The First Days of Man, as Narrated Quite Simply for Young ReadersKummer, Frederic Arnold
General
The First Days of Man, as Narrated Quite Simply for Young Readers
Kummer, Frederic Arnold
Cave dwellers -- Juvenile literature; Prehistoric peoples -- Juvenile literature
"So that he can protect himself against his enemies. When I took away
his tail, you said he would either starve, or be eaten up. Well, he
hasn't starved, and I can't let him be eaten up. He will have plenty of
enemies, before he gets through, and if he doesn't know how to fight,
they will destroy him."
"Will this thing you call Love help him to fight?" asked the Sun.
"Yes. He will fight twice as hard, because of his love for his wife and
child. If you don't believe it, just wait and see."
CHAPTER VI
ADH'S FIRST FIGHT
WHEREVER he went, Adh carried about with him a club. He had found
himself a new one, now that his first was broken, and this new club
was short and heavy, with a great hard knob on the end of it, as big
as his two fists. He had broken it from the limb of a tree, and rubbed
and polished it on the rocky floor of the cave until it was hard and
smooth. Besides the club, he had made himself a long straight spear,
with the end of it rubbed to a point against the rocks. He used the
spear for getting fish, and had become so skilful that he hardly ever
missed them.
One night, when the cold rains were over, and the trees in the valley
were covered with fresh new leaves, Adh was sitting on a flat rock in
front of his cave, eating a large fish.
He was not thinking of anything, except how good the fish tasted, when
suddenly his quick ears heard a sound, and looking up he saw a great
beast, like a bear, covered with hair, making its way slowly up the
rocky hillside toward him.
It was a huge, clumsy animal, much larger than himself, but it walked
on all fours, snuffing the air as though it smelt the fish Adh had been
eating. The Ape-Man had never seen such a creature before.
The hair on Adh's neck stood straight up, for he was very much
frightened, and his first thought was to run away as fast as his legs
would carry him. Then he remembered his wife and child, lying asleep
inside the cave, and instead of running away, he picked up some heavy
stones and threw them at the oncoming enemy.
One of the stones hit the beast on the shoulder, but instead of
stopping, it gave a grunt of rage and came on faster than ever,
straight toward the cave.
Adh picked up his club from where it lay on the rock beside him and
stood before the door of the cave, chattering and screaming with anger
and fear. His wife, awakened by the noise, came out of the cave and
stood just behind him, holding the young one in her arms, and also
uttering shrill cries.
The creature's black snout, with small fiery red eyes, came slowly
forward until Adh could feel its breath on his face. Then, just as the
beast started to rear up on its hind legs, Adh raised his club, and
springing forward, struck the animal across the nose with all his might.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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