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.

 

      And so the sons located their father, but how could they help him? The first brother said, “It's a good thing I know how to bring the bones together!” As he sang over his father's bones, the bones jumped up and made a skeleton.

      The second brother said, “It's a good thing I know how to put skin on the bones!” As he sang over his father's skeleton, skin covered the bones.

      The third brother said, “It's a good thing I know how to put life into the body!” As he sang over his father's body, the hunter's heart began to beat.

      The fourth brother said, “It's a good thing I know how to make the body move!” As he sang to his father's heart, the hunter sat up and looked around.

      “Where have I been?” the father asked. His sons answered, “You were lost, but we have found you.”

      The father smiled at his sons. “You are my treasures,” he said. Then he picked up his spear, his bow, and his arrows and went home with his sons.

    The hunter smiled at his wife. “You are my treasure,” he said. He sat down by the fire, picked up a knife and a lump of wood, and began to carve. His sons watched him. He carved all night. He carved for a week. He carved for a month. He carved for a year.

      The hunter made the most beautiful carving that his wife and sons had ever seen. The carving showed every animal in the forest. It showed every tree and every flower.

      The father looked at his family. “This carving is for the one who saved my life,” he said.
 

A basic paragraph structure is 6 sentences long. Topic sentence, example, explanation, another example, explanation, conclusion.

Una estructura de párrafo básica tiene 6 oraciones. Oración temática, ejemplo, explicación, otro ejemplo, explicación, conclusión.

      Once there was a hunter who lived with his wife and their four sons. Each son had eyes like shiny black stones.

      The hunter looked at his sons and smiled. “Some men have gold, but my sons are better than gold. They are my treasures.”

      The hunter's wife was going to have a fifth baby. Sometimes she could feel it kick. “It will be another boy,” she would say. “Another fine boy, just like his brothers.”

      Every morning, the hunter said to his family, “You are all my treasures. If you care about me, remember me always.”

      Every morning, his sons would say, “Father, we do not need to remember you. Every day you go out, but every day you come back. You are always here, so how could we ever forget you?”

      One day, the hunter went out into the forest with his spear, his bow, and his arrows. At the end of the day, he did not come home. His wife and his four sons stayed up all night waiting for him, but still he didn't come home. A week passed but still he did not come home. His wife and his sons cried for their loss.

      Weeks went by, but the hunter did not come home. His wife and his four sons dried their tears.

      A month went by and the hunter still did not come home. His wife and his four sons forgot about him. They forgot all about the hunter with his spear, his bow, and his arrows.

      Many months went by. The new baby boy was born, and he was just like his brothers. The baby grew. First, he crawled. Then he walked. But he did not play.

      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.

 

      And so the sons located their father, but how could they help him? The first brother said, “It's a good thing I know how to bring the bones together!” As he sang over his father's bones, the bones jumped up and made a skeleton.

      The second brother said, “It's a good thing I know how to put skin on the bones!” As he sang over his father's skeleton, skin covered the bones.

      The third brother said, “It's a good thing I know how to put life into the body!” As he sang over his father's body, the hunter's heart began to beat.

      The fourth brother said, “It's a good thing I know how to make the body move!” As he sang to his father's heart, the hunter sat up and looked around.

      “Where have I been?” the father asked. His sons answered, “You were lost, but we have found you.”

      The father smiled at his sons. “You are my treasures,” he said. Then he picked up his spear, his bow, and his arrows and went home with his sons.

      At first, the wife was happy to see her husband. Then she looked away from him in shame. “You were gone for so long that we forgot you,” she said.

      The hunter smiled at his wife. “You are my treasure,” he said. He sat down by the fire, picked up a knife and a lump of wood, and began to carve. His sons watched him. He carved all night. He carved for a week. He carved for a month. He carved for a year.

      The hunter made the most beautiful carving that his wife and sons had ever seen. The carving showed every animal in the forest. It showed every tree and every flower.

      The father looked at his family. “This carving is for the one who saved my life,” he said.
 

      His wife said, “Then it is mine. I sent your sons to find you.”

      The first brother said, “No, it is mine. I put your bones back together.”

      The second brother said, “No, it is mine. I put skin back on your bones.”

      The third brother said, “No, it is mine. I made your heart beat again.”

      The fourth brother said, “No, it is mine. I made you move again.”

      The hunter looked at them all. He smiled and shook his head. “No,” he said. “This is for the little one. He is the one who remembered me. As long as a person is remembered and treasured by someone, he is not really lost.” The hunter lifted the fifth son onto his knee. Then he put the beautiful carving into his son's hands.



 

 Sokoya, I said, looking through       the net of wrinkles into       wise black pools       of her eyes.5What do you say in Athabaskan       when you leave each other?       What is the word       for goodbye? A shade of feeling rippled10      the wind-tanned skin.       Ah, nothing, she said,       watching the river flash. She looked at me close.       We just say, Tlaa. That means,15      See you.       We never leave each other.       When does your mouth       say goodbye to your heart? She touched me light20      as a bluebell.       You forget when you leave us,       You're so small then.       We don't use that word. We always think you're coming back,25           but if you don't,       we'll see you some place else.       You understand.       There is no word for goodbye.

• The theme of the story is that remembering someone...

• The youngest brother’s determination reminded....

• For example, he asked his brothers, "Don’t you want our treasure, too?"

• This led the brothers to go into the forest and ...

• In the end, the hunter said, "As long as a person is remembered and treasured by someone, he is not really lost."

• This shows that memory and love can keep someone’s presence....