Sharptooth's baby had grown to be a large boy. He was now about seven years old. His mother called him Bodo. Bodo did not have to wash his face. He did not have to wear any clothes. He had no clothes to wear. He did not have to go to school. There were no schools then. But he learned a great many things. His mother was his first teacher. She taught him where to find the ripe berries. She taught him where to dig for roots. She taught him how to catch birds and squirrels. She taught him how to hide from the wild animals. She taught him to keep so still that he might be taken for a hump on a log. She taught him all that she knew. Bodo learned his lessons well. He always obeyed his mother. Sometimes he saw other Tree-dwellers. He had seen them snatch food from his mother's hand. He had seen them help her, too. But usually each Tree-dweller took care of himself. Bodo was learning to take care of himself. He was beginning to feel that he was almost a man. One day he caught a pig without any help. The next day his mother let him hunt all alone. She knew now that he could find his own food. After that Bodo always hunted alone. Sometimes he saw his mother, but she no longer found food for him. She had another baby to care for, so Bodo knew that he must take care of himself. When the Tree-dwellers lived nobody ever thought of taking care of a child who was able to find his own food. [Illustration: "_Bodo caught a pig without any help_"] THINGS TO DO _Show how you teach your baby brother or sister to walk._ _Draw the picture._ _Show how Sharptooth taught Bodo._ _Tell a story of how Bodo caught a little wild pig that had wandered away from its mother._ XIII. THINGS TO THINK ABOUT What do you think Bodo would do when he left his mother? Who would teach him now? Do you think that he could find birds' eggs? What do you think he would do with them? Do you know any one who has a collection of birds' eggs? What would happen to the birds if we all made collections? How do birds help us? How do we help them? How can we coax them to live near us? [Illustration: "_The bear started up and growled_"] _Alone on the Wooded Hills_