Siren Soup

Sister Ruby Rosarita Mermaid decided to make a pot of chili out of the anasazi and pinto beans she had got­ten from the Old Man who lived with the Old Woman in the mountains. She talked to the beans all the while she cooked. She always talked to the food. “Beans, beans, we’re Mermaid Queens. Make this stew a healing brew.” —Church of the Old Mermaids