THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Why the Children Began to Eat Boiled Meat

The more Chew-chew thought about the bubbling sound, the more she wanted to hear it again. She wondered what the god wanted to say, and if he was asking for food. She wondered if she could make friends with him by giving him something to eat. Chew-chew talked with Eagle-eye and at length they tried to make friends with the god. They prepared a place for the water by making a skin-lined hole. Eagle-eye poured the water into the hole, while Chew-chew dropped in a piece of meat. Then they looked and listened for a sign, but no sign was made. They tried it again and again, but still there was no sign.

At length Chew-chew thought of the hot stones she had dropped when she heard the voice. So she and Eagle-eye heated stones and dropped them into the water. As they did it they muttered prayers to the gods and asked them to protect the Cave-men.

Before the women had dropped many stones, the children crowded around. Nobody was frightened this time when the hissing sound was heard. But their eyes opened wide when the water began to bubble.

Chew-chew dropped the meat into the water as an offering to the god. Everybody watched as she dropped the meat. Everybody breathed more freely when the bubbling ceased. And Chew-chew said, “The god is pleased with the offering of meat.”

Many times after that Chew-chew dropped hot stones into the water, and offered meat to the god. But when she did it she never thought that she was cooking meat. She thought she was helping the Cave-men by winning the favor of the god.

Sometimes when the children were hungry, Chew-chew let them tear off strips of partly boiled meat. Sometimes she let them drink the broth from bone dippers and horns. The children liked to eat the boiled meat and to drink the rich broth. But they always thought the meat and broth were what the god had left.

THINGS TO DO

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