OOGO THE CAVE BOY 1
FIRE

What would it be like to grow up as a caveboy? OOGO is a very inventive child whether he knows it or not. He takes everyday - one day at a time.

OOGO

THE CAVE BOY

FIRE

BY CHRISTY DAVIS

Oogo was a small caveboy. He was seven summers old. He had long tangled dark brown hair and hazel green eyes. He wore a tiger skin and walked barefoot everywhere he went.

Oogo lived with his father and mother in a large cave up on the side of a big mountain. Four other people lived in the cave with them. Oogo was the only child. Everyone helped find food and fight the big animals that came to eat them. They never let Oogo help, everyone thought that Oogo was too young.

Oogo loved to sit on the ledge in front of his cave when the dark clouds were up in the sky. He liked the feel of wind and rain on his face. He also liked to watch for lightning.

When the lightning struck the earth, it would start a fire. Oogo’s father and the other men would run down the mountain and bring some of the fire back to the cave. Everyone enjoyed its warmth.

One morning Oogo’s father sat outside on the ledge in front of their cave. He had two stones, one in each hand. He used one stone to sharpen the other. He was chipping away pieces here and there, until at last he’d made a spearhead.

Oogo grabbed two rocks of his own. He beat them together as hard as he could. Oogo made so much noise his father turned around. He grabbed the stones from the boy’s hands and tossed them away. “Ughh!” his father grunted.

Oogo picked up two more stones and snuck back inside the cave. Again he tried as hard as he could to chip out a spearhead like his father.

“Ughh!” his mother grunted. She grabbed the stones and threw them to the ground.

Oogo sat quietly for a few minutes, but he grew tired of sitting. He knew his father and mother would be proud of him if he could make a spearhead. He picked up his two stones and went back outside.

This time Oogo hid in a small patch of tall dry weeds near the cave and tried again. He beat the rocks together even harder this time. A spark flew from the rocks, and landed in a bush next to him. A small flame flickered up, and the brush caught fire.

Oogo jumped out of the brush and shouted for his father.

Everyone ran over to see what was wrong. They watched as the bush burn to the ground. Then, they looked up into the sky for the dark clouds and lightning. But the sky was bright blue. There were no clouds.

“Ughh?” Oogo’s father grunted. He wanted to know how the fire started.

Oogo held out the two rocks and banged them together.

“Ughh?!” his father started to laugh. He didn’t believe banging two rocks together could start a fire and neither did the others.

Oogo quickly gathered some dry weeds. He banged the stones together over and over, as fast, and as hard as he could. Poof! The dry weeds caught fire. Everyone stepped back. They were amazed. Oogo was a genius!

Oogo handed the stones to his father. His mother and father had already taught him that fire was dangerous. Oogo didn’t like fire unless it was inside the cave where his father and the other men put it.

His father and mother hugged Oogo. They were very proud of their son. Now they could have fire to keep them warm whenever they wanted.

THE END