Chapter 11 light of knowledge

The little victim seemed to have died, and now he was able to walk again.After that, he recovered quickly, and after another month, he was as strong and alive as before. During the recovery period, the scene of fighting the gorilla flashed through his mind many times. His first thought was to get back that wonderful hunting knife.It was this weapon that enabled him to defeat the terrifying giant beast in the forest despite the huge disparity in strength. He was also eager to go back to that hut and continue to explore those magical things. So, early one morning, he went alone to find the hunting knife.After searching for a while, he found the pile of bones left by his "deceased opponent" that had been pecked clean.Next to the bones lay the blade half-buried by fallen leaves.The damp woodland and the dried blood of the gorilla had covered the hunting knife red.

It was to his chagrin that the shiny hunting knife had turned rusty, but it was a formidable weapon with which to defeat any foe who dared to attack.He secretly made up his mind that with this knife, no matter how bad old Tabrant was, he would never run away. After a while, he arrived at the hut, and it didn't take long before he unlocked the door and walked in.He first wanted to figure out the mystery of the door lock.He opened the door, and studied it carefully to see how it could lock the door, and by what means it could be opened with a twist. He found that he could close and lock the door from the inside.So he locked himself in the house, so as not to be disturbed by any wild animals when he was "investigating and researching".

He began to search the hut in an orderly manner, but his attention was soon drawn to the book.These books seemed to have a wonderful effect on him, and the astonishing and enigmatic things suddenly attracted him so much that he didn't want to read anything again. In this pile of books, there is a literacy textbook, some children's books, many picture books, and a large dictionary.He flipped through them all, and liked the picture books best, though he was also intrigued by books with no pictures and strange "little beetles" crawling all over the page.heart and deep thought.

He squatted on top of the table in the hut his father had built, a pair of powerful legs. The slender little hands held a book.The smooth, dark, naked little body leaned forward slightly, strands of black hair gracefully scattered on the head, and a pair of bright eyes full of wisdom. "Tarzan of the Ape" - this little primitive man immediately presents a picture full of sadness but also full of hope in front of people's eyes - a primitive man with symbolic significance goes through the long night of the prehistoric world, groping To the light of knowledge. When he read these books, his little face looked tense.Because he has more or less mastered the secret of understanding what those strange "little beetles" represent.

He held an open literacy textbook in his hand, on which was drawn an "ape" who looked exactly like him.But except for the face and hands, all are covered in a strange, colored "fur".He thought, this "fur" must be the so-called jacket and trousers.Below the picture are three small beetles: BOY (boy) He found that in the text on this page, these three "beetles" appeared many times in the same paragraph. He also figured out the fact that there are not many "beetles", but they appear many times.Sometimes it appears alone, and more often it is combined with other "beetles" to form a new thing.

He turned the pages slowly, examining the pictures and the text, hoping to find that recurring "combination" b-o-y.After a while, I found it under a painting.The painting showed a "little ape" and a strange animal. It walked on four legs like a jackal, and it looked nothing like him. The "beetle" is just below the painting. A BOY AND A DOG (a boy and a dog) So he discovered that these three "beetles" always appeared with the "little monkey". In this way he progressed very slowly, bit by bit, not knowing that the work he had begun was extremely difficult.To learn to read without some knowledge of writing or written language, or even of the existence of such a thing in the world, seems to us almost inconceivable.

He did not complete this work in a day, a week, a month, or a year.He learned to read very slowly after mastering the hidden "abilities" of those "little beetles".By the time he was fifteen, he had learned the book "Learning by Picture". As for articles, conjunctions, adverbs, and pronouns, he doesn't know anything. When he was about twelve years old, he discovered a drawer under a desk that he had never found.There are some pencils in the drawer.He took out one, stroked it a few times, and was pleasantly surprised to find several black lines appearing on the table.

He daubed very vigorously with this newly discovered toy, and after a while, circles and irregular lines were left in a mess on the tabletop, and even the pencil lead was worn out.He took out another one, but this time with a definite purpose. He wanted to draw cats and tigers, and redraw those "little beetles" that "crawled" in the book. This is also a difficult thing to do.Because he grasped the pen like holding a dagger, and his posture was wrong. Not only was it very difficult to write, but the written characters were also difficult to read. But he came to this hut whenever he had a chance, and after several months of persistence, after repeated practice, he finally found the best posture for holding the pen, and he could write any "little beetle".

In this way, he began to write. The process of learning to write also taught him another skill—calculation.Although he could not count as we understand it, he had an idea of ​​mathematics, and the basis of his calculations depended mainly on the five fingers on a hand. After flipping through all kinds of books, he is convinced that through the tireless search for those picture books, he has known the combinations of "beetles" that often appear but are different-vocabularies, and can write them down very easily. down. His education deepened step by step, and the greatest discovery was the large illustrated dictionary. This dictionary is like an inexhaustible treasure house. Through the medium of illustrations, even those who have mastered those "beetles" After learning the meaning, he still learned something far richer than literacy textbooks.

He found that the words in the dictionary were arranged in alphabetical order, and he looked up the words he was already familiar with with great interest.The explanations and definitions behind these words enabled him to acquire new knowledge. By the age of seventeen he had learned to read simple children's primers, and had fully grasped the true and wonderful meaning of those "little beetles." He was no longer ashamed of being hairless and having a human face.Because now reason tells him that he and his things are full of wildness. The furry companions belong to different species.He is a man, they are apes, and those "little apes" jumping up and down in the woods are monkeys.He also learned that "Old Mountain Treasure" was a lioness, "Hesta" was a snake, and "Tante" was an elephant.In this way he learned to read.

His progress has accelerated considerably since then.With the help of that big dictionary, he exerted the ingenuity of a sound mind inherited from his parents, and guessed things that he couldn't really understand with a judgment that was far more agile than ordinary people's reasoning, and How many times out of ten can guess correctly. His studies were often interrupted as the tribe moved from place to place.But even without reading, his quick-witted mind continued to explore the mysteries of knowledge from his already fascinated hobby. Pieces of bark, large flat leaves, and even a piece of bare dirt have become his "exercise books."He scratched across these "exercise books" with the point of his hunting knife, reviewing the lessons he was studying. While gradually exploring the mysteries contained in that "library" with his hobby, he has not forgotten the harsher mission that life has entrusted to him. He practiced "rope tricks" and played with the sharp hunting knife, which he had learned to sharpen on the bare stone. Since Mount Tai came here, the tribe has grown even bigger.Because under the command of Kochak, they can drive other tribes from their territory. In this way there will be enough food.As for the encroachment of those predatory "neighbors", they did not bring them much loss, or there was no loss at all. Therefore, when the little male ape grows up, he feels that he can find a mate from his own tribe to live in peace and security, or catch a female ape from another tribe and bring him back to Kochak’s territory to live together in harmony. It is more comfortable and free than self-reliant system, or competing for the "throne" with the fierce Kochak. But sometimes, a more vicious guy would come out and try to make the latter choice.But no one has been able to snatch the "throne" from this cruel giant ape. Mount Tai holds a special status in the tribe.Although everyone regarded him as a member of the tribe, they always felt that he was different.The older male apes either sneered at him, or hated him so much that they gritted their teeth.If it weren't for his extraordinary agility and quickness, and Karla's desperate protection, he would probably have been driven away long ago. Tabrant was always Tarzan's most dangerous enemy.However, it was also because of him that when Xiao Taishan was about thirteen years old, the persecution of him by the enemies suddenly stopped, and no one provoked him anymore.Unless one of the male apes suddenly went mad and ran amok and messed around--and many fierce male animals in the forest are like this--then no one was safe. Taishan established his authority under such circumstances.On that day, members of the tribe gathered on a small natural "stage".This "stage" It is generally a depression surrounded by several small hills, where there is no entanglement of wild vines and other creeping plants in the virgin forest. The open space was almost completely circular, surrounded by towering trees, and under the trees were impenetrable bushes.Therefore, access to this small site is only possible from the upper branches of the big tree. Because it is a safe place, tribal members often come here to meet. There is a strange mud drum in the center of the "stage".These clay drums are built by the apes for their strange ceremonies.In the depths of the dense forest, people have heard the sound of mud drums, but no one has witnessed the grand occasion. Many travelers have seen the clay drums of the great ape lei, and some have even heard the noise and the sound of the beating of the clay drums when these "ministers" in the forest held the barbaric and grotesque carnival.But perhaps only Tarzan—Lord Greystoke—had personally participated in such a mad, passionate, intoxicating ceremony. There is no doubt that various ceremonies and ceremonies of modern churches and countries have evolved from this primitive assembly. In the immeasurable, long past, before breaking through the oldest "earth enclosure" of prehistoric civilization, our fierce, hairy ancestors danced happily to the beat of clay drums in their grand ceremonies .The moonlight in the tropics is so bright, and the dense forest is so deep.Our first shaggy ancestors swung from branch to branch, and landed lightly on the soft grass where they first met.Today, with tears in the moonlight, the jungle has not changed, but history has gone through an unimaginable corridor... Taishan grew up to be thirteen years old, and Tabrante's merciless persecution of him has been with him for thirteen years.Now, at last, he has won his own liberation.On this day, their tribe, which already had more than a hundred members, walked lightly and filed through the lower platform in the dense forest, and jumped to the "little stage" silently superior. This ceremony, called "Dum-Dum," marked an important event in the life of the tribe—a victory in battle, the capture of a captive, the slaying of a large, ferocious beast of the jungle, or the death of a former The ape king "death". Today it was because of the killing of a great ape - a member of another tribe.After Kochak's "subjects" gathered in this "arena", that is, the "small stage", two apes as strong as cattle carried the enemy that had been eliminated. They put him in front of the mud drum, and crouched beside it, as if to act as a guard.The rest of the crew huddled in the grass and slept until the moon came up, signaling them to begin this wild orgy. Hours passed, and a deathly silence fell over the small clearing.There are only a few incongruous chirps from the parrots with gorgeous feathers, or thousands of birds in the jungle passing by the towering old trees, chirping and singing.Countless branches of ancient trees are covered with Fenci, full of lavender and fiery red flowers. As dusk fell over the jungle, the apes began to move.They formed a big circle around the mud drum, and the mother ape and the baby monkeys lined up sparsely and squatted outside the circle.In front of them is the grown male ape.Before the drum sat three old female apes, all holding gnarled branches fifteen to eighteen inches long. When the moon rose and the first ray of silver light illuminated the surrounding tree tops, they began to beat the loud clay drum slowly and softly. The "lights" of the "stage" are getting brighter, and the rhythm of the mother ape beating the clay drum is getting faster and harder, and after a while, the wild and rhythmic shouts pass through the vast forest to all directions. Spread out, spread for miles.The beasts of prey in the jungle lifted their heads and pricked their ears to the dull cries that signaled the beginning of the Dum-Dum carnival. Occasionally they let out a piercing screech, or a roar of thunderous fury, to match the ferocious clamor of the apes.But no one dared to go over to see what happened, or launch an attack.With so many apes gathered together, the neighbors in the jungle could only feel awe. The drum beat was deafening, and Kochak jumped into the open space between the two squatting male apes and the drummer. He stood upright, with his head thrown back, looking at the rising moon, beating his chest with his big hairy hands, and let out a creepy scream. One, netting, three, even human screams echoed in this indescribably fast and unimaginably dull world, piercing the surging loneliness. Then Kochak crouched, far away from the dead body in front of the mud drum, and walked furtively and tiptoeing around in a circle.But whenever he passed the dead body, his fierce, evil, small red eyes fixed on it. At this time, another male ape also jumped into the "arena", imitating Kochak's appearance and making a terrible cry, and then followed behind the monkey king, turning around in a circle furtively.Then the male apes jumped in one after another, and suddenly, the thirsty cries of the bloodthirsty that seemed to never stop sounded in the jungle. This is their challenge and plunder to nature. When all the adult males had joined the circle of dancers, the attack on the corpse began. Kochak seized one of the clubs he had laid before him for the attack, rushed frantically at the dead ape, struck the corpse lying on the ground, and at the same time signaled the beginning of the battle. Roar and howl.The stick was beaten faster and faster, and the drumbeat became more and more urgent. The "Dou Shang" rushed to this hunting victim, raised their bludgeons and slammed it, and then joined the frantic rotation of the "Dance of Death". Tarzan is one of this group of savage, bouncing dancers.His dark, sweat-soaked, muscular body, gleaming in the moonlight, looked nimble and fit among the brutish, stupid, hairy beasts. In this imitative hunt, no ape is more agile, proud, brave and fierce, and no ape can dance higher than him in this "dance of death". The drums were louder and faster, and the dancers were clearly intoxicated by the frantic melodies and savage shouts.They jumped higher and higher, baring their fangs, drooling, with spittle sticking to their lips and chest. After half an hour of this weird dance, Kochak made a gesture, the drums stopped immediately, and three drumming female apes hurried through the ranks of dancers and returned to the "audience booth" outside the circle. "superior.Then, the male apes rushed up to the dead bodies that had been smashed to a pulp with their clubs. They rarely have the opportunity to eat fresh meat.So the last "good thing" of this savage carnival was tasting the ape that had just been killed.In order to gobble it up, they now focus on this "deceased enemy". Then, the serrated fangs bit the dead body and tore off the flesh in great chunks.The stronger the ape, the better the meat.The old and weak can only stand behind the group of scrambling and noisy apes, squeeze in to grab a piece of "delicious food" that falls on the ground, or pick a piece of meat and bone before everyone disperses. . Tarzan wants fresh meat more than ape.As a descendant of a carnivorous race, he has never had a full meal of meat.Now his nimble little body was crawling around, squeezing into the group of fighting giant apes, hoping to snatch a large piece of meat that was not commensurate with his strength. Beside him is the pig knife left by his biological father.He also followed the "precious book" The picture inside has a scabbard for it. He finally squeezed in front of the already messy "feast", and cut off a piece of meat bigger than he hoped with that sharp knife.It was a whole hairy forearm, protruding from the foot of the mighty Kochak.The ape king was so busy maintaining his "royal privilege" of overeating and drinking that he didn't notice this disrespect to the monarch. Therefore, Little Tarzan hugged this frighteningly large "prize" tightly to his chest, and smoothly squeezed out from the fighting ape group. Among the group of apes eagerly waiting for meat to eat, one was Tabrante.He grabs a pretty good piece of meat right off the bat.When he got it, he withdrew and ate it quietly.Now I want to squeeze in and snatch it again. He caught sight of Tarzan as he squeezed his way through the jostling apes with his hairy forearm in his arms. Tabrante's eyes fell on this little thing that had always annoyed him. His pair of blood-red piggy eyes, which were close together, immediately radiated a fierce light of hatred. The greed of that delicious forearm. Tarzan also caught sight of his old adversary, and immediately understood that he was playing his tricks.He jumped very nimbly between the female ape and the young ape, hoping to hide himself.But Tabrante was right behind him, there was no chance to hide at all, and the best policy was to run away quickly. He ran quickly to the surrounding woods.Leaping forward, he grabbed a branch that wasn't too high with one hand, then held the forearm between his teeth, and quickly climbed to a higher place, closely following Tabrante. He climbed higher and higher until he reached a rickety branch at the top of the "King of the Jungle".Tabrant dared not pursue him because of his heavy body.Tarzan sat on a branch, taunting and humiliating the foaming, furious brute fifty feet below him. Tabrant was furious. With a terrifying scream and roar, he jumped down from the tree and landed between the mother ape and the little ape. Large chunks of flesh were torn off from the back of the chest. ① "King of the forest": refers to the oak tree or oak tree. By the bright moonlight, Taishan witnessed the "whole process" of devouring the same kind out of anger.He saw the mother ape and the young ape running around, climbing up the trees and hiding.Immediately afterwards, the giant apes in the middle of the "arena" were also bitten by their crazy partner.They ran away, and in the blink of an eye they disappeared without a trace in the dark tree shadows. Apart from Tabrante, there was only one female ape on the "little stage" who hadn't escaped in time.She flew towards the great tree on which Tarzan crouched, with the dreadful Tarbrandt following closely behind her. It turned out to be Kara.As soon as Taishan saw that Tabrant was about to catch up with his adoptive mother, he rushed towards Kara like a stone falling from the sky, piercing through the leaves. At this time, Carla had already run under the big thick tree.Tai Shan squatted on it, waiting to see the outcome of this "competition". Carla jumped up and grabbed a not-too-high branch, almost above Tabrante's head, and was almost overtaken by him.She would have been safe and sound, but there was a snap and the branch snapped.She fell and hit Tarbrandt on the head, and Tarbrandt fell to the ground. In an instant, they turned over and jumped up, their movements were very swift.But Tarzan was more agile.The enraged male ape saw that the son of man was already standing between him and Kara, glaring at him. For this vicious beast, this was exactly what he wanted.With a cry of triumph he threw himself upon young Lord Greystoke.But his mouth full of fangs would never bite Tarzan's dark brown flesh. A muscular hand had already grasped his hairy throat, and the other hand held a sharp hunting knife tightly, stabbing his broad chest more than a dozen times. All this was as fast as lightning, and Taishan didn't stop until he felt that limp body began to sink. Tarbrandt fell to the ground, and Tarzan stepped on the neck of this villain who had been his lifelong enemy. He held up his vigorous young head, his eyes fixed on the full moon in the sky, and let out a wild, Scared of people shouting. One by one the tribesmen sprang from cover and formed a circle around Tarzan and the enemies he had slain.When everyone was here, Taishan turned to them. "I am Tarzan," he said aloud, "and I am a great killer. All must respect Tarzan the Ape and his mother Kara. None of you are so invincible as Tarzan. His enemies should know that!" Staring into Kirchak's murderous red eyes, young Lord Greystoke, beating his strong chest, let out another piercing scream in defense of his rights.