Cecilia is on a school trip to the Lascaux caves in southern France--a mysterious place with well-preserved prehistoric paintings on the walls. These are believed to have been created by our primitive ancestors several hundred thousand years ago. The little girl notices some strange footprints on the ground. Following them, she walks away from the other children and arrives in a dark, wide hall. She is about to turn on her flashlight, when suddenly ... Flash! Her camera flash goes off and lights up the paintings of deer and hunters on the walls. The flash goes off again and she sees more animals chiseled in the walls.
In the dark, she feels someone trying to pull the camera off her neck. Frightened, she turns around and sees a primitive man. He gestures to her that he is the painter of the walls. Leading her out of the cave, he tries to start a fire by striking two sticks against each other. Cecilia has to get back, because her school bus is leaving, but she leaves the primitive man a box of matches as a farewell gift. Three pages at the end of the story explain how prehistoric people lived, what tools they used, how they painted, and how they hunted.
In the dark, she feels someone trying to pull the camera off her neck. Frightened, she turns around and sees a primitive man. He gestures to her that he is the painter of the walls. Leading her out of the cave, he tries to start a fire by striking two sticks against each other. Cecilia has to get back, because her school bus is leaving, but she leaves the primitive man a box of matches as a farewell gift. Three pages at the end of the story explain how prehistoric people lived, what tools they used, how they painted, and how they hunted.
