My tale begins at a time when there were great
forests and lush green land, when man was at one
with the earth, when there was no time, just day
and night and man grew to know when the seasons
were changing. To feel the cold wind on his body,
he would know that winter was on its way, to see
the first blade of grass start to grow, he knew
that spring, then summer were not far away.
The forest was a great place to hide, with its
tall trees, green ferns, little streams where the
water rippled over pebbles and was so clean and
fresh and cooling to drink, not only for humans,
but for the creatures that roamed the forest.
The seeds would be sown in the forest by the birds,
as they flew they would drop parts of their feast,
or nesting material, no bit of the forest was left
untouched by the plant system, except where man
had made his new home, but like the creatures that
lived in the forest moved around, man never stayed
in one place, it would be so dangerous.
Humans knew how to cover their tracks, when they
left a living area of the forest, you would hardly
know they had been there, except for the ashes of
a fire which left its mark on the ground.
They could travel a life time through the great
forest and still never discover it all. They got
to know the dangers all around them, a great fire
would be lit before nightfall, to keep them warm
and to keep away the creatures of the night, also
to cook his day's catch.
Man was a great hunter, a tree was a place to hide
and pounce on his meal of the day, if he was lucky
he could catch some wild rabbits, which tasted so
good, or if a few men went out they could catch a
bear, but man knew the strength of a bear was far
more superior than anything they could handle.
The bear could pick you up and crush every bone in
your body, so it took at least six to ten men to
spear a bear, but it meant they would not go hungry
in the winter and the meat could be stored in the
snow. The bears were usually left alone in the
summer. Their coats were excellent for making boots
or wraps and clothes for the body in winter.
Out of the forests there were great rivers where
the fish were plenty, there was enough for everyone, yes food was definitely plentiful, but it
was also very open and dangerous and was not a
place a forest man liked to venture, out of the
safety of the cocoon of tall trees, but on occasions he would be tempted to fish and if
successful there would be great feasting at night,
a drink made from edible leaves, would be drunk
and berries collected would be made into wine,
mushrooms were picked to stuff the fish with herbs
from the forest.
When night came, the feasting could begin, sometimes man would be tempted to pick mushrooms
with a hal'lucinatory feeling which helped him to
discover himself and his world around him, but it
also took his fears away, which meant that he
could put himself in great danger, especially if he
went wandering off alone.
Man would shout his thanks to the forest and dance
around the fire, he would hold the fish up high
and thank the great rivers for the food it had
given, then thank the fire for its warmth, food
and protection. Yes man had a lot to be thankful
for.
Comments
insertponceyfre... | March 23, 2011 - 21:53
great atmospheric build-up Jenny
celticman | March 23, 2011 - 21:55
ah Jenny, just day and night, seasons/winter, these are, in my way of thinking subsets of time. So to say there is 'no time' helps cause confusion.
skinner_jennifer | March 23, 2011 - 22:59
Hi insert,
thankyou so much for reading this piece and for the
great comment, it's always appreciated.
Jenny.
skinner_jennifer | March 23, 2011 - 23:05
Hi celticman,
yes I suppose you are right about the day and night,
and the time thing, it does kind of cause confusion.
We rely on time so much now, I think we have forgotten what it would be like not to have it.
Anyway thankyou again for reading and commenting,
always appreciated.
Jenny.
seashore | March 24, 2011 - 09:04
I really enjoyed this, Jenny - now for Part 2...
SteveM | March 24, 2011 - 10:25
Very atmospheric... this reads very well when spoken aloud. Will jump to part 2 straight away.
Steve
skinner_jennifer | March 24, 2011 - 10:35
That is so kind of you to leave such a lovely
comment Coral, thankyou so much for reading, I
always appreciate comments.
Jenny.
skinner_jennifer | March 24, 2011 - 10:39
Hi Steve,
that is a wonderful compliment, that this could be
read aloud, thankyou so much, it has helped me a lot.
I really do hope the rest of the story lives up to
expectation.
Thankyou for reading and again the great comment.
Jenny.
SteveM | March 24, 2011 - 10:48
Hi Jenny,
My pleasure. I feel that if a story or poem can be read aloud and still flows, then you've cracked the secret.
Steve
Silver Spun Sand | March 24, 2011 - 12:09
I agree, so much, with Steve...in fact, I found myself reading it aloud and when I saw his comment, I had to smile;-) Like the bit about the 'magic mushrooms, too.
I'm off to read Chapter Two now.
Tina
skinner_jennifer | March 24, 2011 - 12:35
Hi Steve,
thanks for coming back with such nice words.
Jenny.
skinner_jennifer | March 24, 2011 - 12:38
Tina,
I take that as such a compliment, because you are
such a professional writer.
I hope you enjoy the rest of the story, thankyou
so much for reading and the great comment.
Jenny.
Highhat | March 24, 2011 - 13:48
This is going to be a lovely story. I can feel it. You are so good at describing nature and the way we are (used to be) so close to it. I will contiue reading your story.
;)Pia
skinner_jennifer | March 24, 2011 - 15:27
Thankyou so much Pia,
I really do appreciate you reading my story, it
makes it all worth while, I will try to keep the
chapters as short as I can, I think it's easier
for people to read that way, although it does mean
there will be a hell of a lot of parts in this
story.
Thankyou again for your comment, you know I always
welcome comments.
Jenny.
SundaysChild | March 24, 2011 - 19:11
I really like this- I found it quite thought-provoking.
skinner_jennifer | March 24, 2011 - 19:35
Hi SundaysChild,
that's very kind of you to say that it's thought
provoking.
Thankyou for reading.
Jenny.
Sooz006 | March 27, 2011 - 20:28
It's not time that he's living without, it's clocks, or other devices used to measure time. I've just re-set mine and will not sleep tonight for worrying that it will not go off correctly in the morning for work.
I agree with the rest, lovely start. Let's see where you are going to take us.
skinner_jennifer | March 28, 2011 - 07:39
Hi Sooz006,
time is a strange thing, for me time seems to go
faster and faster, but then I suppose that has
something to do with my age.
Glad you are still enjoying the story.
Thanks for reading.
Jenny.
well-wisher | April 5, 2011 - 09:50
Good opening chapter, Jenny. It really sets up the world that the characters will inhabit well.
I also think that it effectively conveys your own admiration for the people described in the story
and paints an appealing portrait of a time when people had both a deep spirituality and a strong connection to nature.
I thought that it would work just aswell as the opening of a history documentary because its so loaded with facts about primitive life. While I read it, I imagined some actor speaking the words like
a voice-over to a history programme.
skinner_jennifer | April 5, 2011 - 10:02
Wow! thankyou so much well-wisher, you always manage
to cheer me up with your wonderful comments. I am
honoured that you have given this opening such a
wonderful comment.
Thankyou again so very much.
Jenny.
Kahdai | June 5, 2011 - 16:04
http://www.abctales.com/story/skinner-jennifer/chosen-ones-part-two
skinner_jennifer | June 6, 2011 - 09:34
Dear Kahdai,
I don't know what to say, you are a real star.
Thankyou so much.
Jenny.
Kahdai | June 12, 2011 - 19:39
welcom Jenny am enjoying to read the story as I go along anyway it just copy and paste ;) K
skinner_jennifer | June 13, 2011 - 09:11
Thankyou Kahdai.
Jenny.