“But the people need food and game is scarce,” said one of the brave young men. “How can we prevent the famine? How can we make the gods understand?”
“Remember the Big Bear,” said Flaker. “He heard our prayer when we made his likeness on stone. Let us make likenesses of the animals. The gods will then understand our prayers and send many herds to our hunting grounds.”
Saying this, Flaker picked up a flint point and a flat piece of stone and quickly engraved two herds of wild horses. The young men believed in the power of magic. And when they saw Flaker engraving the herds, they believed the wild horses would come. And so they all tried to make the likeness of an animal they wished to hunt.
A Cave-man’s carving of horses’ heads.
When they had made offerings to the gods, the young men were ready to go out to hunt. Flaker stayed at the cave, but it was he who directed them in the right way. He remembered all that the Cave-men had said about the reindeer and the wild horses. And so when they started Flaker said, “Follow the trail to the dense forests.”
It so happened that just as the young men were starting to hunt, the herds were coming back from the forests. And so the young men had great success, and soon all the Cave-men had plenty of food.
A Cave-man’s engraving of a reindeer.
When the young men returned to their homes, they had strange stories to tell. They said that Flaker had brought back the herds by his wonderful magic. They showed the engravings they had made and told of their magical power.