Questions in the Leaves

Maya flipped through her history textbook, her brown eyes scanning the pages about Native American civilizations. "Felix, look at this assignment. We have to write about daily life in ancient cities, but there's barely anything here about Cahokia."

Felix peered over her shoulder, his green eyes squinting at the sparse paragraph. "That's weird. It says here that Cahokia was huge, like the biggest city in North America around 1100, but then... nothing. No recipes, no cooking methods, nothing about what people actually ate."

Sketch, Maya's sleek black cat, jumped onto the wooden table in their treehouse, knocking over a pencil.

"I wish we could actually see what their kitchens looked like," Maya sighed. "How did they cook without stoves? What did they eat during harvest time?"

Felix nodded eagerly. "And did kids our age help with the cooking? Were there special recipes for festivals?"

Maya's fingers traced the familiar edges of their magic puzzle box sitting on the shelf. The ancient wooden surface seemed to shimmer slightly in the afternoon sunlight filtering through the treehouse windows.

The Wind's Surprise

Felix reached for the magic puzzle box, its wooden surface warm under his fingertips. "Maybe this can help us learn about Cahokia cooking."

Maya nodded eagerly. "Let's see what happens."

As Felix opened the box, a swirling golden light filled the treehouse. The world spun around them, and suddenly they found themselves standing in a bustling plaza surrounded by enormous earthen mounds. Maya looked down at her simple woven dress, while Felix adjusted his leather tunic.

"Welcome to our harvest celebration!" called a cheerful woman approaching them. She had dark braided hair and wore a beautiful shell necklace. "I'm Aiyana. You must be here to help with the cooking fires."

Felix's eyes widened as he spotted massive cooking pits scattered throughout the plaza. "Those are huge!"

"We cook for the whole community," Aiyana explained. "During harvest time, families share cooking fires. It saves wood and brings everyone together."

Suddenly, a strong wind swept through the plaza. Sparks from one of the cooking fires flew toward a wooden storage platform stacked high with corn.

"Oh no!" Maya gasped, pointing at the glowing embers landing near the precious harvest stores.

What we learned: During harvest time in Cahokia, families shared large cooking fires in the community plazas to save wood and bring people together.