“Let’s go to the top,” said Limberleg to the Twins. “That will warm you up.”
It was quite a steep climb, and I wish you could see what they saw from that summit. They could look a long way up each of the two rivers and a long way down the big one. There were deep, silent woods along the shores. They looked back on the land between the two streams. They were all beginning to be hungry again by this time, and they hoped that they might see their supper wandering about somewhere over the rocks.
“We’ll see who has the sharpest eyes,” said Limberleg.
“I see something white right now, way down there in the bushes,” said Firefly. “It’s bouncing around.”
“I see it, too,” said Hawk-Eye. “It’s the tail of a deer. There’s a herd down there!” Hawk-Eye started down the rocks in a hurry. “I’ll not be gone long,” he called back to Limberleg. “Get a fire started before I come back.”
Limberleg and the Twins watched Hawk-Eye until he disappeared in the underbrush. Then she and the children began to gather wood for the fire. Firetop found a piece of hard wood that was round. Limberleg pointed the end of it with her flint knife. Then they hunted for a piece of soft wood. In the soft wood Limberleg made a little hollow place that would fit the end of the stick.
“Now, Firefly, you stay with me,” said she. “I want you to gather little tendrils of dry moss and watch beside me while I twirl the stick. The moment I tell you to, you must drop little pieces of dry moss into the hollow place in the wood. Firetop, you gather a great heap of sticks here on top of the rock.” Limberleg knelt on the edge of the rock and began to twirl the stick between her hands. As she twirled she mumbled a prayer to the fire god.
Firefly held the soft wood firmly in place
while Limberleg worked. She twirled and twirled until a tiny thread of smoke began to curl from the hollow. “Drop in the moss,” cried Limberleg. The smoke grew thicker. Limberleg worked faster and faster. Soon a tiny flame burst forth. Firefly fed the flame with the dried moss until it was big enough to burn little twigs and dead leaves. Soon a brisk fire was burning. Firetop had brought a great pile of wood to the rock, and had also found some long willow branches to use in broiling meat.