The Tree-Dwellers Part 6

There were larger pigs that had lost their stripes.

They, too, stayed with their mothers.

There were wild boars about three years old.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_There were larger pigs that had lost their stripes_"]

They did not go far from their mothers.

They were not strong enough yet to protect themselves.

There were many full-grown hogs.

There were fierce boars with long tusks.

Sharptooth watched them eating acorns.

A pack of hyenas was watching, too.

They were hiding in the underbrush.

They were lying in wait for the smaller pigs.

But the old hogs scented danger.

They gathered the little pigs together.

The stronger ones stood in a circle around them.

Their white tusks glistened in the sunlight.

They were ready to fight for their young.

The hyenas were afraid.

They sneaked away in the underbrush.

The little pigs were safe.

THINGS TO DO

_Show how the wild hogs protected the little pigs._ _Show how the hyenas came up and sneaked away._ _Cut some wild hogs from paper._

XII.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Do you think that the Tree-dwellers had schools?

What did their children need to know?

How would they teach them?

Have you ever seen a cat teaching her kittens?

Have you ever tried to teach a baby?

What can you teach the baby to do?

What do you need to have done for you?

What can you do to help yourself?

What can you do to help others?

_How the Tree-dwellers Taught their Children_

Sharptooth's baby had grown to be a large boy.

He was now about seven years old.

His mother called him Bodo.

Bodo did not have to wash his face.

He did not have to wear any clothes.

He had no clothes to wear.

He did not have to go to school.

There were no schools then.

But he learned a great many things.

His mother was his first teacher.

She taught him where to find the ripe berries.

She taught him where to dig for roots.

She taught him how to catch birds and squirrels.

She taught him how to hide from the wild animals.

She taught him to keep so still that he might be taken for a hump on a log.

She taught him all that she knew.

Bodo learned his lessons well.

He always obeyed his mother.

Sometimes he saw other Tree-dwellers.

He had seen them s.n.a.t.c.h food from his mother's hand.

He had seen them help her, too.

But usually each Tree-dweller took care of himself.

Bodo was learning to take care of himself.

He was beginning to feel that he was almost a man.

One day he caught a pig without any help.

The next day his mother let him hunt all alone.

She knew now that he could find his own food.

After that Bodo always hunted alone.

Sometimes he saw his mother, but she no longer found food for him.

She had another baby to care for, so Bodo knew that he must take care of himself.

When the Tree-dwellers lived n.o.body ever thought of taking care of a child who was able to find his own food.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "_Bodo caught a pig without any help_"]

THINGS TO DO

_Show how you teach your baby brother or sister to walk._ _Draw the picture._ _Show how Sharptooth taught Bodo._ _Tell a story of how Bodo caught a little wild pig that had wandered away from its mother._

XIII.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

What do you think Bodo would do when he left his mother?

Who would teach him now?

Do you think that he could find birds' eggs?

What do you think he would do with them?