said, "If you go on the great hill, you will find the present for your father. Now go." and Meeko turned and left.

Shy Horse ran as fast as she could to her village. She told all the village Indians that she was going to give her father a flower for his birthday. All the people laughed. That made her mad. She turned away from all the laughter and ran and ran.

The sun was going down and she had not yet gone to the hill. She decided to rest beside a tree. Her eyelids were heavy and she said she would just close her eyes for a minute, but she didn't and fell asleep.

In the night, Meeko was walking by and saw Shy Horse. He thought and looked at her moccasins. They were torn so Meeko put some new ones in the old ones place and left.

As the sun rose Shy Horse opened her eyes and said, "Oh no, it is morning. I have fallen asleep. I must go now." She started running. As she was running, she noticed she had new moccasins on. As she was looking at the moccasins and running at the same time, she bumped into something and fell to the ground.

As she looked up she saw the great hill. She ran up to the very top and there was a flower she'd never seen. It was huge.

She pulled it out of the ground, thinking it looked like the sun, and then she ran down the hill.

As she ran, she never stopped, even when she was tired. Pretty soon she was at her village, and it was the day of her father's birthday. She showed her father plus the Indian people. Chief Powatin loved the flower. He hugged his daughter and said the flower was the best in the land.

And with that, he planted it in the ground and called it the Sunflower. Pretty soon more would grow on the land. Chief Powatin changed Shy Horse's name to Sister-of-the-Sunshine. And from that day on, that flower was called the Sunflower.