Free In the Beginning by John Christopher Page B

she had pulled him down into the pool, and then how he had laughed afterward.
    It was true that he had killed the squirrel, and grinned as he held out the small corpse to show her. But he had not known that he was doing anything wrong—to him her tame squirrel had been just another animal to slaughter. Because he was one of the savages, the Village Mother had said, and of course that was true. She had also said that a savage could never change, would always be a cruel and hateful killer.
    Was that true, too? Although she knew the Village Mother was wiser than anyone else, Va could not bring herself to believe it. She thought of that morning of the second day, when she had found the moss-bed empty and gone down unhappily to the pool—of how good it had been when she had realized that the face reflected in the pool beside her own was Dom’s. And how he had brought her the necklace of flowers. That was not the way a savage acted. There were other things in his mind besides the lust for killing.
    She made her mind up as light was beginning to filter into the hut, in promise of the new dawn. She would go to the wood again, as soon as the gap was opened in the hedge. Perhaps Dom would still be there, waiting for her. She would teach him—not just things like swimming but how to love small animals, not kill them. The Village Mother was wrong because she did not know Dom. All she knew was that the savages had killed men and cattle, and tried to break into the village. She had not seen Dom’s face when he offered her the necklace of flowers, nor when they laughed together in the pool. Her own first thought had been right: he could be taught not to be a savage. She could teach him.
    But the gap was not opened in the hedge that morning because this time the savages did not go away. They stayed in the clearing, occasionally coming up close to the hedge and shouting until they were driven off with stones. Va looked for Dom but did not see him. Only the men were allowed to climb up on the huts to throw stones; she had to peer out dimly through the thorns.
    The fact that she had not seen him did not mean that he was not there; but just as the previousevening she had imagined she heard his voice crying hatred with the rest, so now she felt sure in her heart that he had not returned to his savage tribe—that he was still in the wood, waiting for her to come back. Tomorrow, perhaps, she would be able to do so. But next day the savages were still there; and the day after the same.
    That night the Village Mother spoke to them, assembled together near the fire.
    â€œThey are more cunning than I thought,” she said, “and more persistent. They know we have been grazing the cattle while they were away hunting. Therefore they stay here to prevent your doing this.”
    One of the men said: “What should we do, Mother? We have fodder for only a few days. Soon the cattle will be starving. Should we not go out and fight them?”
    â€œThey are stronger than you are,” the Village Mother said, “and more skilled at fighting. One expects as much of savages. It would be folly to attack them; they would only defeat you as they did before.”
    Another man said: “They have shamed us, Mother. We must not skulk here and watch our women andchildren starve. It is better to be killed than do that.”
    â€œMaybe,” said the Village Mother. “But for the sake of your women and children it is better to live and be able to protect them in days to come than to save what you call your honor.”
    He said: “But if we stay here we will all starve together. In a few days the cattle will start to die. We must do something.”
    The Village Mother shook her head.
    â€œIf we are less strong than the savages, it is all the more important that we should show ourselves wiser. They must have food also. As our cattle run short of fodder, so they will lack meat. Then they must go away to find animals