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"Now take the plaything," said Mok, "and throw the little shaft at the tree with that."

Ab did as he was told, and, poor marksman with his new device, missed the big tree repeatedly. But when, at last, the bolt struck the hard trunk fairly, there was a sound which told of the sharpness of the blow, and the headless shaft rebounded for yards. Old Mok looked upon it delightedly. "It may be there is something to your plaything,” he said to the young man. "We shall make a better one. But your shaft is good for nothing. We shall make a straighter and stronger one, and upon the end of it we shall put a little spearhead; then we can tell how deeply it will go into the wood."

For days the two labored earnestly together. When they came again into the open they bore a stronger bow, and one far more flexible than the one they had tried before. And the shaft was straight and bore a small spearhead at its end. The thought of notching the shaft to fit the string came naturally. The bow had its first arrow.

An old man is not so easily excited as a young one nor so hopeful, but when the second test was done Old Mok was the wilder and more delighted of the two. He saw it all! No longer could the spear be counted as the weapon with which to do most grievous hurt at a safe distance from whatever might be dangerous. With the better bow and straighter shaft Ab's marksmanship improved, until even this unskilled archer could hit at a distance of a double spear's cast the trunk of the huge tree. And the arrow whistled as if it were a living thing, while the flint head was buried so deeply in the wood that both Mok and Ab knew that they had found something better than any weapon the cavemen had ever known!

There followed many days of eager working by the old man and the young one, and much testing of the new device. Finally, one morning, Ab issued forth from the cave armed with his ax and knife, but without his spear. He bore, instead, a bow which was the best and strongest the two had

yet learned to fashion, and a sheaf of arrows slung behind his back. The bow and the arrows were crude, and the archer was not yet a certain marksman, but the bow was stiff, the arrows had keen heads of flint, and the arms of the hunter were strong.

After an eager search for game, late in the afternoon the youth came upon a slight descent along the foot of which ran a shallow creek. Beyond the creek was a little grass-grown valley, in which were feeding a fine herd of deer, moving in the direction of the creek. As the wind blew toward the hunter, no hint of danger was carried to them on the breeze. Concealing himself among the bushes on the little height Ab waited.

As the deer neared the creek, they grouped themselves about the greenest and richest feeding-places. When they reached the very border of the stream, they gathered in a bunch of half a hundred, close together, just beyond a spear's cast from the watcher. But this was a test, not of the spear but of the bow, and the most inexperienced of archers, shooting from the place where Ab was hidden, must strike some one of the beasts in that broad herd.

Ab sprang to his feet and drew his arrow to the head. The deer gathered for a second in affright, crowding each other before they burst wildly away. Then the bow-string twanged, the arrow sang hungrily, there was the swift thud of hundreds of feet, and the little glade was almost silent. But it was not quite silent, for, floundering in its death struggles, was a single deer, through which had passed an arrow so fiercely driven that the flint head projected from the opposite side.

Half wild with triumph was the youth who bore home the arrow-stricken game. But he was not much more delighted than was the old man, who heard the story of the hunt, and who recognized far more clearly than the youth the quality of the new weapon which they had invented. But the lips of each of the two makers of the bow were sealed for the time. Ab and Old Mok cherished together their mighty secret.

CLASS ACTIVITIES

1. Tell the story of the first bow and arrow.

2. Explain why the bow and arrow is regarded as a marvellous invention. Which required greater ability—the making of the bow or the arrow?

3. By the invention of the steam-engine man made heat work; he harnessed a natural force. Tell whether the invention of the

bow was also the harnessing of a natural force.

4. Explain how the bow and arrow resemble the sling-shot. Which was probably the earlier invention? Why do you think so? 5. Why was Old Mok sceptical at first over Ab's discovery? Why was he more excited than Ab when he found what the new plaything could do?

6. Make up a story, in the style of "The First Bow and Arrow," telling why Ab and Old Mok kept the secret of their invention, or telling what happened as a result of their invention.

7. Tell of inventions you have made in your play. Did you ever invent a secret language or a secret method of writing? Find examples of such inventions in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, or Tom Sawyer, or in Booth Tarkington's Penrod, or Penrod and Sam.

8. Reading rate: Count the number of words you had read when the two-minute signal was given. What is your rate of silent reading by the minute? How long did it take you to read the entire story? Keep your reading rate for comparison later in the

year.

2. TUBAL CAIN

CHARLES MACKAY

Old Tubal Cain was a man of might,
In the days when earth was young;
By the fierce red light of his furnace bright,
The strokes of his hammer rung;

And he lifted high his brawny hand

On the iron glowing clear,

Till the sparks rushed out in scarlet showers,
As he fashioned sword and spear.

And he sang: "Hurrah for my handiwork!
Hurrah for the spear and the sword!

Hurrah for the hand that shall wield them well,
For he shall be king and lord!"

To Tubal Cain came many a one,

As he wrought by his roaring fire

And each one prayed for a strong steel blade

As the crown of his desire;

And he made them weapons sharp and strong,
Till they shouted loud for glee,

And gave him gifts of pearl and gold,
And spoils of the forest free.

And they said, "Hurrah for Tubal Cain,
Who hath given us strength anew!
Hurrah for the smith, hurrah for the fire,
And hurrah for the metal true!"

But a sudden change came o'er his heart
Ere the setting of the sun,

And Tubal Cain was filled with pain
For the evil he had done;

He saw that men with rage and hate

Made war upon their kind,

That the land was red with the blood they shed

In their lust for carnage blind.

And he said, "Alas that ever I made,

Or that skill of mine should plan,

The spear and the sword for men whose joy
Is to slay their fellow man!"

And for many a day old Tubal Cain
Sat brooding o'er his woe;

And his hand forbore to smite the ore,
And his furnace smoldered low.

But he rose at last with a cheerful face
And a bright courageous eye,

And bared his strong right arm for work,
While the quick flames mounted high;
And he sang, "Hurrah for my handiwork!"
And the red sparks lit the air;

"Not alone for the blade was the bright steel made,"
And he fashioned the first plowshare.

And men, taught wisdom from the past,

In friendship joined their hands,

Hung the sword in the hall, the spear on the wall,

And plowed the willing lands;

And sung: "Hurrah for Tubal Cain!

Our stanch good friend is he;
And for the plowshare and the plow
To him our praise shall be.

But while oppression lifts its head,
Or a tyrant would be lord,

Though we may thank him for the plow,

We'll not forget the sword!"

CLASS ACTIVITIES

1. Tell whether the poet omits any important reasons why early men wished sharp, strong weapons.

2. What made Tubal Cain sad? What restored his cheer and courage?

3. Which inventions came first

the sword or the plowshare, weap

ons for fighting or tools for working? Give reasons for your opinion. Name any of the preceding selections which help you answer this question.

4. Explain the last stanza. Do the first three lines give a true picture of the world to-day?

5. Have three pupils read this poem before the class. Discuss the differences in the meaning brought out by the various readers, and decide which method of reading is best.

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