Belle Wiley

“ So all of the men went into the forest and soon came upon Rago and Goni, who were sitting on the ground, with their mother and baby sister.
“Did you call?” asked the leader.
“Yes,” answered their mother. “Will you take us with you?
“We should like to join your clan.”
“Yes,” said the leader, “we shall be glad to have you.”
“Shall we have someone to play with?” asked Rago.
“Yes, there are many boys and [51] girls in our clan,” answered the leader.
“You are very brave,” said Rago. “I watched you drive the huge rhinoceros to the edge of the cliff.” ”

“ One strong Tree-dweller woman was feeding the fire with huge cedar logs.
Some of the young boys were playing that a cave bear had come suddenly upon them.
They had make-believe torches with which they were pretending to frighten the fierce bear.
They all stopped and looked at Rago and Goni and their mother, who had baby sister in her arms.
Baby sister began to cry when she saw so many people.
Goni clutched Rago’s arm.
[59] “I am afraid, Rago,” said Goni.
Rago was frightened also. He didn’t go very near the fire.
“You need not be afraid,” said the leader. “The fire is our friend. ”

“ When he had skinned the rabbit he laid the skin on the ground to dry.
Then the sister and brother ate [39] the rabbit’s flesh, which Rago cut into strips.
“This is good,” said Goni, as she ate the raw flesh.
Rago cracked the bones with his stone hammer and sucked the marrow from them.
“Here is a fine bone for you, Goni,” said Rago. “You can crack it with your teeth.” ”

“ They looked carefully in all directions.
“See!” said Goni, “there are some wild horses, eating on the grassy plain beyond the forest.”
“See that huge cave bear just going into his cave,” cried Rago.
“He certainly does look fierce,” said Goni.
“I suppose he will sleep all day,” said Rago.
“Let us climb down,” said Goni.
[13] “Come,” said Rago, “I am ready.”
“Do not go far, children,” said their mother, “for it is still very [14] early and there are wild beasts about.”
“I must stay near by, to watch baby sister.”
[15] “All right, mother,” said the children as they climbed down the tree. ”

“ Rago and Goni weren’t a bit afraid because they were with these brave men.
“What is that?” asked Rago, pointing to the firebrand.
[52] “This is a fire-torch,” said the leader; “when we carry these we need not be afraid.
“Fire protects us from the wild beast.”
“And where do you get fire?” asked Rago.
“Not so very long ago we had a terrible storm in our forest. It thundered and lightened.
“The lightning set fire to the trees in the forest.
“At first we Tree-dwellers thought that the fire was a terrible monster. We were frightened and ran away from it. ”

“ Rago and Goni always slept in trees.
Really the trees were the only home Rago and Goni knew.
That night their mother had [4] selected beds in the oak trees, because the strong branches were woven together with vines.
These vines made good strong beds for the children.
Sometimes when there were no vines, the Tree-dwellers wove the [5] slender branches of the tall trees together.
This also made a strong bed to lie upon.
Very often the older Tree dwellers would just stretch themselves on a strong branch for the night.
They would tie themselves to the branch to keep from falling. ”

“ It was so near that the fire scorched it.
“When Strong-arm ate the squirrel’s meat it tasted so good that he told the other people in the clan about it.
“Since then we often roast our meat because we like it better than raw meat.”
“Do you like roasted meat, mother?” asked Rago.
“Here is a piece of meat for you, baby sister,” said Goni.
“Come, sit down with us,” said the children.
“Strong-arm has something to show us.”
[62] Strong-arm was sitting near the fire with the other Tree-dwellers about him. ”

“ The children ran toward Rago and Goni and pushed them toward the fire.
“It will not hurt you,” they cried.
“It will keep you warm, and protect you from the wild beasts.
“See, here is some roasted squirrel’s meat which you may have.
“Taste it and see how good it is.”
[60] Rago had never eaten roasted meat before.
“It is good,” said Rago. “I have never eaten roasted meat before.
“How did you learn that meat could be roasted?”
“One day, Strong-arm, the [61] leader of our clan, threw down a squirrel near the fire. ”

“ Rago and Goni lived among the tall trees on the wooded hill near the river.
They lived with their mother and baby sister.
[2] Rago was twelve years old and Goni was seven.
Baby sister was much younger. She was too little to take care of herself.
Mother always carried her little girl with her. ”

“ So the boys gathered the rushes and sat down upon the ground to make the basket.
Long-head wove the rushes together for the bottom of the basket.
[84] When he had tied the ends together at the top, he wove around the sides, until the basket was deep enough. ”