Child prodigies have been the subject of stories since the onset of written language. Many of those stories are about child musicians, mathematicians, athletes, scientists, and many other disciplines. There are the unusual or gifted children who are never recognized as prodigies because their claim to fame was not the result of a talent from birth or advantages, but came about in spite of when they were born, who their parents were, where their early years were spent, or how they were treated by family. Sometimes it was complete strangers who came along and gave these children confidence in their abilities. Through all of their adversities, they develop a prodigy-like mantle.

This is one of those stories. The hero is a ten-year-old boy who was sometimes called "Sling." Early in life, his family witnessed his prowess at throwing rocks, and later, others would call him a modern-day "David," as in the Bible story of David and Goliath. The nickname "Sling" was bestowed on the boy in our story by an old sheepherder named Lonzo, a man he encountered at the age of five, and was a name he lived up to as he grew older.