human
She made it out of mud,
gpt
Why doesn't it fall apart with the water in it?
human
I put it into the fire first, for a long time, the young woman said.
gpt
A very big fire. The mud gets red--and then it gets hard so it won't melt when the water is in it.
human
Magic?
gpt
Yes,
human
Nonsense, said the woman. She went back to the cave and the young man put the end of his spear into the fire and tried to scrape the side of the pot with the flint head, but the flint was cold and it cracked. He pulled it back and was looking angrily at it when she came out again and sat on the ground. She had an armful of roots which she began to scrape with a sharp stone.
gpt
The spearhead is made of the wrong sort of stone, she said, without looking up.
human
That is why it broke in the fire.
gpt
It's made of the _right_ kind! the young man shouted.
human
All spearheads are made of that kind! They always have been and they always will be! How did _you_ know it broke in the fire? You weren't looking.
gpt
I heard it make the sound it makes when the fire breaks it.
human
This kind of stone was put in the cave for us to make knives and spears. And it makes a very sharp edge when you know how to form it.
gpt
No sharper than this knife, she said, holding up the stone in her hand.
human
This doesn't break so easily.
gpt
How do you strike it to make it this shape? he said, and then, grudgingly,
human
It is very smooth--a very good shape.
gpt
You don't strike it, she said, taking it back and going on scraping the roots.
human
You rub it on another stone--first on the kind that has the bright sparkles in it, and then under water on the flat gray kind. It's much better than your knives and the fire doesn't break it so easily.
gpt
Where do you find such big roots?
human
Over there, the brother said, pointing to a patch of earth nearby.
gpt
I don't find them, she said.
human
I put them there in the first place.
gpt
You mean you store them in the earth?
human
No. I put the tops in the ground--the blue and yellow flowers--and next warm season I dig and there are the new roots. You have to put water on the earth when it gets dry. Also you have to pull up all the small plants that grow there among them. It's very hard work.
gpt
More magic,
human
It's not magic! she said.
gpt
You are stupid. Haven't you noticed that when you leave an acorn on the ground, it breaks open and a finger goes down into the earth? And then, after the next rains, it makes little leaves--and if you leave it alone, it grows and in time becomes a young tree?
human
Everyone knows that,
gpt
Well, this is the same.
human
Yes, but what makes the roots so big? I never saw any like these.
gpt
That's because I only take the flowers from the plants that have the biggest roots. And if any of the new roots are little, I throw away the flowers from them. Far away.
human
What do you do with the little roots?
gpt
Eat them.
human
I don't understand. If you eat the little roots, why don't you get little roots?
gpt
You are being foolish again! the young woman said.
human
A tall man has tall sons.
gpt
That has nothing to do with it.
human
My friend's father, who lives near the river, always eats the fat of the game they kill, and _he_ is fat. So you see!
gpt
That has nothing to do with it,
human
Why does she talk that way? Is she one of our sisters? I don't remember her.
gpt
No, said the other.
human
She was with the people we fought with three seasons ago. She is my new mate and she is very good at magic, only I advise you not to pay any attention to what she says.
gpt
The very tall man who killed the aurochs by himself has a son, he said,
human
Don't pay any attention to her.
gpt
I wish you would try to get the young animals, she said.
human
You always bring home the biggest ones and they are hard to chew unless I cook the meat all day.
gpt
My father said that if you wish to be brave, powerful and swift, you must eat only the animals that are brave, powerful and swift,
human
Didn't he eat roots, too?
gpt
Yes.
human
Well, then.
gpt
Roots are not animals!
human
I think I can make a small scraper out of the big piece and a throwing tip out of the little one, but this is a foolish way to get little stones. There are more little ones than big ones.
gpt
Show him your bent stick with the animal sinew, said her mate.
human
She has a way of throwing very small spears with a bent stick,