This Lenape story tells about a group of seven stars. The Lenape people are from the Eastern Woodlands of the United States.

The Seven Mateinnu
Long ago, seven wise men
lived among the people.
They knew so much that everyone
was always asking them for advice.
5 They grew so tired that
they decided to hide from the people,
and turned themselves
into seven big stones.
But before too long,
10 the people found them,
and because they were stones,
they had to sit and listen
to everyone ask for help.
They tried a second time to hide,
15 and turned into seven cedar trees.
But once again,
the people found them,
and because they were rooted,
they still had to listen.
20 At last they accepted
that they could not hide.
They changed themselves
into seven stars dancing in the middle
of the sky.
25 Each night the people look up to them
and see the answers to their questions
in the light of those stars.
Key Vocabulary

  • advice n., ideas that help someone decide what to do

In Other Words

  • wise men men who gave good advice

  • turned themselves into became

  • rooted attached to the ground

  • accepted knew it was true