ready for Thanksgiving.

"It is likely that old Sabre-tooth will be having a feast too," said
Grannie. "He is as glad as any of us to see the bison come back. Maybe
now he won't catch any bad children who stray too far into the wood."

You see, the fierce sabre-toothed tiger was the beast they feared most
of all, but they always had to be on the watch for wolves and hyenas,
and for the dreadful cave bear as well. There were wild horses, too,
and elephants, and mammoths, and lions. Grannie had to keep telling the
children about these dangers, just as our mothers tell us to-day to keep
out of the way of trolley-cars and steam-engines and automobiles. Only
trolley-cars and steam-engines don't run after us and stick their heads
right into our front doors and try to eat us up, as the wild creatures
did in those days.

It seems to us now that no one could possibly have had any happiness in
a world so full of dangers, but you see Grannie and all the rest of the
clan did not know that life could be any different. Just because there
were so many dangers, they grew brave to meet them, and a brave man
among dangers is far happier than a coward in a safe place. So perhaps
they had just as good a time living as we do, after all.

By the time the children had gathered a heap of wood large enough to
cook the biggest kind of a feast, it was afternoon. There was nothing
in the cave to eat, and they grew hungrier and hungrier, but there were
no signs of any hunters. Shadows began to gather in the woods. Now and
then there was a cry of some night bird, or of a distant wolf. These
were lonely sounds. Firefly began to be discouraged.

"Suppose they shouldn't bring home any meat after all," she said.

"Then we'll just have to go hungry," said Grannie.

Firetop laid his hand on his stomach and groaned.

"_Men_ never complain of such things," said Grannie.

Firetop took his hand off his stomach at once and made believe he had
just coughed a little. You see the cave people taught their children to
bear hunger and pain without making any fuss about it.

"I tell you what we could do," said Grannie. "If we had some water, we
could have a place to boil the meat all ready when the hunters come
back. Who'll go for water?"

"I'll go," said Firetop.

"So will I," said Blackbird.

"And I," said Squaretoes.

They were all boys. Robin and Firefly were the only little girls in the
clan.

"Get the gourds and the pig-skin an