Once there was a hunter who lived with his wife and their four sons. Each son has 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 don't 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 didn't 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.

Week 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 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 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 the forest and never came home."

The mother said, "My sons, you must fidn your father."

The next morning, the four brothers set off together into the forest. First, they found the bow and arrows. Next, they found the hunter's white bones, which were almost covered by fallent 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 hot 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 to 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 skn 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 ling 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.

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Story and Storytellers

No one knows who made up "The Forgotten Trasure," but people have been telling stories like it for thousands of years. In West Africa, a storyteller is called a griot. Stories are not written down, ao griots must be able to remember them all. Griots are also the keepers of history.

Today, many American storytellers tell storied aloud. Charlotte Blake Alston gathers folk tales from West Africa. She visits schools to share the stories. Alston uses the "power of the voice"when she performs