04 Cave Kids

Chapter 04 Cave Kids Jack and Annie crept to the cave and peeked inside. A small flame danced from a bed of glowing coals. Near the fire were knives, axes, and hollowed-out stones. Animal skins were neatly stacked against the wall. “ People must live here, ” said Annie. “ Maybe it’s the home of the Cro-Magnons we saw, ” said Jack, looking around.

“ Let’s go inside and get warm, ” said Annie. Jack and Annie moved quickly to the fire and warmed their hands. Their shadows danced on the stone walls. Jack pulled out his Ice Age book. He found a picture of a cave. He read: Cro-Magnons made many things from animals, plants, and stone. They made flute-like musical instruments from mammoth bones. They made ropes by braiding plant fibers. They made axes and knives from stone. Jack pulled out his notebook and pencil. He started a list:

Cro. Magnons made: bone flutes plant ropes stone axes and knives “ Ta-da! ” said Annie. Jack looked up. Annie was wearing a coat. It had a hood and long sleeves. It went all the way down to her sneakers. “ Where did you get that?” said Jack. “ From that pile of furry skins, ” said Annie, pointing. “ These must be their clothes. Maybe they’re being mended. ” She picked up another coat and handed it to Jack. “ Try one. It’s really warm, ” she said. Jack put his backpack and towel down on the hard dirt floor. He slipped on the coat.

It did feel very warm—and soft. “ We look like cave kids, ” said Annie. Squeak. Peanut peeked out of Jack’s pack lying on the floor. “ You stay in there, ” said Annie. “ There’s no teeny coat for you. ” Peanut vanished back into the pack. “ I wonder how they made these coats, ” said Jack. He turned the pages in the book until he found a picture of Cro-Magnon women sewing. He read: Cro-Magnons scraped reindeer skins with flint rocks to make them soft. They used bone needles to sew the skins together for clothing. Jack added to his list:

reindeer-skin clothes “ I hope the cave people won’t mind if we borrow their coats, ” said Jack. “ Maybe we should give them our towels, ” said Annie. “ To thank them. ” “ Good idea. ” “ And my goggles, too, ” said Annie. They left their gifts on top of the rest of the animal skins. “ Let’s explore the cave before they come home, ” said Jack. “ It’s too dark in the back, ” said Annie. “ We won’t be able to see anything. ” “ I’ll find out how Cro-Magnons saw in the dark, ” said Jack. He opened the Ice Age book. He found a picture of cave people holding odd-looking lamps. He read aloud to Annie: