“And then,” said Firetop, “we thought we’d come back by the tree path. We went out on the limb of the chestnut as far as we could go, and swung into the big oak tree that stood next. There are a lot of oak trees together there and we were going along from one to the other, when there was a loud whirring noise and a big bird flew out of the top branches right over our heads! We looked up and saw the nest. It was made of sticks. I got the eggs and handed them down to Firefly, and then we came home.”
“You didn’t come all the way by the tree path and carry the eggs, did you?” cried Grannie admiringly.
“Oh, no,” said Firefly. “The eggs were too big to carry in our mouths. So Firetop dropped to the ground and I handed the eggs down to him. Then we ran back home as fast as we could.”
“You will be as great hunters as your father and mother one of these days if you keep on,” said Grannie. “And no one in the whole clan can do better than they can. My, my, I can remember when your father was a boy, how he used to hunt eggs! That’s how he got the name of Hawk-Eye. He could find eggs, and other things too, where nobody else could find anything at all. How he could swing along through the trees! No wild creatures could ever get the start of him. And then your mother! She could run faster than the wind could blow. She wasn’t easily scared, I can tell you. She had always her legs to depend upon! I’ve seen her run from a mad buck so fast that she made just a streak of light through the forest. And when the buck got too near, she swung herself into a tree and then hung by her legs safe above his head and teased the buck crazy because he could not reach her. Ah! She was a wild one in those days, and well she earned her name of Limberleg!”
“I’m sure the eggs must be done by this time,” said Firetop.
Grannie reached down and poked the ashes away from the eggs. They were very hot, but her hands were so tough and horny that she could even handle live coals. She gave one egg to Firefly. Firefly took it in her hand, but her hands were not quite so tough as Grannie’s and it burned her like
everything! She dropped it on the ground, squealing with pain. It was cooked so hard that it did not spill, though the shell was broken. Grannie laughed.
“Aha,” she said, “I’m even with you now for giving me such a scare.”
“Ho,” boasted Firetop, “that’s nothing. Watch me! I guess if you can handle them I can.” He reached down and picked up an egg and held it in his hand. It was just as hot as a coal of fire, but he pretended it didn’t hurt him. He cracked and ate it in two bites, and though I’m sure it must have burned a red path all the way to his stomach, he never said a word. But when Firefly wasn’t looking he did suck the air into his mouth to cool his tongue!