How the Tree-dwellers Formed a Clan
The next night One-Ear stayed with Sharptooth and Bodo at the foot of the old oak.
Then other Tree-dwellers came.
At first they were afraid just as Sharptooth had been.
But they, too, soon learned that the fire was their friend.
So they sat around the fire each evening.
They talked about the wild animals they had seen.
As long as they sat by the fire, they felt safe.
So they came to the fireplace each night.
They began to live together.
They formed a clan.
Their clan was the fire clan.
The women with babies stayed near the fire.
All the others went farther away.
Each one hunted for his own food.
Each ate what he found on the spot.
But all came back to the fireplace at night.
“They talked about the wild animals they had seen”
All were tired and needed to rest.
Since they had no chairs they squatted on the ground.
They talked and they played in the firelight.
When they got drowsy they fell asleep.
But Sharptooth kept watch of the fire.
Her sisters helped, but she was the clan mother.
It was she who took charge of the fire.
She knew how the fire became their friend.
She knew that it needed care.
She knew that it gave them their first home.
So she taught the people to worship the fire.