The Clan of the Cave Bear

The Clan of the Cave Bear Summary | Chapter 1 Summary

As the naked, precocious five-year-old leaves her hut in the morning to play, she has no idea that this day will be any different from any other. She swims in the river, enjoying the cool water, and has just gotten out to dry herself in the sunshine, when the earth begins to tremble. She is confused and tries uncertainly to make her way back to her hut. The trembling of the earth becomes more forceful, and a huge pine tree crashes down before her. A gaping crack appears in the earth, and before the frightened young girl can reach her hut, it is swallowed up into the crack, taking everything she has known or loved during her first five years of life.

The girl screams repeatedly, "Mother!" but the shaking has become so violent that she is unable to walk; she is repeatedly thrown to the ground by the tremors each time she tries to stand.

Just as suddenly, the gap closes, the trembling ceases, and all is still. Terrified, she looks around her. She begins to cry, as she realizes that nothing remains of her hut, her family, or anyone else. An aftershock of the tremendous earthquake sets the frightened young girl in motion, and she runs into the woods. It is her instinct to get as far away as possible, and she follows the river, stopping only to drink. She travels until she can go no further, and sinks to the forest floor, exhausted. She is cold, hungry, and scared, and sleep is long in coming. She wakes towards morning, screaming, as the distant rumblings that continue to shake the earth trigger memories that she will try to forget for the rest of her life. When dawn breaks, she continues traveling along the stream. She begins to feel hunger pangs and drinks more frequently for the temporary feeling of fullness. As the sun sets, she once again digs a small hole, covers herself with the dirt to keep warm, and falls asleep.

The child loses all concept of time, following this basic routine and the river. One day, as she stops to drink from the river, she detects a swift motion out of the corner of her eye. It is a cave lioness, stalking a herd of wild cows. Terrified, she turns and runs blindly in the opposite direction. What she does not realize is that she is running towards the cave that houses the lioness' cubs, and the lion that protects them while she hunts. The girl hears his protective roar and begins to run the other way. Instinctively, she finds a small hole in the face of the cliff. She squeezes her emaciated body into it and watches terrified as a lion paw, claws outstretched, enters the small hole. She tries to shrink away, shrieking in pain as the claws sink into her left thigh, leaving four parallel gashes.

The girl sinks into delirium, staying in the small cave for the rest of the day, that night, and the following day. An unbearable thirst finally drives her out. Her endurance holds out just long enough to get her to the river to drink. She then loses consciousness, falling to the ground on the bank of the river.