Sally and Max ran from home to live in the wild. They built their home on a quiet meadow, far away from the city. They dug up some dirt and mixed it up with clay from a nearby river, sun baking it into blocks. These were called adobe, invented by native Americans long ago. The two friends had learned that in social studies class before they decided to leave. “It will be useful for the wild,” Sally said to Max at the beginning of the Indian unit. Max had been eager to get going. But Sally wanted to learn about how the Indians survived in the wild. Maybe, she thought, they could make a tribe of their own using a combination of all the past tribes’ cultures. Max liked the idea so they started out with adobe-brick houses. They also grew a garden of good vegetables and gathered wood from the nearby forest in case they would have to travel fast from predators or other hostile creatures. Then they made a schedule on huge bush leaves, scratching in the words with Max’s sharp stone, found at the river. Sally woke up early to smear mud on herself to look Indian-y and repel the bugs before gathering firewood and herbs. All day after that, she would weave their clothing from other huge leaves and the long, wavy grass that grew in the meadow. Her old cloths from her house were used as wash cloths and were far too dirty to be worn again.
Max woke up at exactly the same time as his friend and set out to hunt. While looking for game, and possibly some fresh, tasty, wild berries, he would gather freshwater from the river and gather huge tree branches in case he and Sally would ever face the prospect of running away. He also sharpened his rock on other rocks and carried huge, jagged boulders back to Camp. He and his friend were currently working on building a big stone wall around their space. It would mark their territory and, if it came to fighting predators such as wild wolves, they could simply hurl rocks while being protected by their structure. Today, Max found the perfect boulder. He dutifully picked it up along with today’s hunt-three squirrels, a couple of defense stones, and his own sharp rock.
Max had found his rock when he first explored the area with Sally. He had tripped near the river and fallen. He hadn’t been seriously injured but he had a deep wound from the rock. Amazed more than in pain, he had picked up the rock and called it his own. With enough patience and good enough stones for sharpening, he now had an even sharper, even more dangerous rock for defense.
Sally pulled out weeds. Instead of throwing them out, she took the greenest stalks and blew on them. The weeds made a sound kind of like a duck, but an animal responded. The animal was a sheep named Snowstorm. Her coat was grey and her kind was rare. Sally began clipping her fur with wooden sheers, tipped with stone. The sheep responded by baying and walking away. Sally let her go. Snowstorm was a free spirit, and was not meant to be cooped up in some kind of farm.
Sally started sawing at a tree, using a stone ax Max had stolen from his father when they escaped, until she found a piece of rope buried in the ground. Confused, she stuffed it in her pocket. Then she wandered a little farther into the wood. Sure, why not? The more you explore, the more you discover, right? She passed through the dense greenery and emerged on the other side, which was packed with snow. She couldn’t believe her eyes.
Rearing on its muscular hind legs was a brilliant white horse. Its coat gleamed in the sunlight and its eyes were glassy, black pearls of intelligence. The horse snorted, and Sally knew he was getting ready to bolt. She had to act fast if he were to be hers. How amazed Max would be! Even if the occasional stallion trotted around their house, they never managed to capture it. It wasn’t worth it anyway.
Sally had no idea how to capture such a beauty, though. All she had was a flimsy piece of twine and an ax, which she doubted the stallion would take kindly to. She used the weeds she picked up earlier and threw them at the horse. He snorted suspiciously, pawing the snow, sending ice flying in every direction.