One-Two Man, a young orphan raised by his loving Granny, spends a whole summer digging roots until he creates a towering pile. When the pile mysteriously disappears, Granny reveals the truth he has never been told: his father was a legendary warrior, murdered by an evil shaman named Old Stoneshirt, who abducted One-Two Man’s mother and holds her captive inside a guarded cave. His father’s spirit stole the roots to signal that the boy’s childhood is over and that it is time to begin the path of the warrior. He must dig up his father’s bones, take the ancestral stone axe buried beneath them, lie upon the grave, and sleep for four days while his father’s spirit teaches him the ways of warriorhood.

Terrified, One-Two Man initially recoils from the grave but eventually finds the courage to gather his father’s bones, take the axe, and sleep as instructed. For four days he is taught every skill a warrior must know, and he awakens transformed into a full-grown warrior. His father’s spirit then commands one final rite: he must ask Granny to cleave him in two with the axe. Though heartbroken, she obeys, splitting him from head to foot in an act of ritual death that completes his rebirth. One-Two Man rises determined to rescue his mother, despite Granny’s warnings that Old Stoneshirt is invincible.

Loyal animal companions join him: Bighorn Sheep provides an endless water bowl, Wolf and Coyote provide endless talking and advice, Mouse gives quiet cunning, and Rattlesnake remains silent and deadly. While Wolf and Coyote argue incessantly about plans, Mouse sneaks into the cave and secretly weakens the bowstrings of Stoneshirt’s deadly daughters. Rattlesnake, weary of talk, kills the all-seeing antelope guard and later discovers Stoneshirt’s one vulnerable spot. When the shaman goes to relieve himself each morning in a meadow, Rattlesnake hides in the grass and strikes, killing him. While the talkers fight over credit, One-Two Man slips into the cave, frees his captive mother, and leads her safely home.