The Tree-Dwellers Part 13

The red monster still frightened them.

Whenever they saw it they ran away.

Bodo, too, was afraid of the fire.

So he tried to be good to it and thus make it his friend.

He gave it wood to eat.

He learned to go near it without getting hurt.

He learned to carry a burning branch.

Once he carried a firebrand to the old oak.

He put it in the hollow of the tree.

Then he gave it dry sticks that he found close by, and he watched it while it ate them.

As he stood looking at the fire, the sound of footsteps fell upon his ear.

He looked up to see who was pa.s.sing.

It was Sharptooth.

She was coming to the old oak tree.

As soon as she saw the fire, she ran.

Bodo called to her.

He asked her to come back.

Sharptooth was trembling, so that she could scarcely walk.

Bodo took her by the hand.

He led her to the fire.

He told her how he had made friends with it.

She listened to what he said, but she still seemed afraid.

Bodo wished to show that he was not afraid.

He looked puzzled a moment and then he said, "I am not going to sleep in the trees any more."

For a moment Sharptooth was speechless.

At length she opened her lips and spoke.

"The cave-bears will get you," was what she said.

But Bodo had thought of the bears.

"I am not afraid of the bears," he said.

"They run when they see me with fire. I am going to sleep at the foot of this tree."

Then Sharptooth was troubled.

She was anxious about Bodo.

She had taught him the best that she could.

But now he seemed to be risking his life.

She wondered how he could do it.

As it grew dark she climbed into a neighboring tree.

She was afraid to sleep in the old oak that night.

Bodo stayed on the ground beside the fire.

Sharptooth did not close her eyes.

She kept watch from a branch of the tree.

She knew the wild animals were out of their dens.

She saw their shadows among the trees.

When they saw the fire they turned and ran.

But Bodo stayed by the fire.

He was a brave boy, yet he could not sleep.

As long as he was awake he felt safe.

But he was afraid of what might happen if he went to sleep.

So he kept awake and fed the fire.

Sharptooth still kept watch from the tree.

At last she came down.

"Let me feed the fire, Bodo, while you sleep," she said.

Bodo had been yawning for some time.

He was glad to have a chance to rest.

So he slept while Sharptooth took his place.

She watched the fire cautiously at first.

Then she fed it and found that it did not hurt her.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_They lived by fire at the foot of the tree_"]

She liked the warmth that it gave.

She enjoyed the pleasant firelight.

She saw that it was their friend.

After that Sharptooth and Bodo did not sleep in trees.

They lived by the fire at the foot of a tree.

Sometimes their home was by the old oak.

Sometimes it was in other places.

But it was always where they carried the fire.

THINGS TO DO

_Tell how to make a fire._ _What does a fire need in order to burn?_ _Put a tumbler over a lighted candle and watch to see what happens._ _Why does the light go out?_ _Light the candle again and see if you can find out what it is that burns._

XXIV.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

What do you think the other Tree-dwellers did when they heard of the fire Sharptooth and Bodo had?

Does fire ever do any harm nowadays? Why do we need to be careful in using fire?

_How the Tree-dwellers Formed a Clan_

The next night One-Ear stayed with Sharptooth and Bodo at the foot of the old oak.

Then other Tree-dwellers came.

At first they were afraid just as Sharptooth had been.

But they, too, soon learned that the fire was their friend.

So they sat around the fire each evening.

They talked about the wild animals they had seen.

As long as they sat by the fire, they felt safe.

So they came to the fireplace each night.

They began to live together.

They formed a clan.

Their clan was the fire clan.

The women with babies stayed near the fire.

All the others went farther away.