Maybe you think Firetop wasn’t a proud boy then! He waggled his red head and swaggered up the slope toward the big oak tree with the huge bird on his shoulder. Limberleg and Firefly stayed behind to hunt in the bushes for the grouse’s nest. Firefly found it, and there were seven eggs in it! Then Limberleg patted Firefly. “Your father and I will not need to get any food for you,” she said. “Maybe you will hunt for us.” They went up the slope after Firetop, carrying the eggs.
When they reached the big oak tree on the bluff, Limberleg took the feathers off the grouse and cut it into chunks with her flint knife. They had no fire, so they ate it raw. They ate five of the eggs and left two for Hawk-Eye. They saved the legs of the grouse for him, too. They waited and waited, but still Hawk-Eye did not come. They began to get a little frightened, he was gone so long. At last there was a call, “Hoo, hoo, hoooooo,” like the hooting of an owl, and he appeared crashing through the bushes. He had a rabbit hanging from
his shoulder. Then Firefly played a trick on him.
“We aren’t hungry,” she said. Hawk-Eye was astonished.
“I thought you were starved by the way you acted,” he said.
“We aren’t any of us hungry now,” said Firetop.
“Did you fill yourselves with carrots?” asked Hawk-Eye.
“Oh, no. We had fresh meat,” said Firetop, with his nose in the air.
“Fresh meat?” cried Hawk-Eye.