The village chief was very pleased to have the new Birth-givers for his clan. They had brought new blood and new skills to his tribe, both of which were very valuable. He knew that he must thank the Mother Goddess for this good luck.
But the luck hadn't run out. A few days later, some of the villagers were awoken by a lot of noise coming from the river. A few Hunters, including Father and First Son, grabbed their spears and went to investigate. There in the shallow water close to the bank was a mammoth with its tusks tangled in a fallen tree. It must have got caught up when it came to drink. Father sent First Son back to the village to get more Hunters and tell them to bring their new throwing spears.
Most of the tribe hurried down to the river to see the spectacle. It was the first time Youngest had seen a real, live mammoth. He gazed in amazement at the huge creature. It was enormous and looked so fierce with its long hairy coat and huge sharp tusks.
He stood with Long Legs and Red Hair and watched as the Hunters attacked it. Standing on the bank, they rained their spears down on it. The mammoth roared with pain and struggled to free itself but it was stuck fast. Youngest almost felt sorry for the trapped animal, it was such a striking sight. But that one mammoth would feed the village for weeks, and the skin would clothe them all. The tusks and bones would be useful too, for weapons and tools.
The animal soon lay dead and then began the difficult task of dragging it out of the water. It took the Hunters most of the day to get the mammoth back to the bank. Then they began to skin it and carve up the flesh to carry it bit by bit to the village. Youngest and all the children spent the afternoon carrying meat up to the caves in baskets. The Birth-givers built a huge fire in the centre of the village to roast some of the meat that night. It would be a double celebration because tonight was also the new moon night and the new Birth-givers, whose names were Dawn and Cloud - rather strange names, Mother said - would be joined with their husbands. Youngest loved joinings because there was lots of music and dancing. The first bit of the ceremony was very dull - the Spirit Man said lots of funny sounding words. Apparently they were special words that the Mother Goddess understood. But once all that was over, then the fun began.
Sunset seemed a long time coming. Everyone had worked very hard all day, but they were about to get their reward. The mammoth meat had been roasting on the fire much of the afternoon and the village was filled with the most delicious smell. The Birth-givers had been collecting nuts and berries, and even some beautiful flowers to strew around the fire. The important Hunters, like the chief, Father, Healer Man and Spirit Man, put on their special clothes. These consisted of cloaks of pale, rich mountain lion skin, and special head dresses of skin with deer's antlers. Youngest hardly recognised his father, he looked so different. All the Hunters painted themselves with red and yellow paints. The two Hunters who were about to be joined to the Birth-givers were painted the most of all. They were more or less covered with paint. As for Dawn and Cloud, they were painted too, but more gracefully. They had been given jewellery made from bones and seashells by the two Hunters, and the Birth-givers had woven flowers into garlands for them. They looked beautiful, Youngest thought.
Just as the sun was about to dip out of sight, everyone gathered around the fire. The Spirit Man stood up and called the two couples to him. He then began the dull speaking part of the ceremony. Youngest whispered to his friends while this was going on. Then the Spirit Man joined the hands of each Hunter and his new wife and the fun began. Everyone cheered and the music began again. The mammoth meat was dragged out of the flames and big chunks carved off for everyone. Youngest ate so much he could hardly move! He certainly couldn't dance so he had to watch as the members of his tribe jumped and twisted around the fire. The flames threw weird shadows against the huts and the cliffs. It was a little bit scary. Youngest wriggled close to Mother.
"Isn't this fun!" he said.
"Yes, this is a good day," agreed Mother. "The Mother Goddess has been very gracious to us. We must thank her."
"How will we do that?" asked Youngest. He felt he ought to say a special thank you to the Goddess too, for forgiving him and his friends so quickly for what they'd done in the caves.
"Well, the Hunters are talking about setting a huge stone in the earth in her honour. What do you think of that?" she replied.
Youngest wasn't sure what he thought. It didn't sound very exciting. If he were the Goddess he'd much rather have a nice axe or a piece of mammoth meat than a big stone, but he wasn't. Presumably the Goddess liked big stones.
"That sounds nice," he nodded politely.
Mother smiled. "Ask your father to tell you about it tomorrow. Now, if you'll let me get up, I'm going to dance."
And with that she joined the other figures weaving around the flames. Youngest watched her for a while, but it was hard to make her out in the flickering light and he soon lost her in the melee of twirling, whirling bodies. His eyes grew heavier and heavier. He dozed off and dreamt about a mammoth dancing on top of a huge stone right outside his hut.