Predict

What does the youngest son want?

Every day, the mother gave the little boy a shiny stone or a beautiful feather, but the boy would not even look at it. Every day, the brothers took turns trying to find him something nice. One day it was a colorful leaf. Another day it was a smooth red shell. Still another day it was a sparkling spider web. But the boy would not look at the gifts.

“I want our treasure,” said the little boy.

His family laughed. “We have no treasure!” they said in response. “We are just an ordinary family.”

The little boy looked at his mother and told her again, “I want our treasure!”

“Little one,” said the mother, with a smile. “Today you want a treasure. Tomorrow you will forget and want something good to eat. That is how it is with little ones.”

The little boy, whose eyes were like shiny black stones, looked at his four brothers. “I want our treasure,” he said. “Don’t you want our treasure, too?”

They covered their faces with their hands. “Oh! Our treasure! We forgot him! We forgot all about him! He went into the forest and never came home.”

The mother said, “My sons, you must find your father.”

The next morning, the four brothers set off together into the forest. First, they found a spear on the ground. Then they found the bow and arrows. Next, they found the hunter’s white bones, which were almost covered by fallen leaves.