A chieftain possessed a daughter of exceeding comeliness, and she was beset by a multitude of ardent admirers. Each night, she received a visit from a young man whose identity remained shrouded in mystery, causing her considerable consternation. Resolved to unravel this enigma, she contrived a scheme. Placing red pigment proximate to her divan, she awaited his arrival. As he crept onto her bedchamber, she surreptitiously immersed her hand within the pigment. During their subsequent embrace, she deliberately imprinted crimson marks upon his dorsal aspect.
Upon the morrow, she did instruct her father to summon all the eligible young gentlemen to a ball, to be held forthwith before his tent. They duly assembled, and the entire village did convene to witness the spectacle. She, with keen observation, scrutinised each arrival, seeking the telltale crimson marks of her own making. As she pivoted, her gaze fell upon one of her father's canine companions, bearing the aforementioned red marks upon its dorsal region. This untoward discovery did fill her with profound unhappiness, and she retreated forthwith into her tent, thereby precipitating the dissolution of the aforementioned dance.
On the subsequent day, she ventured into the woodland environs proximal to the encampment, leading the canine upon a tether. She inflicted corporeal chastisement upon the creature, whereupon it did, at length, sever the ligature and abscond. She was thereby rendered exceedingly disconsolate, and several lunar cycles thereafter, she delivered forth seven whelps. She did enjoin her maternal progenitor to extirpate the litter, but the aforementioned progenitor, possessed of a more clement disposition, did construct a diminutive shelter for their succour. The whelps commenced to augment in stature, and occasionally, under cover of nocturnality, the aged canine would pay them visitation. After a protracted interval, the woman did evince an interest in the creatures, and did, upon occasion, engage in sportive diversion with them. When they had attained sufficient magnitude to permit unfettered locomotion, the aged canine did arrive and convey them hence.
Upon the morrow, when the woman did seek them out, she found them to be departed. She espied the tracks of a prodigious dog, together with sundry smaller prints, and did follow them at a remove. Her heart was heavy with sorrow, and she wept. Returning to her mother, she declared, 'Mother, fashion for me seven pairs of moccasins. I shall pursue the little ones, seeking them out wheresoever they may be'.
Her mother did craft seven pairs of moccasins, and the woman set forth, tracking them with diligence. At length, in the distance, she beheld a tent. The youngest child approached her and conveyed thus, 'Mother, father desires that thou shouldst return. We are going home. Thou art forbidden to come'.
She retorted, 'Nay! Whither thou goest, I shall go'. She took up the little one and carried him unto the tent. Upon entering, she perceived a young man, who bestowed upon her no heed. He proffered her a modicum of meat and drink, which, howsoever much she consumed, did not diminish. She secured the little pup to her girdle with a string. On the subsequent morn, she was left solitary, and the tent had vanished. She followed the tracks and encountered them once more. Four times did this transpire in like manner. Yet upon the fourth occasion, the tracks did cease altogether.
She did elevate her gaze towards the celestial vault. There, lo and behold, she perceived her seven whelps. They had, ineluctably, metamorphosed into seven resplendent stars, 'yclept the Pleiades.
