Arrow Heads and Mammoths

Orin story Arrow Heads and Mammoths

(Time To Go Home)

By

Jan Skarzynski

Sept 2015


“Andrew, James you can´t watch ´Andy Pandy,’
it’s far too babyish for you. Why don’t you go out and when I’ve finished my chores, I’ll fix up the video for you.”
“But Mum it’s pouring down outside,” answered Andrew mournfully.
“That’s not rain but a light drizzle. Put your coats and wellies on and you’ll be fine. You won’t dissolve,” said their mother with a smile as she watched them slowly put on three sweaters a ski jacket with a hood, a gaudy football scarf, a woolly hat, gloves, ski socks and finally yellow welly boots.
“You look like abominable snowmen in those outfits,” laughed Mum, “Shoo be off with you and don’t roll in any mud,” as Andrew and James waddled out into the fine drizzle of the back garden.
“What are we going to do James?” asked Andrew.
“I know. Let’s see if Orin is there. He might help. “Orin! Orin!” they shouted as they trooped off to the back of the garden where Dad’s compost heap was located.
“What are you shouting for and why are you dressed like that with all those clothes on?” asked a tiny wizened old man, dressed in what looked like a grey boiler suit and a funny hat. He sounded rather grumpy as his rubbed his wispy grey beard.
“Mum made us go out in this rain Orin,” said Andrew. “Please take us out somewhere nice. Please, please Orin, it’s dreadful here.”
“OK boys, I might as well. I can´t adjust my instruments in this damp. Get into the ship and belt yourselves up and don’t touch anything.”
“But we can´t see the spaceship Orin,” answered James happy at last.
“Of course, you can´t because it’s invisible James,” answered Andrew rather irritably.
“Of course, I know but I was wanting Orin to show us the way,” said James as they watched Orin disappear. Andrew followed carefully where Orin had gone and also disappeared. Then a beckoning finger appeared. James got hold of it, followed it in and disappeared too.

“Right. Are you strapped in boys then we’ll be off,” said Orin as they felt a shudder and a thump.
“Where are you taking us Orin?” asked James.
“Oops, I don’t really know boys. I’ve pressed the button twice by accident,” answered Orin rather shamefaced.
“Are we there yet?” asked James with some trepidation.
“Of course we are,” answered Andrew. “It doesn’t take a minute, you know that.”
“Right stop arguing boys and let me just check where we are before you get out. Put your necklaces on so that you can speak to anyone we meet in their language. Oh, and you better put in these special belts to keep you warm. My instruments tell me it’s very cold and snowy out there.”

“Where have you two appeared from?” asked a ragged boy dressed in torn and threadbare skins. “And why are you wearing those funny clothes. Ola come here and see these funny boys,” shouted the boy to a girl also in tattered skins with a baby on her hip as she ran up to see this strange sight.
“We are from a different world or maybe just a different time,” answered Andrew. “I’m Andrew and this is James. That’s Orin over there who has brought us here. What are you called?”
“I’m Ubo and this is my sister Ola and that baby brother hasn’t a name yet but we call him Childer,” answered the boy pointing to his sister and baby brother.
“You two must be freezing here and you´re bare footed. Here have my scarf Ubo, I don´t need it. James, give yours to Ola to cover up her baby and let´s give them our woolly hats. We can put our hoods up if we need to and let´s give them one of our sweaters each.”
“Ubo, what´s that chipping sound we can hear?” asked James.
“That´s our dad,” answered Ola putting on the hat and wrapping the scarf around the sleeping baby. “He´s knapping flints and making arrow heads. Come and see,” she said, running off into the forest where they saw a man dressed in skins sitting astride a log, carefully knocking one stone against another resting on the log. Chips flew off as he shaped it.
“Those stones on the ground around your dad look like the stones that were used to build Odiham church James. They are flints. We must have arrived in the Stone Age,” said Andrew as the man looked up at in awe at these strange children.
“Dad, these are our friends,” said Ola, “And they´ve given us something warm to wear. Dad, can you give them an arrowhead each as a keep sake?” Their father nodded, still unsure of what he was seeing and handed each of them an arrowhead he had just made adding,
“Careful they are sharp!”
“I bet mum won´t believe us when we tell her about this and show her these arrowheads,” said Andrew.
“No and she´ll say that nice Mr. Brown next door gave them to us,” added James.
“Thank you, Sir,” said James politely, “What do you use them for?”
“To hunt animals for food,” answered Ubo. “Come, we´ll take you to the water hole where there may still be some. Come quickly.” They followed Ubo whilst Ola stayed with her father. They crawled over the frozen ground and saw a large pond with huge animals in herds at the water’s edge.

“Cor! They are huge. Look James, those over there must be woolly mammoths.”
“Yes and those nearest must be some sort of cows but they are twice the size of ours. You couldn´t kill those with these puny arrow heads Ubo?”
“No silly! The men use harpoons made from the horns of those cows. They cut them about this long and soak them in the hot springs until they get soft. They then shape them and cut a flap out to act as a barb so that when the point enters the flesh it can´t pull out,” explained Ubo.
“But, but how do you get close to these animals to harpoon them?” asked Andrew. “They look dangerous.”
“We organise a hunt when all the villagers take part. The women and children carry fire brands and we herd the beasts into the forests where the men hide in trees. They pick one beast and hurl their harpoons into it. The haft of the harpoon falls away but the point with the barb sticks in. Attached to the point is a rope that’s wrapped around a small log. The wounded beast then has to drag this along and it slows it down until it can go no longer. When it falls, we kill it. It can take half a day for the beast to fall,” explained Ubo very patiently.
“What happens then?” asked James.
“Well, they drain the blood into skin containers and start to strip the skin off. We need that for clothing. When the women and children arrive, the women help to cut the flesh and the children keep the wolves away with sharp stones. If we hit a wolf or a dog we get an extra piece of meat.”
“Do you eat it raw?” asked James.
“Yes, but now it´s still warm,” answered Ubo.
“Ugh, we cook our meat on fires,” said Andrew. “It tastes much better that way.”
“Maybe, but we have to carry what we don´t eat back before the wolves get too numerous. Look over there. A dog is trying to take a bite out of a mammoth.”
“But it´s hundred times the size of the dog.”
“Yes, but it´s trying to get it to bleed so the dogs can lick up the blood spots off the snow. Now watch! The mammoth appears not to notice but look! look! how it swishes its head quick as a flash to ward off the dog.” They looked up and saw Orin watching them and the scene at the waterhole. He beckoned to them and said, “I think its time I took you boys home.”

“Hello boys, you’ve been out a long time. It must have stopped drizzling since you don’t look too wet. I’ve made some hot chocolate for you. Do you want a biscuit too?” asked mum, pouring the drink into mugs.
“Orin took us back to the stone age and we saw a man knapping flints to make arrow heads,” said James as he sat at the kitchen table.
“And we saw a herd of woolly mammoths and they were huge with huge tusks much bigger than the elephants we saw at the zoo,” added Andrew munching at his biscuit.
“Look, look Mum, the man gave us an arrowhead each. They are very sharp,” said James showing his arrowhead to his Mum.
“Wow they are sharp. Now tell me where you got those. Has Mr. Brown next door given them to you? He shouldn’t be giving you boys such sharp things. Don’t tell me your little fairy gave them to you?”
“No Mum, the stone age man gave them to us. You don’t believe us do you?”
“Well boys I think they are too sharp for you to play with. I’ll get your Dad to put them in a frame behind glass and put them on your bedroom wall so all can see safely. Now go up to your room and play and I’ll get the dinner ready.”
“She never believes us and thinks Orin is just in our imagination. I hope she doesn’t find we have lost our scarves, hats and jumpers that we gave to Ola and Ubo,” said Andrew.
“I hope it keeps them warm,” added James. “Let’s go and play and maybe Dad will believe us.”