CHURAK'S PALACE

[Churak]

Sitting Bull had 3 wives who were always quarreling about who should
be number one. One was pretty, one was clever and one was very strong.
Finally, tired of their squabbles he told his medicine man to resolve
the issue.
The medicine man took the wives to his teepee where he had gathered
pelts and hides from all over the world. He told each wife to choose
a hide and sit on it in front of the sacred campfire. The clever wife
chose a pelt of thick white fur, the strong wife chose a hide of orange
and black stripes and the pretty wife chose a hide of rubbery grey
leather. The medicine man then pointed to the pretty wife and said,
"Behold chief, your number one wife."
The chief was pleased, but the other two wives demanded an
explanation.
The medicine man said, "Even the ancient ones knew that the squaw
of the hippopotamus is equal to the sum of the squaws on the other
two hides."