CHAPTER I On the river bank
On a cold, cloudy and rainy morning, a little nine-year-old boy sat on the bank of a huge river.
A mighty stream rushed forward uncontrollably: in its yellow waves it carried away branches and grass huddled in heaps, uprooted trees and huge ice floes with heavy stones frozen in them.
The boy was alone. He was squatting in front of a bunch of freshly cut canes. His thin body was accustomed to the cold: he did not pay any attention to the terrifying noise and roar of the ice floes.
The sloping banks of the river were densely overgrown with tall reeds, and a little further the steep slopes of chalk hills rose like high white walls, washed away by the river.
The chain of these hills was lost in the distance, in a foggy and bluish twilight; dense forests covered it.
Not far from the boy, on the slope of the hill, just above the place where the river washed the hill, a wide black hole yawned like a huge gaping mouth, which led into a deep cave.
A boy was born here nine years ago. The ancestors of his ancestors also lived here for a long time.
Only through this dark hole did the harsh inhabitants of the cave enter and exit, through it they received air and light; the smoke of the hearth, on which the fire was diligently maintained day and night, poured out of it.
At the foot of the gaping hole lay huge stones, they served as something like a ladder.
A tall, lean old man with tanned, wrinkled skin appeared at the threshold of the cave. His long gray hair was pulled up and tied in a bun at the crown of his head. His blinking red eyelids were inflamed from the acrid smoke that forever filled the cave. The old man raised his hand and, covering his eyes with his palm under thick, overhanging eyebrows, looked towards the river. Then he shouted:
- Crack! – This hoarse, abrupt cry was like the cry of a frightened bird of prey.
"Krek" meant "bird catcher." The boy received such a nickname for a reason: since childhood, he was distinguished by his extraordinary dexterity in catching birds at night: he captured them sleepy in their nests and triumphantly brought them to the cave. It happened that for such successes he was rewarded at dinner with a hefty piece of raw bone marrow - an honorable dish usually reserved for elders and fathers of the family.
Krek was proud of his nickname: it reminded him of his nightly exploits.
The boy turned around at the scream, instantly jumped up from the ground and, grabbing a bunch of reeds, ran up to the old man.
At the stone staircase he laid down his burden, raised his hands to his forehead as a sign of respect and said:
– I’m here, Elder! What do you want from me?
“Child,” answered the old man, “all of us left before dawn in the forests to hunt for deer and broad-horned bulls.” They will return only in the evening, because - remember this - the rain washes away the traces of animals, destroys their smell and carries away the tufts of fur that they leave on the branches and gnarled tree trunks. Hunters will have to work hard before they meet their prey. This means we can go about our business until the evening. Leave your reed. We have enough shafts for arrows, but few stone points, good chisels and knives: they are all sharpened, jagged and broken off.
– What will you order me to do, Elder?
“Together with your brothers and me you will walk along the White Hills.” We will stock up on large flints; they are often found at the foot of coastal cliffs. Today I will tell you the secret of how to trim them. It's time, Krek. You have grown up, you are strong, beautiful and worthy of carrying a weapon made with your own hands. Wait for me, I'll go get the other children.
“I listen and obey,” answered Krek, bowing before the old man and with difficulty containing his joy.
The old man went into a cave, from where suddenly strange guttural exclamations were heard, more like the cries of alarmed young animals than human voices.
The old man called Krek handsome, big and strong. He must have wanted to cheer the boy up; after all, in fact, Krek was small, even very small, and very thin.
Krek's wide face was covered with a red tan; thin red hair stuck out above his forehead, greasy, tangled, covered with ash and all sorts of rubbish. He was not very handsome, this pathetic primitive child. But a living mind shone in his eyes; his movements were deft and quick.
He tried to get on the road as quickly as possible and impatiently hit the ground with his wide foot with large toes, and with all his five hands he pulled hard on his lips.
Finally, the old man emerged from the cave and began to descend the high stone steps with an agility surprising for his advanced years. A whole horde of savage boys followed him. All of them, like Krek, were barely covered from the cold with miserable cloaks made of animal skins.
The oldest of them is Gel. He is already fifteen years old. While waiting for that great day when hunters would finally take him hunting with them, he managed to become famous as an incomparable angler.
The elder taught him to cut deadly hooks from shells with the tip of a flint fragment. Using a homemade harpoon with a jagged bone tip, Gel hit even huge salmon.
Behind him was Ryug the Big-Eared. If at the time when Ryug lived, a person had already tamed a dog, they would certainly have said about Ryug: “He has a dog’s hearing and scent.”
Ryug recognized by smell where fruits ripened in the dense bushes, where young mushrooms appeared from under the ground; With his eyes closed, he recognized trees by the rustling of their leaves.
The elder gave a sign, and everyone set off. Gel and Ryug stood proudly in front, and everyone else followed them seriously and silently.
All the old man's little companions carried baskets on their backs, roughly woven from narrow strips of tree bark; some held in their hands a short club with a heavy head, others a spear with a stone tip, and still others something like a stone hammer.
They walked quietly, stepped lightly and silently. It was not for nothing that the old people constantly told the children that they needed to get used to moving silently and carefully, so that when hunting in the forest they would not spook the game, fall into the claws of wild animals, or fall into an ambush by evil and treacherous people.
The mothers approached the exit of the cave and looked after those leaving with a smile.
CHAPTER I On the river bank
On a cold, cloudy and rainy morning, a little nine-year-old boy sat on the bank of a huge river.
A mighty stream rushed forward uncontrollably: in its yellow waves it carried away branches and grass huddled in heaps, uprooted trees and huge ice floes with heavy stones frozen in them.
The boy was alone. He was squatting in front of a bunch of freshly cut canes. His thin body was accustomed to the cold: he did not pay any attention to the terrifying noise and roar of the ice floes.
The sloping banks of the river were densely overgrown with tall reeds, and a little further the steep slopes of chalk hills rose like high white walls, washed away by the river.
The chain of these hills was lost in the distance, in a foggy and bluish twilight; dense forests covered it.
Not far from the boy, on the slope of the hill, just above the place where the river washed the hill, a wide black hole yawned like a huge gaping mouth, which led into a deep cave.
A boy was born here nine years ago. The ancestors of his ancestors also lived here for a long time.
Only through this dark hole did the harsh inhabitants of the cave enter and exit, through it they received air and light; the smoke of the hearth, on which the fire was diligently maintained day and night, poured out of it.
At the foot of the gaping hole lay huge stones, they served as something like a ladder.
A tall, lean old man with tanned, wrinkled skin appeared at the threshold of the cave. His long gray hair was pulled up and tied in a bun at the crown of his head. His blinking red eyelids were inflamed from the acrid smoke that forever filled the cave. The old man raised his hand and, covering his eyes with his palm under thick, overhanging eyebrows, looked towards the river. Then he shouted:
- Crack! – This hoarse, abrupt cry was like the cry of a frightened bird of prey.
"Krek" meant "bird catcher." The boy received such a nickname for a reason: since childhood, he was distinguished by his extraordinary dexterity in catching birds at night: he captured them sleepy in their nests and triumphantly brought them to the cave. It happened that for such successes he was rewarded at dinner with a hefty piece of raw bone marrow - an honorable dish usually reserved for elders and fathers of the family.
Krek was proud of his nickname: it reminded him of his nightly exploits.
The boy turned around at the scream, instantly jumped up from the ground and, grabbing a bunch of reeds, ran up to the old man.
At the stone staircase he laid down his burden, raised his hands to his forehead as a sign of respect and said:
– I’m here, Elder! What do you want from me?
“Child,” answered the old man, “all of us left before dawn in the forests to hunt for deer and broad-horned bulls.” They will return only in the evening, because - remember this - the rain washes away the traces of animals, destroys their smell and carries away the tufts of fur that they leave on the branches and gnarled tree trunks. Hunters will have to work hard before they meet their prey. This means we can go about our business until the evening. Leave your reed. We have enough shafts for arrows, but few stone points, good chisels and knives: they are all sharpened, jagged and broken off.
– What will you order me to do, Elder?
“Together with your brothers and me you will walk along the White Hills.” We will stock up on large flints; they are often found at the foot of coastal cliffs. Today I will tell you the secret of how to trim them. It's time, Krek. You have grown up, you are strong, beautiful and worthy of carrying a weapon made with your own hands. Wait for me, I'll go get the other children.
“I listen and obey,” answered Krek, bowing before the old man and with difficulty containing his joy.
The old man went into a cave, from where suddenly strange guttural exclamations were heard, more like the cries of alarmed young animals than human voices.
The old man called Krek handsome, big and strong. He must have wanted to cheer the boy up; after all, in fact, Krek was small, even very small, and very thin.
Krek's wide face was covered with a red tan; thin red hair stuck out above his forehead, greasy, tangled, covered with ash and all sorts of rubbish. He was not very handsome, this pathetic primitive child. But a living mind shone in his eyes; his movements were deft and quick.
He tried to get on the road as quickly as possible and impatiently hit the ground with his wide foot with large toes, and with all his five hands he pulled hard on his lips.
Finally, the old man emerged from the cave and began to descend the high stone steps with an agility surprising for his advanced years. A whole horde of savage boys followed him. All of them, like Krek, were barely covered from the cold with miserable cloaks made of animal skins.
Erest Dervilly was a French playwright, prose writer, and poet who lived from 1839 to 1911. One of his most famous stories is “The Adventures of a Prehistoric Boy.” A summary will allow the reader to get acquainted with this work in a few minutes, whereas it would take you more than one hour to study the original.
Heroes of the story
In the first lines of the work, the writer introduces the reader to the main character, whose name is Krek. He sat on the bank of the river on a cold, cloudy morning and watched the stream of water rushing along with stones, branches, and ice floes.
In front of him lay the brushwood that Krek had collected for the fireplace. The child was only 9 years old, but he was already working like all members of the tribe. He received this name because he was an excellent bird catcher, because in the primitive language “krek” is “bird catcher”.
An old man named the Elder came out of the cave in which the child lived with other relatives and called the child. This is where the book “The Adventures of a Prehistoric Boy” begins, the main characters of which are not only the Elder, Krek, but also other tribesmen. The author also introduces some of them in the first chapter.
Gel was the oldest of the children, he was already 15 years old. His main skill was that the young man was an excellent fisherman. Another teenager, Ryuk, had an excellent sense of smell and hearing. He could smell where the mushrooms had grown or where the berries were ripe.
All these characters are one of the main characters in the story “The Adventures of a Prehistoric Boy”; a brief summary will tell about further events.
The old man and the children go for flints
The elder called Krek to him and said that now the boys would go for flints, which they would then cut to make tips for axes and arrows. All the little companions of the Old One put baskets on their backs and followed the old man to the White Hills. There were Krek, Gel, Ryuk and other guys. Their mothers and girls - He and Mab - watched as they left, standing near the cave. And in it was the smallest child of this tribe - six-year-old Ojo. He was ordered to keep the fire going, so he periodically added dry sticks to the fire pit. The boy was upset that he was not taken with them, but even more so that he was hungry, so he was looking forward to the return of his brothers and adult men of the tribe, who had previously gone hunting.
It wasn't just the baby who wanted to eat. The teenagers who left with the Elder were also hungry. But they had to put everything that they found along the way into their bags, so that upon returning home or at a rest, the old man would examine whether the berries were edible, and then divide the spoils among all members of the tribe.
A terrible incident on the river
Finally, it was decided to take a long break. The children showed the Elder what they had obtained. He told them to start eating. The old man refused the snake that Krek presented to him, saying that it was for children.
Suddenly there was a noise from the direction of the river, everyone got scared. What it was is described in the book “The Adventures of a Prehistoric Boy.” A summary will allow you to find out what happened in a minute.
Krek said that a flock of birds was circling over the river. Ryuk saw that something black was visible in the distance on a white block. It turns out that there was a battle on a huge ice floe; a giant mammoth elephant and a shaggy rhinoceros wounded each other, but continued the fight. The children, seeing this, began to cling to the Elder in fear. But the battle was over, the mortally wounded enemies showed no more signs of life, and the ice floe carried them further and further.
In a cave
The expedition returned home to the cave before dark. The teenagers told the women and sisters about the terrible incident. Here they felt calm and safe. A terrible, large animal would not be able to penetrate into the small entrance.
But the members of the tribe still had one terrible enemy, and its name was hunger. The older men had not returned from hunting for 4 days. Those who remained in the cave ate almost everything. It was decided to even boil the skin from the skins from which the fur had been separated.
In those days there was no pottery yet, Ervilly talks about this. “The Adventures of a Prehistoric Boy” is a unique book from which you can learn about the life of ancient people. The air in the cave was stale and there was a stench. Of course, there was no furniture here. They slept on a pile of moss and leaves, which were covered with skins. consisted of bowls made from the skulls of large animals, wide shells and baskets woven from tree bark. Water was poured into such a basket, and then hot coals were lowered - the liquid gradually heated up.
Thus, leather soup was prepared. It was tasteless, but helped dull the feeling of hunger a little. Gel caught the fish, which was immediately divided among everyone. I couldn't get enough of these crumbs. Therefore, the Elder made a decision - he sent almost all his fellow tribesmen in search of something edible. The search had to be completed before sunset. Everyone left, leaving only Krek in the cave, who had to vigilantly monitor the hearth, throwing brushwood into it.
This ends chapter 3 of the book “The Adventures of a Prehistoric Boy.” A summary of further events will be outlined below.
Pestrushki
Even before almost everyone had left the cave, Augie went to collect acorns. Krek was waiting for his younger brother - he came running joyful and excited. He showed Krek an animal that looked like a large rat; it was a pestle. Oji joyfully exclaimed that he himself had caught and killed her and would certainly become a good hunter. The joyful baby began to call his older brother with him, assuring that there were still many pieds there, they would quickly catch them, and the tribe would have a sumptuous dinner.
Two feelings began to fight in Krek - duty and hunger. He understood that the hearth needed to be constantly maintained, but the temptation to bring a lot of food for himself and his hungry fellow tribesmen was stronger. Here is a plot that could very well be real, invented by Ervilly D. The adventures of the prehistoric boy continue.
Throwing more branches into the fire, he and Oji hurried to get the prey. When they arrived at the place, they saw that the grass around was in unnatural movement. By the time they realized why, it was already too late. It turns out that this was facilitated by an endless stream of parsleys that moved to a new place. The rats began to bite the boys; they were lucky that there were dried pine trees nearby. The guys, helping themselves with sticks, began to make a road. Then they climbed a tree and fell asleep.
Tribal Verdict
And at this time the men of the tribe returned with good booty. They met their children and women before they even reached the cave. The people were so hungry that the Elder decided to give everyone a piece of meat, which was eaten directly raw. The hunters presented the contents of a deer’s stomach to the old man himself as a sign of respect.
After the meal, everyone went into the cave and were horrified: the fire did not burn. This threatened the tribe with extinction, since winter was approaching, and without fire there was nothing to heat the home. In addition, wild hyenas, who were afraid of fire, could attack people at night and destroy them.
When Krek and Ozhi returned, according to the laws of that harsh time, it was decided to execute them for such a monstrous offense. One of the hunters had already raised an ax over them, but Krek broke free and fell to his knees in front of the Elder. He told how you can bring back the fire. The writer Ervilly D. knew about this; “The Adventures of a Prehistoric Boy” is an interesting book also because the facts stated in it could well have taken place.
Fo-Stranger's Treasure and the Banishment of the Birdcatcher
Once upon a time, a tribe sheltered a wounded stranger. In gratitude, he wanted to show the Elder what he possessed, but did not have time, as he died from his wounds. However, Krek managed to find out about his secret. Once a boy was turning over stones, hoping to find edible larvae or a snake under them, and saw wooden sticks. At first, Fo the Stranger was angry with the child, but then he revealed the secret. It turns out that if you insert one stick into the hole of another and rub it, smoke will come out first, and then fire will appear. With this, Krek ended his story. The adventures of the prehistoric boy continue.
The old man and his sons went to the cave that the child pointed to. They actually found these sticks. To the joy of the tribe, they soon managed to light a fire. For this, Augie was completely forgiven, and Krek was given life. But for this offense it was decided to expel the boy from the tribe. It was believed that someone who did something bad once could do it again.
The bird catcher was given food, weapons, and clothing. The elder told the boy to remember everything he taught him - this will help him survive. Krek was ordered to leave before sunset.
Friends
Krek settled down for the night in a tree that the lynx had already chosen. The boy won the fight with the animal. Before he had time to catch his breath, he heard someone calling him. It was Gel and Ryuk. Next to them he saw the Elder. He said that he left the tribe to accompany Krek, and reminded him of the incident on the river. After all, Krek did not run away then, but stayed with the old man to protect him. And Gel and Ryuk asked to go with him, and the Elder took them with him.
Of course, traveling with four of us was more fun and calmer. But the adventures of the prehistoric boy did not end there. The main characters set off on their journey together. It was necessary to find a cave where they could survive the winter. Thanks to Ryuk, we found one and spent the rest of the winter there.
Lake inhabitants
Having made a raft, the friends set off to swim. Suddenly they saw people in boats. The old man showed his peaceful mood with gestures and a smile.
When everyone washed ashore, the Elder and the three young men had something to be surprised about. After all, this tribe knew how to build unprecedented houses in the water on stilts from trees. Food was cooked on stoves made of stones and silt. When everyone sat down to dinner, Krek saw two animals. These were the ancestors of modern dogs, but the boy was very surprised, since animals were not domesticated in his tribe.
Krek returned the favor for not being driven away by the forest dwellers. He warned in time that they wanted to attack them, and fought bravely on the side of his new friends.
The author, Dervilly, came up with an unexpected and positive ending to the book. The adventures of the prehistoric boy end with Krek meeting his grown-up brother Ojo and sisters On and Mab. They were almost the only survivors in the tribe. The young man and girls remained to live on the lake, and Krek was destined to become a leader.
"The Adventures of a Prehistoric Boy" is the most famous story by the French playwright E. Dervilly.
At the beginning of the work, the reader meets a boy named Krek. This is the main character. At 9 years old, Krek is a full-fledged assistant in the tribe. He earned his name for his excellent bird hunting, Krek meaning "bird catcher". He is very proud that he can be on an equal footing with the adult members of the tribe.
Together with the Elder and the boys Gel and Ryuk, Krek goes to get flints to make tools and arrowheads.
The smallest boy of the Ojo tribe remains in the cave to maintain the fire.
On the way, the teenagers collected berries and everything they thought was edible in their bags. At the halt, the elder checked what they had collected and divided it equally among everyone.
During a break, the children saw an ice floe on the river. There was a battle between a wild rhinoceros and a mammoth on an ice floe. This frightening sight made everyone hug the elder. But the fighting animals died and the ice floe carried them away.
Returning to the cave, the children told about the incident on the river. But the entrance to the cave is narrow and a large animal will not get in, this was reassuring. But the children were hungry. The men of the tribe had been hunting for a long time. The supplies were eaten and the elder decided to send everyone to collect at least something edible. This time Krek remained to maintain the fire.
Little Ojo collected acorns and brought a pestle into the cave. Krek's feeling of hunger overcame his sense of duty and the boys went for the pestles. Migrating pied rats began to bite them, and the little hunters were forced to climb a tree. They fell asleep from fatigue.
At this time, the boys' fellow tribesmen returned to the cave. On the way, the hungry tribe ate a piece of raw meat. Entering the cave from the cold, primitive people saw an extinguished fire. The tribe's verdict was harsh; they decided to execute the boys. Their lack of awareness could lead to the death of the entire tribe. But Krek told how to make fire. He learned from a stranger who was sheltered in the tribe that he was wounded and soon died. But he managed to tell the boy how to extract fire by rubbing wooden sticks.
Krek was expelled from the tribe. Deciding to spend the night in a tree, Krek fights the lynx and wins. The elder, Gel and Ryuk catch up with him. They decided to travel with the boy. After spending the winter in the cave that Ryuk found, they go to the river. There travelers meet the inhabitants of the lake and stay with them.
The story ends with Krek meeting his younger brother Ojo and sisters who remain from his tribe. Everyone remains to live on the lake, and Krek later becomes the leader.
Respect for elders and responsibility - this is what the book teaches.
Picture or drawing of Ervilha - The Adventures of a Prehistoric Boy
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ON THE RIVER BANK
On a cold, cloudy and rainy morning, a little nine-year-old boy sat on the bank of a huge river.
A mighty stream rushed forward uncontrollably: in its yellow waves it carried away branches and grass huddled in heaps, uprooted trees and huge ice floes with heavy stones frozen in them.
The boy was alone. He was squatting in front of a bunch of freshly cut canes. His thin body was accustomed to the cold: he did not pay any attention to the terrifying noise and roar of the ice floes.
The sloping banks of the river were densely overgrown with tall reeds, and a little further the steep slopes of chalk hills rose like high white walls, washed away by the river.
The chain of these hills was lost in the distance, in a foggy and bluish twilight; dense forests covered it.
Not far from the boy, on the slope of the hill, just above the place where the river washed the hill, a wide black hole yawned like a huge gaping mouth, which led into a deep cave.
A boy was born here nine years ago. The ancestors of his ancestors also lived here for a long time.
Only through this dark hole did the harsh inhabitants of the cave enter and exit, through it they received air and light; the smoke of the hearth, on which the fire was diligently maintained day and night, poured out of it.
At the foot of the gaping hole lay huge stones, they served as something like a ladder.
A tall, lean old man with tanned, wrinkled skin appeared at the threshold of the cave. His long gray hair was pulled up and tied in a bun at the crown of his head. His blinking red eyelids were inflamed from the acrid smoke that forever filled the cave. The old man raised his hand and, covering his eyes with his palm under thick, overhanging eyebrows, looked towards the river. Then he shouted:
Crack! - This hoarse, abrupt cry was like the cry of a frightened bird of prey.
"Krek" meant "bird catcher." The boy received such a nickname for a reason: since childhood, he was distinguished by his extraordinary dexterity in catching birds at night: he captured them sleepy in their nests and triumphantly brought them to the cave. It happened that for such successes he was rewarded at dinner with a hefty piece of raw bone marrow - an honorable dish usually reserved for elders and fathers of the family.
Krek was proud of his nickname: it reminded him of his nightly exploits.
The boy turned around at the scream, instantly jumped up from the ground and, grabbing a bunch of reeds, ran up to the old man.
At the stone staircase he laid down his burden, raised his hands to his forehead as a sign of respect and said:
I'm here, Elder! What do you want from me?
Child,” the old man answered, “all of our people left before dawn in the forests to hunt for deer and broad-horned bulls.” They will return only in the evening, because - remember this - the rain washes away the traces of animals, destroys their smell and carries away the tufts of fur that they leave on the branches and gnarled tree trunks. Hunters will have to work hard before they meet their prey. This means we can go about our business until the evening. Leave your reed. We have enough shafts for arrows, but few stone points, good chisels and knives: they are all sharpened, jagged and broken off.
What will you command me to do, Elder?
Together with your brothers and me you will walk along the White Hills. We will stock up on large flints; they are often found at the foot of coastal cliffs. Today I will tell you the secret of how to trim them. It's time, Krek. You have grown up, you are strong, beautiful and worthy of carrying a weapon made with your own hands. Wait for me, I'll go get the other children.
“I listen and obey,” answered Krek, bowing before the old man and with difficulty containing his joy.
The old man went into a cave, from where suddenly strange guttural exclamations were heard, more like the cries of alarmed young animals than human voices.
The old man called Krek handsome, big and strong. He must have wanted to cheer the boy up; after all, in fact, Krek was small, even very small, and very thin.
Krek's wide face was covered with a red tan; thin red hair stuck out above his forehead, greasy, tangled, covered with ash and all sorts of rubbish. He was not very handsome, this pathetic primitive child. But a living mind shone in his eyes; his movements were deft and quick.
He tried to get on the road as quickly as possible and impatiently hit the ground with his wide foot with large toes, and with all his five hands he pulled hard on his lips.
Finally, the old man emerged from the cave and began to descend the high stone steps with an agility surprising for his advanced years. A whole horde of savage boys followed him. All of them, like Krek, were barely covered from the cold with miserable cloaks made of animal skins.
The oldest of them is Gel. He is already fifteen years old. While waiting for that great day when hunters would finally take him hunting with them, he managed to become famous as an incomparable angler.
The elder taught him to cut deadly hooks from shells with the tip of a flint fragment. Using a homemade harpoon with a jagged bone tip, Gel hit even huge salmon.
Behind him was Ryug the Big-Eared. If at the time when Ryug lived, a person had already tamed a dog, they would certainly have said about Ryug: “He has a dog’s hearing and scent.”
Ryug recognized by smell where fruits ripened in the dense bushes, where young mushrooms appeared from under the ground; With his eyes closed, he recognized trees by the rustling of their leaves.
The elder gave a sign, and everyone set off. Gel and Ryug stood proudly in front, and everyone else followed them seriously and silently.