But Limberleg was very unreasonable. She only said, “If you do it again, you know what will happen,” and started back up the bluff. When she was out of sight, Firetop said: “Let’s do it once more. She won’t see us!” This shows just how wicked and disobedient cave children could be!
They pushed their raft out into the water and got on board. They were at the very farthest point from shore, when suddenly Limberleg came right out of the bushes and looked at them! When they saw her, the Twins were very much embarrassed. They thought perhaps they had better stay off shore a while.
They reached their feet down and dug their toes in the sand, but the tide was still coming in, and in spite of all they could do, it lifted them up and carried them right to where Limberleg stood. She looked at them very sternly. She had a switch in her hand. She said: “I told you what would happen! I shall have to punish you, but it hurts me worse than it hurts you.” I
suppose that was the first time any parent ever said that. Then she began to use the switch on their bare legs.
Perhaps you never have been switched on your wet bare legs, so I’ll explain that it hurts. Firetop and Firefly didn’t understand how it could hurt her more than it did them. However, they didn’t say so. They just ran for the cave as fast as they could go. But I have already told you that Limberleg could run faster than anybody and she kept right up with them all the way.
When they were in the cave again, any one passing by would certainly have thought from the sounds that a pack of wildcats lived there. At last Limberleg said to them, “Now, you see, I will be minded,” and then she made them sit still in the corner of the cave until she had finished the wooden frame and stretched the deer-skin over it.
I suppose that if she had been a reasonable and kind mother she would have let them go on and get drowned or eaten up by a shark. But she wasn’t, and so they weren’t, or else you can very well see that this story would have had to end right here.
When Hawk-Eye came home that afternoon with two live rabbits which he had snared, the Twins were so delighted with them that they forgot all about their troubles of the morning.
“Can’t we keep the rabbits alive?” they begged.