One day when the boys were talking together, Greybeard came to Fleetfoot and said, "The time you have waited for has come. Prepare for your final test."
This was glad news for Fleetfoot. At last he was to have a chance to prove himself worthy to rank with the men. Flaker rejoiced with Fleetfoot, yet he could not help feeling sad.
The Bison clan had decided that Fleetfoot should go to a quiet spot.
There he was to fast and pray until he received a sign from the G.o.ds.
And when he had done their bidding, he was to return for his final test. This test once pa.s.sed, Fleetfoot would be counted one of the men.
Before Fleetfoot went, Greybeard instructed him in the use of prayers and charms. Antler gave him a magic powder and showed him how to prepare it from herbs. And the men told him of their tests, and the signs they received from the G.o.ds.
Flaker had listened to every word that Greybeard had said. He had thought of all the dangers which Fleetfoot might encounter. And he wondered if there was not a way to protect Fleetfoot from harm.
Flaker knew that the reindeer dance was a prayer of the Cave-men to their G.o.ds. He knew each movement in the dance was to help the G.o.ds understand. He felt sure that the G.o.ds would help Fleetfoot if he could make them understand. And so he determined to make a prayer which Fleetfoot could carry with him.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _The engraving of a cave-bear on a pebble._]
Perhaps you will think that the prayer Flaker made was a very strange prayer. But many people in all parts of the world have made such prayers. It was a prayer to the Big Bear of the mountains. Flaker scratched it upon a smooth pebble with a flint point. It was a picture of the Big Bear, and Flaker made it so that Fleetfoot could control the actions of the Big Bear.
When Flaker gave the prayer to Fleetfoot he told him to guard it with great care. Fleetfoot took the prayer and promised to keep it near his side. Then the boys made an offering to the Big Bear and asked him to guide the way.
When at length Fleetfoot was ready to start, Greybeard spoke these parting words: "Forget not the offerings to the G.o.ds, and remember they must be made with true words and a faithful heart."
#THINGS TO DO#
_Show in your sand-box where you think the mountains were. Model them and show that they were almost covered with snow. Show good places for neighboring hunting grounds._
_Tell why game might be scarce in some hunting grounds and plenty in others._
_Dramatize this story. Draw pictures which will show what happened.
See if you can engrave some animal upon wood or soft stone._
x.x.xI
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Where do you think Fleetfoot will go while he is away from home?
Find a picture of a glacier, and see if you can tell how a glacier is made. In what places does the snow stay all the year round? If a great deal of snow falls each year, what do you think will become of it?
Find out whether there have ever been glaciers near where you live.
If there have, see if you can find any traces of them.
_Fleetfoot Fasts and Prays_
None of the Cave-men knew where Fleetfoot would go to fast and pray.
He scarcely knew himself, but all the time he kept thinking of the Big Bear of the Mountains. And so he turned his steps toward the high mountain peaks.
He followed the bison trail, for that was a sure guide. It led up the river a long way, and then skirted a dark forest. He crossed the river and went to the forest. There he sought out a lonely spot where he stayed several days.
As soon as he had made a fire, Fleetfoot made offerings to the G.o.ds.
His offerings were fish he caught in the river and birds he caught in snares.
Although Fleetfoot offered meat to the G.o.ds, he did not taste it himself. When he was ready to sleep, he rubbed a pinch of wood-ashes upon his breast and prayed thus to the fire G.o.d: "O fire G.o.d, hover near me while I sleep. Hear my prayer. Grant good dreams to me this night. Grant me a sign that thou wilt aid me. Lead my feet in the right way."
The first night Fleetfoot had no dreams. The second night he dreamed he was a child again and that he lived in his old home. The third night he dreamed of the Big Bear of the Mountains. He thought that he climbed the mountain crags and went to the Big Bear"s cave. He dreamed that the Big Bear spoke to him and asked him whence he came. Then strange people seemed to come out of the cave and wave their weapons in a threatening way. After that Fleetfoot remembered nothing except that the Big Bear seemed like a friend.
At daybreak Fleetfoot awoke, and at once he thought of his dream. He took the pebble from a little bag. Then he made an offering to the bear as he spoke these words: "O Big Bear! O mighty hunter! Show me the way to thy caverns. Show me where thou keepest the game. Give me strength to meet all dangers. Fill my enemies with fear."
Then, remembering what Greybeard had said, Fleetfoot gave offerings to all the animals he hoped to kill. In this way he thought the G.o.ds would help him when he went out to hunt.
As soon as the offerings were made, Fleetfoot looked for a sign from the G.o.ds. The winds began to blow. Dark clouds began to climb the sky.
Then the thunders pealed through the heavens.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _A stone borer, used in making a necklace._]
Fleetfoot, faint from his long fast, took courage from these signs.
The winds seemed to be messengers bearing his prayer to the G.o.ds. The dark clouds seemed to be the enemies he would meet on the way. The peals of thunder sounded to him like promises of strength. The bright lightning in the sky flashed a message of hope. A flock of swallows circling near seemed to point the way. And so Fleetfoot refreshed himself and started toward the mountains.
It would take too long to tell all the things that happened to Fleetfoot before he returned. One of the first things he did was to kill a cave-bear and take the trophies.
When Fleetfoot started out again, he wore a necklace of bear"s teeth.
He wore them partly because they were trophies and partly because they were charms.
Fleetfoot followed the trail along the edge of the forest until he reached a ridge of hills. Behind him lay the River of Stones and all the places he had known. Before him lay a pretty valley about a day"s journey across. To his left the snow-covered mountain peaks shone with a dazzling light.
He stopped only to sleep and to make offerings to the G.o.ds. Fleetfoot was full of courage, and yet he was weak from his fast. He longed to be strong against all foes. He longed to be a great hunter. He longed to strengthen his people and to meet the dangers which threatened his clan.
At midday he reached the river, where he sat down to rest. Then he went up the little river, which flowed over a rocky bed.
Fleetfoot followed the river until he came to a spot where it seemed to end. Great ma.s.ses of snow and ice covered the river bed. Farther up they reached the top of the cliffs and stretched out into the valley.
It was the melting of this glacier which fed the little stream.
Fleetfoot stood and gazed at the glacier with its rough billows of snow and ice. He looked at the green forests which stretched to its very edge. He looked at the great ice sheets which covered the mountain peaks. He looked at the bare crags which jutted out from the rocks. And he wondered if the Big Bear"s cave was in one of these rocks.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "_It was the melting of this glacier which fed the little stream._"]
Then he crossed the stream and approached the cliff on the opposite side. There he found a cave, and he looked about, but he found no one at home.
As Fleetfoot was looking about, he began to think of Chew-chew.
Everything upon which his eyes rested seemed to speak of her. And yet he could not remember seeing the place before.
Night came again and Fleetfoot slept. Again he saw the Big Bear in his dreams. Again he saw the enemies of his clan, and again he dreamed of his old home.
For several days Fleetfoot explored the country near the mountains. He found several good hunting grounds, but he did not find the Big Bear.