Boy of the Painted Cave - ESL Version
Adapted by Nick Bartel, Horace Mann Academic Middle School, San Francisco, CA, from the original Boy of the Painted Cave by Justin Denzel.
 
 

Chapter One:  (or pages 13 - 24 in the regular version)
 

 Tao looked out across the valley filled with yellow grass.  He could see the small group of hunters walking there, turning over logs and stones, looking for ground squirrels, moles and worms.

 Their beards were dirty and so were their bearskin robes.  They had been out three days, but the hunting was not good.  Now they were returning home, tired, almost empty-handed.

 The boy watched as the hunters moved behind a hill and they couldn't see him.  All day Tao had waited for this moment.  There was a rabbit in his hand and he also had a few mice and moles.  He hobbled quickly over to a place with smooth sand.

 He looked around once again, then put the rabbit on the ground.  With the point of his spear, he began tracing the shape  of the rabbit in the sand.   He worked quickly, starting with the head, running the spear around the ears and along the back and tail.  He worked carefully, moving the spear along the shape of the animal's body.  When it was finished, he stepped back and studied it for a moment.  He shook his head.  No, it didn't look like a rabbit.  It didn't look real.

 He felt angry.  He pushed the rabbit away.  He looked over his shoulder again to be sure he was alone.  Then he began to draw a picture of a bear.  This he was sure he could do.  From memory, he drew the big head with its open mouth showing sharp teeth, the small round ears, and the short nose.

 As he worked, he felt good.  He thought only of big brown bears digging for roots or getting fish from the rivers.  He remembered their strong shoulders and brown coats.  For a moment, the image became a living animal going from his mind, through his hand, and onto the sand.

 He finished his drawing.  Then he stood up.  He looked down at the drawing and smiled.  It was good, he thought, the best he had ever drawn.  Yet with time and practice he knew he could do better.

 He did not remember when he first began making pictures.  It must have been many summers ago when he lived with Kala.  At first she was afraid of this.  It was taboo and she tried to stop him.  Then she let him go.  But he could only draw inside the hut where no one could see him.
 
 

  Suddenly he heard something.  With his deerskin boots he stamped out the picture and hid in the tall grass.  He waited, his heart pounding.  He knew he could be punished, even banished, if he were caught making images.  Only a few people were chosen to make images.  There was a taboo against others to make images, and it was against the secret rites of the clan.

 Yet he wanted to be an image maker very much, like the cave painter, old Graybeard.  He knew it was a foolish hope, because he wasn't the son of a shaman, chief, or leader.   He was only Tao, the boy with the bad foot.  He did not even know his own father.  His mother had died long before he could remember, and there was no elder to help him.  Because of this, and because of his bad foot, he knew he could never become a Chosen One.

 Whenever he saw the bison or the lions, he wanted to paint their pictures on the wall of the Secret Caves, a magic place where only the Chosen Ones could go.

 Often at night, he lay in front of Kala's hut listening to the fire and looking up at the sky.  He saw pictures of deer and horses in the stars.  By day he saw animals in the big clouds.

 Always during the hunts, he stayed behind the other hunters to watch the animals.  He felt so happy watching animals.

 He knew that Garth and the other hunters did not understand this.  Even Volt, the leader, thought he was a dreamer, and only a child.  He liked Garth best of all because sometimes the big black-bearded man tried to help him.  But when the other hunters came by, Garth often turned away and had other things to do.

 Again Tao heard something in the grass.  He waited, afraid to move.  Then he turned around and went toward the sound.  He looked through the grass and found footprints of an animal.  Maybe a hungry animal smelled the dead mice.  Tao felt something was watching him.

 He waited silently, listening, ready to defend himself.  Off in the distance, he saw a young wolf.

 Tao raised his spear.  If it was only one wolf, it would be an easy target.  He started to throw.  Then he noticed the animal was weak and half starved.  It was only half grown and Tao was sure the other animals left it alone to die.

 Slowly the boy lowered his spear.  He could not kill this helpless animal.  Besides, such a skinny animal would be much to take back to his clan.

  Tao put out his hand and spoke softly to the scared animal.  "Come," he said.    "I won't hurt you.  You are hungry and I have food."  He held up one of the dead mice.   But the young wolf backed away.  Tao cut open the mouse and held it out in front of the wolf.  The animal was afraid, its thin legs shaking.

 "Here," said Tao. "Eat.  You are hungry."  He threw the mouse on the ground in front of the wolf.

 The little animal came close, slowly.  It sniffed at the dead mouse, but it didn't eat it.

 It was getting dark now and Tao had to get back to the clan people.  He felt bad about leaving the little wolf, but he could not take it with him.  As he started to go, the wolf looked at him with sad eyes, but there was nothing more he could do.

 Tao walked between the large stones at the bottom of the hill.  He was born with a bad right foot that bent down and turned in a little.  Tao always walked with a limp.  However, by curling his foot around the bottom of his spear, he had learned to walk easily.  When he was in a hurry, he could even move like a running man.  But now it was almost dark and he went slowly.

 He saw the fires of the little camp.  A small group of skin huts was under a large cliff.  High above, Tao could see the great fire of the Endless Flame burning brightly, lighting up the entrance to the Big Cave.

 Tao smelled cooking meat.  The women cooked the few ground squirrels and moles the hunters had brought back.  Children sat in front of the huts.  They had been many months with little food and they were very thin.  They looked up at Tao.  He knew his handful of mice would not go far to help their hunger.

 He went to the edge of the camp where there was a hut made of bison skins.  He went in front and called softly, "Kala."

 The  flap opened and an old woman looked out.  Her face was wrinkled.  She had gray hair, and she held a child in her arms.  She smiled.  Her big teeth were yellow from chewing deer skins.  "You're late," she said.  "But you are safe."

 Tao nodded and held out two of the mice.  "We went far, but we didn't get much."

 The woman took the mice in her hand.  "I still have some dried worms and some roots.  With these mice I can make some food for the little one."

 The little one was a girl.  Her parents had died last winter from hunger.  If Kala had not taken care of her, the elders would have taken the baby away and left her to be killed by the animals.  Kala had saved the baby's life, like she had done for Tao.
  "Now you have another baby," said Tao, smiling, touching the old woman's shoulder.

 "Three so far," she said.  "You were my first."

 Tao remembered it well.  She had raised him as her own, when others had turned their backs because of his bad foot.  He stayed with her for twelve summers, learning much from her wisdom and kindness.

 "The sun is getting warmer," said Tao.  "Soon the hunting will be good and there will be enough to eat."  He said it, but he was afraid it might not be true.  Maybe Graybeard would come and paint images in the Secret Cave.  If the spirits liked the pictures, the animals would come back.  Then the people would eat well.  They could make robes and boots with the skins, and spears and knives with the antlers.

 They talked for a few more minutes.  Then the woman listened and whispered, "Go before Volt comes."  She went back into the hut and closed the flap.

 Tao went to the center of the camp near the fire to give up the rest of his mice.  In front of him was Volt, the leader.  He wore a sheepskin robe and had a necklace of bear claws.  His dark beard was wild and messy.  Across his face were deep scars that made him look angry.

 "Where have you been?" Volt asked.  "You are always late.  You are always dreaming and wasting time.  You are a poor hunter and the people are hungry."

 Tao didn't know what to say.  He started to tell about the wolf.  "I heard a noise in the grass," he said.  "I wondered what it was and I thought -- "

 "Enough!" Volt shouted.  "We do not care about wondering.  We do not need thinking or dreaming.  We need food."

 Tao was angry and his cheeks grew hot.  This man was like a mountain.  He would listen to nothing.  So Tao just handed him the mice.

 The big man looked down again.  "And where is the rabbit?"

 Tao's body shook.  He had forgotten the rabbit.

 "Did you eat the rabbit?" Volt asked.

 Tao shook his head, unable to speak.  Garth came forward and knocked Tao to the ground.  Tao lay there looking up at the hunters.

 "No," said Tao.  "I would not eat while others are hungry."
  Volt asked again, "Then where is the rabbit?"

 "I...  I forgot the rabbit.  I left it back on the sand."

 Garth looked down at him, shaking his head.

 The men with the spears moved closer.  Tao saw the anger in their eyes.

 Volt pushed them back.  "Wait," he said.  "There is a better way."  He pointed out into the darkness.  "Go," he ordered.  "You say the rabbit is out there.  Go and find your rabbit and do not come back until you do."

 Tao got to his feet slowly.  He was angry at himself for forgetting the rabbit, and he was angry at the men who would not listen.  As he walked out of the camp, Kala came and gave him a torch.  He took it silently and went out into the forest.

 At last he came to where he had put the rabbit down to draw it.  In the sand he saw nothing.  The rabbit was gone.  There were only footprints of a large hyena.

 Now he knew he could not go back to camp, not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, not until he had found another rabbit.
 
 
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Two:  (or pages 25 - 3 in the regular version)
 

 Tao put his torch down and gathered small branches and wood and made a fire.  Then he began to look for acorns.  He was hungry because all day he had only eaten a few worms and a handful of dried berries.  But he couldn't find any acorns.

 Just then he saw a shadow of a flying squirrel.  He looked up and saw a hole in a tree trunk.  Maybe he could get a meal there.  He climbed the tree.

 Tao reached into the hole and his fingers felt through the warm nest of leaves.  He brought out handfuls of acorns.  Back on the ground, he sat and cracked them open with a stone and picked out the seed with his fingers.  The acorns were dry and tasteless, but they helped.  Next he gathered tall grass and made a bed.  With the fire in front of him and a hill at his back, he felt safe from the animals.

 The night air was cool and still.  He lay down on his bed of grass.

 For a long time he lay awake thinking about his trouble with Volt and the others because of the rabbit.  The punishment did not bother him because he had been out alone many times before and he was not afraid.

 At times like this he often thought of his mother, whom he had never seen.  He wondered what she was like.  He closed his eyes and saw a picture of a young girl, with hair the color of honey and a round, smiling face.  He wished he could draw her, but this would be taboo.  Most of all, it was against the laws of the clan to make an image of a person.  It would make the evil spirits angry.

 Tao wondered, "Why are all these things bad?  Why is it wrong to draw in the sand, to make a picture on a stone, to be born with a bad foot?  Is there nothing good, nothing right?  Is this why Volt is always angry?  Everything Volt sees is bad.  Kala said she has never seen an evil spirit.  If they are real, where do they stay, where do they hide?"

 Just then Tao heard something in the tall grass.  He jumped up quickly and pulled a flaming torch from the fire.  As he looked into the darkness he saw the moving shadows of the trees.  Then, not far from the fire's light, he saw a pair of shiny eyes.  Tao couldn't move and he held on to his spear.  Maybe it was a cave lion or a leopard.

 Tao watched carefully, waiting for the animal to show itself.  Slowly he lifted his spear, ready to throw as the yellow eyes came closer.  Then he stopped.  Fear left him as he saw a thin little wolf.

  The animal was afraid, too.  Little by little it came into the light of the fire, crying softly.  Tao leaned down, clicking his tongue.  The animal seemed to be crying for help.

 Tao had heard about wolf dogs before.  Sometimes they stayed around the camps when they were very hungry and looking for food.  This one was young and thin.  If it didn't find something to eat soon, it would die.

 Tao talked to the animal softly.  "You come back when I have nothing to give you, no food, no meat."

 The wolf was silent, watching.
 "You must learn to hunt on your own," said Tao moving closer but still not touching the wolf.

 The sound of Tao's voice seemed to quiet the animal.  It cried softly and began to creep up on its belly until its black nose was only an arm's length away.  Tao reached out to touch the soft face, but the animal pulled back and showed its teeth.  The boy tried again.  Once again the wolf would not let Tao touch it.

 Tao sat still, watching as the animal came closer.  Its ears were back and its ribs showed through the gray fur.  Tao saw the hunger in the yellow eyes.  Then in the wolf's mouth he saw something white.  It was a long thin piece of bone that had cut deep into the wolf's mouth.

 Now Tao understood why the animal didn't eat the mouse and why it was so thin and weak.  In fighting for its food, a piece of bone had cut into its mouth.  Now it could not eat.  It could not even hunt.

 Tao moved closer, inch by inch.  He slowly reached out almost touching the wolf's mouth.  The little animal did not move.  Tao waited, his heart beating fast.  Then suddenly he jumped forward and grabbed the wolf's head with one hand and the bone with the fingers of his other hand.

 The little animal jumped back, crying.  But Tao held on.  The boy and wolf wrestled across the sand.  Suddenly the bone came loose in Tao's fingers.  The wolf was free.  He ran about in circles, crying, rubbing his bloody mouth in the sand.

  "Be quiet," said Tao.  He held up the bone. "You're all right.  Now you can eat again."

 For a long moment the wolf looked at Tao, his yellow eyes shining, his pink tongue licking at the bleeding wound in his mouth.

 "Go," said Tao.  "Go back to your pack and hunt with your friends.  You will soon be strong again."
  The wolf waited.  Tao saw it look back once or twice.  Then it disappeared into the night.

  Tao smiled, but was sad because he was alone again.  He put more wood on the fire and lay down again.  He fell asleep quickly.

 As he slept, he dreamed about going into a large cave.  On the floor were shells  filled with paints.  He put his finger into the red and he began to paint.  Slowly a red deer took shape.  It was running in fear.  Tao put down the red and started painting with black.  This time a big black wolf took shape, racing after the deer.  Finally Tao picked up the yellow.  Suddenly the wolf looked out at him with yellow eyes.  Tao continued  painting, covering the whole walls of the cave with bison, horses, and mammoths.

 When he awoke, the sun was coming up.  The fire was out.  He looked around and knew that he had been dreaming.

 He stood up and looked around.  He was hungry again and he started out across the valley.  He stopped often to turn over stones and pull up grass to find ants and worms.  He had gone two days without food and he was growing weak.  He found a few white worms, put them into his mouth and swallowed them.  They would taste better cooked over a fire, but he could not wait.

 The worms were not enough.  He knew he could not go back to the camp without a rabbit, so he went on.  He went through the grassland and near a swamp.  The people of his clan said this place was dangerous, filled with evil spirits.  No one in the clan went there to hunt or get roots or berries.

 Tao stood there a moment thinking of the food that might be there.  Then he heard the sound of a small pig.  He forgot about the evil spirits and went into the swamp.  Soon the dirt became soft and black, and he smelled the mud.

 Tao wondered if an evil spirit would hit him.  But nothing happened.  This place didn't look evil or dangerous.  Holding his spear, he went  deeper into the trees of the swamp.  He came to a clear water stream, and found some leaves to eat.  Mushrooms were on the tree trunks, and there were berry bushes.  The berries and the mushrooms were dry now, but he tried to remember this place.  In the spring there would be many mushrooms and berries to pick.  In another stream he found some shellfish.  With his knife he opened them and ate the pink meat.  He was still hungry, but he felt better now.  There was a lot of food here.

 Suddenly he heard a terrible cry.  It went like ice up Tao's back.  Tao jumped up quickly and stood in frozen silence.  He looked across the stream to the trees from where the terrible cry had come.  If he had never seen an evil spirit before, he thought he would see one now.
 
 
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Three:  Pages 35 - 44
 

 Tao jumped across the stream.  He went forward carefully.  Then he heard the scream again.  He also heard long, crying noises.

 For a moment Tao stopped, his heart pounding.  Maybe the clan people were right.  Maybe there were evil things in this dark place.  He waited, then went on again quietly, carefully, watching each step.

 As he came closer, the loud cries continued.  It was a strange sound, one that he had never heard before.  It filled his ears, and his heart jumped.  He thought he would see an evil ghost jump out at him at any moment.  He took a deep breath and pushed his way through the bushes.  Then he stepped into a clearing ready to come face to face with the evil ghost.

 Instead of a ghost, he saw an angry owl sitting on the forest floor.  She was protecting her nest from the little wolf dog.  The mother owl was very big, almost as high as Tao's waist.  She was much taller than the wolf dog, as he tried to get in under her wings.  She flew up and tried to get him with her beak and her talons.  She screamed and her brownish-red feathers stood up in anger.  She stayed over three white eggs, protecting them from the hungry wolf.

 For a few moments Tao watched the battle.  He liked the owl's courage, but he was afraid the little wolf dog might get hurt.

 Tao lifted his spear and pushed the owl away.  Then the mother owl turned on him and flew at his face.  The wolf dog ran at her, but the owl wouldn't run away.  Now the boy and the dog took turns fighting the bird.  Each time they came too close, she turned quickly and fought them back.

 The boy, wolf dog, and owl were getting tired and they breathed heavily.  Just then the owl went after the dog, but fell down on the forest floor.  The boy rushed in and took two of the eggs.  Then he ran off and said to the dog, "Come, little friend.  We have enough for both of us."  He walked off under the trees.  The wolf dog followed as the owl cried out in anger from her nest.

 When they were far away, Tao stopped and sat down.  He opened one of the eggs and put in his tongue.  It tasted fresh and clean.  "It's good," he said.  Then he gave it to the wolf dog.  He made a hole in the second one, and sucked out the egg.

 The wolf dog finished his and looked up wanting more.

 "No," said Tao.  "We will let the owl keep her last egg."  He looked at the little animal.  "You are learning to hunt by yourself.  That's good.  But it is not good to fight mother owls.  You must find something smaller."

 The wolf looked up for a moment and turned his head.  He seemed to understand, then ran on into the forest.

 Tao went into the forest, too.  He tried to find more food to eat, so he walked slowly from one bush to another.

 The morning was almost over and Tao was almost ready to quit hunting.  Just then a rabbit jumped out of one of the bushes and ran across his path.  Tao didn't have time to think.  He quickly aimed his spear at the running animal.  The spear missed the rabbit and Tao groaned as the rabbit ran away.

 A moment later Tao saw the wolf dog come into the forest and began sniffing from bush to bush.  The smell of the rabbit was strong and he soon found what he was looking for.  The wolf dog moved forward carefully, slowly.  Tao watched him.

 Then the rabbit suddenly jumped out from the grass.  The wolf dog ran after it,  trying to catch it.  Tao raised his spear.  He threw it carefully and hit the frightened rabbit on the first throw.

 Tao picked up the rabbit and smiled.  "You will be a good hunter," he told the wolf dog.  "First you found the eggs of the owl, then you found a rabbit."

 As Tao spoke, the little wolf was running again, going from bush to bush.  With its head down it sniffed the ground.

 Before long another rabbit jumped from under a bush.  It ran around in circles and the little wolf dog chased it.  The rabbit turned and ran toward Tao.  At the last moment, it saw Tao and turned back again.  Tao groaned, thinking the rabbit had escaped.  Then he was happy again.  He saw it run into the waiting mouth of the wolf dog.

 Tao was very happy.  It was still morning and they already had two rabbits.  He sat down and took out his stone knife and skinned one of the rabbits and fed it to the little wolf.  The other rabbit he put under his belt to take back to camp.

 As soon as the wolf dog had finished eating, Tao put out his hand.  This time the little wolf dog let Tao touch him.  "You are a good friend," said Tao, patting the wolf dog's head and scratching him behind the ears.  "I will call you Ram, the spirit of the hunt."

 They stayed together for most of the day going back and forth through the forest.  By late afternoon Tao had three more rabbits and many mice.
  When he was ready to leave, he looked down at Ram.  He wished he could take the wolf dog back to the camp with him, but he knew that Volt and the other hunters would kill it.  "Stay," he told Ram.  "This is a good place and you will be safe here.  There is much food and you will not go hungry."

 As Tao walked away, the wolf dog started to follow.  The boy turned.  "No, Ram," he said.  "You cannot come with me.  Stay here and wait.  I will come back again and we will hunt together."

 The little wolf moved his head to one side and Tao knew he still did not understand.  "Go back," he ordered.

 When Ram did not move, Tao picked up stones and threw them at the wolf dog.  "Go back!" he repeated.  "You cannot come with me!"

 For a moment Ram stood still, his yellow eyes looking at Tao.  But when he saw the boy reach down to pick up more stones, he turned and ran into the forest.

 Then Tao hurried on his way.  It was growing dark.  He heard the sounds of animals.  But even in the dark, Tao knew his way by the shadows of hills and the trees.

 When he got back to camp, the clan women were cooking over the fires.  They smiled when they saw the rabbits and the mice.  First Tao went to Kala's hut and gave her a handful of shellfish and three mice.  Then he went to the center of the camp, where Volt and Garth were standing by the big fire.

 The angry leader took the rabbits from the boy's hand.  He held them up to the light of the fire, surprised.  "These were just killed today," he said.

 Tao looked down at the ground.  "I could not find the other," he said.

 "It is good for you that you caught these," said Volt looking angrily at him.  "From now on when you go out with the hunters, you will watch and learn and keep your mind on your hunting."

 Tao was angry, but he did not want to say anything.  I have Ram now, he thought.  With the wolf dog I can bring back more food than the hunters.  But he only said, "I will hunt alone.  What I catch I will bring back to the camp."

 Volt was angry and shook his head.  "You are like a stone.  You learn nothing.   I try to tell you, but you do not listen.  Go, then," he said to Tao.  "Go your own way.  But hear my words: you will eat only when you bring in food."

 Once again Tao felt angry.  "Maybe if we had a wolf dog," he said, "it would help with the hunting."
  Volt's face grew red with anger.  "We will have no evil wolf dogs at this camp!" he shouted.  "They are evil.  We will hunt like men, not like evil spirits."

 "If wolf dogs are evil, then why do the Mountain People hunt with them?" asked Tao, surprised that he was speaking to Volt this way.

 Surprised at the boy, Volt spit on the ground.  "Enough!" he shouted.  "If you want to hunt with an evil wolf dog, then go live with the Mountain People."

 Garth laughed when he heard this.  "If you go across the river into their land, they will find you and kill you."

 Tao turned and went away.  He felt there was no use in talking to these men.  They would only listen to evil spirits.

 Later that night Tao sat by the fire in front of Kala's hut.  He looked up at the cliffs and saw the Endless Flame burning bright in front of the entrance to Big Cave.  In the winter the clan people had stayed in the Big Cave.  But  he had never been deep inside.  Only the Chosen Ones had ever seen it.  Tao heard that deep inside was a big room and its walls were covered with paintings of horses, bison, and lions.  Even the ceilings were painted with pictures of deer, bear and wild pigs.  Here the rituals of manhood were held.  Here the Chosen Ones were chosen.

 Tao knew that each clan had its own secret place.  Each clan had its painters, too, who were chosen by the elders to paint in the caves.

 But Graybeard was the old master, the shaman, who went from clan to clan.  He taught the painters how to paint animals to bring good luck in the hunting.

 Tao thought of this often.  Tao wanted to be a painter.  But his father was not a leader, or even a hunter.  He would never become a Chosen One.  Many times he had asked Kala about his parents.  But each time she shook her head.  "You are too young," she always said.  "Besides, it does not matter."

 But now he was older and it did matter.
 
 
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Four:  Pages 45 - 50
 

 Tao went into Kala's hut.  Inside was a bed of grass and a smaller one for the child.  A small cooking fire burned near the back of the hut.  Kala's gray hair hung down over her shoulders, and her face had lines from many hard winters.  Even though Kala was old, she could still smile.  She had good strong teeth, strong from chewing on animal skins to make them soft for clothes.  Kala always told the truth, which made the elders angry.  They left her alone because she was wise and knew much history about the clan.

 Kala and Tao sat down by the fire.  She picked up one of the shellfish Tao had given her.  "You have been down in the swamp," she said.

 Tao was surprised that she knew.

 "It is the only place near where these can be found," she said.

 Kala didn't look angry.  Tao whispered, "Do you know the swamp?"

 "I used to go there when I was a girl.  It was a good place with many berries, mushrooms, and fish."  She smiled as she remembered.  "But that was before the bad thing happened, before it became a place of evil."

 "What bad thing, Kala?"

 The old woman shook her head.  "It was a long time ago."

 "It is wrong," said Tao, "that the clan people should go hungry when there is food nearby."

 Kala was worried and threw up her hands.  "Do you want to question the elders?"

 "No," said Tao.  "It would do no good."

 Tao looked at this old woman.  Her eyes were still young.  She was wise and good and she was a good mother to him.  Yet he knew she was not his real mother.  After a long silence, he said, "Kala, I am fourteen summers now and I wish to know about my mother and father."

 "You won't quit!" she said.  "Maybe it's better that you don't know."

  "But I must find out," said Tao, "if I am ever to enter the ritual of manhood.  In the eyes of the elders it is very important.  If I am the son of a leader or a hunter, like Garth, I might some day become a Chosen One.  Then I can draw and paint."

 Kala shook her head sadly.  "You dream, boy.  But your dreams are not true.  As long as there are taboos, it can never be."

 "But how can it hurt to know about my father?"

 "I will not tell you about that," she said.  "I am one of the few who know and it is a thing we do not speak of."

 "Is it such a terrible thing?"

 "Yes," said the old woman.  "It is a terrible thing."

 Tao was silent for a moment.  She will not say it, he thought, but it is because I have a bad foot.  I do not walk like the others.  That too is why I can never be a Chosen One.  He knew he could ask no more about his father.  "My mother, then," he said.  "Tell me about my mother."

 The old woman nodded.  There was a peaceful look in her eyes as she spoke.  "Your mother was Vedra of the Mountain People.  She was sixteen summers, and she was captured in one of the raids one summer.  You were born early in the middle of a cold winter like the one that just passed."

 Tao was happy.  He had never heard his mother's name before.  "Vedra."  He repeated the name quietly.  "Vedra.  Vedra of the Mountain People."

 "It is the law of the clan," the old woman continued, "that weak children are taken up into the hills and left for the animals to kill.  But your mother would not let you go.  She sat in a corner of Big Cave, holding you.  Again and again they tried to take you away, but she fought like a cave lion, screaming, biting.  She wouldn't let you go."

 "All through the long winter she kept you.  I brought her food.  She would not leave the cave, and it was a very cold winter.  She grew weak and died.  When she died your father ordered that you be left to die on the hills.  I brought you back and raised you as my own son.  The elders didn't like that, but I did not care.  The man who is your father called it an evil curse."

 "Is that why you will not tell me his name?"

 "That is why I will never tell you his name."

 "Then tell me more about my mother," said Tao.  "What was she like?"
  "She was only a girl," said Kala, "but she was wise like a woman.  She always worked with her hands.  She made many things like necklaces, bracelets, and pretty things.  Everyone loved the things she made, and she gave them away freely."

 Tao looked up and smiled.  "Then she too was a maker?  She too saw pictures in the sky?"

 "Yes," said the old woman.  "I am sure she gave you the eyes to see beauty in the things around you, the animals, the trees, the mountains.  I saw this even when you were a small child.  You loved to watch birds and animals.  It is the thing that makes you different from others.  It is the thing the clan people do not understand."

 Tao said, "I am happy now.  I know what I must do.  If I cannot be a Chosen One, I will live away from the clan.  I will find a cave high up in the hills.  I will live out on the grasslands and in the forest."  He stopped for a moment.  "And I will hunt in the swamp where there are many fruits and animals.  I will be a man in my own way."

 "You are a dreamer," Kala smiled.

 Tao shook his head.  "No, Kala, look at me.  My arms are strong.  For three summers I have hunted and brought back food for you."

 She looked at him and was worried.  "Hunt then," she said.  "But do not make an enemy of the clan.  If you paint pictures or go into forbidden places, be sure no one sees you.  Go your own way, but be careful."

 Tao reached out and touched her gently on the arm.  "Thank you, Kala," he said.  "Thank you for many things, but especially for what you have told me.  I will come back often and bring you food."

 Tao went out and sat by the big fire in the middle of the camp.  He was thinking about what Kala had said when he heard a soft cry coming from the darkness.  He jumped up and saw a pair of yellow eyes looking at him.  Tao was afraid and surprised.  It was Ram.  The foolish wolf dog had followed him.
 
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Five:  Pages 51 - 60
 

 All over the little camp the hunters heard the cry of a wolf, too.

 "It's a wolf!" someone shouted.

 They went to get spears.  Some got torches from the fire and ran out into the darkness to look for the wolf.

 "Kill the evil animal," cried Volt, "or it will be bad luck for our camp."  Then Volt followed the hunters with his spear.

 Tao stood at the side of the camp listening to the men going through the forest.  He saw their torches going up and down in the darkness.  How could he save the little wolf?  If he called out, that would only bring the hunters back.

 He had to find Ram before the hunters found him.  He took a torch from the fire and limped out into the night.  He heard the hunters going through the forest.  He knew they were making a big circle around the wolf dog.

 Tao held up his torch trying to see something in the dark forest.  "Ram," he whispered.  "Where are you, Ram?"

 Nothing moved.  He heard the hunters come closer.  The ring of spears was getting smaller.  Just then a gray shadow moved across his path.  Tao waited as the animal came toward him, crying softly.  It was Ram.  "Go," he whispered.  "Get away, quickly!"

 Ram did not move.  He stood there looking up at Tao with a scared look in his yellow eyes.

 Tao picked up a stick like he was going to throw it.  "Go!" he said.

 But it was too late.  Tao heard the hunters only a few feet away.  Tao and the little wolf were in the middle of their circle.

 Quickly Tao jumped forward.  He put his torch into the earth and put out the fire.  Then he threw it aside.  He circled his bad foot around his spear and ran ahead.  "Wolf, wolf!" he shouted.  "Come," he whispered angrily to the wolf dog.

 Running through the forest, Tao heard the hunters' feet behind him.  Tao ran into the night with the wolf dog close behind him.  If he ran fast enough and long enough, he knew he could run faster than the hunters.  Then Ram would be safe.
  Tao ran faster and faster.  He listened to the shouts of the angry hunters as they came after him.  They didn't stop and they were not far behind.

 Tao ran through the darkness.  He was tired.  The branches of the trees held him back, but he continued to run.  Little by little the shouts and the footsteps were not so close.  Tao ran until he knew it was safe.  Almost out of breath, he reached the river.  He stopped and looked around.  The wolf dog was not behind him.  "Ram," he whispered.  "Where are you?"

 He waited and listened.  Nothing moved.  He wondered if the hunters had Ram.  Maybe the hunters had killed the wolf dog.  Then once again he saw Ram coming out of the shadows on his belly, crying.

 Tao put his arms around the animal's shoulder.  He spoke to him angrily.  "You can't come into the camp of the clan people," he said.  "They will kill you.  Go!  Wait in the swamp."

 Ram looked up, breathing heavily, his tongue out the side of his mouth.

 Tao picked up a stone.  Immediately the wolf dog turned.  He looked back once or twice, then disappeared into the darkness.  Tao smiled.  At last he had found a way to make the wolf dog understand.

 Tao went back to the camp.  He tried to look angry.  "I could not catch him," he said to the hunters who were by the fire.  "But he is far away now.  He will not come back."

 "We must watch for him and kill him," said Garth.  "We will not let him get away again."

 The next morning Tao walked to a big hill far away from the camp.  He wanted to draw pictures.  "Up there is a good place," he thought.  "No one will see me there."

 He climbed up the hillside.  It was not easy.  At last he found a cave.  He was sure no animals were inside.  It was about ten spear lengths long and opened into a small room.  The walls were good for painting.  "This is what I am looking for," he thought.  "This will be a good place to stay."

 Tao worked for four days putting dried grass and firewood into the cave.  He had a small lamp that burned animal fat so he could see.  He made a fire inside the cave.

 When his cave was ready, Tao went down to the little stream.  There he found some yellow clay.  He let it dry in long thin pieces.  Then he burned sticks to make the ends black.  Now he was ready to become a maker of images.  He had no pictures to work from.  He would have to draw from memory.
  He picked up some dry clay.  It felt good in his hand and he drew on the gray wall.

 "I will draw a horse," he thought.  "No one else will see it, but I will feel good about it."

 He started with the head.  Next he drew in the face, mouth, and ears.  Then he drew the neck.  He worked quickly, trying to see the horse in his mind.  He drew the strong body and the tail.

 Then he tried to draw the legs.  He couldn't remember how the legs were.  Was there a knee?  Did the legs bend forward or backward?  He wasn't sure.  When he was finished he looked at his drawing.  "It's not right," he thought.  "The legs are all wrong."

 He erased the drawing with a handful of dry grass and started drawing again.  This time he drew the body first and then added the legs and tail.  But when he drew the head, it was too big for the body.  "It's no good," he said.  "It looks more like a bear."

 He tried again and again, but each time it got worse.  "I'll never learn," he said.

 He sat on the cold floor, angry at himself.  Then he picked up another piece of dry clay chalk and tried again.  All day long he drew horses: small horses, running horse, all kinds of horses.   He forgot to eat the food Kala had given him.  The harder he tried to draw, the more trouble he had.  At last he lay down on his bearskin bed.  He fell asleep tired and angry.

 When he woke up the next morning it was quiet in the cave.  He was hungry, so he climbed down the hill and started across the valley.  At last he came to the swamp.  He wasn't afraid of evil spirits anymore.  He ate some plants and shellfish.  Then he continued, hoping to catch a rabbit or a young pig.

 Just then Ram came running through the tall grass.  Tao smiled.  He was surprised to see how well the little wolf looked.  He was no longer thin and his fur coat was clean and beautiful.

 The animal came up to him, crying, holding its head low.  As Tao pet it, it rolled over on its back and licked his hand.  "You are growing," said Tao.  "Some day you will be a fine wolf dog.  But you must learn to stay away from the clan people.  Come.  We will hunt together."

  All that morning they hunted through the swamp.  They caught rabbits, mice, and a bird.  Then Tao started back to his cave with Ram by his side.  Tao looked around to be sure no one was watching.  Once in the cave, they were safe.  Tao started his fire and cooked the bird and rabbits.  The sun was setting and golden light came through the cave entrance.  Ram was standing outside and Tao saw the wolf dog's body in the light.

 Quickly he stopped eating and picked up a piece of chalk.  He began drawing the wolf dog.  He worked quickly.  He drew the animal's head and ears.  He drew the beauty of the silver-gray body.

 He stepped back and looked at the picture.  Then he picked up the stick burned black.  He added the eyes and the black nose.  This time he was happy with the picture and he did not erase it.  He knew that if he could see the animals, he could draw them well and without mistakes.
 
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Six:  Pages 61 - 67

 Later that spring, Tao and Ram went around the valley and the forests.  Mostly they hunted in the swamp where the other hunters wouldn't see them.  The ice melted and there were many rivers and lakes.  Tao and Ram caught fish there.  Sometimes they saw big brown bears fishing up in the rivers too.

 When hunting was good, Tao left Ram in the cave and went back to the camp with rabbits, birds, and fish for Kala and the clan people.

 One afternoon when Tao came back to the camp, Garth and Volt were there.  Volt looked at the animals he had hunted.  "You bring many animals, but you say you hunt alone," Volt said.

 Tao did not want to lie, but he could not tell about his cave, the paintings, and Ram.  He looked at the ground and said, "I hunt with no man."

 "Then you have found a good hunting place," Garth said.  "Tell us where it is."

 Tao was worried and couldn't tell about the swamp.  He told about other places.  "If you go one day's walk down the river, you will find fish.  But there are many brown bears.  Hunters have to hurry."

 Volt shook his head and the two men walked away.  Tao knew it was not easy for the big leader to ask a boy where there were many animals to hunt.

 When Tao saw the hunters near his cave, he stayed inside.  Then he practiced his drawing.  He covered the walls with pictures of bears, bison, and mammoths.  He was never happy with these.  But when he made a good picture of Ram, he felt his pictures were good.

 Tao liked to go to the swamp to look at the animals.  One time he saw a giant deer in a river.  He had heard about these deer, but few hunters had ever seen one.  Tao watched as the deer came closer.  He kept his hand on Ram's shoulder to hold him back.

 Boy and wolf stood watching quietly next to the river.  They didn't hear the footsteps of the stranger as he came up behind them.

 It was a thin old man.  His face had a long white beard.  He carried a long wooden spear and a deerskin bag over his left shoulder.

 He stopped not far away from Tao and watched them for a while.  Then he coughed lightly so they would know he was there.
  Ram turned around and growled.  The big deer stopped eating.  It threw up its head and ran away across the river.  Tao turned and looked at the hunter.  His heart was pounding.  He had broken many taboos -- he walked on forbidden land, he made images on cave walls, and he hunted with a wolf dog.  Now this stranger would know some of his secrets.

 Tao put his hand on Ram's shoulder and told him to stay.  Then he went to the man, trying to act unafraid.

 The old man looked down at him.  There was no anger in his face, only a little surprise.  He saw the boy's bad foot.  "You are Tao of the Valley People," he said.

 "You know my name?" asked Tao, surprised.

 "Yes," said the old man.  "I travel far to paint images in the secret caves and I hear much."

 Tao was scared and surprised.  The stranger before him was Graybeard, the Cave Painter, the shaman of all the clans.  Tao never though he would meet such a great one.

 "I also know you hunt on forbidden land," said Graybeard.

 The boy was uncomfortable.  "It is only forbidden because of the evil spirits," he said.

 "And you are not afraid of evil spirits?"

 "I have never seen one," Tao said.

 The old man leaned on his spear.  "You also hunt with a wolf dog.  That too is taboo in your clan."

 For a moment Tao was quiet.  Then he said, "The people of my clan are hungry.  The swamp is full of animals.  With the wolf dog I bring them much food."

 Graybeard nodded.  "You are not afraid of evil spirits or taboos."

 "I am sorry," said Tao, "but I do not believe these things are bad.  The animals, the birds, the trees give us food and clothing.  But our leaders only see evil spirits."

 Graybeard nodded.  Tao thought Graybeard understood what he said.

 "And do you know better than the leaders?" asked Graybeard.
  "No," said Tao.  "I only know that the swamp is a good place.  Here I find food.  I watch the animals and birds.  I feel good here."

 Graybeard looked out across the river.  "And now you watch the great deer?"

 "Yes," said Tao.  "I have never seen a giant deer before."

 "There are many far to the north, near the ice country," said Graybeard.  "They come down this way sometimes when it snows a lot up there."

 The old man looked at the wolf, unafraid.  "How long have you hunted with the wolf dog?"

 Tao said, "Since the end of the winter snows."

 "What's his name?"

 "I call him Ram."

 The old man smiled.

 "Do you think it is good to have a wolf dog?" asked Tao.

 "Yes," said Graybeard.  "They help a lot with hunting and they protect the camp at night."

 "Our leader, Volt, hates the wolf dogs," said Tao.  "He thinks they are evil."

 "I know your leader well," said Graybeard.  "He is a good man, but he thinks too much about evil spirits."

 Tao came closer and whispered, "I haven't told anyone about Ram."

 "I will say nothing," said Graybeard.  "I come only to paint in the Secret Cave."

 Tao felt better.   He knew Graybeard wouldn't tell.

 "The animals are coming back," said the old man.  "They will be here when the new grass grows.  I have come from the other camps with the news.  Now I will paint images of the animals in the secret caves to bring good hunting."

 Tao wanted to hear more about painting, but he saw that the old man was tired.  "Will you come and have some food with us?" asked Tao.  "We have a small cave on the other side of the valley."

 Graybeard leaned against a tree.  "Yes," he said.  "It will be good to rest."
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Seven:  Pages 68 - 71
 

 They walked slowly back to Tao's cave.  On the way Tao had many questions.

 "Other clans have wolf dogs," he said.  "Why does Volt hate them so much?"

 The old man stopped.  "You have seen the scars on Volt's face.  He thinks a wolf dog did that when he was only a child.  His father told him so."

 "I don't think a wolf dog would do that," said Tao.

 "I don't think so, either.  But his father believed in evil spirits and he said it was a wolf that hurt Volt.  That is why the swamp is forbidden."

 Tao asked, "Do you mean it happened in the swamp?"

 "Yes," said Graybeard.  "It is good to keep the wolf dog away from the clan people."

 Then Tao said, "But if Volt could see how well Ram hunts, maybe he would change his mind."

 The old man said, "Volt only knows the world of evil spirits.  I do not think he will change his mind, unless there is a magical sign."

 "You know a lot about the clan people," said Tao.

 "For twenty summers I have gone from clan to clan, painting in the caves, bringing news and helping them when they are sick."  He stopped a moment to rest.  "I have seen many young boys grow up to become hunters and young women become mothers."

 Tao's heart jumped.  "Did you know my mother, my father?"

 Graybeard shook his head.  "No, I only know your mother died after you were born and that you were raised by Kala."

 "Then you know Kala?"

 The old man said, "Yes, we grew up together.  But that was many summers ago."

 "Were you also of the Valley People?" asked Tao.
  "Once.  I left before my sixteenth summer.  Now I am of all the clans."

 When they reached the foot of the hill, they began to climb.  They went slowly because the old man needed to stop and rest many times.

 At the entrance to the little cave, the boy stepped aside to let the old one go in first.

 As soon as his eyes could see in the cave, Graybeard saw the drawings on the wall.  He saw the pictures of the wolf dog, the cave bear, the owl and the fish.  He stood there for a long time.  Then he saw the clay chalk and the burned sticks on the floor of the cave.

 Tao waited nervously.  This man was very old and wise.  Tao wanted to hear Graybeard talk about his drawings.

 Graybeard turned slowly.  "Did you do these?"

 "Yes," said Tao.

 The old man looked at the drawings once more.  Then he asked, "Who showed you how to do this?"

 "No one," said Tao.  "I taught myself."

 The old man nodded.  He studied the pictures again.  Then he stepped back.  His face changed to anger.  He picked up dirt from the cave floor.  Then he rubbed it across the wall, covering up the pictures.

 Tao stepped back in surprise.  "Are they not good?" he asked.

 Graybeard was breathing hard.  "Young fool," he cried.  "Don't you know better than to make images where someone can see them?  You are not a Chosen One.  They could kill you for this."

 Tears filled his eyes and he said, "I don't care.  I want to be an image maker.  I have thought about it for a long time.  Even when I sleep I dream about it.  I want to be a cave painter, like you are."

 The old man looked down at him, still angry.  "It is taboo.  What you want doesn't matter.  Making images is taboo.  It is the law of the clans and you must live by it."
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Eight:  Pages 72- 81
 

 The old man walked back and forth across the cave floor.  He stopped at the entrance and looked out across the valley.  He was no longer angry.  "I am sorry," he said.  "Cave painting must be handed down from father to son.  My father was a cave painter.  Now I am one.  That is the way it has always been.  You must learn to live with things you cannot change."

 Tao sighed, trying to forget.

 A little while later they sat on the cave floor, eating.  They ate in silence for a while.  Then Tao spoke.  "Then it can never be?"

 The old man nodded.  "I tell you again.  If you are not the son of a leader or chosen by the elders, you cannot be a cave painter.  It has been that way for a thousand summers and cannot be changed."

 "And I must not do this thing I love?  I must not make images?"

 Graybeard looked out through the cave entrance.  He pulled at his beard for a moment, deep in thought.  "Yes, yes, do it if you wish.  But do not let the others know.  They would not understand.  And always erase your images when you are finished."

 The old man looked back at the cave wall where he had erased Tao's pictures.  "You have made a good beginning," he said.  "But you have much to learn.  You must study the animals carefully.  See how they look when they run or lie down.  Look at the color of their fur in the bright sun or under the shadow of a tree."

 Graybeard smiled and his eyes were happy as he spoke.  He had forgotten his anger from before.  "Go up on the high plains and watch the bull up there.  See how the heavy muscles are right under his shoulder.  Watch how he moves his head and remember the angry fire in his eyes.  Then put it all into your image."

 "It is something like magic," said Tao, excited.

 The old man picked up his deerskin bag and opened it.  "Here is the real magic," he said.  "With these stones I can speak to the spirits of the animals and bring good hunting."

 He took out seven flat stones larger than his open hand.  On each stone was carved a different animal.  He picked out one and held it up for Tao to see.  On it was the carving of a mammoth.
  Tao gasped.  "It is the mountain-that-walks."

 "Yes," said Graybeard.  "Three summers ago they came through the valley and I drew this."

 "They have not been here after that time."

 "That is true," said the old man.  "But from this, I can draw others on the walls of the Secret Cave.  I can make my pictures exactly like when I first saw it.  In this way I can speak to the spirits of the great animals and call them back to the valley."

 With the point of his stone knife Graybeard began copying the picture on the dirt floor of the cave.  "First make a large outline of the animal.  Next add the shoulder.  Then go back all the way down to the tail."  Graybeard's eyes were happy as he drew in the legs, the feet, and the trunk.  Then he added the hair.

 Tao watched carefully.

 Slowly the picture of a mammoth could be seen.  "You must do this over and over," said Graybeard.  "This is the way you learn.  But I must tell you again, erase your image as soon as you are finished."

 Graybeard stood up and erased the drawing with the toe of his deerskin shoe.  "Now I must go to the camp of your people," he said.  "Tonight there will be a dance, and the ritual of the hunt."

 Tao could not go because he was not a Chosen One, and he was sorry Gray-beard had to go.  There was so much more he wanted to learn about drawing.  He got up and said, "I will go with you part of the way."

 They climbed down the hill followed by Ram.  Tao was thinking to himself.  Then he said, "If I went to the Mountain People, maybe they would let me be a cave painter."

 The old man stopped.  He shook his head.  "You do not understand," he said.  "The Mountain People, the Lake People, the Valley People, they are all the same.  Their life is filled with magic, taboos, and evil spirits.  If you cross the river into their land, you will not be welcome."

 "You travel from clan to clan without a problem," said Tao.

 "I was born into the spirit world through my father.  Now I can go where I please and do magic.  I can make a fire by hitting two stones together.  I can make a woman without a child into a mother with my magic.  I can bring good hunting by drawing pictures on a cave wall."
  They walked silently again, with Tao deep in thought.  "Is that really magic?" he asked.

 Graybeard said, "I do not know.  Maybe it is nothing more than words or shadows.  It brings happiness to people and gives courage to hunters.  Many times the things I say do not happen.  The people never question it.  One thing I know: if they wish to call it magic, then let it be so.  If you tell them it isn't magic, they will be angry."

 "Here," said Graybeard, stopping once again.  "I will show you something they call magic."  He opened his deerskin bag and took out a shiny stone.  "I dug this stone out of the earth many summers ago."

 Graybeard walked slowly around the boy and flashed the sunlight off the shiny stone.  Suddenly he pointed the sunlight right at Tao's face.  The boy threw up his hands and closed his eyes, blinded by the light.

 Graybeard smiled and put the stone back into his deerskin bag.  "You see, it is not magic.  It is only the sun, nothing more.  A long time ago it saved me from an angry bear."

 They walked on then Tao stopped.  "It is best I stop here," he said.  "I cannot take Ram into camp and it would be dangerous to go too close."

 The old man agreed.  He got ready to do his magic.  He opened his deerskin bag and got out a horn.  He blew a long, loud sound, but then he started coughing.  "I can no longer blow as long or as loud as I used to," he said.  "Now I am ready."

 Tao watched the old man disappear into the forest.  He heard the horn again and again.  He knew the women and children would go into hiding and the camp would be very quiet.

 As Graybeard came into the camp, the hunters went to him and waited for him to speak about the animals.  Then as it became dark, the dancing began.

 Tao and Ram went back to the little cave.  He put wood on the old fire and made it light again.  He ate some more and then sat looking into the fire.

 He remembered five summers ago, when he was a child.  He was looking out from Kala's hut when he first saw Graybeard by the big fire, speaking to the hunters.

 "Hunters of the Valley People!" Graybeard had shouted.  "The great animals are coming back.  The horses will soon be here.  The bison will cross the high plains.  The red deer will be in the forest over there."  His voice was clear and loud then.  "We must be brave and strong.  We must run as fast as the deer and throw our spears straight.  Then there will be much meat to eat and skins to make clothes for the winter.  Let's go into the Secret Cave and make images to make the spirits of the great animals happy."

 The men listened and wanted to go into the cave.  Some of them began singing and dancing.

 Tao had seen Graybeard climb up to the Secret Cave.  He was followed by the hunters, carrying spears and torches.  Then he could see them no more.  But he knew they went far back in the cave.  There with a few of the Chosen Ones, Graybeard painted images of the great animals and asked the help of the spirits of the hunt.

 Tao remembered what happened the next day, too.  The hunters went into the forest and onto the plains.  They were gone for four days.  They brought back much food, skins for clothes, and bones to make tools.  Some of the young men came back as brave hunters, some came back with terrible wounds, and two did not come back at all.  The day after the hunt was sad and there was much crying.
 
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Nine:  Pages 82- 90
 

 The days were growing warmer and some of the great animals came back.  Antelope and deer came first, then groups of horses.  The animals covered the valley.

 The hunting was good now, and the clan had a lot to eat.  There were new skins, too.  The women sat around the fires sewing boots and robes.

 As Graybeard had said, Tao began to study the animals carefully.  He watched the birds feeding on the lake in the early morning.  Twice he saw a cave lion hunting in the valley.  Together with Ram, he climbed the rocky hills to see the mountain rams on the snow-capped hilltops.

 Then one morning he took Ram up to the top of a high hill.  They looked out over a wide field.  There Tao saw Saxon, the bull.  He had a heavy body with thick shoulders.  He looked like a huge black monster standing there in the middle of the field.

 His eyes were poor, but he could smell a man near him.  His head came up and Tao saw the long white horns.  The bull turned his head, then he charged.

 Quickly Tao picked up the wolf dog and took him to the top of a big stone.  There they were safe from the big black bull below them.

 Tao looked down at the huge animal.  He saw the powerful muscles under the shiny black skin.  He looked at the flashing white horns and he saw the angry fire burning in the dark eyes.

 Now Tao understood why this animal had been chosen to take care of the tribal laws.  Anyone who broke the taboos of the clan was brought up on the high field to face Saxon.  He was given a spear and a stone knife.  Then he had to fight the bull.  If he lived, it was proof that he had done nothing wrong.  No one ever lived.  All the dry bones around the field told the story.

 Tao held Ram as the wolf dog growled.  "Stay!" he said.  "We don't want to hurt Saxon.  We come only to look."  Tao looked at Saxon and thought, "You are bigger and stronger than I am, but I will catch your image."  He took out a flat gray stone.  He tried to draw the heavy body, the strong neck and shoulders, and the large head.  His stone tool cut deep into the gray stone.

 When Tao finished his drawing, he said, "Yes.  This is good."  He looked down at Saxon and laughed.  "Go," he said.  "Go back to your cows.  I have your spirit carved on my stone."
  Saxon grew tired of waiting for them to come down.  He walked off across the fields.  Tao and Ram climbed down and went back to their cave.  Ram lay down in a corner and Tao began copying his picture of the bull.  With yellow clay he made a large outline on the cave wall.  Then he studied the picture.  He began drawing line for line.  He drew easily and freely.  He watched his picture come alive.  He worked for a long time and he forgot to eat.

 He was drawing quietly when he heard the wolf dog growl.  "What is it, Ram?"

 Tao waited and listened.  Then he heard the sound of falling dirt and small rocks.  His heart beat fast.  Someone was climbing down the hill.  Ram growled again.  "Be quiet!" whispered Tao.

 The sound of climbing continued.  Tao looked at his drawing of Saxon on the cave wall.  It was the best he had ever done.  But quickly he picked up a handful of dirt and erased the image.  Then he picked up all the chalk and his stone, and hid them under the bearskin robe.  He sent Ram to the back of the cave and made him lie down in the darkness.

 Silently Tao went to the entrance and looked out.  He saw no one.  But the sound of the falling stones came closer.

 Tao looked around the cave.  If the climber was one of the hunters, he would find no drawings or claysticks.  The boy held his spear tightly.  Then he saw fingers reach around the entrance to the cave.  It was an old, wrinkled hand.  Tao heard someone coughing and he felt better.  It was Graybeard.

 "We are happy to see you again," said Tao.  "And we are happy you are not one of the hunters."

 Graybeard smiled.  "I came from above," he said, coughing.  "I cannot climb as well as I used to."  He stopped again to catch his breath.  "I go to the camp of the Mountain People and I thought to stop here for the night."

 "We have food and water," said Tao.  "You are always welcome."

 The boy put some wood on the fire.  They put pieces of fish and duck on long sticks and cooked them over the hot fire.  After their meal they ate some fruit and drank some water.

 After eating, Tao picked up the bearskin robe and took out the carving of the bull.  "I have seen Saxon," he said.  "I was drawing him before you came in."

 Graybeard looked at the stone.  "This image is good," he said.  "Now try again and I will watch."
  Slowly Tao picked up one of the chalks.  His hand shook, and he knew it was because he was working in front of the master.  He began to draw, copying from the sketch.  He did well with the head and body, but the legs were wrong.  He felt angry and he wanted to throw the chalk against the wall.

 "You must be patient," said Graybeard.  "The eye and the hand will learn to become one.  But it takes time."  He took the chalk from Tao and dropped it on the floor of the cave.  Then he picked up a burned stick and started to draw, showing the boy how to draw the legs, shoulders, and hips.

 Tao watched closely.

 When he was finished, the old man erased the drawing.  He gave the burned stick to Tao.  "Now start over," he said.  "The black will make a better outline, and this time look at your sketch."

 Tao took the stick and started again.  Line by line he drew another picture of the bull as Graybeard looked on.  The old man nodded.  "Yes," he said.  "That is good.  You are learning.  Draw as much as you can, but always remember to erase your pictures when you are finished."

 "Maybe you will teach me often?" asked Tao.  "I will learn more quickly that way."

 The old man shook his head angrily.  "You push me too hard, boy.  I tell you again, you are not a Chosen One.  I have already done more than I should."

 Tao knew he had made the old man angry again.  He spoke quietly.  "I did not think you believed in taboos."

 The old man said, "That may be, but even a shaman must obey the laws of the clan and follow the beliefs of the people."  He pulled at his beard.  "I have let you draw.  I am sorry you do not think that is enough.  Now let us sleep.  Tomorrow I have a long way to go."

 Tao's face felt hot.  He did not mean to make the master angry.

 The next morning Graybeard and Tao went out across the valley.  The herds of antelope and horses ran as they came near.  They walked all morning.  When they came to the river, the old man stopped.  He looked down at the boy with a thin smile on his lips.  "I have changed my mind," he said.  "Maybe the old shaman has become a fool, but I will help you."

 Tao looked up, his eyes wide.
  "Yes," said Graybeard.  "I will come back and show you how to draw and paint.  I will show you how to mix colors and make brushes.  I will tell you how to find firestones and how to read the stars."

 Tao was surprised.  He didn't know what to say.  "You would show me how to make magic?"

 "Yes, and that too.  But you must use it for good, never for evil."

 Tao nodded.  "Only for good," he said.

 "Then I will show you.  But I cannot tell you that you will ever be a Chosen One."

 Tao felt hopeful.  He never thought that he would be so lucky.

 "We must do this thing in secret," said Graybeard.  "I will find a place.  Then you and Ram will come."

 "When?" asked Tao.  "Where will this place be?"

 The old man shook his head again.  "You must not push so hard.  Have patience.  When I am ready I will let you know."

 "But how will I find you?"

 "By magic," said Graybeard, his blue eyes shining.

 Tao did not want to make the old man angry again, but he needed to know.  "And how will I know the magic?"

 Graybeard smiled.  "When the time is right you will know."

 "But ---  ?

 The old man held up his hand.  "No more questions now.  I have a long trip.  I will go downstream and cross the river.  There you cannot follow."

 Graybeard walked away, coughing badly.  Tao watched him disappear through the trees.  He got down and threw his arm around the wolf dog's shoulder.  "Think of it, Ram.  Soon I will be a true image maker."
 
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Ten:  Pages 91 - 98
 

 It was almost summer now and hunting was good.  Whenever Tao left his little cave with Ram, he looked out over the valley to be sure no hunters were around.  Now he looked across the green grassland.  He saw many birds flying up and then resting again.  Groups of horses and antelope moved across the fields.  But this morning Tao saw no hunters.  Everything seemed quiet and at peace.

 Then he saw something far away.  He could only see a long line of great brown bodies moving slowly down the valley.  It was hidden by a cloud of dust.  It was still far away, but it was getting closer.

 Tao looked and waited.  At last his heart jumped.  "They're here, Ram," he cried.  "The mammoths, the mountains-that-walk have come back!"

 He picked up his spear and ran down the hill with Ram close behind him.  They ran out into the valley through the tall grass.  The antelopes and horses ran from them.

 The boy and the wolf dog ran toward the other side of the valley near a swamp.  There they would be downwind from the animals.  They could hide in the tall grass and watch safely.  The animals couldn't smell them there, unless the wind changed.

 They waited silently, hiding as the first groups of mammoths came into the open field.  Tao looked out from behind the tall grass.  He could see them clearly now.  Some were as tall as trees.  Some were babies.  Some had long tusks that curved inward almost crossing at the ends.  Thick reddish-brown hair covered their bodies.

 The babies walked on both sides of the group.  They played, went out to look around, and then ran back.

 It was three summers since the mountains-that-walked had come through the valley.  Of all the animals, Tao loved to watch them best.  They were like old giants.

 They moved slowly in small groups.  They pulled up great trunkfuls of grass and reached up into the trees for leaves.  Never had he seen so many, and never had he been so close to them.  He could hear their breathing.  He could smell them and see the black flies buzzing around them.

 Ram watched them too, and he started to growl.  The boy held him tight.  Tao could feel Ram's excitement.  "No, Ram," he whispered.  "They are too big.  You would have no chance against these monsters."

  The mammoths kept coming and coming, and now they seemed to be everywhere.  Then Tao heard sounds behind him.  He was no longer downwind.  He was no longer safe.  They were all around him.

 Suddenly one of the mammoths sounded an alarm.  Long, snakelike trunks went up, smelling for the danger.  Cries filled the air.  In a hurry the babies and year old mammoths moved into the center of the groups.

 Loud cries were everywhere.  Their footsteps thundered on the ground.

 Ram pulled and barked and Tao could no longer stop him.  He ran straight into the groups of mammoths.

 "Stop, Ram, stop!" Tao shouted.  But it was too late.  The wolf dog was jumping up and biting at the legs of the animals.

 Tao cried out, but the noise of the pounding feet and cries was too loud.  He was helpless as he saw the wolf dog in with the mammoths.  The big animals grew angry at this little pest.  They tried to hit at him with the trunks.  Once the wolf dog was hit by a swinging trunk and was sent rolling across the grass.  But Ram was quick.  He jumped to his feet and charged again.  The dog was playing with the angry animals while the boy looked on terrified.

 Then Tao could feel the ground shake.  The great animals were coming near to him.  Loud cries filled his ears and he heard footsteps behind him.  He started back, but he could not see clearly around him.  He waited silently, hoping they would turn back or go the other way.  He backed away through the tall grass as the animals came closer.  Then he knew one large female was following him.  He stood still.  She's there, he thought, and she knows I am waiting.

 Then he saw the grass move and crack and he heard the animal coming.  A huge female stood over him, standing like a dark shadow.  Tao's eyes were wide with fear.  She lifted her trunk and let out a scream of anger.

 Tao turned around, but there was no place to run.  He stepped back, trying to get through the tall grass of the swamp.  His arms and legs were cut and bleeding.  Then he fell backward.  He got up quickly.  At that moment the mammoth charged.

 Tao dropped his spear.  He threw up his arms to protect his face as the hairy giant came on.  A long trunk reached out and took him around the waist.  It lifted him up into the air, then threw him crashing into the grass.

 With the wind knocked out of him, Tao tried to catch his breath.  He hurt all over.  Slowly he rolled over on his back.  He looked up and saw the great animal standing above him.  She lifted a hairy leg and held a giant foot over him.  She started to bring it down.
  Tao rolled out of the way, just as the foot came down.  But the angry mammoth lifted her foot again.  Tao looked up at the bottom on the foot that was about to come down on his head.

 Just then he saw Ram jump at the angry mammoth.  He came at her, biting her legs.  She turned around trying to get the wolf dog, but Ram jumped out of the way of her swinging trunk.

 Tao lay still for a moment, his eyes wide with fear.  Slowly he started to get up, reaching for his spear.  Just as he got to his feet the mammoth turned again to face him.  With a loud cry she started to charge.  But the great animal never reached him.  Out of the corner of her eye she saw the wolf dog chasing her baby, which had come up behind her.  She suddenly turned around and went after them.

 Tired and hurt, Tao stood in the tall grass, waiting, listening, afraid to move.  Slowly the sounds of the mammoths grew quiet as they moved away.  When he was sure he was safe, Tao washed the dirt and blood from his arms and legs.  He limped out of the grass.  Far away he could see a cloud of dust and he knew the mammoths were continuing on their way.

 Tao felt scared as he looked for Ram.  He hoped he would not find him dead.  Tao had not gone far when he saw the wolf dog coming toward him through the grass.  He was breathing heavily and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth.  He was wet and muddy.  Tao threw his arms around the animal's neck.  "You are brave, Ram," he said, "but you are foolish.  The mammoths are not rabbits.  They are dangerous.  This time I was lucky.  You saved my life.  I will never let you chase the mountains-that-walk again."
 
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Eleven:  Pages 99 - 107
 

 Tao wasn't hurt very bad.  Kala made some medicine out of leaves and roots to put on his wounds.

 Kala smiled at Tao and shook her old gray head.  "If you go chasing the mammoths, you will not live very long."

 Summer came and it got warmer.  Tao watched the golden eagles fly overhead.  The antelopes and small horses came into the valley, too.  Tao loved to watch all the animals.

 One afternoon as Tao was coming home to his cave, he looked up and saw a rainbow of colors.  A bright light came out of the mountainside.  Tao was surprised.  It sparkled like a star.

 He walked across the field and the light followed him.  He wondered where he had seen it before.  Then, all at once, he remembered.  It was the shining stone of Graybeard.

 Tao smiled and started to run toward the light.  "Come, Ram," he shouted.  "It's our good friend Graybeard.  He is making his magic."

 Tao climbed up the steep mountainside toward the light.  At last they came closer and Tao saw Graybeard's wrinkled face looking down at him.  He wondered how the old man could climb so far.

 Breathing hard, Tao pushed Ram over the top, then pulled himself up the rest of the way.  Graybeard reached down with a bony hand and helped the boy to his feet.   He was smiling and asked, "You saw the light from far away.  Did you know it was the shining stone?"

 "Yes," said Tao.  "Your magic is good.  But this mountainside is hard to climb, even for a boy."

 "That is why I chose this place," said Graybeard.  "No one will come here.  But there is an easier way to get up here.  I will show you later."  Then he led Tao to some bushes.  There the old man moved back some branches that covered a small opening to a cave.

 "It is well hidden," said the old man.  "No one will find us here."

 They followed the cave down into a large room where light came down from above.  On the floor were burned sticks and pieces of dried clay.  Tao was excited.  Now he could become an image maker.  He could be taught by the master.  "My hands and my eyes are ready to begin," he said happily.

 "Don't be in such a hurry, my friend."  The old man coughed, then continued talking.  "You will be a better student after we eat."

 Tao didn't care about the food now, but he smiled at Graybeard.   They sat on the floor and ate some nuts.  Ram chewed at the leg bone of an antelope, then went to sleep.

 Bright sunlight came through the opening of the cave and lit up the gray walls.  Graybeard got up.  "Now it is time to begin," he said.   "The last time we were together, I showed you how to draw a bison.  Now you must try something harder."

 Graybeard gave Tao a stone with a carving of a reindeer.  It had antlers and long, thin legs.  Tao knew it would not be easy to draw it.  He picked up a piece of clay chalk and stepped to the clean wall.  He lifted his hand and drew some lines quickly, starting with the shoulder and back.

 The old man stopped him immediately, shaking his head.  "That is wrong.  I told you, always make your first drawing in black.  And start with the outline of the body and the head."

 Tao felt bad.  He had already forgotten the first lesson the old man had taught him.  He picked up a burned stick and began again.

 The old man watched for a while, then stopped the boy's hand again.  "No," he said.  "You draw with short movements.  Let your hand go free.  There is a lot of room.  Reach out as far as you can."

 Tao tried it.  As he practiced, he was drawing easier and faster.  He smiled.  Just a few words from the master made a big difference.

 "You are learning, my friend.  It takes time, but you are learning," Graybeard said.

 Tao drew two more reindeer before the old man stopped him again.  "Now I will show you something else," said Graybeard.  He took out another carved stone and gave it to Tao.  On it was a carving of a rhino.  Graybeard put his hand to the wall of the cave.  "Look here," he said.  "When you draw the rhino, use this high part on the wall as part of the back.  This low place is where the head meets the shoulders."

 Tao practiced drawing the rhino.  When he finished, he stepped back.  His eyes were wide with wonder.  "Look," he said.  "It begins to live."
  Graybeard picked up the stick.  "Now, if you want to show many animals together, draw the first one, then a row of heads and legs, one after another.  Like this."  Graybeard drew a bison on the wall, then drew some heads and legs close behind it.

 Again Tao was surprised.  With a few quick movements, the old master had drawn a whole herd of bison.  He could almost see the flashing eyes and hear the noise of the bison running.  "It is magic," he said.  "Now I will try."

 The old man shook his head.  "That is enough for now.  Tomorrow I must go to the camp of the Lake People.  When I come back, I will show you how to make paint and mix colors.  You need to get some fish oil, some animal fat and blood, and some eggs and honey."

 The next morning Graybeard took Tao to a narrow path leading down to the bottom of the mountainside.  "It is easier to climb up from here," he said.

 They walked down the mountain and across the valley until they came to the river.  Tao said, "Thank you, Graybeard.  I will work hard to make the bison live on the cave wall.  Then some day maybe I will be almost as good as you are."

 The old man smiled.  "Maybe better."

 "No one can be better.  But I will try."

 The old man walked away, coughing a lot.  Tao called him.  "Will you come back soon?"

 "Don't be impatient," said Graybeard.   "You have enough to do while I am gone."

 In the days that followed, Tao practiced his drawings.  He also got stones that could hold paints.  He got wet clay to make chalk.  He caught two big fat fish and brought them back to the cave.  He cooked them over a fire and squeezed out the oil.  Kala gave him a large shell, three duck eggs, and some honey.

 He still needed animal fat and blood.  One day he went hunting near the swamp and Ram smelled a wild pig.  They followed it.  The pig turned around and fought the boy and dog.  Tao threw his spear with all his strength.  The pig cried out, jumped about, and then lay still.

 After he skinned the pig, Tao cut out pieces of fat and he put some of the blood in a hollow bone.  He cut off the head and the best pieces of meat and brought everything back to his cave.   He left the blood and fat there.  The meat and skin he brought to Kala and the clan people.
  Soon the smell of cooking pig came through the little camp as the women cooked it over a fire.  The people were happy because they all loved to eat the meat of wild pig.

 Even Volt was more friendly.  He gave Tao the tusks from the pig to wear around his neck as good luck and to show his hunting skill.

 Tao wanted to tell Volt and Garth about Ram and how the wolf dog could hunt.  But he knew the leaders would not listen, so he didn't say anything.  Tao wished that some day Ram could show everyone the wolf dog was not an evil spirit.
 
 
 
 

 Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Twelve:  Pages 108 - 114
 

 After Graybeard left, Tao felt lonely.  A lot of his time he drew mammoths, bison, and rhinos in Graybeard's little cave-room.  Every evening he looked out over the valley, waiting for the old man to return.  As the days passed, the boy became impatient.  "Why doesn't he come back?" he thought.  "Maybe something is wrong."  He thought about going to find him, but he knew he could not go across the river into the lands of the other people.

 Each day he got more worried.  Then one morning, down in the swamp, Ram growled and Tao looked up.  There was Graybeard.  He looked like he had come out of the earth.  He had his spear in his hand and on his back he carried a shoulder bone of a horse.

 Tao ran toward him happily.  "I am happy to see you, old shaman.  It has been a long time."

 Graybeard nodded.  "There are many places I must go, and I do not walk as fast as I used to."  The old man coughed.

 Tao worried about the old man.  His face was thin and tired.  But Tao didn't want Graybeard to know he was worried.  "The cave is ready," he said.  "But first you must rest and have something to eat."  He gave Graybeard some dried meat and fish.  They sat under the trees.  Tao wondered if Graybeard remembered his promise to teach him more.

 When they were finished, they started across the valley.  Graybeard stopped many times, looking for something near the river.  Then he found it.  He picked up a stick and dug out a handful of bright red clay.

 "This will make good red paint.  Now we must find yellows and whites."

 "I have yellow clay," said Tao.  He was happy that the old man remembered.

 "Good.  We can mix the paints with white chalk to make lighter colors," Graybeard said.

 When they had all the red, white, and yellow clay they needed, they went up the mountainside.  They went behind the bushes that hid the cave entrance.

 In the cave Graybeard sat on the ground and Tao sat beside him.  The old man took some of the red clay and put it into a stone bowl.  He added some of Tao's fish oil and mixed it into a dark red paint.  He put a little of this paint into three other stone dishes.  Into the first he added some yellow clay.  Into the second he added some white chalk.  Into the third he added some burnt wood.  Using a stick, he mixed them well into three different colors: orange, pink and a dark brown.

 Tao was surprised.  He sat quietly, watching.  This too was magic, he thought.  Graybeard mixed more colors together to make shades of yellow, brown, gray and black.  Some he mixed with honey, and some with the fat and blood from the wild pig.

 "Next we must make our brushes," he said.  He took a handful of sticks and hit the ends with a stone until they were soft.  He showed them to Tao.  "These are small," he said, "for painting eyes and fine lines of hair and fur."

 He made larger brushes by tying feathers and pig hairs around the ends of long sticks with vines.

 When all the paints and brushes were made, the old man stood up.  "Now," he said, "we are ready to paint."

 Tao held out the shoulder bone of the horse.  Graybeard poured spots of colored paints onto the large flat bone.  He gave the boy one of the large brushes and pointed to Tao's pictures of the rhinos, bison, and mammoths.

 The boy was surprised.  This was the first time he held a brush.  "May I paint the mammoth, the mountain that walks?  I like that one the best."

 Graybeard nodded.  "Begin."

 Tao was not sure what to do.

 Graybeard asked, "What colors are the mammoths?"

 "Reddish-brown."

 "Good," said the old man.  "Then mix a little black with the red until you have the color you want."

 Tao put his brush into the black, then mixed it with red.  Then he put the brush to the drawing.  He smiled.  It was a reddish-brown, the color he wanted.  He continued to put small amounts of paint on the drawing.

 Graybeard watched as Tao painted.  "Paint bigger lines.  Move your brush with your whole arm.  Use more paint."

 Graybeard took the brush and began painting across the drawing.

 Tao saw the old man's face look happy as he worked.  He was excited to see the picture come alive.
  "Don't be afraid," said Graybeard.  "You can always go over what you do not like."

 He gave the brush back to Tao and the boy tried again with big movements.  Then he mixed gray with yellow to color the chest and stomach.  He painted dark shadows on the shoulders and back.  He saw his mammoth begin to breathe as he painted the eye and the trunk.

 When the painting was finished, Graybeard cracked open the duck eggs.  He took out the yellow yolks and poured the whites into a clean shell.  He gave this to Tao.

 "What's this for?" the boy asked.

 "Paint it over your painting and you will see."

 With a feather brush Tao washed the egg white over the picture.  This time the mammoth came alive with bright new colors.  He stared at it in surprise.  Tao had painted this with his own hand.  He smiled.  Never had he been so happy.

 The next morning Graybeard went to help more people.  He was gone for long periods, but he returned to the little cave on the mountainside to teach the boy more about painting.  Sometimes they sat and talked.  Looking up at the night sky, Graybeard pointed out the stars.  Graybeard showed him how to make fire and told him where to find the special plants to make medicines.

 The last time the old man went away, Tao and Ram walked with him across the valley.  When they reached the river, Graybeard said, "Your drawings are better now.  They begin to live.  Maybe now you can call yourself a cave painter."

 "I thank you for that," said Tao.  "And for all the things you have taught me.  I am happy."

 The old man smiled.  "You know the many beautiful things you can make with a brush and paint.  That is all you have to know.  That is all that really matters."

 They said good-bye.  As the old man walked away, Tao heard him coughing.  He saw the old man walking slowly.  His heart ached.  Deep inside he was sad and afraid for his old friend.
 
 
 
 
 

Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Thirteen:  Pages 115 - 120
 

 One afternoon Tao and Ram were up hunting on the mountain.  On the way down, Tao looked below and saw Volt and the clan hunters.  They were circling a herd of nine red deer in the forest.

 The wolf dog wanted to attack, but the boy held him back.  They watched quietly.  If Tao could get close enough for Ram to run in and pull down one of the deer, it would show how well the wolf dog could hunt.  Carefully he led Ram down to the edge of the forest as the hunters moved silently through the trees.

 The deer were eating peacefully.  Tao's heart raced as the hunters came closer to the deer.  If he let the wolf dog go too soon, it would scare the animals and they would get away.

 He moved silently, slowly, trying to get as close as possible.  Even if Ram couldn't get one of the deer, he could drive them into the spears of the waiting hunters.  Tao knew it had to be done at just the right moment.

 The wolf dog was ready.  The hunters moved like cats, slowly making the circle smaller.

 At that moment Tao saw a deer near the edge of the herd.  She was the leader and was looking for danger.  Ram could easily get her, but Tao whispered, "Stay!"   Tao held the wolf dog which was ready to pull away.  Still Tao waited.

 Then he saw the deer's head come up.  She sniffed the air.  Before she could give the alarm, Tao pushed Ram ahead.  "Now," he whispered.  "Go."

 The wolf dog ran out straight for the deer.  He raced between the trees and passed through the ring of hunters.

 The deer turned quickly, jumping into the air.  With one jump she turned around.  The two animals came together.  For one moment Tao was sure the wolf dog had killed the deer.  But when he looked again, he saw the deer jumping away.  Quickly Ram ran after her.  It was too late.  The deer was too far away.

 Tao groaned as he saw the rest of the herd escape through the ring of hunters.  In his excitement he had let Ram go too quickly.  He heard the hunters swearing and looking at the deer.

 Tao stood at the edge of the forest.  He was scared when he saw Ram coming through the trees.  Then he saw Garth jump out of the bushes in front of the wolf dog.  Garth raised his spear.

  Ram stayed still and looked up at the leader.

 "Ghost of evil," roared Volt, coming up behind Garth.  "I will cut out your heart."

 Tao knew neither Volt nor Garth had seen him yet.  He waited in the shadows.  Then he saw Volt raise his arm.  With all his strength he threw the spear straight at the wolf dog.

 But Tao was already running.  His hand hit the spear and knocked it to the ground.

 Volt turned around.  He looked at Tao, then at the wolf dog, and back at Tao again.  Volt began to understand.  He became very angry.  "So this is how you hunt alone.  You and this evil animal are one."

 "No," said Tao, trying to explain.  "The wolf dog is not bad.  He is a good hunter.  He helps me catch many animals so I can bring them to the clan people."

 The big man shook his head.  "No.  This animal is a devil and you call him friend."  He reached up and touched the scars on his face.  "This devil and his kind gave me these scars, and I will kill every one of them."

 Volt shouted to the hunters.  "Help me kill this evil spirit."

 Tao heard the hunters coming.  He knew it was no use to beg for Ram's life.  Volt would not listen.  Suddenly he jumped away.  "Come, Ram!  Come!"  The wolf dog jumped between the men and raced after Tao through the forest and across the open field.  Tao did not look back, but he could hear the cries and shouts as the angry men followed.

 Turning and running through the tall grass, the boy and wolf stayed a little ahead of the hunters.  They raced to the swamp.

 Halfway there, Tao saw some of the hunters running to cut him off.  His heart sank.  He couldn't run to the swamp.  He had to run to the river instead.

 Quickly he changed directions.  He ran through the edge of the forest, jumping along on his spear.  His arms grew tired and he was out of breath.

 Then he smelled smoke.  He looked back and saw the grass on fire.  The hunters had started a grass fire to keep him from going back.

 He ran straight ahead and reached the river.  Here he looked around.  The river was like a wall.  On the far side was the land of the Mountain People.  "What should I do?" he wondered.
  Then he heard the shouts of the hunters.  They were getting closer.  On the other side of the river the wolf dog would be safe.  The hunters would not follow.  He looked down at Ram.  "You must go across the river," he said.  "Stay there until I call."

 Ram looked up, crying.

 Tao pointed to the other side.  "Go!" he said, pushing the wolf dog into the water.  Once, twice, Ram turned back, but Tao kept pushing him into the water.  "Go!"  He threw stones and chased the wolf dog further and further into the river.

 Soon Ram was swimming.  Tao saw his head on the water and the river carried him.  He watched as the wolf dog pulled himself up on the other side and shook off the water.  He saw Ram look back once or twice, then disappear into the trees.

 A moment later the hunters came out of the bushes.
 
 
 
 

 Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Fourteen:  Pages 121 - 130
 

 When he heard the hunters coming, Tao jumped behind a large tree.  There was no other place for him to hide.  First he threw his spear out into the grassy field.  Then he climbed the tree.  He lay quietly on one of the branches like a cat.  He looked down through the leaves almost afraid to breathe.

 The smell of smoke was still in the air, but the fire was almost out.

 The hunters came to the foot of the tree.  They shouted and pointed toward the river.  They looked around the bushes and followed the footprints up and down the riverbank.

 The big leader walked back under the tree.  He stood there looking around, angry and shaking his spear.  Then slowly he looked up into the tree.  Tao held his breath.  Carefully he looked down through the leaves.  Volt was below him.

 The big man walked around the tree.  For one moment, the boy was sure Volt had seen him.  But Volt continued to walk, his eyes looking from branch to branch.  Then Tao saw him turn away and go down to the river to the other hunters.  There Volt found the boy's spear.  "The fools have crossed the river," he shouted.

 Garth said, "Let the Mountain People find them."

 The hunters nodded.

 "Let's go back to camp," Volt said angrily.

 Tao stayed hidden on his branch.  He was sure Volt had seen him.  Maybe going away was only a trick to get him down.  He waited for darkness.  Then he climbed to the ground.  He was tired and his body hurt.  He waited near the riverbank for Ram.  In a few days, if the hunters did not return, he would call the wolf dog back.

 The next morning he was still tired and hungry.  He was trying to catch fish when he heard a sad "whooo-woo-woo-woo".  He heard it again, louder this time.

 Suddenly he became afraid.  It was the cry of a wolf.

 Tao walked up and down the riverbank.  He looked across to the other side.  Again he heard the sad, lonely cry.  Without waiting, he pulled off his deerskin boots and put them under his belt.  Then he jumped into the river.  He swam through the cold water.  The river carried him downstream and to the other side.  He pulled himself out of the water and stepped onto dry land.  He put on his wet boots.  Then he found a stick to use as a crutch.
  The wolf cry continued from somewhere on the hillside.  Tao followed the cry over rocks and into the forest.  All he could think about was Ram.

 He saw fresh tracks going up the hill, and he knew some men had been there only a short time before.

 He went into the bushes.  The cries were closer now.  Suddenly he stepped into a clearing.  There was Ram, lying on the ground, alone.  His legs were tied to a pole with leather strips.  When he saw the boy, Ram tried to get free.

 Tao grew angry.  He ran up to the wolf dog.  "Hold still," he whispered as he took out his stone knife and began to cut the leather.  Tao was almost finished when a voice called out, "Leave the wolf dog alone."

 The boy turned quickly around to see a large, red-bearded man step out of the bushes.  He was dressed in a bearskin robe.  He held a spear and pointed it at Tao.  The boy heard the sound of footsteps.  A moment later, nine more hunters came out of the bushes.  They were dressed in sheepskins and all of them carried spears.  Tao saw the anger in their eyes.  "Who are you?" asked the red-haired leader.  He spoke a language almost like Tao's.

 "I am Tao of the Valley People."

 "We have watched you across the river with your wolf dog.  Now you hunt on our land."

 "No," said Tao.  "I came only to get Ram.  I do not want to hunt your animals."

 The big leader shook his head.  "The wolf dog stays," he said.  "He belongs to us now."

 Tao's hand grabbed at his stone knife and he stepped forward.  Two of the hunters grabbed him by the arms and held him back.  The others tied Ram's mouth, then lifted him up on the long pole.  The wolf dog tried to get free.

 Tao tried to pull away.  He got angry as he saw the hunters carry Ram into the forest.  "Let the wolf dog go," he shouted.  "He hasn't hurt you.  I will leave your land.  I will never return."

 Once again the leader shook his head.

 "Then give me the wolf dog," said Tao.  "I will hunt with him . . . here . . . and bring you many animals for food."

 The big leader looked at all the hunters.  They shook their heads.  But one said, "Maybe the boy speaks wisely.  It will help to have a wolf dog again."
  The leader nodded.  "Come," he said.  "Bring the boy.  We will ask the shaman."

 Tao turned quickly.  "You have the shaman?"

 "Yes," said the leader.  "He rests in our camp."

 "Is he Graybeard?"

 The big man nodded and walked ahead.  "He is sick."

 Tao followed the hunters to the camp of the Mountain People.  Their camp had a circle of skin huts at the foot of a high hill.  The women and children looked up as Tao limped along next to the hunters.

 The leader took him over to one of the huts and opened the door.  "The shaman sleeps here," he said.  "He doesn't eat and he is getting thinner."

 In the soft light Tao saw Graybeard lying on a bed.  The old man looked up and started coughing.  He crawled out of the hut.

 Tao was surprised.  The old man was so thin and weak.

 "Ah," said Graybeard in a weak voice.  "The Mountain People have brought you.  They say I am dying."

 The boy shook his head.  He didn't want to believe that was true.  "It cannot be," he said.  "Graybeard, with rest you will be well again."

 "Maybe," said Graybeard.  "But first you must help me get back to the land of your people."

 Tao shook his head again.  "I cannot go back."

 "Why?"

 Tao told Graybeard about sending Ram across the river to escape the clan hunters and about the Mountain People catching him.

 The big leader nodded.  "Now he will stay with us and hunt with the wolf dog."

 "No," said Graybeard.  "He cannot stay."

 The leader looked angry and went away.

 "Don't worry," said Graybeard.  "I will tell them to let the wolf dog go."
  "But if I take Ram back to the valley, my people will kill him."

 Graybeard held up a hand.  "If you trust me and do as I say, there will be no danger."

 Tao said, "I don't understand."

 The old man smiled weakly.  "The longhorns have come back onto the high fields.  Tomorrow is the day of the hunt.  Tonight we will paint images of the great animals on the walls of the Secret Cave."

 Tao was surprised.  "But I am not a Chosen One.  The elders will not let me."

 "I have taught you," said Graybeard.  "I will tell the clan people.  You will make the spirits of the longhorns live in the Secret Cave."

 "But you are still the Cave Painter."

 "No, Tao.  I can no longer lift my arms or hold a brush."

 "Then you must rest and get well and you will paint again."

 The old man bent over, coughing badly.  "There is no time.  Even now the herds are on the high fields.  The hunters are waiting."

 "There are others who want to paint images."

 "None as good as you.  Your images are true and will make the spirits happy."

 Tao shook his head, worried about Graybeard.  "It is a long trip."

 "I can walk slowly."

 "You are like an old wild pig," said the boy.  "You will not give up."

 "If you will not help me, I will try to do it myself."

 Tao sighed and threw up his hands.  "Then we must start now."

 Graybeard spoke with the leader of the Mountain People again.  They gave Ram back to Tao.

 With the sun still high in the sky, Tao helped the old man down through the forest.  They moved slowly.

 They came to the river.  Tao built a raft of branches tied together with vines.  Graybeard sat on the raft and Tao pushed it out into the river.  Graybeard got wet, but they got to the other side safely.

 Tao wanted to build a fire and let the old man rest and dry off, but Graybeard shook his head.  "We must get there before dark.  We must hurry."

 As Tao helped the old man go back to the camp of the clan people, he was scared and excited.  Tonight he would become a cave painter.
 
 
 
 

 Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Fifteen:  Pages 131 - 136

 They walked slowly across the valley with Graybeard leaning on Tao's shoulder.  Then they stopped outside the camp.  "Listen carefully," Graybeard said, "and do as I say."

 Tao stood quietly.

 "Go up to the top of the hill above the camp and wait," said Graybeard.  "As soon as darkness comes, climb down the narrow path to the entrance of Big Cave."

 Graybeard took the deerskin bag from his shoulder.  He reached in and pulled out a large shell filled with a candle made of animal fat.  He gave it to Tao.  "Here  is your lamp," he said.  "Light it at the Endless Flame and go into the cave."

 Tao felt afraid.  He was not a Chosen One, but he would go into the Secret Cave.  That was against the greatest taboo of all.

 But the old man said, "Follow the cave until you come to the place where it divides.  Stay on this side.  When you reach the Secret Cave, no one will be there.  Begin your drawings of the great bulls at once."

 Tao had a hundred questions.  But Graybeard took his deerskin bag and put it over the boy's shoulder.  "Here," he said.  "This is yours now.  Inside you will find the carved stones and all the other magic you will need."

 Tao stepped back, surprised.  But Graybeard continued.  "Draw and paint as many longhorns as you can.  When I come with the clan hunters, they will see how true your images are and they will know why I have chosen you as the new Cave Painter."

 The old man stopped again.  He was breathing hard and coughing.  "Go now," he said, "and remember what I have told you."

 Tao watched the old man walk away and disappear into the dark forest.  Now the boy was alone.

 Tao left Ram in the little cave and told him to stay.  Then he climbed up the hill and walked along the top above the entrance to Big Cave.  Below him were the big fires and he could see the camp of the clan people.  He stayed in the shadows.

 As he waited, he worried about Graybeard.  His friend was so thin and weak.

 It was a long time before the sun set.  Then Tao got up.  His hands were shaking and his legs were weak.  He curled his bad foot around this crutch and started down to Big Cave.
 Far below the clan hunters were dancing around a big fire.  He could hear them singing.  Some of them wore bison robes with antlers and horns on their heads.  Others wore masks carved to look like bears or devils to scare away the evil spirits.

 Tao moved carefully to the cave entrance,  Suddenly he saw a young hunter climbing up to the Endless Flame.  Quickly Tao moved back into the shadows and hid.

 The young hunter threw armfuls of wood on the fire.  Tao waited.  The hunter didn't see him.

 After the hunter was gone, Tao went to the Endless Flame and lit his lamp.

 No one was at the entrance to the Big Cave now.  He held his lamp high and limped inside, starting down the dark cave.  It was cold and wet, and his small candle made shadows on the gray walls.  There was only a sound of dripping water.  Everything else was quiet and cold, like death.

 Tao continued, trying to hurry.  He wanted to paint as many animals as possible before Graybeard came with the hunters.  Soon the cave became smaller with many turns.  Once he got down on his hands and knees and pushed his lamp ahead of him.

 Then at a turn in the cave, Tao's heart jumped.  A large cave lion looked down at him.  It moved back and forth as Tao moved his lamp, and he saw the lion was only a painting.

 Tao continued to where the cave divided into two.  He stopped.  He could not remember which way the shaman had said to go.  He tried the one on the left.

 A bad smell filled the air.  The sound of water echoed throughout the cave.  Slowly, Tao limped along, holding his lamp ahead of him.  Then he stopped.  He was sure he had taken the wrong turn.

 Quickly he started back, almost running.  He came to a second opening.  Was this the one going to the Secret Cave?   He wasn't sure.  His heart pounded quickly.

 He started down the new cave.  He went only a short distance when he heard a sharp hissing sound.  Everything went black.  A drop of water from the cave had put out his lamp.

 For a long time Tao stood scared to death.  He threw down his useless lamp, and began feeling his way along the wet walls.  Totally blind, he made his way through the blackness, not sure that he was going in the right direction.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Sixteen:  Pages 137 - 143
 

 Tao limped on through the darkness.  He was trapped in the black under-ground cave.  His right hand felt his way along the cave wall.  His left hand held his crutch.  He was sure he was going in the wrong direction.  He moved ahead, listening to the sound of his feet.  His eyes tried to see something in the darkness.

 Then he smelled burning fat.  He went on and the smell became stronger.  He limped faster, his hand out in front of him.  Smoke meant fire and fire meant light.  He kept on going with his heart filled with new hope.

 Suddenly, far ahead, he thought he saw a light.  It danced for a moment, then went out.  It came again, a tiny star far ahead in the darkness.  He went toward it, falling, then picking himself up.

 The soft light became brighter.  The burning smell became stronger, too.  Tao was breathing fast, his heart beating fast.  Soon he was able to see clearly.  He hurried, almost running now.  A few moments later he ran into a brightly lit room.

 Candle lamps were all around the walls.  Around the floor were  stone and shell dishes filled with paints and oils.  There were brushes and burned sticks.  He looked around silently.  He had found the Secret Cave.  It was beautiful and colorful.  Many times he had heard about the Secret Cave, but he never thought is would be so wonderful.

 Long rows of hairy mammoths walked across the cave wall.  There were running horses, wild pigs, and giant cave bears.  There were rhinos on the other wall.  Antelope and deer ran across the top of the cave.  The animals were large, almost life-sized.   They looked like they were alive.  Their colors were just like he had seen them in the fields and forests.

 The animals were all here in this secret place.  He was now part of this place forever.  He was happy that Graybeard had asked him to come.

 Tao walked over to a large blank part of the wall.  He felt the wall with his hand.  He reached into Graybeard's bag and took out the stones with animal carvings.  He found the longhorn bull.  Then he picked up a large burned stick.  He made his first mark on the wall of the Secret Cave.

 He made a large outline.  Then he studied the carving for a moment and began to draw.  He copied the sketch line for line, drawing the longhorn.
  He drew the large square head and the long, curving horns.  He drew the shoulders, chest, and strong body.  He carved out a circle around the eye, just the way Graybeard had taught him.

 After a moment he stepped back and looked at his drawing.  Then he quickly outlined two, three, and more longhorns, one behind the other.

 He picked up a large brush and began painting: the yellows first, then reds and browns.  Slowly the longhorns came alive in the lamplight.

 On and on Tao painted.  He forgot about the taboos.  He forgot about the clan laws.  He even forgot about Graybeard and the clan hunters.

 He finished his longhorns and began to draw a mammoth.  He worked quickly letting his hand go freely over the cave wall.  Again he painted in the colors.

 He was almost finished when he heard the sound of feet coming through the cave.  He turned slowly, the paintbrush still in his hand.  Now the hunters -- Volt and Garth, all of them -- would see how well he could draw.  And Graybeard would name him the new Cave Painter.  He stood quietly to one side, a smile on his face.

 The clan hunters came into the Secret Cave.  He saw them look around.  He waited for Graybeard to come in, but the old man was not with them.  Suddenly Tao's smile died.  He saw the look of anger on Garth's face and he knew he had done something very wrong.

 Tao heard someone swearing angrily, and turned to see Volt standing behind him.  "You are evil.  You have broken the taboos, you and that evil wolf dog."

 "Graybeard sent me here," Tao said, "to paint the longhorns."  He pointed to the drawings he had just finished.

 But the hunters did not even look at the paintings.  They crowded closer looking down at the boy.

 "You're lying," said Garth.  He pulled the leather bag from Tao's shoulder.  He held it up for all to see.  "Look, he stole the shaman's bag."

 "Maybe he killed Graybeard," said another hunter.

 Volt looked angry and asked, "Where is the shaman?"

 Tao swallowed hard.  "Didn't he come with you?"

 "You know he is not with us," growled Garth.  "What have you done with him?"

 "Nothing," said Tao.  "Graybeard will come.  He promised."

 "Then where is he?" asked Garth.

 "I left the shaman near the forest.  He was sick.  But I didn't hurt him.  He was my friend.  He taught me to paint in the caves."

 The hunters didn't believe him.  They grabbed him, pushing and pulling him through the cave.  They took him down to the camp where they tied his hands and feet.

 In the light of the campfire Tao saw the anger in their eyes.  "Find the shaman.  He will tell you I am not lying," Tao cried.

 Just then Volt came into the light of the campfire.  "Wait," he said.  "The boy has made the spirits angry.  Now we will let the spirits kill him.  Let him face Saxon the bull."
 
 
 
 
 

 Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Seventeen:  Pages 144 - 155
 

 Tao's hands and feet were tied together.   He lay on the ground under a tree.  Tao was worried about Graybeard.  He knew the clan leaders were out looking for the old shaman, and as soon as they found him everything would be all right.  "The shaman will tell them what happened, and I will become the new Cave Painter," Tao thought.

  He was thinking about this when he saw four hunters carrying something wrapped in bearskins.  They put it on the ground near the big fire.  He saw some women kneel down beside it crying loudly.  He knew it was a dead person.

 More women came.  They uncovered the body and put handfuls of red clay on it.  Then they wrapped the body in tree bark before burying it.

 Just then Tao heard a soft cry behind him.  He turned and saw a pair of yellow eyes staring at him from the darkness.  He knew it was Ram.  "Go," he whispered.  "Go away."  But the wolf dog did not move.

 After the women were finished, someone came to him.  It was Kala.  She had something in her hands.  It was Graybeard's bag.  "You said Graybeard gave this to you," she whispered.  "Then he would want you to keep it."

 Tao felt hope.  "Have they found him yet?"

 "Yes," she said sadly.  "But the shaman is dead.  They found him lying in the forest."

 Tao put his hands to his head and closed his eyes.  "He was my friend.  He was sick.  I didn't kill him.  They must believe me."

 "Quiet," said Kala.  She had a knife in her hand.  "They will believe only the evil spirits.  That is why I must cut you free."

 Tao pulled away.  "No," he said.  "They would kill you for this."

 "I am an old woman, and you have many summers yet."

 Tao shook his head.  "If I run away, they will be sure I killed Graybeard.  I will face Saxon," he said bravely.

 Kala said, "You are like your mother.  You are stubborn and won't listen."

 The next morning the hunters untied Tao's feet and brought him to the fields.  He didn't let the hunters see that he was afraid.  He looked straight ahead.

 They put him out on the field where Saxon lived for more than eight summers.  Now, standing in the bright sun, Saxon stood in the distance.  He seemed larger than ever with his large shoulders and long, sharp horns.  Once again Tao looked across the field at the white bones of the people Saxon had killed.

 The hunters climbed high on a rock where they could watch the fight safely.  Volt untied Tao's hands and gave him a spear.  "It is the spirits who want you to face Saxon with a spear," he said.

 Tao was thankful for the spear.  He felt Graybeard's deerskin bag under his robe.  He knew it had only some pieces of stones.  How could they stop a charging bull?

 Volt walked over and climbed up on the rock with the hunters.  Garth and the others began waving their arms and jumping to bring Saxon over.

 The big bull looked up.  He came over to the rock and roared at the hunters.  Then he saw Tao standing alone in the field.  He turned quickly.  He went toward Tao.

 Tao was scared, but stood still.  His heart was pounding wildly.  He waited for the attack.

 The large animal stopped in front of the boy.  He eyes were like fire.  Slowly he circled around, taking his time.  He knew the boy could not escape.

 Tao turned with him.  He was standing on his good foot, holding himself straight with the spear.

 Then the black bull put his head down and kicked up clouds of dust with his feet.  Then with a roar, he charged.

 Tao saw the long, sharp horns coming straight at him.  At the last moment he threw himself to one side and got out of the way.

 The big bull was angry.   He turned again.  Quickly Tao jumped to his feet.  Once more Saxon lowered his head.  He charged, kicking up clouds of dust.

 Tao stayed still, waiting for the right moment.  Once again he jumped aside.  But this time he felt the bull's shoulder against his body.  He fell to the ground and dropped the spear from his hand.  For a moment he was unable to move.

 Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Volt jump down from the rock, shouting and waving his arms.  The angry bull looked up.  It gave Tao time to get to his feet.  But Saxon turned back again quickly.  Slowly he walked around the boy. Then the bull charged wildly.

 Tao jumped aside once more, just in time.  A long curved horn caught his robe and threw him to the ground.  The deerskin bag was torn free and hung from his shoulder.

 His chest and arms hurt a lot.  The boy looked up to see the bull turn, getting ready to charge again.  He didn't have enough time to get out of the way.  He reached blindly for his spear, but the bull was coming fast.

 Then, suddenly, he saw Graybeard's deerskin bag lying at his side.  Quickly he pulled it from his shoulder.  He swung it above his head around and around.  Then he let it go just as the bull came near.  It hit the bull in the face.  Angry and confused, Saxon ran off, tossing his head.  Everything in the bag fell out.

 Tao stood up and leaned on his spear.  He was breathing heavily.  Unable to move, he saw a flash of sunlight in the grass.  He looked again.  It was Graybeard's shining stone.  He jumped over to the grass and picked it up in his hand.  He got to his feet and turned the stone to the sun.  The light was shining in Saxon's eyes.  The bull slowed up.  The confused bull stopped and shook his head.

 Angrily Saxon turned and charged again.  Tao moved toward him, flashing the light across his face.  Once again Saxon backed off.  He moved around in a circle, roaring angrily, but afraid to charge.  He stopped as if facing a wall of fire.  Tao made him go backward in the blinding light.

 The bull moved his head from side to side, but Tao kept after him.

 Finally the anger in his eyes was gone.  He lowered his head.  The bull roared to the sky, then left the field  of battle.  In a cloud of dust, Tao saw him disappear into the herd of bison.

 Volt walked over to Tao, followed by Garth and some of the hunters.  They were surprised.  "No one has ever won against Saxon before," he said.  "Yet the magic was here for all to see."

 Tao's hands were shaking, his heart still pounding.  He began picking up the stones and things from Graybeard's deerskin bag.  He started to tell Volt there was no real magic.  Then he remembered Graybeard's voice.  "If they want to call it magic, then let it be so."

 Volt walked up and down, shaking his spear.  "It is the will of the spirits," he said.  "They have given the sign and Tao did nothing wrong."
  Tao stood quietly.  Suddenly he heard a sound like thunder rolling across the field.  A cloud of dust went up as hundreds of bison came running at them like a storm.  It was a living wave of animals, growing larger and larger, shaking the earth.

 Volt's eyes grew wide.  "Saxon is making the bison run at us," he shouted.  "Run!"

 Garth and the hunters ran back to the large rock.  Tao wrapped his bad foot around his spear and started after them.  He got up on the rock just as the herd came running by.  Blinded by the dust, the bison were crazy, running into one another.  Some of the animals were pushed over the hillside and fell to their death on the rocks below.

 Suddenly Tao's heart jumped.  He didn't remember seeing Volt coming up the rock with the others.  The leader was not on the field below.

 Moments later the bison herd stopped running.  It turned slowly and began walking back across the fields.  Then Tao saw a gray wolf dog running across the grass.  "Ram!"

 But as Tao started toward him, he saw Volt, sitting on the ground beside the body of a dead baby bison.  Not far away was the angry mother ready to charge.

 Quickly Tao started down the rock.  He jumped down and ran toward Volt, afraid he would be too late.  He saw a gray shadow jump from behind the rock and run with him.  It was Ram.

 Barking and biting, the wolf dog ran at the bison making her turn away.  Volt got to his feet.

 Tao came up shouting and waving the deerskin bag.  The bison turned.  She stepped back, then turned and ran off across the field.

 Tao ran over to Ram.  The wolf dog was cut on the shoulder.  Tao reached down and pulled up handfuls of grass to stop the bleeding.  Then he threw his arms around the tired animal.

 Volt's eyes were wild.  He looked down at Ram, then raised his hairy arms to the sky.  "The evil is gone!  The bad luck is finished!" he shouted.  "This is a sign from the spirits."

 Tao sat on the ground, his arm around Ram's shoulder.  He knew Volt could never change.  The spirits would always rule his life.
  "I saw it with my own eyes," said Volt.  "It is too bad your mother couldn't be here to see it.  She would be happy now."

 Tao turned, surprised by his words.  "Did you know my mother?"

 "I knew your mother when you were only a baby," he said.

 With all his heart Tao wanted to know more.  "What was she like?" he asked.

 Volt was silent for a moment.  Then his spoke.  "She was a tall, pretty woman," he said.  "She was like a young tree.  But she was strong and stubborn, too.  She saw things in a way the rest of us did not always understand."

 Tao heard sadness in Volt's voice.

 The leader looked at the boy, studying him for a moment.  Then he said, "I will tell you no more than this:  In many ways she was much like you."

 It was the first time Tao ever heard Volt speak a quiet word.  It was strange.  He watched the leader walk away, and he shouted out the words: "You are my father!"

 Volt turned, a half-smile on his face.  "You are a man now," he said.  "You no longer need a father."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 Boy of the Painted Cave
Chapter Eighteen: Pages 156 - 158
 

 They buried Graybeard in the little cave high up on the hillside overlooking the valley.  Tao led the sad line of people, with Ram walking by his side.  He was dressed in a new deerskin robe and he had a necklace of lion's teeth around his neck.  Volt and the hunters carried the old shaman's body.  The clan people followed.  Children clapped sticks together and the women cried loudly.

 They put Graybeard in a grave in the little cave.  Tao put a spear, a stone knife, and a lamp beside the body.  Kala put into the grave some dried meat and nuts to help the old one on his long trip to the land of the spirits.  Finally they put the body of an owl in his hands to show his wisdom.

 Tao stood at the foot of the open grave and looked around the cave.  He saw his paintings of the bison and mammoths.   He remembered how Graybeard made him do his drawings over and over again to make them better.  He thought about the good times they had together.  He felt a sad emptiness in his heart.

 They covered the grave with the bones of a mammoth and threw on stones and dirt.  After they left the cave, they rolled big stones over the opening so animals couldn't get in.

 Then Volt gathered the clan people around him.  He held up Gray-beard's  necklace and some of his stones.  He gave them to Tao.  Tao is our new Cave Painter," he said.  "It is the wish of Graybeard and the wish of the spirits."

 Kala came forward with a new deerskin bag.  She put it over Tao's shoulder.  There was a proud smile on her wrinkled old face.

 Tao touched her arm.  Then he started to cry and turned around quickly.  Together, he and Ram climbed down the hill into the valley.  He looked across the river to the land of the Mountain People.  Tao knew he would have to go there and prove himself again.

 But he did not want to think of this just now.  For now he was following his dream.  He was walking in Graybeard's footsteps.