's club_ 114
_Bodo catches a squirrel_ 115
_A leader_ 120
_A necklace of claws_ 122
_How they wore the necklace_ 123
_Musk sheep_ 125
_A Tree-dweller_ 131
_A lion_ 158

[Illustration: "_Many wild beasts lived then_"]

THE TREE-DWELLERS

THE AGE OF FEAR

I.

_A Story of Long Ago_

This is a story of long ago.
It will tell you of the first people we know anything about.
It will tell you how they lived before they had fire.
It will tell you how they worked before they had tools.
Many wild beasts lived then.
They were fierce and strong.
All the people feared them.
The cave-bear could strike with his big paws.
The tiger could tear with his sharp teeth.
The rhinoceros could trample one under his feet.
Each animal knew how to do one thing well.
But the people could do a great many things.
They could remember, too, what had happened before.
They learned to profit by their mistakes.
You will learn how they became brave and strong.
You will learn how they used their bodies and minds.
They began the work we are doing to-day.
They took the first steps.
People who lived after them were able to do a little more.
The next people could do still more.
Many people have lived and worked since then.
The work they have done helps us to-day.
We have something to do, too.
We can do our part better if we know what others have done.
We can do it better if we learn to use our hands.
We can do it better if we learn to use our minds.
That is why we have this little book.

II.

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

What do you need in order to live?
What do you think that the Tree-dwellers needed?

[Illustration: _A Tree-dweller chasing a young rabbit_]

_Sharptooth_

Sharptooth was a Tree-dweller.
She lived a long, long time ago.
She did not have any home.
Nobody had a home then.
People wandered from place to place.
They had no shelter except the trees.
Each night Sharptooth slept in the branches.
Each day she hunted for something to eat.
Sometimes she was very hungry.
She had hard work to find enough food.
She could