The Boy of the Painted Cave Read Online Free Page A

She rocked back and forth on her short legs, her wings drooping, weary from the uneven fight. Now Tao watched closely as the wolf dog attacked, each time leading the eagle-owl farther from the nest. Then he saw his chance. On the next rush the big owl lost her balance, floundering on the forest floor. Before she could recover, Tao rushed in and grabbed two of the large white eggs. Without looking back he vaulted away, out of danger. “Come, little friend,” he shouted to the wolf dog. “We have enough for both.” He hobbled off under the trees, the wolf dog following as the owl vented its anger in wild shrieks of rage.
    When they were far enough away, Tao stopped. Panting, he sat down with his back against the trunk of an old birch tree. He cracked one of the eggs on a stone, opened it and dipped his tongue into the thick fluid. It tasted fresh and clean. “It is good,” he said. “The eggs were newly laid.” Then he gave it to the wolf dog. He made a hole in the second one, tilted back his head and sucked out the contents.
    The wolf dog finished his and looked up as if expecting more.
    â€œNo,” said Tao. “We will let the she-owl keep her single egg. The season is early. She will lay more.” He looked down at the little animal. “You are learning to hunt on your own. That is good. But it is not good to fight the eagle-owls. You must find something smaller.”
    The wolf tilted its head and looked up for a moment. Then, as if he understood, he ran on ahead and disappeared into the woods.
    There were sandy glades within the Slough where scattered clumps of bunchgrass and bilberry bushes grew. Tao hobbled from one to another, poking with his spear, hoping to scare up hidden game. He walked slowly from bush to bush, working his way up one side of the long glade and down the other.
    The morning was almost over and he was about to give up, when a swamp hare jumped out of one of the bushes and dashed across his path. Tao barely had time to brace himself. Taking quick aim, he threw his spear at the dodging animal. The weapon missed its mark and Tao groaned as the rabbit escaped.
    A moment later Tao saw the wolf dog come into the glade and begin sniffing from bush to bush. The scent of the rabbit was strong, and he soon found what he was looking for. The little animal began a slow stalking movement, creeping forward on his belly. He lifted each paw slowly, setting it down in the grass carefully. Tao watched, patiently, at his end of the glade.
    Once again the hare suddenly dashed out of cover. The wolf dog bounded after it, following a zigzag course, twisting and swerving with each turn of its quarry. Tao raised his spear, steadying himself as the wolf drove the rabbit directly toward him. He aimed carefully and, as the frightened animal passed, he struck it cleanly on the first throw.
    As he picked up the rabbit, Tao smiled. “You will be a good hunter,” he told the wolf dog. “First you find the eggs of the owl, now you find a rabbit.”
    Even as Tao spoke, the little wolf was running on ahead, going from bush to bush. With its head down it sniffed the ground to pick up a scent. It worked in and around the thickets and between the tussocks of grass.
    Before long another rabbit leaped from under a bush. It ran around in circles, a brown whirl of fur, with the little wolf dog close on its heels. In its panic it turned and headed straight for Tao. At the last moment, it saw the boy and doubled back. Tao groaned. The animal had escaped again. Then he felt a quick wave of relief as he saw it run directly into the waiting jaws of the wolf dog.
    Tao’s heart was full of joy. The sun was still high in the heavens and they already had two rabbits. He sat on his heel in the middle of the glade and with his flint knife he skinned one of the hares and fed it to the little wolf. The other rabbit he tucked under his belt to take back to camp.
    As soon as the wolf dog had