If you have read the story of "The Early Cave-men," tell how the
cave that was flooded was made.
Can you think of any other way in which a cave might be made?
If you have ever seen a shallow hole in a cliff, see if you can
find out how it was made. If such a hole was made in a very soft
rock what would happen to it? What would happen to a hole made in
a hard rock?
See if you can find a piece of limestone. What do we use limestone
for?
If we wanted a house of limestone, what would we do to get it? When
the Cave-men wanted a limestone house, what did they do?
_Chew-chew_
Chew-chew was the oldest woman in the cave at the Fork of the River.
She was not as strong as she once had been; but she was still able to
lead the women in their work. Her sons' wives carried the heaviest
burdens, but Chew-chew still carried heavy loads.
Chew-chew was the wisest woman in the cave. When the other women did
not know what to do, they always asked Chew-chew. The bravest men were
always glad to get Chew-chew's advice. The children thought nobody
could tell such stories as Chew-chew told.
Chew-chew and all of her children belonged to the Horse clan. All the
children in those days took the clan name of their mother. Chew-chew's
sons had captured wives from the Reindeer clan. And so the children in
Chew-chew's cave belonged to the Reindeer clan. It thus happened that
in every cave there were people of different clans. But since
Chew-chew was the oldest woman in the cave, we shall call the people
at the Fork of the River by the name of the Horse clan.
[Illustration: _Chew-chew telling stories to Fleetfoot._]
Chew-chew often told the children about her first home. She told them
about the cave near the River of Snow, which was much like the cave
which sheltered them. She told them about the wide shelving rocks
which were like the ones above their cave. And she told how frightened
her people were the day a rock fell near the mouth of their cave.
No one knew at the time what made the rock fall. No one knew there was
no need of being afraid. Some one said that the god of the cliff was
angry and that he had pushed the rock down. Everybody believed the
story. So nobody dared go near the cave.
But the Cave-men needed a shelter. So they offered gifts to the god of
the cliffs. When they thought he was satisfied, they all went back to
the cave. And after a while they used the big rock as a table for
their work.
Chew-chew wanted the children to grow to be brave and wise. So she
told them stories of the bravest and wisest people of her clan. She
told them stories about their grandfathers who were the heroes of the
olden times. And Fleetfoot never grew tired of hearing about the
wonderful things which his grandfathers did.
And so Chew-chew taught the children all she thought they ought to
know. And they looked into her eyes and listened to all that she said.
#THINGS TO DO#
_If there are cliffs or shelving rocks near by, go and see them.
Find places where you think caves may form. Find out why it is that
the rocks shelve. Why does a shelving rock sometimes break and fall
to the ground?_
_Model the cliffs which you find. Model a cave which is formed in a
cliff._
_Tell a story which you think Chew-chew might have told to the
children._
_Play one of these plays:_--
_Chew-chew telling stories to the children._
_What the people did when the rock fell near the mouth of the
cave._
_Draw a picture of something which you have played._