Chapter 5: An angry Goddess
Next day the Hunters went hunting again. The bear and goats had all been eaten now so it was time to replenish the villagers' food supplies. The Hunters were quite excited as Spear Maker had invented a new weapon. It consisted of a light hunting spear, with one of Father's sharp flint heads on it, and a sort of throwing device. This was a short piece of bone. The Hunter held it at one end and placed the handle of the spear in the other. The throwing device effectively made the Hunter's arm longer so he could throw his spear further. This meant there was less danger of being hurt by the animals they were chasing. If it worked successfully, it would help the Hunters no end.
Father and First Son left with the other Hunters at dawn. Youngest sleepily watched them go from his corner, where he lay snuggled up with Flint. He drifted back to sleep, dreaming of playing with a real live puppy that looked exactly the same as Flint.
All too soon it was time to get up. Mother shook him gently awake.
"Remember, today we must plant the seeds for the bread making plant," she told him as he stretched and yawned.
"Boring !" thought Youngest to himself. He didn't enjoy planting and digging and things like that, although he knew how important they were for the village. They never managed to grow a great deal of the bread making plant, but even so, it saved them from spending a lot of time and effort seeking and then gathering the grains from wild plants. However, Youngest didn't say anything to Mother. She probably found it boring too, but she never complained. Everyone had to help in feeding the village.
After a meal of some bread and berries, the women and children gathered together on the plain in front of the settlement. The Hunters had already cleared an area of ground. The Birth-givers were carrying weighted sticks. These were sharp sticks with stones tied to the top with thin strips of leather. The extra weight made it easier to press the sticks into the ground to make a hole for the seed. Then the children would drop a seed into each hole and cover it with earth again. It was tiring, hot work. Usually once the seeds were planted, they were left to grow on their own. The Birth-givers simply returned when the ears of corn were ripe and harvested them.
But quite often the corn hadn't grown well. However, Father had told his family that one of the Hunters, who was interested in plants, thought that if they watered and maybe even spread some animal dung over them, the plants might grow better. He said he had noticed that wild plants grew better in rich, damp soil than in the dry soil. Some of the Hunters had laughed at him. "Mother Goddess makes the plants grow, not us!" they reminded him. But Father told Mother that he thought that other Hunter was probably right - he'd noticed the same thing himself. Probably the plants needed nourishing, the way people did. Mother agreed and said she would ask the other Birth-givers to help her water the plants sometimes.
Youngest was soon very bored. He obediently trailed along behind Mother dropping seeds in the holes, but he kept getting distracted. He wasted quite a lot of seeds. Mother got cross.
"Oh, get along with you, useless boy!" she scolded angrily. "Hazel Eyes, you take over. We'll have an empty field if Youngest carries on like this."
Hazel Eyes smiled in a superior way at Youngest, who retaliated by sticking his tongue out at her. Then he grabbed Flint, whom he'd placed safely out of the way at the edge of the planting area, and ran off before Mother had a chance to change her mind.
Outside the field he found several of his friends hanging around. There were also some older boys that Youngest didn't know that well. At about twelve or thirteen summers of age, they were nearly old enough to be Hunters. They'd either been sent out by their mothers too or had sneaked off when no one was looking.
"Hi!" said one of the older boys as Youngest appeared. "Just in time! We've decided to go to the holy caves for a look around."
Youngest felt a surge of panic clutch his stomach. The holy caves! Only Hunters were allowed in there as they were very special places indeed. And besides, cave bears lived there too. But Youngest didn't want these other kids to think he was scared. So he shrugged nonchalantly and said "Fine!" But he gripped Flint a bit tighter.
The boys set off. A couple of them ran back to the village to collect some lamps and fire stones. Youngest knew there would be trouble when the grown-ups found out that lamps were missing. But for now he was starting to enjoy himself.
It was a hot sunny afternoon. The boys played around as they walked through the thick oak woods, snatching some berries and nuts if they found them. Suddenly, ahead of them through the trees appeared a sheer ridge of rock. This was the cliff of the magical caves. Youngest gasped at the sight. The mighty wall of rock soared up into the sky. This truly must be a magical place.
The path began to take them steeply down. The trees grew smaller and stunted. There were lots of boulders lying around now. One of the older boys said the Mother Goddess threw these down from the cliffs sometimes. Youngest hoped she wouldn't throw any while they were there! They crept further through the undergrowth towards the limestone cliff and then the cave openings appeared before them. Youngest hadn't really known what to expect but he certainly hadn't expected such a small, gloomy entrances. The boys gathered round one and peered in. They could feel the cool air of the cave already. It was damp all around the entrance. The boys were all very quiet.
"Right then!" said someone. "Time to light the lamps!"
Lamp Maker's son stepped forward. He had the fire stones. These were two pieces of quartz, one fairly large and the other smaller.
"Get me some dry grass," he ordered importantly. Long Legs darted off to fetch some. Youngest moved in as close as he dared. He loved to see the flames come alive.
Lamp Maker's son squatted down. Long Legs came hurrying back with a handful of dry grass. Youngest wondered where he'd found that in this damp place. Lamp Maker's son nodded his thanks. He put some dry grass down and then put the larger stone on top of it. Steadying it with one hand, he took the smaller stone in his other hand, then crack! he whacked the small stone down onto the other. A tiny chip of quartz flew off, but no sparks. Lamp Maker's son tried again, and again.
"I thought you said you could make fire," grumbled one of the older boys.
"I can!" retorted Lamp Maker's son crossly. "But it isn't easy."
He whacked the stone down angrily, and this time a tiny spark flew off. It landed in the nest of dry grass. Lamp Maker immediately cupped his hands around the small, struggling flame. It flickered for an instant and almost died, but then it began to burn more strongly.
"Quickly, light the lamps!" called Lamp Maker's son. Two lamps were held out. One was made from a piece of big, thick bone that had been shaped like a big spoon. The rounded part of it was packed with thick animal fat. It had a wick made from twisted vegetable fibres. The other lamp was the same shape, but had been made from soft stone. The wicks sputtered alight.
All the boys smiled.
"Off we go then!" said Lamp Maker's son. He led the way to the entrance. Youngest and Long Legs followed him closely. Youngest couldn't help shivering as he left the warm daylight world behind and crawled into the dark passage of the cave. He hoped they wouldn't upset the Mother Goddess by being so bold. He held Flint tightly to his chest.
Youngest's eyes soon got used to the gloom. To start with the cave was bare and dull. The lamps cast their flickering light on the walls and roof, but there was nothing much to see.
"I don't see what's so special about these caves, do you?" he whispered to Long Legs beside him. "They're the same as the food shelter caves by the village!"
Lamp Maker's son heard them. "Just you wait!" he grinned. "We're nearly there!"
As he spoke they turned a sharp corner and stepped into the hugest cavern Youngest had ever seen. On all sides strange rock formations loomed over them - long needles of rock hung from the cave roof and tall, pointed teeth of rock protruded up from the floor. Youngest could see long, thin pillars of rock that stretched from the floor right up to the ceiling.
"Roaring thunder!" he breathed, but it was a totally inadequate thing to say. There were simply no words to express the beauty and weirdness of this place.
Everyone looked around in wonder. Only Lamp Maker's son and one of the other older boys had been there before, so it was all new to the other children.
"And that's not all!" grinned Lamp Maker's son again. "Come and see the paintings."
"But we're not meant to see those until we are Hunters!" protested Red Hair.
"Sissy! No one will ever know we've been" retorted Lamp Maker's son. "You can stay here if you like, but the rest of us are going. Come on."
He set off towards a corner of the cavern. They all followed except Red Hair. He stood hesitantly for a moment. He knew they were doing something they shouldn't. He knew he should go back outside. But it quickly became dark as the boys with the lamps moved away. Red Hair was terrified. "Wait for me!" he called and hurried after the others as fast as he could. He slipped and banged his head as he went, but he didn't stop till he was back in the pool of light from the lamps.
Lamp Maker's son stopped before a small hole in the wall.
"We have to crawl along here," he announced. Youngest's heart sank. He didn't like the idea of that very much.
"Hey!" Long Legs was beside him. "This is really fun!"
"Yes, it is, isn't it," agreed Youngest half-heartedly. He didn't want his friends to think he was scared, like Red Hair. So reluctantly he dropped to all fours, still clasping Flint, and then squirmed through the tiny passage on his belly. Ugh! It was cold and damp and painful. Flint kept digging into him too. It seemed an age, but it could have only have been a few minutes, before the passage widened out and they could stand again. Youngest rubbed his sore elbows and knees while they waited for the other boys to come through.
"Now, come and see the paintings," said Lamp Maker's son. They followed him around another bend in the passage way, and then they all exclaimed together as Lamp Maker help up his lamp and revealed a smooth part of the cave wall covered in pictures of animals. These, Youngest knew, had been painted by Picture Maker. It was he who engraved figures of animals on some of the weapons and tools and who did these magical paintings which Youngest had heard so much about but never seen until now. They really were amazing. There were bison and horses, mammoths and bears. There were also a few shapes that Youngest didn't recognise.
"What are those?" he asked pointing to a sort of rounded, loopy blob.
"That's the Mother Goddess, you silly billy!" laughed Lamp Maker's son. "Look, that's her belly and that's her bottom and ..."
"Oh, I see now," said Youngest, embarrassed at his mistake.
They all looked around in admiration. The animals were so lifelike. You could see the hair on the mammoths and the breath of one of the bison. The paintings were colourful - black, red and brown.
"Look, what's this?" Red Hair was bending over some objects on the cave floor, below the paintings. Lamp Maker's son went over to see. He picked up a block of black rock. He peered at it and then tentatively rubbed it against the cave wall. The lump of manganese oxide left a smear of black.
"By the winds, it's Picture Maker's drawing rock," he cried. He looked back at the other things Red Hair had found. There was a pile of reddish powder on a flat stone.
"I bet this is paint," he said. He scooped a little powder into one hand and then spat on it. It mixed into a thick past.
"Look, I can paint now!" he boasted. Dipping a finger in the mixture, he drew a wavy line on the cave wall.
At once all the other boys clamoured to make paint too. Youngest pounced on the drawing rock that Lamp Maker's son had discarded in favour of the paint. He tried to draw White Tail but his effort didn't look much like a dog at all. Then he had an idea. He held Flint up against the wall and drew round him. The result was much better this time. Youngest felt very proud.
He glanced around at the others. Long Legs and Red Hair were making hand prints on the walls. They were smearing their hands with paint and pressing them against the wall, giggling as they did so. Lamp Maker's son had climbed up onto a boulder and was painting red blobs onto the roof of the cave. The others were scribbling away busily.
What would the Hunters say next time they came here and saw all these new drawings, Youngest wondered anxiously. But no one else seemed to be concerned so he carried on drawing too.
"I've found some mud over here," came a voice. Youngest looked up and saw Burnt Arm standing in a far corner of the cavern. "It's all squishy. I'm making foot prints!"
Youngest and Red Hair went over to see. Sure enough, on the damp rocky floor there was a hollow of mud. Burnt Arm was prancing around in it, making loads of footprints. Youngest and Red Hair joined in the fun, digging their toes into the cold mud.
Suddenly there came a low rumbling noise.
"What's that?" squealed Red Hair in fright.
"It's the Mother Goddess!" cried someone. "She's angry! Quick, let's go!"
The boys fled at once, pushing and shoving to get back through the tiny passage. In the crush, one of the lamps fell to the floor and broke. Now they had only one lamp between them and that one was growing fainter every minute. Youngest felt very scared indeed. He clung onto Flint to be sure that he didn't drop him in the panic.
Somehow or other they all managed to scramble out of the cave just as the other lamp burnt out. They all stood panting for a few moments, catching their breath after the mad dash. And then they heard another rumble, only this time it became deafeningly loud. The ground shook below their feet and a cloud of dust burst out of the cave entrance. Youngest and Long Legs clung to each other, too scared to run away like the others.
"By the moon!" whispered Youngest in a very shaky voice when the rumbling died away. "Whatever was that?"
Long Legs cautiously walked towards the cave entrance. He peered into the gloom.
"Hey, Youngest, come and see!" he called. Youngest crept forwards to join his friend.
"Look into the cave now," instructed Long Legs.
Youngest did.
"I can't see the cave anymore," he shrugged, puzzled. "Just a pile of rocks and stuff."
"Yes, the cave has gone," agreed Long Legs. "The Mother Goddess has made rocks to fall to block it up. I guess we went a bit far with our messing around."
"I think you're right," nodded Youngest, pale and shaking. "It's lucky we got out when we did or ... or ..." His voice trailed away. It was too terrible to think what would have happened if they hadn't got out of the cave in time. But at least this way no-one would ever find out what they'd been doing in the cave.
"I'm going to make sure I never upset the Goddess again," promised Long Legs grimly.
"Me too!" said Youngest.
They turned and walked silently home. They saw the other boys back in the village but they didn't dare speak about what had happened. Not one of them ever spoke about the afternoon's events again.