Free Euuuugh! Eyeball Stew! by Alan MacDonald Page B

snout was aimed at her ribs, ready to toss her high into the air. Iggy didn’t know if he would make it. At the last moment he threw himself through the air on top of the girl. They hit the ground with a thud. A second later the rhino thundered past in a storm of dust, so close that Iggy could have counted its horny toenails.
    He sat up and looked around, still shaking. The red-haired girl coughed and spat out a mouthful of dirt. Luckily for them woolly rhinos have short memories and brains the size of a sultana. This one had already forgotten them and was chewing on a straggly plant underneath the brown cliffs.
    â€˜NOW!’ yelled a voice. Iggy looked up in time to see a giant boulder come hurtling down.
    KADUUUUUUNK!
    It landed just short of the rhino, shattering into a million pieces. The creature turned its head and grunted as if this kind of thing happened all the time. It ambled lazily back towards the forest.
    Iggy looked up at the faces peering over the rocks.
    â€˜Huh!’ said Hammerhead. ‘Told you it’d never work!’

Chapter 2
    Firestones are For Ever
    M um was not impressed. She was expecting some nice rhino meat for supper, but instead Iggy had returned with an extra mouth to feed. He could tell she was annoyed by the way she kept stabbing at the fire with a stick.
    â€˜Who is she?’ she scowled.
    â€˜I’m not sure,’ replied Iggy. ‘Her name’s Oosha. She almost got trampled by a woolly rhino. I think she’s a bit upset.’
    â€˜Upset? I’ll give her upset!’ snapped Mum, brandishing her stick. ‘What am I meant to feed her? And where’s she gonna sleep, I’d like to know?’
    â€˜Well . . . with us,’ said Iggy.
    â€˜Talk sense, boy! There’s no room.’
    True the cave had got a bit cluttered lately, what with all the sticks, feathers and flints that Iggy needed for making arrows. But he could tidy up, or at least shove all the mess to the back.
    â€˜She could be anyone! A savage!’ grumbled Mum. ‘What if we wake up an’ find we’re all dead?’
    â€˜We won’t!’ sighed Iggy. ‘Anyway, if you’re dead you won’t wake up.’
    He broke off. Oosha had come out of the cave, where she had been trying to get some rest. She was about Iggy’s age with bright red hair woven into braids. Most of the girls Iggy knew had hair the colour of mud (apart from Umily, the Chief’s daughter).
    Oosha went over to Iggy’s mum and reached out a hand, touching her cheek.
    â€˜Putty,’ she said.
    â€˜Uhh?’ frowned Mum. ‘Who’s she calling potty?’
    â€˜Pretty,’ said Iggy. ‘She said you’re pretty.’
    â€˜Don’t talk soft.’ Mum went back to stabbing the fire but Iggy could tell she was pleased.
    After supper they made up a bed of furs for their visitor near the back of the cave. Mum kept a hunting axe beside her during the night – just in case.
    Next morning when Iggy woke up the girl had gone. Her furs lay neatly folded in a pile. He found her outside the cave where she already had a fire going. It seemed like a good chance to try and find out a bit more about her.
    â€˜I’m Iggy,’ he began. ‘We are Urks.’
    Oosha looked puzzled.
    â€˜This is our home – the Valley of Urk.’ He pointed to the hillside with its rocks and caves. Oosha laughed. She probably hadn’t the faintest idea what he was talking about. He tried again.
    â€˜Where do you come from?’ he asked. ‘WHERE – OOSHA – FROM?’
    Oosha pointed at him. ‘Iggy!’
    â€˜Yes, I’m Iggy . . .’
    â€˜Iggy brave!’
    â€˜Yes . . .’
    â€˜Save Oosha life!’
    â€˜I know,’ said Iggy. ‘But what about you? WHERE IS YOUR HOME? HOME?’ He pointed to his cave. Oosha seemed to grasp his meaning. She dragged him to the edge of the hill and pointed beyond the forest to a