The Tree-Dwellers Part 16

He chased some of the animals home to their dens, but he never went to the caves.

Sabre-tooth and the cave-bear were too large and fierce.

The hyenas were small, but they lived in packs.

So Bodo learned to let them alone.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_Bodo would build a fire at the mouth of the hole_"]

But he was not afraid of the gophers and badgers.

He chased them to their holes and tried to smoke them out.

He would build a fire at the mouth of a hole.

Then he would stand with a club in his hand and watch.

He would watch until the animal came out.

Sometimes he had to wait a long time.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Bodo's club_]

But in the end he nearly always got meat to eat.

One day he was hunting squirrels.

He chased a squirrel to its hole in a tree.

Then he tried to smoke it out.

He waited a long time in vain, so at last he set fire to the tree.

But the rain soon came and his fire went out.

So Bodo struck the tree with his club.

The trunk gave way.

Bodo peeped into the hollow tree.

He wanted to find the squirrel.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_He put in his hand and pulled the squirrel out_"]

It lay there perfectly still.

He put in his hand and pulled it out.

It had been killed by the fire and smoke.

He began to eat the warm flesh.

He wondered why it was so hot and tender.

Bodo did not know then that the flesh had been roasted.

This was the first time that he had ever eaten cooked food.

Not long afterward all the people learned to roast meat.

THINGS TO DO

_Draw a picture of Bodo hunting with a firebrand._ _See if you can find trees that have hollows in them._ _How do you think that the hollows were made?_ _Find out whether there are any animals near you that live in hollow trees._

XXVIII.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Do you think that the people of the fire clan would help one another in time of danger?

Can you think why people began to work together instead of hunting alone?

_How Bodo Saved One-Ear's Life_

One day One-Ear was hunting gophers on the gra.s.sy upland.

His torch went out.

So he tried to get back to the wooded hills without being seen.

At first he crept through the tall gra.s.s.

But he soon came to a place where the gra.s.s did not cover him.

He hurried on as fast as he could.

He had almost reached the wooded hills when a cave-bear crossed his path.

The bear saw him.

One-Ear shouted for help, and then ran as he had never run before.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_They saw Bodo rush up to the cave-bear and wave a torch in his face_"]

But the cave-bear overtook him.

He soon had One-Ear in his embrace.

One-Ear remembered nothing more, but the men who heard him saw what happened.

They saw the cave-bear grasp him with his huge paws.

Then they saw Bodo rush up to the cave-bear and wave a torch in his face.

The cave-bear let go his hold.

The frightened beast ran off to his cave.

The men came up in time to help Bodo raise One-Ear from the ground.

They helped him back to the wooded hills.

His wounds were soon healed, but he always carried the marks of that cave-bear.

That was the day that he lost his ear.

We have called him One-Ear before, but the fire clan never called him One-Ear until after that day.

THINGS TO DO

_Find a stick that will make a good torch and make one._ _Draw a picture of One-Ear and the cave-bear._

XXIX.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

How do you think the fire clan spent the evening?

If they could not say what they wished to say, how do you think they would make themselves understood?

How do you think that they learned to hunt together?