The First Story Teller

By Jim Freeze

It’s an evening in front of a cave on a clear cool night. They are around a bonfire and their faces are illuminated by the flames. A brawny fellow in a bearskin is talking animatedly, illustrating every word with wide sweeping gestures. Faces around him reflect his mood. Tired lines disappear, dull eyes brighten, and a sense of pleasure and relief envelops all of them. The man is telling a story and is renowned as a primitive magician. As the audience listens with enraptured attention, the story teller will never see a reason to think that things will ever be otherwise.