What do you think the Cave-men will do with
Sabre-tooth’s skin?
What will they do with his teeth and claws?
What will they do with his flesh?
Can you think of what they might do with the bones?
How do you think they learned to cook food?
_Preparations for the Feast_
How excited all the people on the hills were when they knew that
Sabre-tooth had been killed!
Everybody wanted to see him.
Young and old crowded around to see the monster as he lay stretched out
on the ground.
They gazed at the creature in silence.
They admired his rich tawny stripes.
Not a man on the hills had ever before been able to get such a skin.
They all wished that they might have it, but they knew that it belonged
to Strongarm.
They examined the two large sabre teeth.
They felt of the smaller teeth and claws.
At length the men began to quarrel about the trophies, but Strongarm
waved them back.
He claimed one sabre tooth for himself and allowed the other to go to
the brave old man.
When Strongarm spoke the men kept silent, for they knew that the
trophies belonged to the bravest men.
[Illustration: _The two large sabre teeth_]
But they were given a share in the smaller teeth and claws.
While they were loosening them with stone hammers, the women were
hunting for their stone knives.
They were soon busy taking off Sabre-tooth’s beautiful skin.
When the heavy skin was off, they began to get ready for the feast.
They ate pieces of raw flesh as they worked, and tossed pieces to the
men and boys.
They were all too hungry to wait for the feast.
Besides, they were used to eating raw meat.
But they had learned how to cook meat at this time.
They had learned to roast meat in hot ashes.
At first they roasted the animal in its skin, but now they knew a
better way.
They skinned the animal and cut out the ribs; then they buried them in
the hot ashes.
They covered the ashes with hot coals.
[Illustration: _A stone hammer_]
[Illustration: _A stone ax_]
They cut slices of meat with their stone knives and put them on
roasting sticks.
Then they held these sticks over the hot coals just as we sometimes do
to-day.