Once there was a time when the people of the earth did not have to tend the fields, for the Sun's daughters-Maize, Pumpkin, and Red Bean-walked among them, leaving lush crops wherever they stepped.But then headstrong Maize disobeyed her mother and was trapped by cold, lonely Silver, and the Sun vowed not to touch the earth again until Maize was returned.
How the tiny pewee bird saved Maize and kept the people from starving is eloquently told in this tale, which, though based on an Iroquois legend, parallels the Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter.The lovely, unusual images in the text are dramatically complemented by R.Gregory Christie's masterful paintings.Afterword.
