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* It was spring. Spring, when love was in the air, and war in the ground. Spring, when the tribe came out of its winter hibernation. Spring, when the hunters tested their weapons, removed their thick woolen jackets, and hunted fresh meat.
* This winter had been particularly hard on the tribe of Hurro. The last of the stored meat had been consumed months ahead of the proper date, and hunting had been particularly slim. Men struck out further and further from the village, pushing deeper and deeper into the forest about them, looking for something that would fill the empty stomachs of their children.
* Of the twenty-seven houses in the village of Hurro, only three were never without plenty, and of only one of those three the hand of donation was never drawn back. The house of Hadul, despite being a fatherless house, always had plenty.


* The hunting had been particularly bad this week. The journey back, with but one stag and seven rabbits to show for their efforts, was a glum one. The tallest of the group, a man called by the name of Fox Killer, spoke. He was a good hunter, but he had only gotten two rabbits, both of which had been eaten already.
* "Nunca tenha eu tal inverno visto" Never have I seen such a winter; His voice was quiet. The men stopped when they heard it. After a moment they nodded their heads in agreement. It was indeed the harshest winter they had experienced.
* "Nao adequado" Not proper; said Aquido, the eldest of the group. "Zangamo-nos alguem, e eles nos amaldicoaram." We have angered someone, and they have cursed us.; concluded Aquido.
* The other hunters nodded their heads again. Aquido was rarely wrong.
* "Venhamos, somos proximos" come, it is close; said Running Ant. The other hunters nodded, shouldered their game again, and began to trudge through the deep snow. There would be hunger in the village this next week.</div>

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* "Voltam, voltam!" They are back, they are back! The cries rang out in the street. People appeard out of seemingly nowhere, and crowded around the hunters.
* "Trouxe alimento? Era a cacada bom?" Have you brought food? Was the hunting good? It pained the returning hunters when they showed the poor gathering. " Nao, era muito mau. Saiu-se bem aqui? " No, it was very bad. Have you fared well here?
* " Sobrevivemos. O Hadul caca diario, e sempre traz algo de volta." We have survived. Hadul hunts daily, and always brings something back.;
Running Ant grunted, and then turned to his hut. "Divida para cima a carne" Divide up the meat; said Aquido to Fox Killer, motioning to the stag.

* The Hadul home was a fatherless house. Tobal Hadul, the Father, had vanished several years before. His son, named after his father, cared for his mother and sister. Hadul was different. He was a man of few words, but when he did speak it seemed to come tumbling out. His father said he was quiet because he was afraid that his tongue would run away if he opened his mouth for too long.
* When the other village boys played at war, Hadul was hunting. When the village boys stalked rabbits, Hadul was setting traps for the water rat. When the other village boys chased the girls, Hadul was busy curing the meat he had prepared.
* It seemed that the hunt was what Hadul lived for. He talked of little else on the occasion that he did speak.
* After the disappearance of his father years previous, Hadul had been burdened with the caring of his family. Thrust into manhood long before the proper time, he had been estranged from the few friends he had had.

* Tobal heard the commotion in the village long before he arrived. Two water rats were slung over his back, it had been a successful day. Even better, both traps had survived the capture, and thus were set again.
* He was a short man, short even for a Hurro. His long white hair was knotted into a braid, his face was of a darker tint than that of his fellow villagers. The hunteing party is back, he thought. The snow, standing to his thighs in places, made sure his progress back toward the village was slow.
* As he topped the last hummock turned snowbank, a chill spread over his body. Something inside his brain screamed Warning! Warning! Warning! like a woodpecker hammering at a tree. On instinct he ducked behind the nearest bush. Devoid of leaves, the shrub would do little to shield him from any watchful eyes.
* For several minutes Tobal sat still, listening. The sounds of his heart was loud to his ears, but not as loud as the sound of his village below. The chill was intensifying, and the warning in his mind continued to go off. What is it? he asked himself, and as if in response his eyes strayed to the left.
* A figure strode through the woods, tall and sure of itself.</div>