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diff --git a/old/61875-h/61875-h.htm b/old/61875-h/61875-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 1bfc863..0000000 --- a/old/61875-h/61875-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2765 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> -<head> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> -<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Animal Stories from Eskimo Land, by Renée Coudert Riggs</title> - <link rel='coverpage' href='images/cover.jpg' /> - <style type="text/css"> - body { margin-left:8%;margin-right:8%; } - p { text-indent:1.15em; margin-top:0.1em; margin-bottom:0.1em; text-align:justify; } - /* headings */ - h1 { text-align:center; font-weight:normal; page-break-before: always; - font-size:1.4em; margin:2em auto 1em auto; } - /* illustrations */ - .caption { text-indent:0; padding:0.5em 0; text-align:center; font-size:smaller; } - .figcenter { margin:1em auto; } - /* text divisions */ - div.section { margin-bottom:3em; padding-top:2em; page-break-before:always; } - - - h1.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 190%; - margin-top: 0em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h2.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 135%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - page-break-before: avoid; - line-height: 1; } - h3.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 110%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - h4.pgx { text-align: center; - clear: both; - font-weight: bold; - font-size: 100%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - word-spacing: 0em; - letter-spacing: 0em; - line-height: 1; } - hr.pgx { width: 100%; - margin-top: 3em; - margin-bottom: 0em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - height: 4px; - border-width: 4px 0 0 0; /* remove all borders except the top one */ - border-style: solid; - border-color: #000000; - clear: both; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<h1 class="pgx" title="header title">The Project Gutenberg eBook, Animal Stories from Eskimo Land, by Renée -Coudert Riggs, Illustrated by George W. Hood</h1> -<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States -and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no -restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Animal Stories from Eskimo Land</p> -<p> Adapted from the Original Eskimo Stories Collected by Dr. Daniel S. Neuman</p> -<p>Author: Renée Coudert Riggs</p> -<p>Release Date: April 20, 2020 [eBook #61875]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANIMAL STORIES FROM ESKIMO LAND***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4 class="pgx" title="credit">E-text prepared by Roger Frank and Sue Clark<br /> - from page images generously made available by<br /> - Internet Archive<br /> - (<a href="https://archive.org">https://archive.org</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - <a href="https://archive.org/details/animalstoriesfro00rigg"> - https://archive.org/details/animalstoriesfro00rigg</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<h1>ANIMAL STORIES FROM ESKIMO LAND</h1> -<div class='section'> -<div id='i001' class='figcenter' style='width:70%; max-width:520px;'> -<img src='images/img-001.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -<p class='caption'>“‘Who are you?’ said the boy.”</p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -<div style='font-size:1.4em;'>ANIMAL STORIES</div> -<div style='font-size:1.4em;margin-bottom:1em;'>FROM ESKIMO LAND</div> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;'>ADAPTED FROM THE ORIGINAL</div> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;'>ESKIMO STORIES COLLECTED BY</div> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;margin-bottom:1em;'>DR. DANIEL S. NEUMAN</div> -<div>BY</div> -<div style='font-size:1.2em;margin-bottom:1em;'>RENÉE COUDERT RIGGS</div> -<div style='font-style:italic;'>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND DECORATIONS BY</div> -<div style='font-size:1.1em;margin-bottom:1em;'>GEORGE W. HOOD</div> -</div> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:30%; max-width:200px;'> -<img src='images/img-002.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;'>NEW YORK</div> -<div>FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY</div> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;'>MCMXXIII</div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;font-style:italic;'>Copyright, 1923, by</div> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;font-variant:small-caps;'>Frederick A. Stokes Company</div> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;margin-bottom:1em;font-style:italic;'>All rights reserved</div> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;font-style:italic;'>Printed in the United States of America</div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;'>WITH</div> -<div>AFFECTIONATE GREETING</div> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;'>I DEDICATE</div> -<div>THIS SMALL VOLUME</div> -<div style='font-size:0.9em;'>TO</div> -<div>MY LITTLE FRIENDS</div> -<div>THE CHILDREN OF ALASKA</div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<h2 style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:normal;' id='forewo'>FOREWORD</h2> -<p>The Eskimos are a kindly, industrious, smiling people. To our way of -thinking their lives are uncivilized and cheerless. And yet, in their -own primitive way, they find much happiness in life. They live from one -moment only to the next. When food is plentiful, they gorge. When seals -and game are scarce, they patiently do without.</p> -<p>Eskimo children never cry. They are never punished by their parents, for -the spirits which inhabit their little bodies might take offense and -depart. They play happy games as do children the world over, with balls -sewed together from reindeer or seal hides and with toys carved from -ivory, bone or wood.</p> -<p>The people are courteous and considerate. I have sat in their kasgas -when the oomaliks (head men) were in council with my husband, who at -that time was Governor of Alaska. The dignity and order of their debates -would honor any legislative assembly. There is no interruption to a -speaker until the final “I have spoken.”</p> -<p>The council finished, comes the customary dance in the kasga. The dance -is always symbolic—the coming of spring, the flight of the ducks, the -spearing of the whale, the wolf dance, or the killing of the bear. The -men dance with grotesque gesture until exhausted, while the women with -quiet feet, sway gently in unison in the dim light from the opening -overhead. On the platform at the end of the kasga the musicians beat -industriously on their drums.</p> -<p>The stories in this little book are adapted from some of the great -number gathered through many years by Dr. Daniel S. Neuman, of Nome. It -was Dr. Neuman who painstakingly made the splendid and unequaled -collection of Eskimo antiquities and modern implements now on exhibit in -the territorial museum at Juneau. The acquiring of this collection for -the Territory was one of my husband’s last official acts as governor.</p> -<p>I have endeavored to rewrite these tales for boys and girls in the hope -that they may take an interest in that quaint people, living still in -the stone age, who, on account of their contact with the so-called -civilized races, are gradually vanishing into the past.</p> -<div style='text-align:right; width:100%;font-variant:small-caps'>Renée Coudert Riggs.</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -<div>CONTENTS</div> -</div> -<div style='text-align:center; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em'> -<div style='display:inline-block; text-align:left;'> -<div><a href='#forewo'>Foreword</a></div> -<div><a href='#thejou'>The Journey to Eskimo Land</a></div> -<div><a href='#ivango'>Ivango or the Lost Sister</a></div> -<div><a href='#therob'>The Robin, the Crow and the Fox</a></div> -<div><a href='#thepro'>The Proud Mouse</a></div> -<div><a href='#thecro'>The Crow and the Daylight</a></div> -<div><a href='#theorp'>The Orphan Boy</a></div> -<div><a href='#araceb'>A Race Between a Reindeer and a Tom-Cod</a></div> -<div><a href='#whythe'>Why They Have Summer on St. Lawrence Island</a></div> -<div><a href='#thelos'>The Lost Son</a></div> -<div><a href='#thecrl'>The Crow and the Owl</a></div> -<div><a href='#therun'>The Running Stick</a></div> -<div><a href='#thetre'>The Treacherous Crow and His Cousin, the Mink</a></div> -<div><a href='#goodan'>Good and Bad Weather</a></div> -<div><a href='#howthe'>How the White Whales Happened</a></div> -<div><a href='#agiant'>A Giant and His Drum</a></div> -<div><a href='#loveka'>Lovek and Seranak</a></div> -<div><a href='#thecar'>The Caribou</a></div> -<div><a href='#afoxst'>A Fox Story</a></div> -<div><a href='#mierak'>Mi-e-rak-puk</a></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='section'> -<div style='text-align:center; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;'> -<div>ILLUSTRATIONS</div> -</div> -<div style='text-align:center; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom:0.5em'> -<div style='display:inline-block; text-align:left;'> -<div><a href='#i001'>“‘Who are you?’ said the boy”</a></div> -<div><a href='#i005'>“Looking up into the tree, saw Kaytak standing by his nest”</a></div> -<div><a href='#i008'>“At last he saw that it was shining from a big snow house”</a></div> -<div><a href='#i010'>“Stopped to say good-morning to the fish”</a></div> -<div><a href='#i013'>“Poured the black oil all over the crow”</a></div> -<div><a href='#i016'>“The bear came round by the same track and saw the salmon”</a></div> -<div><a href='#i020'>“‘Lovek, I have you at my mercy now’”</a></div> -<div><a href='#i023'>“<i>Snap</i>, Mr. Smart Fox was caught at last”</a></div> -</div> -</div> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:normal;' id='thejou'>THE JOURNEY TO ESKIMO LAND</h2> -<p>The big easy-chair was drawn up before the fire, its hospitable arms -extended, to embrace a father with a little boy on one knee and a little -girl on the other. It was story-telling time.</p> -<p>“Well,” said Father, “where shall we travel tonight?”</p> -<p>The glowing embers showed two eager little faces. “Take us to Eskimo -Land!” they said. So the father settled deeper down in the cosy chair -and stretched out his long legs.</p> -<p>“Very well, to Eskimo Land we shall go. I will take you inside a “kasga” -and let the Eskimos tell you their own stories; but before we go there I -must explain to you that in every Eskimo village there is one house -called a “kasga.” Now this kasga is the place where they all go to pass -the long, dark hours of winter, with song and story. Sometimes they -dance to the weird music of beating drums and chanting voices, and -again, they sit quietly mending their weapons, their fishnets or spears; -or again, some of them will be carving beautiful pieces of ivory taken -from a walrus tusk.</p> -<p>“The house called ‘kasga’ in which they meet is built by all the people -of the village. Every one lends a hand; even the little children do -their share of the work. There are logs of driftwood to be hauled: there -is turf or moss from the tundra to be put over the round roof, and -digging to be done with the big bone shovels. So they all help to build -the place in which they spend so much of their time. The men gather -there when they get home from hunting. They cannot be out long in -winter. It is dark most of the day as well as the night, and the storms -are so bad they do not dare to go very far away. The women bring their -sewing too, which they do with thread made from dried sinews from the -leg of the caribou or from the white whale which the old women patiently -pull apart into long threads.</p> -<p>“Now,” said Father, “shut your eyes tight and we will put on our -invisible caps and go to Eskimo Land, right inside a kasga to see what -is happening there this cold winter night.”</p> -<p>So the little boy and girl shut their eyes and clung tightly to Father’s -hand while he counted very slowly, “One, two, three!”</p> -<p>“Stoop over,” said Father, “and creep on your hands and knees, for to -get into the kasga we have to go through a long, low, tunnel-like -entrance, until we come to a hole right over our heads. Here we are! I -will give you a push. Jump up now!” And they popped right through a hole -into the middle of the floor of a big room. Isn’t that a funny way to -get into a house? They were in the kasga at last.</p> -<p>There are no windows to this house, but a round hole in the middle of -the ceiling, or roof, serves both as window and ventilator. This, in -winter, is usually covered with a curtain of bear or seal intestine, -which keeps out the cold. Also it keeps out the fresh air. Sometimes, -when the room is very full of people, the warmth from their bodies and -the steam from many breaths form a moisture that drops down upon them -like rain.</p> -<p>The room is square, and about it runs a wide platform. This platform is -about four feet from the ground. All the men sit on it, while the women -sit on the floor at their feet, with the little children gathered about -them. There are lots of little children in Eskimo Land. They are good -little ones, too. Their parents love them dearly, but they have to learn -early in life to be good and patient, for sometimes they get little or -nothing to eat for days at a time, when game is scarce and their fathers -come back from hunting without any meat for them. So these little ones -do not fuss and cry, for they know that they cannot always have what -they want when they want it.</p> -<p>There are no electric lights in Eskimo Land, nor do they have big open -fireplaces in the houses, with bright, crackling logs to keep them warm, -for wood is hard to get.</p> -<p>About the floor of the kasga are placed lamps of heavy stone, hollowed -out like dishes, in which wicks of moss soaked in seal oil are burned. -The lamps give a yellow, flickering light and a little heat. The women -take care of the lamps, keep them clean and see that they do not smoke -or go out.</p> -<p>On the middle of the platform, at the end of the room, sits the -“Ommalik” of the village. Eskimos do not have real chiefs like Indians, -but in every village there is a rich man; that is a man who has more -than the others of what the Eskimos use and need the most. The Ommalik -is like a chief for the time being, a sort of boss, so we will call him -chief for convenience sake.</p> -<p>In the kasga we are in now there are two shelves high up, one at each -end, where the unmarried men, the bachelors, sit; and quite a scramble -they have, too, in getting up so high.</p> -<p>On the floor at the feet of their husbands sit the married women with -their babies in their parka hoods and their children playing near them, -but the little ones keep very quiet and never dare to make a noise when -the grown-ups are talking—which would be a good example for lots of -little white children I know.</p> -<p>Huddled up in a corner sat a very dark little man, with long black hair -that hung down into his eyes. He was as close as he could get to one of -the lamps, and in his hand he held a piece of creamy ivory, upon which -he was carving the story of a walrus hunt, in pictures. Near him sat a -man busily mending a spear. Ommalik looked around the room. Soon his -eyes rested upon Ungukuk, the little man carving the picture story. -“Ungukuk,” said Ommalik, “will tell us a story.”</p> -<p>The little dark man stopped his work, but did not move or look up. No -one seemed to have heard the chief speak. Some of the little children -still slept on with their heads against their mothers’ knees.</p> -<p>Again Ommalik looked about him and said, “Ungukuk will tell us a story.”</p> -<p>Again there was silence, and the boy in the far corner went on mending -his fish net. At last, after five or six minutes had passed, Ungukuk -raised his head and peered into the dark faces about him. In a -monotonous, sing-song voice, he began the following story:</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='ivango'>IVANGO OR THE LOST SISTER</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-003.jpg' alt='IVANGO OR THE LOST SISTER' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long ago, in a village in the Far North, there lived a young man named -Ivango. He was the oldest of the family and had four brothers and a -little sister, eleven or twelve years old.</p> -<p>One clear spring evening, the little girl was playing out on the sand -pit with some other children. They were playing “house,” and on the -beach near them was the huge skull of a whale.</p> -<p>When they had finished making a toy house out of pieces of driftwood, -Ivango’s sister climbed to the top of the whale skull to rest.</p> -<p>No sooner had she sat down, than suddenly the skull began to roll -quickly toward the sea. It moved so fast and the child was so frightened -that she just held on tight and screamed.</p> -<p>All the little ones ran after her, adding their cries to hers, until the -skull plunged into the waves, turned into a whale and, with the little -girl still clinging to his back, swam away out of sight on the gray -ocean.</p> -<p>The children ran out into the water as far as they could, calling to -their little playmate, but soon she was gone from sight. A sad troop of -weeping children ran to Ivango’s igloo, to tell him what had happened.</p> -<p>Ivango and his brothers were in despair, for they loved their sister -very dearly, as indeed did every one in the village.</p> -<p>That very night in the kasga they held a council as how best to find the -little girl and bring her home again.</p> -<p>Ivango called all the shamans or witch-doctors to his house and bade -them sing, hoping that they would sing something about his lost sister, -and where she had been taken; but each one told him a different tale, so -that he soon saw that they knew nothing at all about it. So he sent them -all away again.</p> -<p>Now there was one woman among his neighbors, who was very wise, although -not a sorceress. This woman could sing about many things that no one -else knew, so Ivango sent for her and told her to sing.</p> -<p>After a while she began. She told Ivango and his brothers that the whale -had taken their sister to a far off country. This country, she said, was -guarded by two great cliffs of solid rock, which could open wide apart -and then come together again with a crash like thunder, crushing to -death any living creature daring to venture between.</p> -<p>Ivango asked her what they must do to rescue their sister. She answered, -“You must make a skin boat so swift that it will go faster than the -swiftest bird can fly. When the boat is finished, kill a young seal and -take it with you. When all is ready, I will go with you to tell you what -to do.”</p> -<p>They thanked the woman very much and went to work to make the boat as -soon as it was daylight. They worked as quickly as they could, for they -were very anxious to rescue their sister. When they had finished, they -took the boat down to the shore, and waited for a bird to come along. -Presently they saw a beautiful gray gull with a white breast, sailing -gracefully through the sky. They got into the boat and paddled along as -fast as they could, but the gull was soon far ahead of them and they -could not catch up with it at all. This was a dreadful disappointment, -for it meant a long delay. They came back to land very much discouraged, -but Ivango said, “We must not lose heart so easily. Let us go to work at -once and take more care this time that we are doing our very best. It -does not pay to be in too much of a hurry.”</p> -<p>So they started making another boat, and this time they worked very -carefully, for they must not fail a second time. They made the frame out -of the lightest driftwood and covered it with white whale skin. First -they wet the skin to make it soft, then stretched it over the frame and -tied it in place with rawhide. When the skin dried it became tight over -the frame and was quite water-proof. Ivango, who was a very strong man, -made a paddle for himself from the shoulder-bone of a whale. When they -had finished the second boat, it looked fine and they all felt happy -again; but it had taken many precious days to make.</p> -<p>When all was ready they got into the boat and raced with the first gull -that came along. This time they beat it easily, so they came back to -shore to get their provisions and to kill a baby seal to take with them.</p> -<p>The woman, who was waiting to go along too, told them that they must -watch for a flock of eider ducks and follow them closely. Pretty soon a -flock of eider ducks flew over. The brothers and the woman got quickly -into the boat and paddled off as fast as they could. When the birds sank -to rest, the men would stop paddling and rest, also, or eat. When the -ducks flew, the boat traveled along as swiftly as though it too had -wings. When the ducks slept, the men stopped paddling and also slept, -while the woman kept watch. When the birds rose again to fly, the woman -would awaken the men and take her turn at sleeping.</p> -<p>They traveled this way for many days and nights, until at last they -could hear a faint, rumbling noise like distant thunder. The sound lent -renewed strength to Ivango’s mighty paddle. So powerfully did he wield -it that they went faster than the ducks, who were leading them straight -to their sister.</p> -<p>Nearer and nearer they came to the strange sound, and louder and louder -it grew, until it seemed as though mountains of rock were being hurled -together by the hands of some mighty giant.</p> -<p>Soon they could see two great cliffs drawing swiftly together through -the ocean. They met with a mighty crash that seemed to shake the sea and -sky. Ivango had trouble in keeping the boat upright, so high were the -waves made by the rocks when they came together.</p> -<p>As the boat came nearer, the cliffs slowly drew apart, and some sea -parrots and seals tried to pass through the opening, but the rocks -rushed together and the birds and seals were caught and crushed to -death.</p> -<p>Ivango felt his heart fail within him. Could they ever pass through -alive, or must they all be crushed like the animals and birds? It did -not seem possible that they could ever reach the other side of the -cliffs. Oh! if they only might fly over in the sky like the ducks were -doing! Then they would be safe.</p> -<p>Ivango, however, had not time to think about it. He must act quickly, or -the ducks soon would be out of sight and then they would have no one to -show them the way to their sister. So when the cliffs parted again, -Ivango wielded his mighty paddle and the little boat shot into the -foaming pass. It seemed as though they must be drawn down into the -whirling waters and be drowned, but Ivango gathered his strength into -one mighty effort just as the towering walls started to come together, -and when they met with a deafening roar, Ivango and his little boat were -safe in the quiet waters beyond.</p> -<p>At last they had reached their journey’s end and passed safely through -the great danger. How happy and thankful they were to leave the menacing -rocks behind!</p> -<p>They landed near a sandy cliff and walked carefully behind one another -so as to make only one track in the sand with their mukluks. Their -mukluks are their seal boots. Then they dug a hole in the ground, put -the boat in it and hid.</p> -<p>The next day while Ivango was peeping out of the hole, he saw a man -walking toward the cliff from the opposite direction from which they had -come. When he reached the footprints on the sand, which looked as though -only one person had walked up from the beach, he stopped and examined -them carefully for a long time, then, jumping over, so as not to step on -them, he went his way. After a while the man came back. This time he did -not stop, but jumped over the footprints and went on. On his back he was -carrying a lot of birds.</p> -<p>Now one of Ivango’s brothers was very brave and wanted to jump out to -kill that man and take the birds, but Ivango would not let him.</p> -<p>Soon another man came along, and seeing the track, stopped to examine -it, then jumped over, just as the first man had done. When he came back -with all the birds he could carry, the brave brother could wait no -longer. They were all hungry and tired and wanted the birds for food, so -he sprang out and captured the man and hid him back of the hole, then -they all had those fine birds to eat.</p> -<p>In the morning, being rested and refreshed, Ivango and his brothers got -into their boat and paddled in the direction from which the men had come -walking along the beach.</p> -<p>Soon they saw a village in the center of which stood a large igloo.</p> -<p>Ivango and the brothers felt sure their sister must be there, so Ivango -went to the door of the igloo and entered. Sitting on a big white bear -skin on the floor was his sister, looking very sad and lonely.</p> -<p>When she saw Ivango she sprang up joyously, but quickly put her finger -to her lips, which meant, “Be quiet!” and whispered to Ivango, “O -Brother, you should not have come for me. The whale man is waiting to -kill you!”</p> -<p>She looked terribly frightened, but Ivango comforted her, saying, -“That’s all right, Sister. We came for you and will die if we have to.”</p> -<p>Before long, they heard the whale man coming in. He pretended to be a -kind man and very polite, but Ivango knew better than to believe him. -The whale man could not fool Ivango.</p> -<p>After a little while, the whale man told Ivango to fetch his brothers to -eat supper with them, and the brothers came. The whale man gave them a -good supper with plenty to eat, but they watched carefully, for they -knew that he was just waiting for a chance to do them some harm.</p> -<p>When night came the whale man suggested that they play all sorts of -games. Ivango beat him every time, and he did not seem to like that at -all.</p> -<p>The next morning he took them out to see a big ditch that had been dug -during the night. All the men of the village were bringing logs of wood -and pokes (skin bags) of oil to the ditch.</p> -<p>The whale man called Ivango and told him to look down into the ditch, -and while he was looking gave him a shove. Ivango, taken by surprise, -lost his balance and fell in.</p> -<p>Down went Ivango into the deep dark hole. When he reached the bottom he -stood still and felt the sides of the ditch all about him, until -suddenly his hands came upon a great stone embedded in the earth on one -side of the hole. Digging quickly into the earth with his fingers, he -dragged out the huge stone and found a deep hole in the earth back of -it. Into this hole he crept, pulling the stone into place after him. -Outside, the whale man built a big fire with logs and oil and shoved it -into the pit, thinking that Ivango would be burned up; but Ivango was -safe behind the rock, and the fire never even singed his mukluks. When -the flames had died down and there was nothing left but ashes, he crept -out from his hiding-place and called for some one to let down a rope for -him to climb up by. Soon he saw the rope coming down. It was made of -walrus hide such as is used for lashing boats. Ivango took hold of the -end of the rope and his brothers pulled him out.</p> -<p>The whale man stood there looking much surprised to see him come out -unharmed, and Ivango, springing upon him, hurled him into the pit. Then -turning to the people, Ivango said, “If this man is unkind to you, bring -some more wood and oil and we will burn him up. If he is good to you, -let down the rope again and pull him out after we have gone away.”</p> -<p>“No, no!” they shouted loudly. “We do not want to pull him out. He is -not good to us at all, but very wicked and cruel. Let us burn him up!” -and they all ran to bring more wood and oil, much more than before and -made a great fire themselves and threw it into the pit before Ivango -could stop them.</p> -<p>Ivango and the brothers and their little sister hurried down to the sea, -where the woman was waiting for them with the boat, and started off for -home as fast as they could paddle.</p> -<p>This time they passed through the moving cliffs without fear or trouble, -but no sooner had the cliffs closed together behind them, than a big -white whale rose to the top of the water and pursued them.</p> -<p>Although they could make the boat go as fast as the swiftest bird, the -whale was faster than they and was getting very close. Just as the -monster rose beside them, the woman cut off the right flipper from the -seal they had brought with them and threw it to the whale, which stopped -to eat. This gave them time to get quite far ahead; but after the whale -had finished eating he soon caught up with them. Then the woman threw -out the left flipper. Again the whale stopped to eat, and again caught -up with them, but they were nearly home, so they threw over the rest of -the seal and paddled to shore. When they landed the whale hurried after -them so fast that he swam right up on the beach, where they killed him -and cut him up for meat.</p> -<p>The people of the village crowded about to welcome Ivango and his -brothers and the little lost sister, and they all had a fine feast of -the meat of the whale.</p> -<p>They lived happily after that and Ivango made many presents to the good -woman who had helped them to find their sister, so that she was never -allowed to want for anything all her life long.</p> -<p>When Nugukuk had come to the end of the story, he raised his eyes to the -face of the chief. “And so is the winter shortened,” said Nugukuk -solemnly. For that is the way they bring their story-telling to an end.</p> -<p>After that the father and the little boy and girl came very often to the -kasga and heard different men of the village tell their wonderful tales, -until they had heard all of the following stories. Perhaps next winter -they will go back to hear some more.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='therob'>THE ROBIN, THE CROW AND THE FOX</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-004.jpg' alt='THE ROBIN, THE CROW AND THE FOX' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>A robin had its nest in a tree, and there were six pretty blue eggs in -the nest.</p> -<p>After a while the eggs broke open and out came six baby robins.</p> -<p>The father robin, whose name was Kaytak, thought them the most beautiful -birds in the world, and brought them fine worms and little bugs, and -watched over them very carefully.</p> -<p>One day a red fox came by, and looking up into the tree, saw Kaytak -standing by his nest.</p> -<p>“Hey, Robin,” called the fox, “I see you up there.”</p> -<p>“What do you want?” said the robin.</p> -<p>“Give me one of your little birds for breakfast,” said the fox.</p> -<p>“No, indeed,” said the robin. “I will not give you one of my babies.”</p> -<p>“Well,” said Red Fox, “you say ‘no.’ If you don’t drop down one to me -this minute, I will take them all.”</p> -<p>“You cannot get them,” said the robin.</p> -<div id='i005' class='figcenter' style='width:70%; max-width:521px;'> -<img src='images/img-005.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -<p class='caption'>“Looking up into the tree, saw Kaytak standing by his nest”</p> -</div> -<p>“Indeed I can,” said Red Fox. “I have an ax, and with my ax I will cut -that tree down and then eat up all your little robins.”</p> -<p>When the robin heard that he was terribly frightened. Then, rather than -lose all his babies, he took one of them in his beak and dropped it down -to the fox, who grabbed the little bird and ran away. After that Red Fox -came back twice and did as before, the poor father robin being afraid to -refuse to do what was asked. Trembling with fright and very sad, the -poor bird looked about for some one to help him. The only living thing -in sight was a crow flying by, and he called to him for help. The crow -flew down into the tree and said, “What is it you want?”</p> -<p>Then the robin told him all about the wicked red fox, and how there were -only three baby robins left, and that he feared the fox would get them -all.</p> -<p>The crow laughed. “Haw, haw! Red Fox thinks he is smart, but he is -really foolish. He fooled you, though. He really has no ax, and he could -not cut down this tree. When he comes again, you say to him, ‘I will -give you no more of my baby birds. You have no ax.’ If he says, ‘Who -told you that?’ you say, ‘Crow told me,’” and the crow flew away.</p> -<p>The next day Red Fox came back to the tree and demanded a little bird -for his breakfast.</p> -<p>“No, no, Mr. Red Fox,” said the robin. “No little bird any more for you -out of my nest.”</p> -<p>“You had better give me one quick,” said the fox, “or I will chop the -tree right down and eat them all.” But the robin felt very safe and -saucy now, so he sang a little song and said, “No, you won’t chop down -this tree, because you haven’t any ax, and you are not as smart as you -think you are, only foolish.”</p> -<p>“Who told you all that stuff?” asked the fox angrily. The robin sang -another teasing song, then said, “Crow told me all that—about the ax and -the ‘foolish’ and everything. So you had better get away, for you get no -more of my babies.”</p> -<p>Then the red fox was very angry indeed and went off swearing he would -get even with the crow for depriving him of the tender baby robins for -breakfast and calling him “foolish.” He vowed he would find that crow -and kill him.</p> -<p>Pretty soon the summer had passed, and winter with its short dark days -had come.</p> -<p>One cold, stormy morning Red Fox was walking about, wondering how he -could catch that crow. After thinking about it for a long time, he said, -“I know what I will do!” So he lay down in the snow and played “dead,” -for he knew that crows like to pick at dead animals.</p> -<p>After a while the crow came flying about, looking for food. He spied the -red fox lying there, and slowly flew down nearby. At first he was afraid -the fox was not really dead, but the fox lay very still. Then the crow -touched the fox a little with his beak. The fox did not move, and the -crow grew bolder.</p> -<p>“He is really dead,” said the crow, “and I will go around and have a -look at his eyes.”</p> -<p>He walked around the fox and started to peck his eyes, but when he came -near the head, Red Fox opened his big mouth and snapped, and snapped the -crow in it, tight as a trap.</p> -<p>Crow thought he would die of fright before the fox got a chance to eat -him, he was so scared, but Red Fox started up the mountain with Crow in -his mouth.</p> -<p>Then Crow gathered his wits together in spite of his terror, and tried -to think of some way he could get out of Red Fox’s mouth. “If I can only -make him open his mouth to talk,” thought Crow, “then I can get out.” So -he said, “O Fox, I know you are going to eat me, but I pray you tell me -one thing before I die. Which way is the wind blowing?”</p> -<p>“West wind,” said the fox, and opened his mouth very wide to say “West.”</p> -<p>Out flew Mr. Crow as fast as he could, much to the surprise of Red Fox.</p> -<p>As he flew away the crow lingered a little over the head of Red Fox. -“Haw, haw, Mr. Fox,” laughed he, “haw, haw! I saved myself from your -mouth. You cannot fool me. No animal can fool me.” Then he flew off -flapping his wings and laughing “Haw, haw!” Red Fox slunk away with his -tail dragging on the ground. He was very much ashamed of how the crow -had fooled him twice, and he did not like to be beaten, for he and Crow -are considered the two smartest animals at trickery and deceit; but no -one can beat the crow.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='thepro'>THE PROUD MOUSE</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-006.jpg' alt='THE PROUD MOUSE' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>There was once a mouse who thought a great deal of himself and was -always longing for a chance to do something which would show how great -he was.</p> -<p>One night while he was asleep in a corner of the kasga, under the shelf, -he was startled by a strange noise and woke up with a jump. He looked -about him, but could see nothing; then he crept very quietly toward the -door, and there he saw a great fire burning.</p> -<p>“Now I am going to be burned up,” said the mouse. “What shall I do to -save myself?”</p> -<p>The fire was growing bigger and brighter every minute, and in despair he -gave up all hope of getting out of the door, for he could never pass -through those terrible flames. He sat down and began to think and think -what he had better do.</p> -<p>“Well,” he thought, “I will burn up if I stay in here, so I might as -well try to get out. If the fire burns me while I am getting out, I -can’t help it.”</p> -<p>Then he made a dash through the flames to the door.</p> -<p>He was soon out, but he was much surprised that he did not feel burned -at all. He looked himself over very carefully but his fur was not even -singed.</p> -<p>“Now I know that I am very great indeed, because fire does not burn me,” -said the mouse, and he walked about proudly whisking his little tail and -thinking how great he was; then he looked back at the kasga, and saw -that there was really no fire at all. What he had taken for fire was -just the sunshine at the door. The proud mouse felt very much ashamed -and said, “What a poor fool I am! What can I do now to show that I am -really great?”</p> -<p>He looked about for a long time. At last he said, “I know what I shall -do. I shall jump over that high bank.”</p> -<p>So he started to walk to the bank, and when he got there, he looked up, -and it seemed very high indeed.</p> -<p>“If I jump over this bank,” said he, “I shall be great.”</p> -<p>He ran, and then sprang as high as he could into the air, and came down -on top of the bank.</p> -<p>“Surely I am great now, since I can jump so high.” When he looked back -he saw that the bank was not high at all, only a little heap of sand.</p> -<p>“Shame on me!” groaned the mouse. “Now I must do something this time. I -shall swim across that great lake.”</p> -<p>He started for the lake and at last, after walking a long time, he got -there.</p> -<p>“That lake is very big,” he thought, for he could see only part way -across.</p> -<p>Then the little mouse began to feel proud once more.</p> -<p>“If I swim across that lake, all the animals will call me great.”</p> -<p>He swam, and he swam, and it took him all day to swim over. Before he -reached the other side, he was so tired he could only swim very slowly. -Looking back, he saw all kinds of fishes on his tail. He shook them off, -and at last he reached land.</p> -<p>“Now,” thought he, “I am really great, for I swam across that lake;” and -he lay down for a good rest. When he got up he looked proudly back to -see the wonderful lake, and there was no lake at all. What he had -thought was a big lake was only a man’s footprint full of muddy water, -that he had taken all day to cross, and the fishes he had seen on his -tail were the little bugs swimming about in the mud-puddle.</p> -<p>“Now, I am surely ashamed of myself!” he cried. But he would not give up -trying to be great, though he was beginning to see that he was really -not as great as he supposed.</p> -<p>Far on the horizon, he saw something tall and slender.</p> -<p>“I must go cut down that pole that reaches from earth to sky,” said he, -and off he started for the pole. When he reached it he walked all around -the pole, looking up, but he could not see the top.</p> -<p>“That high pole holds up the sky,” thought he, “and if I cut it, the sky -will fall down upon the earth, and everybody will be killed. I will cut -that pole because I am ashamed of myself.”</p> -<p>First he dug a hole in the ground, to get into when the pole was cut. -When the hole was finished he said, “I will do like this when the sky -falls down,” and he ran as fast as he could into the hole. He came out -then and started to cut the pole with his sharp little teeth.</p> -<p>He worked very hard, until at last the pole was cut, when he ran into -the hole as fast as he could scamper, to listen for the falling of the -pole.</p> -<p>Said the mouse to himself, “Now the sky has come down and killed every -living thing.”</p> -<p>Pretty soon he began to wonder how it would look with the sky fallen -down, and he peeped out of his hole; but everything seemed to be the -same as before. He looked up where the sky used to be, and there it -still was, all blue and shining. Then he looked down at the pole on the -ground, and saw that it was only a tall blade of grass.</p> -<p>“Shame on me, shame on me! Now I am truly ashamed of myself. Because I -am so ashamed of myself, I will pack that great mountain across the -tundra.” So he journeyed to the mountain, and at last he got there.</p> -<p>First he dug all around with his little claws, then he lifted one grain -of sand and packed it over the tundra. Back and forth he went for many -weary days, carrying a grain of sand at a time, until he had carried the -whole mountain across.</p> -<p>“Now,” said the little mouse, no longer proud, “I know that no one can -be great unless he is willing to work hard and patiently.”</p> -<p>So that is the way the mountain got there, far out over the tundra, and -the little mouse was rewarded at last for his perseverance.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='thecro'>THE CROW AND THE DAYLIGHT</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-007.jpg' alt='THE CROW AND THE DAYLIGHT' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long, long ago, when the world was new, there was no daylight in Alaska. -It was dark all the time, and the people in Alaska were living in the -dark, just doing the best they could. They used to quarrel about whether -it was day or night. Half of the people slept while the other half -worked; in fact, no one really knew when it was time to go to bed, or if -in bed when to get up, because it was dark all of the time.</p> -<p>In one village lived a crow. The people liked this crow because they -thought him very wise; in fact he told them so himself; so they let him -live in their kasga.</p> -<p>The crow used to talk a lot too, and tell of all the wonderful things he -had seen and done, when he had spread his wings and flown away on his -long journeys to distant lands.</p> -<p>The people of Alaska had no light but the flame of their seal-oil lamps.</p> -<p>One evening the crow seemed very sad and did not speak at all. The -people wondered what was the matter, and felt sad too because they -missed their lively crow, so they asked him: “Crow, what makes you so -sad?”</p> -<p>“I am sorry for the people of Alaska,” said the crow, “because they have -no daylight.”</p> -<p>“What is daylight?” said they. “What is it like? We have never heard of -daylight.”</p> -<p>“Well,” said the crow, “if you had daylight in Alaska you could go -everywhere and see everything, even animals from far away.”</p> -<p>This seemed very wonderful to them all, and they asked the crow if he -would try to get them that “daylight.”</p> -<p>At first the crow refused all their entreaties. “I know where it is,” -said he, “but it would be too hard for me to get it here.”</p> -<p>Then they all crowded around and begged him to go to the place where -daylight was and bring them some.</p> -<p>Still the crow refused, and said he could not possibly get that light; -but they coaxed him nicely, and the chief said, “O Crow, you are so -clever and so brave, we know you can do that.”</p> -<p>At last the crow said, “Very well, I will go.”</p> -<p>The next day he started on his journey. Of course it was dark, but it -was not stormy, and when he had said goodby to all the people he spread -his wings and flew away toward the East, for the sun comes from the -East.</p> -<p>He flew on and on in the dark, until his wings ached and he was very -tired, but he never stopped.</p> -<p>After many days he began to see a little bit, dimly at first, then more -and more, until the sky was flooded with light.</p> -<p>Perching on the branch of a tree to rest, he looked about him to see if -he could find where the light came from. At last he saw that it was -shining from a big snow house in a village nearby.</p> -<p>Now in that snow house lived the chief of the village, and that chief -had a daughter who was very beautiful. This daughter came out of the -house every day to fetch water from the ice hole in the river; which is -the only way the Eskimos can get fresh water in winter. After she had -come out, the crow slipped off his skin and hid it in the entrance of -the house; then he covered himself with dust, and said some magic words, -which sounded something like this:</p> -<p style='text-indent:0; margin:1em auto 1em 2em'> -“Ya-ka-ty, ta-ka-ty, na-ka-ty-O.<br /> -Make me little that I won’t show.<br /> -Only a tiny speck of dust,<br /> -No one will notice me, I trust.”<br /> -</p> -<p>Then he hid on a sunbeam in a crack near the door, and waited for the -chief’s daughter.</p> -<p>When she had filled her seal-skin water-bag, she came back from the -river, and the crow, who looked like nothing but a speck of dust -floating on the sunbeam, lighted on her dress and passed with her -through the door into the house where the daylight came from.</p> -<div id='i008' class='figcenter' style='width:70%; max-width:527px;'> -<img src='images/img-008.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -<p class='caption'>“At last he saw that it was shining from a big snow house”</p> -</div> -<p>Inside, the place was very bright and sunny, and there was a dear little -dark-eyed baby playing on the floor, on the skin of a polar bear which -had recently been killed.</p> -<p>That baby had a lot of little toys, carved out of walrus ivory. There -were tiny dogs and foxes, and little walrus heads, and kayaks (Eskimo -canoes). He kept putting the toys into an ivory box with a cover, then -spilling them out again.</p> -<p>The chief was watching the baby very proudly, but the little one did not -seem satisfied with his toys.</p> -<p>When the chief’s daughter came in she stooped to pick the baby from the -floor, and a little speck of dust drifted from her dress to the baby’s -ear. The dust was the crow, of course.</p> -<p>The baby began to cry and fuss, and the chief said, “What you want?” and -the crow whispered into his ear, “Ask for the daylight to play with.”</p> -<p>The baby asked for the daylight, and the chief told his daughter to give -the baby a small, round daylight to play with.</p> -<p>The woman unwound the rawhide string from his hunting bag and took out a -small wooden chest covered with pictures, which told the story of the -brave things the chief had done. From the chest she took a shining ball, -and gave it to the child.</p> -<p>The baby liked the shining ball, and played with it a long time; but the -crow wanted to get that daylight, so he whispered in the little one’s -ear to ask for a string to tie to his ball. They gave him a string, and -tied the daylight to it for him; then the chief and his daughter went -out, leaving the door open behind them, much to the delight of Crow, who -was waiting for just that chance.</p> -<p>When the little boy got near to the door in his play, the crow whispered -again in his ear, and told him to creep out into the entrance with his -daylight.</p> -<p>The baby did as the crow told him, and as he passed the spot where the -crow’s skin was hidden, the speck of dust slipped out of the child’s -ear, back into the crow’s skin and the crow was himself again. Seizing -the end of the string in his beak, away flew Mr. Crow, leaving the -howling baby on the ground.</p> -<p>The child’s cries brought the chief and his daughter and all the people -of the village rushing to the spot; and they saw the crow flying away -with their precious daylight.</p> -<p>In vain they tried to reach him with their arrows, but he was too -quickly out of sight.</p> -<p>When the crow came near the land of Alaska he thought he would try the -daylight to see how it worked, so when he passed over the first dark -village, he scratched a little bit of the brightness off, and it fell on -the village and lighted it up beautifully. Then every village he came to -he did the same thing, until at last he reached his home village, where -he had started from. Hovering over it, he shattered the daylight into -little bits, and scattered them far and wide.</p> -<p>The people greeted him with shouts of delight. They were so happy they -danced and sang, and prepared a great feast in his honor. They were so -grateful to him they couldn’t thank him enough for bringing that -daylight.</p> -<p>The crow told them that if he had taken the big daylight, it would never -be dark in Alaska, even in winter, but he said that the big daylight -would have been too heavy for him to carry.</p> -<p>The people have always been thankful to the crow since then, and never -try to kill him.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='theorp'>THE ORPHAN BOY</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-009.jpg' alt='THE ORPHAN BOY' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long ago, in a big village on Shismarief Inlet, lived a chief who had -one child, a daughter.</p> -<p>The chief’s brother died and left a little boy, without any one to take -care of him, so the chief took the boy to live with him.</p> -<p>The boy and girl were cousins, and they had very happy times playing -together.</p> -<p>One day they had been out making snowballs, and stopped to shake the -snow off their parkas before coming into the house. The Eskimo parka is -a sort of middy blouse with a hood attached to it. In winter these -parkas are usually made of reindeer skin, with a big ruff of fur around -the edge of the hood to protect the face. The best fur to trim the hood -is that of the wolverine, for it does not collect moisture from the -breath.</p> -<p>The children stamped their feet and brushed the snow from each other -with small flat ivory sticks shaped for that purpose. In doing this the -boy broke the beautiful string of beads which the girl wore around her -neck.</p> -<p>Now these were very precious beads; and the boy was afraid of his uncle, -and did not like to tell what he had done, but he bravely took his -little cousin by the hand and went into the house trembling with fear. -Walking up to the chief he said, “Uncle, I am sorry but I broke the -precious beads.”</p> -<p>His uncle was furious. “How did you do it?” he asked, and the boy told -him.</p> -<p>“Now,” said the uncle, “I am going to kill you for that. Those beads -were my sign of chief. Now you have broken the beads, the people will -say I am no longer chief, and will make some one else chief instead of -me. You will have to die.”</p> -<p>He took the boy out of the house and led him to the kasga. There were -many people in the kasga, but he drove them all out; then he took off -the little boy’s clothes, and went away, leaving him all alone to die of -cold and hunger. That cruel uncle closed the door, putting heavy pieces -of wood against it, so that the little fellow could not push it open, -and then went up to the top of the kasga, where he took the skin cover -off from the round window hole, to let the cold air in. After that he -went away.</p> -<p>When left alone in the cold without any clothes on, the little fellow -started to run quickly around and around on the floor to keep warm.</p> -<p>Now in that village lived a man and wife who were very sad because they -had no children of their own. These two people loved the little ones -very dearly, and were good to all the children in the village; and the -children were very fond of them in return for all their kindness.</p> -<p>Long after the chief had gone away from the kasga, and the little boy -had run about until he was too tired to run any more, and could no -longer keep warm, that kind man who loved little children came on top of -the hut, put his head through the window hole, and called, “Hello,” and -the little boy answered, “Hello.”</p> -<p>The man said, “You are alive yet?” Then he put his head through the -window hole and handed a bundle of things to the boy.</p> -<p>“I have brought you some food and some water in a bag, a little oil and -a good warm sleeping-bag. Put the sleeping-bag under the floor, and get -into it and keep warm.”</p> -<p>When the kind man had gone away, the boy put the sleeping-bag through -the hole which is in the middle of the floor of every kasga, then, after -eating some of the food and drinking some of the water, he fell fast -asleep inside the nice, warm bag.</p> -<p>Early in the morning the boy crept out of the hole on to the floor, like -a little rat without any fur, and began to run around and around again, -to keep warm. It was still dark because the sun is lazy, way up there in -Alaska, and gets up very late. It was cold, too, icy cold.</p> -<p>With the first rays of daylight came the uncle’s footsteps on top of the -kasga; then the surprised and angry face peering down at the boy through -the window hole.</p> -<p>Now the chief had come up there expecting to find his nephew frozen -stiff, and was not at all pleased to see him skipping about all bare and -so lively. It made him more angry than ever, and he called down in a -big, fierce voice, “You are alive yet?” as though he could not believe -his own eyes.</p> -<p>The boy looked up without a word, and kept on running; then the uncle -called him all kinds of names, and said, “You try to keep alive as hard -as you can. This is the last day for you. I’ll fix you.” Then he went -away.</p> -<p>The boy crept back into his warm bag. When it was getting dark again, he -heard some one at the window hole calling, “Hello.”</p> -<p>The boy answered, “Hello.” Then the kind man said, “Listen, your uncle -is determined to kill you. He sent for the shaman and told him that he -must kill you tonight. I cannot save you this time, for the shaman is -more powerful than I. You must try your best to save yourself.” So -saying, the kind man went away.</p> -<p>It was night; dark, quiet and cold. The little boy stood shivering and -wondering what was going to happen to him. Suddenly he heard a sound, a -strange rustling sound. He was terrified, and thought of what the kind -man had told him about the shaman, who was very powerful, and knew all -kinds of magic.</p> -<p>The strange sound came nearer, and he could see by a light at the door -that a big snake was coming near to him. Now, while there is a kind of -water serpent in one part of the North, there are no real snakes in -Alaska, so the boy had never seen one, and did not know what it was.</p> -<p>The big snake hissed at him and said, “I will eat you up.”</p> -<p>The boy was terribly frightened, but he was a brave little fellow, so he -answered, “All right, I am ready.”</p> -<p>All the time he was looking desperately about for a weapon of some sort; -but the only thing he saw was the skin of the flipper of a seal. This he -pulled quickly onto his own right hand, which it fitted like a glove.</p> -<p>“Come on, Snake, and eat me up,” said he.</p> -<p>The big snake opened his mouth very wide, and quickly the boy thrust his -hand with the seal claws on it down the snake’s long throat, and pulled -out the snake’s stomach. Such an angry hissing as there was! Then the -snake glided away very fast.</p> -<p>Early in the morning, knowing that his uncle would come to see if the -shaman had killed him, the boy got out of his bag, and started to run -around on the floor to keep warm.</p> -<p>Soon the uncle climbed to the top of the kasga and peered down through -the window hole to see if the boy was there. When he saw his nephew -running about, he was more angry than ever, and called down in a loud -voice, “Try as hard as you can to live, I will kill you.” Then the boy -heard the footsteps going away over the snow, and crept back into the -sleeping-bag.</p> -<p>When it began to be dark, some one crept up to the window hole and said, -“Hello.” It was the kind man, and happy indeed was the poor little boy -to hear the voice of his friend.</p> -<p>The man was very much surprised to hear the boy’s answering “Hello,” and -very much pleased, and said, “Last night, the wicked shaman transformed -himself into a snake and went out. In the morning he came crawling back -without his stomach, and died. You killed that shaman, I am sure. Now -tonight your uncle sent for the very highest shaman of all, and told him -he must kill you himself. I am afraid he will succeed this time, with -his great magic. You must try your very best to save yourself any way.”</p> -<p>Leaving some food and water, the kind man went away, and the boy, -shivering with cold and fright, crept back into his bag.</p> -<p>Pretty soon he heard a great noise by the door, and there was a bigger -snake than before; a real monster this time. My! How scared that poor -little boy was!</p> -<p>He looked about for a weapon to fight the snake with, but there was -none.</p> -<p>Nearer and nearer came the horrible creature, with his mouth wide open.</p> -<p>Then the boy’s eyes fell upon the big stone lamp. It was very heavy, but -he took it in his hands and went right up to the snake.</p> -<p>“If you are going to eat me, Snake,” he said, “open your mouth as wide -as you can, and swallow me quick.” The snake hissed loudly, and opened -his mouth very wide, and the boy threw the lamp right down the monster’s -throat. When the snake had swallowed the lamp, he thought it was the boy -and went out. After that the boy got into the bag as before and slept -until morning.</p> -<p>As soon as it was daylight the chief came to see if the shaman had -obeyed his command. He looked down through the window and saw the boy -standing there looking up at him. He surely was surprised.</p> -<p>“How dare you be alive?” said he. “This is the last day for you anyway. -If the shaman can’t kill you, I will do it myself.”</p> -<p>Long after the uncle had gone, when it began to be dark, some one came -to the window hole and shouted, “Hello!” It was his friend, and how -happy it made the little boy to hear that kind voice!</p> -<p>“I am thankful that you are alive,” said the voice. “When the shaman -came back last night, he said he had something heavy inside of him, and -this morning he was dead. I am sure you killed the wicked shaman, but I -fear you will be dead tomorrow yourself. Your uncle has told every man -to try to kill you, but I brought you a little spear, and a bow, and a -crown; also a warm parka, and some oil. When you put on your clothes, -take some of this oil and grease yourself all over, then take some coals -from one of the lamps and blacken your face. When you have done this, -sit still until your uncle calls you; then go out.”</p> -<p>After saying this and giving him the things, the man went away, and the -boy was alone again; but this time he felt more hopeful, for did he not -have a spear and a bow? And had he not a nice warm parka to put on? -Then, too, he was going to get out, anything was better than staying -there alone in the dark and cold.</p> -<p>In the morning the boy got up and put on his clothes, which fit as -though made for him, and which felt so good and warm after having had no -clothes at all for such a long time. He tried the little bow, and that -was just the right size for him, too. When he had blackened his face, -and put on the little crown, he sat down to wait for the chief.</p> -<p>He did not have long to wait. Pretty soon he heard the <i>crunch, crunch</i>, -of footsteps coming over the snow; then the cruel voice of his uncle -calling him to come out.</p> -<p>Now the little fellow knew that he was going through that door to be -killed, but he took his spear and his bow, and went out as bravely as -any man.</p> -<p>When he got outside he saw his uncle standing by the door with a big -spear, and a crowd of people armed with spears and bows, all waiting to -kill one little boy.</p> -<p>As soon as they saw him they raised a great howl, and hurled their -spears at him and shot their arrows; but the weapons struck the oily -surface of his parka and glanced aside without harming him at all. Then -the boy hurled his spear at his uncle with all his might. It struck deep -into his flesh, and the wicked man went off, howling like a dog, and -never came back; for which every one was sincerely thankful.</p> -<p>After that the boy heard some one calling, and looking up he saw the -kind man and his wife standing on the roof of their igloo, and they were -shouting, “Let us make him chief! Let us make him chief!”</p> -<p>Then the people who wanted to kill him when the wicked uncle was there, -shouted, “He will be our chief now! He will be our chief!” So the boy -became chief, and went to live with the kind man and his wife, and took -them for his parents and was good to them, just as they had been good to -him when he was in trouble.</p> -<p>From that time on, the Eskimos have continued the custom of adopting -little orphan children into their homes, and taking care of them; being -very kind, and never like the wicked uncle at all.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:1em; text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:normal;' id='araceb'>A RACE BETWEEN A REINDEER AND A TOM-COD</h2> -<p>Long ago somewhere on the shore of the Arctic Ocean a reindeer was -taking a walk on the beach, enjoying the fine air, and the sea salt of -which the reindeer are so fond. As he passed a little point on the beach -jutting out into the ocean, a fish called tom-cod said, “Well, Deer, how -do you do?” The deer stopped to say good-morning to the fish, and asked -him if he did not think it would be fun to run a race, and settle for -all time which could go the fastest, a reindeer or a fish.</p> -<div id='i010' class='figcenter' style='width:70%; max-width:518px;'> -<img src='images/img-010.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -<p class='caption'>“Stopped to say good-morning to the fish”</p> -</div> -<p>The tom-cod thought about it for a while; then said, “I am very busy -today, Reindeer, but if you will come this time tomorrow morning, we -shall race, and I shall beat you.”</p> -<p>“We shall see,” said the deer, and went home.</p> -<p>When the deer was out of sight the fish sent a message to all the -tom-cods near that shore. He told them that the next morning he would -have a race with a deer, and that they must answer the deer ever time he -said, “Fish, are you there?”</p> -<p>At sunrise the next day the deer came to the meeting-place and said, -“Fish, are you there?”</p> -<p>“Yes,” answered the tom-cod. “I am waiting for you.”</p> -<p>The reindeer walked along the shore, but the tom-cod laughed to himself -in fish language, and stayed quietly in the same place in the water.</p> -<p>After walking about a mile, the reindeer said, “Fish, are you there?”</p> -<p>Then another fish answered him, and said, “Yes, Reindeer, I am here, and -I could go much faster if I did not have to wait for you.”</p> -<p>The reindeer hurried on a little faster. After a while he said, “Fish, -are you there?” and still another fish answered him and said, “Yes, -Reindeer, I am here, but I could go much faster if I did not have to -wait for you.”</p> -<p>Then the reindeer, who thought it was the same fish all the time, ran as -fast as the wind for a little way. When he stopped he asked, “Fish, are -you there?” and still another fish answered, “O yes, I am here, but you -are too slow for me.”</p> -<p>After that the deer fell exhausted on the beach and could run no more. -So in that way the tom-cod won the race.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='whythe'>WHY THEY HAVE SUMMER ON ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-011.jpg' alt='WHY THEY HAVE SUMMER ON ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long, long ago, on St. Lawrence Island, there lived an old woman with -her little grandson. They were very poor, so poor that the old woman had -a hard time to feed and care for the boy.</p> -<p>It was always cold and stormy, and sometimes they had almost nothing to -eat for days at a time, because the wind blew so hard that the little -boy could not stay out to catch tom-cods.</p> -<p>One time when it had been stormy for many days, and the old grandmother -was nearly dying of hunger, the little boy said to her, “Grandma, do you -know what makes storms like this?”</p> -<p>“No,” said she; “I only know that it is always cold and windy; only some -days are worse than others. In some places they have sunshine, but never -here. We will die of hunger and cold, but the wind will go on blowing -just the same, and the snow will fall.”</p> -<p>The poor grandmother bowed her head, and the tears fell on her cheeks.</p> -<p>The boy said, “How is it, Grandma, that you live so long and do not know -what makes storms? I shall find out myself.”</p> -<p>The grandmother had to laugh, weak and sad as she was. “Why, how can you -find out such things? You are only a little boy.”</p> -<p>He stood up beside her and tried to look very big and strong.</p> -<p>“Grandma,” said he, “I will teach you about storms myself, even if I am -only a little boy. I will find out how to stop these storms.”</p> -<p>Then he asked her to mend his mukluks and his mittens, and to be sure -there were no holes in his parka, for he was going out.</p> -<p>The old woman said “No” at first, and begged him not to go, but seeing -how determined he was she let him have his way, and got his things ready -as he had asked her to do.</p> -<p>When she had finished, the little fellow put the parka over his head, -and with his high fur mukluks, and good mittens, he was well protected -from the wind.</p> -<p>Outside the igloo he stopped to watch the storm and which way the snow -was drifting. After studying it for a while he said to himself, “I know -now where the storm comes from,” and putting his head down he took a -long breath and started to walk against the wind, which was so strong -that it took him a long time to make any progress at all. The snow was -thick and caused him to stop every few steps, and turn his back to the -wind, to rest and get his breath.</p> -<p>At last, when he began to despair of getting any farther, he saw -something big and dark moving through the snow. It was a man, a very big -man. He had on a fine parka with a big band of wolverine fur about the -hood, that stood out from his face like the rays of the sun; only the -little boy had never seen the sun, so he never thought of that.</p> -<p>Luckily the man had his back to the boy, and of course could not hear -him in such a howling wind.</p> -<p>Back and forth, the man walked in the snow, intent upon his work, and -not looking about him at all.</p> -<p>The boy watched him closely, and saw that he had a spear, and a big -shovel made from the shoulder-bone of a whale. First the man would break -up a lot of snow with the spear, then he would scoop it up with his -shovel, and with a great shout fling that snow wildly about in every -direction. He seemed to be singing some kind of a wild song, and as he -waved his shovel high in the air the snow flew thick and fast, whirling -away in the great blast of wind made by the fanning of the shovel.</p> -<p>The boy listened for the words of the song. They sounded something like -this:</p> -<p style='text-indent:0; margin:1em auto 1em 2em'> -“Whir-r-r-r away.<br /> -Away blow.<br /> -Fill the day,<br /> -With flying snow.<br /> -Here you go.<br /> -There you go.<br /> -Blow, <span style='font-variant:small-caps'>blow</span>, BLOW!”<br /> -</p> -<p>At the last “BLOW” he would give a great shout, and whirl around so -fast, and fling the snow so hard, that he would almost lose his balance -and fall over on the ground.</p> -<p>How do you think the boy felt when he realized that he had all -unexpectedly come upon the Storm Man himself? He was so excited he -forgot to feel cold or tired, and began to wonder what he could do, he, -a little boy, as his dear old grandmother had so rightly said, to stop -the Storm Man from making any more storms. The man was very big and -fierce and strong, and he himself was so very little, and had had so -little to eat for a long time that he was not strong at all.</p> -<p>Watching the Storm Man, he noticed that every time he got through -chopping a lot of snow, he would drop the spear behind him, and stoop to -pick up the shovel; so, waiting until the man was entirely absorbed in -his shovel and his song, the little boy grabbed the big spear and -scampered off across the snow for dear life.</p> -<p>My! How heavy that spear did feel, and how the boy did run! For in spite -of his burden, he was so sure the Storm Man was after him that Fear lent -wings to his feet and he fairly flew over the snow toward his -grandmother’s little house.</p> -<p>Safely he reached the door, and fell breathless on the floor behind his -grandmother with the spear in his hand. Almost at his heels, he heard -the Storm Man shouting behind him, “Give me my spear! Give me my spear!”</p> -<p>The old woman roused herself, opened her eyes, and saw the boy.</p> -<p>“My son,” said she, “if you have anything belonging to that man, give it -to him or he will kill us.”</p> -<p>“Grandmother, dear Grandmother, don’t make me give back the spear, for -that is the Storm Man, and if I give it back now, he will make a -terrible big storm and we shall die anyhow. If I keep it he cannot make -the storms.”</p> -<p>Then the man shouted louder than ever, “If you do not give me back my -spear the sky will fall on you! You will be killed and every one on St. -Lawrence Island will die, too; but if you give it back right away, it -will be summer when you wake up tomorrow morning. The sun will be -shining, and the salmon-berries will be ripening all about the house. -Then go down to the river and set your nets, and they will quickly be -full of fine salmon. Hurry! Hurry! Give me my spear!”</p> -<p>The grandmother again said, “Boy, give that man his spear.”</p> -<p>The little boy was very angry, because he did not believe the Storm Man, -and thought they would be killed anyway, but he did not dare disobey the -grandmother, so he took the spear to the fireplace and struck the point -against the stone lamp to make it dull. When he had finished, he threw -it out of the window hole, and called, “There is your spear. I know you -are the Storm Man.”</p> -<p>The Storm Man only laughed, and said, “Konnu has sharpened my spear.” -Now “Konnu” was the boy’s name.</p> -<p>After that the grandmother and the boy heard the howling song of the -Storm Man grow fainter and fainter in the distance, until they both fell -asleep to its soothing sound.</p> -<p>Early in the morning the boy was awakened by a strange dazzling light in -his eyes. It was the sun. True to his word, the Storm Man had let the -summer come.</p> -<p>Outside it was warm. Sunshine was everywhere, making everything look -bright and beautiful. The ground about the house was thick with ripening -salmon berries, and the sky was blue, with little white puffy clouds -floating over it.</p> -<p>Konnu took his nets down to the river, and saw the salmon swimming -lazily about. His heart was full of joy, for he knew the Storm Man had -kept his word, that this was summer, and they need not be hungry and -cold any more.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='thelos'>THE LOST SON</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-012.jpg' alt='THE LOST SON' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long ago, in a village on the Arctic coast of Alaska, there lived a man -and his wife, with their only son.</p> -<p>The boy was clever and brave, and a good hunter. Every spring he went -out with his harpoon and killed a whale, but he did not worship the -whales as his father did. The father thought the whales had great power, -and he used to pray to them.</p> -<p>One winter while the young man was out hunting, the ice broke and -drifted away from land, leaving him on the ice floe with a great expanse -of shining sea between himself and the shore. There was no way for him -to reach land, and, to make matters worse, a storm arose, and the wind -blew and howled, and the waves grew so big that they looked like -mountains. Pretty soon the ice was all broken up, so that he found -himself on a very small, high iceberg. He had scarcely room to turn -around, and all night long he clung there, cramped up and cold.</p> -<p>When daylight came again, and he saw that he was all alone on a little -piece of ice, floating on a big black ocean, without even a glimpse of -land to cheer him, he fell into deep despair. Very miserably he waited -there, looking out over the sea until night began to fall once more; -then he could bear it no longer. Taking his hunting knife from its -sheath, he made ready to kill himself. As he raised the knife, a hand -from above seized his hand, and a great voice spoke in his heart, -saying, “You must not do that. It is wrong.” On hearing this, he dropped -the knife in the water, and suddenly he felt himself being drawn up -swiftly through the air. When he recovered his breath and looked about -him, he was in heaven. It was very light, and he was not cold or sad any -more.</p> -<p>While he stood there enjoying the balmy air and warm sunshine, a kind -man came along, and took him to his home, where he was as well fed and -treated as by a loving father.</p> -<p>Now his own father and mother were in great distress, and scarcely knew -how to live without him. The neighbors were sorry for them, and every -one in the village spoke kindly of the young man, whom they looked upon -as lost forever.</p> -<p>At the far end of the village, in a tiny hut, there lived an old woman -with her little granddaughter.</p> -<p>One day the little girl said, “Grandma, I wish I might bring back that -young man.”</p> -<p>“Indeed, my dear, I wish so too,” answered the old woman; “but how could -one little girl do what all the wise people in the village have not been -able to accomplish?”</p> -<p>But the little girl kept on thinking about it and wishing she could -bring the young man back to his unhappy parents; until at last she could -think of nothing else, and could neither eat nor sleep for thinking of -it.</p> -<p>One night, while her grandmother slept, the little girl lay looking at -the old stone lamp, dreaming of the sadness that had come over her -village because the boy, whom they all loved, was lost. She fancied the -flickering light, from its wick of moss, winked at her, as much as to -say, “I know something you would like to know.” So she began to talk to -it in a low voice, that she might not awaken her grandmother. “Lamp, -dear Lamp, can’t you go and find that boy? Your eyes are so bright, and -you look so wise. Won’t you please go and find him?”</p> -<p>She sat up on her little heels, with her hands clasped, speaking -eagerly.</p> -<p>The old grandmother stirred uneasily among her bear skins on the floor. -The lamp twinkled and flickered, then, trembling a little, began to hop -with short quick hops at first, then higher and higher, until at last, -waving a bright goodby to her, the little lamp shot right out through -the hole that is in the roof of every Eskimo house, and went straight up -to heaven to get the young man, and bring him home.</p> -<p>“O Grandmother!” cried the little girl. “Our lamp has gone after him.”</p> -<p>The grandmother shivered, for without the lamp which supplied their heat -and light, she felt cold. Drawing the little girl down beside her, she -snuggled under the big fur rugs and went to sleep.</p> -<p>When the lamp reached heaven it went straight to the house where the -young man was. It hopped so quickly through the ventilator, into the -house, that some of the oil spilled out on the floor. The man who lived -there tried to grab it, but each time he thought he had caught it, the -lamp slipped from his fingers, and hopped away through the air, -beckoning to the young man to come. Quickly jumping into the bowl of the -lamp, the boy sat there and was carried straight down to the little -girl.</p> -<p>When the little girl opened her eyes in the morning, she was -disappointed to see the old lamp twinkling away in its accustomed place, -looking very innocent indeed. The child thought it must have been a -dream. Then a shadow came between her and the lamp, and she saw the boy -standing, smiling down at her and the grandmother, and she knew that her -dream had come true.</p> -<p>When they had recovered from their astonishment, and the boy had asked -all about his parents and his friends, they talked a long while together -and arranged a fine plan to give his father and mother a surprise.</p> -<p>The grandmother was to go to his house at once and ask his parents to -give her some clothes, for those he had on were shabby and soiled, but -she was to make believe that she wanted them for herself.</p> -<p>When the old woman reached the boy’s home, the parents welcomed her very -kindly and asked what they could do for her.</p> -<p>“Let me have some of your son’s clothes,” said she. “My little -granddaughter and I are very poor, and the weather is cold.”</p> -<p>“Alas!” sighed the man. “Our son is lost to us, and I fear he will not -want his clothes any more. He would be happy to know that they were of -use to you.”</p> -<p>They gave her the very best parka and mukluks the boy had, also some -food. She thanked them heartily, and went home as fast as she could, for -the sight of their sad faces made her feel that no time must be lost in -making them happy again.</p> -<p>By the time the boy was dressed, and they had all had some food, it was -evening. Then the two children ran hand in hand to the kasga, where the -people were gathering to sing songs and play games.</p> -<p>The little girl went in first, and asked if she too might sing. They -gave her a drum, and she sang a wonderful song, all about a dream she -had had, which really was the story of how the lamp had found the boy -and brought him home.</p> -<p>The sad parents were there, and the mother began to cry for her son, and -the father said, “I wish that dream would come true!”</p> -<p>Just as he said this, the boy gave a shout and rushed into the room. You -can imagine how surprised they all were, and how happy too.</p> -<p>Then the little girl slipped quietly out and went home with a shining -face.</p> -<p>“Grandmother,” said she, “I can sleep well tonight, for I know everybody -is glad again.”</p> -<p>The next day the boy came to the grandmother, and asked her and her -granddaughter to come to live at his home with his father and mother.</p> -<p>They went with him, and after that they were always happy and -comfortable, for the boy became a famous hunter, and kept them all -supplied with good things to eat, and plenty of fur skins to keep them -warm.</p> -<p>The little girl grew big, and the old grandmother bossed them all. -Grandmothers always do in Eskimo Land.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:1em; text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:normal;' id='thecrl'>THE CROW AND THE OWL</h2> -<p>Long ago, when crows were white, a crow and an owl sat on a log, talking -together.</p> -<p>The crow said he did not like his color, and the owl said, “I wish I had -some pretty spots on my back.”</p> -<p>“So do I,” said the crow. “Let us paint each other with black oil from -the lamp.”</p> -<p>“To-whit, to-whoo,” said the owl. “What fun that would be!”</p> -<p>Now when a clay lamp gets old there is a lot of thick black oil in the -bottom of it. The Eskimos make chewing-gum out of this oil.</p> -<p>The crow took one of the owl’s feathers, dipped it into the oil, and -painted beautiful black spots all over the owl’s body. He did it very -well and made the owl look fine.</p> -<p>Then came the owl’s turn to paint the crow. At first he liked to do it, -and made such pretty round spots that the crow began to feel very proud -indeed; but before he was half through, the owl got tired of working so -hard; and taking the lamp, he turned it upside down, and poured the -black oil all over the crow.</p> -<p>How angry that crow was when he found himself black all over! He tried -his best to get it off, but it was no use. The black stuck fast.</p> -<p>Ever since then, the crow has been the blackest of all birds.</p> -<div id='i013' class='figcenter' style='width:70%; max-width:525px;'> -<img src='images/img-013.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -<p class='caption'>“Poured the black oil all over the crow”</p> -</div> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='therun'>THE RUNNING STICK</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-014.jpg' alt='THE RUNNING STICK' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long ago, in the village of Na-ki-a-ki-a-mute, there lived a strong man, -or chief, with his wife, to whom he was very devoted. They had no -children, but among their neighbors was a little girl who lived in a -tiny house with her grandmother. These two were very poor, but the chief -was rich, and the chief’s wife loved the little girl and had her often -with her. Indeed the child used to come every day to fetch water for the -chief’s wife, from the water hole through the ice in the river nearby.</p> -<p>One day the man went off hunting, and when he came back with a fine fat -seal for their food his wife was gone. He called and called her, but she -did not answer. Then he went to all his neighbors seeking her, but no -one had seen her, and no trace of her could he find anywhere. There was -not even a footprint to show in which direction she had gone.</p> -<p>The poor man was nearly crazy with grief and anger, for he felt sure -some one must have taken his wife away from him. He became fierce and -sullen, brooding over his troubles and loneliness, and would speak to no -one. In fact no one dared to come near him for fear of being killed.</p> -<p>All day long he would sit out in front of his house with his big bow and -quiver full of arrows, watching; and at night he did not sleep, nor -could he eat.</p> -<p>One day the old grandmother said to the little girl, “I am sorry for -that poor man; he is so unhappy. You go to him and ask him to come and -eat with us. His wife loved you. He will not hurt you. Try to bring him -back with you.”</p> -<p>Very timidly the little girl obeyed, for in her heart she was afraid to -go. When she got near the chief’s house she stopped and felt like -turning back, for he sat there looking so fierce and gloomy that she was -frightened; but when he saw the child standing there he motioned to her -to come. Then she felt no longer afraid, but went and sat beside him, -and told him what her grandmother had said. The chief answered nothing, -but when she slipped her little hand in his, he got up and went with her -to her home, where the old woman had already cooked him a fine supper of -reindeer meat.</p> -<p>The poor man had not eaten for so long that he was starving, and when he -had finished all the meat the old woman had, he sent the little girl to -his own house to get some more.</p> -<p>As soon as the little one had gone out of the room, the grandmother said -to him, “I sent for you because you have been kind to us, and I believe -I can help you to find your wife. You must make a good strong staff of -driftwood, then take this bunch of charms and tie it firmly to the -stick,” and she gave him a little bunch of charms. These charms were -ivory animals and faces and some tufts of feathers from sea birds.</p> -<p>Next she said that he must set the stick upright in the ground, in front -of his house, very firmly, so that the wind could not blow it over. When -he had done this he should go to bed and sleep. In the morning he must -examine the stick carefully, and go in the direction in which the stick -leaned. Wherever he stopped for the night he must set the stick up in -the same way, and in the morning the stick would point in the direction -he must follow to find his wife.</p> -<p>“If you obey my instructions,” said she, “the stick will lead you -straight to your wife.”</p> -<p>Then the little girl came in with some more reindeer meat, and the man -ate until he was satisfied, and went home.</p> -<p>As soon as he reached his house, he made a fine staff, tied the charms -to it and planted it firmly in the ground before the door. Then he went -in, and rolling himself up in a big bear skin, fell asleep.</p> -<p>He woke up in the morning feeling well rested, and more like himself -than at any time since his wife’s disappearance. It was late and the sun -had already risen. He hurried out anxiously to look at his stick. It was -bent directly toward the North, so he pulled it up and started on his -journey, with the staff moving along before him.</p> -<p>For two days and two nights he traveled without rest, having a hard time -to keep up with that stick, which hopped along in front of him. Then, -being tired, he stuck the staff into the ground and went to sleep.</p> -<p>When he woke, the stick was again pointing North. This time it leaned -over more than before.</p> -<p>For three days and nights he traveled, then he slept, and in the morning -his faithful staff was bending way over, still toward the North.</p> -<p>“Now my wife cannot be very far away,” he thought.</p> -<p>That night he slept again, and when he awoke, the staff had leaned so -far over that the tip almost touched the ground; so he felt sure he must -be near his journey’s end.</p> -<p>About noon, when the sun hung very round and very red, low down in the -sky, he came to a huge snow house, the biggest house he had ever seen. -Right by the house stood four posts close together, and on these posts -was hung the skin of an enormous bird.</p> -<p>Hiding himself among some willow bushes, he watched to see what would -happen.</p> -<p>Pretty soon a very tall man came out of the house and went to the posts. -Climbing up on them, he took the skin, put it on, and flew away over the -sea.</p> -<p>When the bird man was out of sight, our friend took his faithful staff -and went into the house. There he found his wife, who was very happy to -see him.</p> -<p>“I knew you would come and find me,” she said. “That terrible big bird -carried me away in his claws; that is why you could not find my -footprints in the snow.”</p> -<p>Her husband wanted her to come home with him at once, but she told him -that it would be better if she could first see the bird man, who would -come back soon again. Her plan was to send the bird man on some far -distant fight, so that they might get away during his absence. She gave -her husband some food, and he went back to his hiding-place to wait for -the bird man to come and go.</p> -<p>After a short time the bird came back with a walrus in one claw and a -seal in the other. Flying to the rack, he took off the bird skin, hung -it up, and went into the house.</p> -<p>When he came in, he found the woman crying. “What do you want?” said he.</p> -<p>“I want a white whale and a hump-back whale. I didn’t want any seal. I -am tired of seal and walrus meat. Boo-hoo!” and she howled and wailed -dismally.</p> -<p>“Only be quiet,” said the bird man, “and I will get you what you want.” -And he came out again and, putting on his bird skin, once more flew out -over the sea.</p> -<p>When the bird was out of sight, the woman ran from the house to her -husband, who put her on his back and started for home as fast as he -could go. He was the swiftest runner in his village, and covered the -ground pretty fast; but, after all, legs are not wings. It was not long -before they met the bird man coming back with a whale in each of his -talons. When he saw the man carrying the woman away on his back, the -bird was very angry, and circled about in the air over their heads, -calling out to them, “I shall kill you. First, however, I am going to -take these two whales home, then I shall come back and kill you.” And -away he flew.</p> -<p>The man ran as fast as he could, but just as they reached the banks of a -big river the bird came in sight.</p> -<p>The man and his wife dug a cave in the river bank, and hid in it while -the bird flew by looking for them. Nowhere could the big bird find those -two people, although he was sure they must be hiding somewhere nearby. -Suddenly he circled about, and flew down to the water. “I shall set my -great wing across the river like a dam, and the water will rise and -drown them,” cried he; so he stretched his great wing across the river -and the water rose over the wing, and crept nearer and nearer to where -the man and his wife were hidden.</p> -<p>The two poor people were in despair. They thought that surely they would -be drowned, when suddenly the man remembered his father, who was a witch -doctor, and some magic words came to his mind:</p> -<p style='text-indent:0; margin:1em auto 1em 2em'> -“Kluk-a-luk.<br /> -Muk-a-luk.<br /> -puk-a-luk.<br /> -Freeze up hard,<br /> -Or you must run dry.”<br /> -</p> -<p>He said these words over three times aloud. At that moment the water of -the river began to freeze. It was the month called “Naz-ze-rak-sek” by -the Eskimos, which means October.</p> -<p>At last the river froze so hard and solid, that the bird’s wing was -frozen fast into the ice and he could not pull it out. Then the husband -killed the wicked bird, and plucking one of the long feathers from its -wing for a charm, took his wife safely home without any further trouble.</p> -<p>They brought the old grandmother and the little girl to live with them, -and they were all happy the whole winter long with the meat of the big -bird for food.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='thetre'>THE TREACHEROUS CROW AND HIS COUSIN, THE MINK</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-015.jpg' alt='THE TREACHEROUS CROW AND HIS COUSIN, THE MINK' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long ago, a crow and a mink lived together. The crow called the mink his -cousin. They made a little cabin where there was a sand bar and willows. -In summer time when the weather was fine they played together on the -sand bar, which was bigger than any sand pile any children ever had.</p> -<p>One day they saw some dead salmon on the beach, and the tracks of a -brown bear.</p> -<p>The crow said to the mink, his cousin, “What shall we do if that brown -bear comes around here?”</p> -<p>The mink answered, “We cannot catch that bear. He is bigger and stronger -than we are. He will kill us.”</p> -<p>Then the crow laughed, “Haw, haw! I know how to kill that bear; it is -easy. Cousin, you will go inside the dead salmon, and I will put it in -the bear’s track.”</p> -<p>“O no!” said the mink. “I am afraid. You go yourself into the salmon.”</p> -<p>But the crow was boss. “I do not wish to go into the salmon,” said he. -“You go yourself. I am bigger than you, and I have wings. I will put you -into the salmon, and I will put the salmon in the bear’s track, and -don’t you move one bit, even if you are scared. I will tell you what to -do. If the bear comes, keep very still. If he opens his mouth to bite, -you just jump down his throat, and go in as far as you can. Bite him -hard inside, and then he will drop dead.”</p> -<p>The mink was terribly afraid, but the crow said, “I will help you. When -the bear drops dead, I will run out of my hiding-place, and cut a little -door in his side with my knife, and you will jump out. If you do that, -we will live well and have lots of meat to eat all winter.”</p> -<p>The poor mink looked very sad indeed, but did not dare to refuse to do -what the crow told him.</p> -<p>“All right,” said the mink, “I will do it, but I know that I shall die.”</p> -<p>The crow went to work to prepare the big fish. He skinned it nicely, and -when it was ready, put his cousin, the mink, inside of it, and laid it -where the bear track was.</p> -<p>The mink was terribly frightened inside the salmon, because he knew the -bear would eat him up. The crow hid among the willows and watched his -cousin.</p> -<div id='i016' class='figcenter' style='width:70%; max-width:522px;'> -<img src='images/img-016.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -<p class='caption'>“The bear came around by the same track and saw the salmon”</p> -</div> -<p>After a while the bear came around by the same track, looking for a fish -to eat, and saw the salmon. First he sniffed at it, and noticed that it -smelled a little different, but very good. Then he sniffed again, and, -being very hungry, he opened his big mouth wide, and the mink popped -right down his throat. Down he went, down as far as he could jump, -biting hard all the time. The crow was watching from the willows, and -pretty soon the bear danced around on his hind legs and fell to the -ground. Quickly the crow flew to the bear, and with his little knife cut -a door for the poor frightened mink to jump out of.</p> -<p>“See,” said the crow, “I told you it was easy to kill the big bear. Now -we have killed him, we will have meat all winter, and will not have to -go out to hunt in bad weather.”</p> -<p>The mink said nothing, but went to work to help the crow fix up the bear -into fine steaks.</p> -<p>They dried the meat and hung it up, and there was enough to feed the -whole village.</p> -<p>One night the crow said to the mink, “Cousin, once upon a time in the -olden days people of one village used to invite the people of another -village to come to a feast and dance. I should like to do that myself.”</p> -<p>“Why,” said the mink, “I have never heard of that before. I don’t know -what that would be like, but I should love to see it.”</p> -<p>“We will do it,” said the crow. “We have plenty of fine bear meat for -every one, and we will give a party. I will tell you what to do, Cousin, -and tomorrow you will start, but you must do just what I tell you.”</p> -<p>Then they went to sleep, and early in the morning, the crow sent his -cousin to the sea.</p> -<p>“You walk until you come to a village,” said he, “but don’t stop at that -one; go right on until you come to a second village; pass that one also. -When you come to the third village, stop, and the people will ask you -where you come from. Say to them, ‘I come from a big village. We have a -chief in our village, and he has sent me to invite you all to his big -dance.’ If they ask you what kind of a chief you have, don’t tell them -it is a crow, because if you tell them that, no one will come. Just say, -‘We have a fine chief.’”</p> -<p>When the crow had finished talking, the mink jumped on to the ice, and -went toward the sea. He went on until he came to a village, but he did -not stop at that one; he passed it as his cousin had told him to do, and -went on again. Then he came to the second village, but he passed that -one too, and at last came to the third village. Here he stopped, and the -people were happy when he gave them his cousin’s invitation.</p> -<p>Everybody in the village wanted to go to the feast, and the next morning -they all started off.</p> -<p>When they passed the first village, where the crow had told the mink not -to stop, two people came out and asked if they might go also.</p> -<p>The mink said, “No, we do not want you.” But they came anyway.</p> -<p>Just before dark the mink got home to the crow. What was his surprise to -see a fine village, where he had left only a cabin the day before; and a -lot of people coming out to meet him and his guests.</p> -<p>The mink saw his crow cousin surrounded by a crowd of people, all -dressed up in fine clothes, looking very fine indeed. The crow was so -happy to see the mink coming with the people of the sea village that he -started up a great shout. They all shouted loudly, and the crow, in his -excitement, forgetting that he was a crow, tried to shout with them, but -all he could say was “Caw, caw!”</p> -<p>The two people from the first village, who had not been invited, were -watching very closely to see what sort of people these were who gave -this great feast, and when they heard the crow shouting, “Caw, caw,” -they called, “Look out, friends. We see that the chief of this village -is a crow!”</p> -<p>Then the crow spoke up and said, “I am not a crow, people. Don’t be -afraid. I promise you a good time. We will dance tonight only, then I -will send you home.”</p> -<p>Before the dance they had some races. The marten came first, then the -wolf, then the lynx. The Arctic hare came fourth, and fifth, the fox. -The Arctic hare could have won first prize if he had wanted to, but he -kept sitting down every minute. One of the people, a muskrat, had not -come back from the race when the dance started, and when he came in all -hot and tired the people laughed and made fun of him. That made him so -angry that he was in a great temper, but the crow said, “Don’t you mind -them; you are all right.” So he felt better about it.</p> -<p>Before the dance started, the crow stood up on top of the house, and -called out, “People, I am going to do something fine for you. I am going -to rub some oil on your eyes that will make you all see every animal -when you go hunting. Last fall I killed a bear, and the oil is from that -bear.”</p> -<p>At this the mink was in a terrible rage, because the crow did not tell -them that it was he who had killed the bear, and he began to shout, “He -lies, he lies! He did not kill the bear. I killed it myself.”</p> -<p>Well, the crow was so embarrassed and surprised when he heard his cousin -say this that he fell right down from the top of the house where he had -been standing.</p> -<p>The mink, too, was terribly sorry he had spoken so hastily, and he -called out to the crow, “O dear Cousin, forgive me; I did not mean that. -I was only jealous. People, listen to me. I did not kill the bear at -all. My cousin told the truth. He really killed that bear.”</p> -<p>Then the crow was happy again, and flew back to his high perch, where he -recovered his dignity.</p> -<p>Then the people began to ask about the oil, and all stepped up to the -crow in turn, and he put it on their eyes.</p> -<p>The two people from that first village were watching the crow all the -time, and suddenly one of them jumped up and began to shout, “Stop, -people! Stop! He is putting glue on your eyes!”</p> -<p>There was great excitement, and the people tried to open their eyes, but -could not, for their eyes were stuck together with glue.</p> -<p>All at once salt water began to pour into the house, and every one -rushed to get out of the door, but their eyes were glued, so they could -not see the hole to go out.</p> -<p>Now the crow took a big stick, and the mink one also, and all the crow’s -people armed themselves with big sticks, and killed all the people the -mink had gone to sea to invite, and who turned out to be seals after -all.</p> -<p>Then the treacherous and tricky crow gave one of the seals to each of -his own people and sent them home.</p> -<p>This is how the crow got the name of being the trickiest of all the -birds, and no animal really likes him, because they know they cannot -trust him.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:1em; text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:normal;' id='goodan'>GOOD AND BAD WEATHER</h2> -<p>Long ago, on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, two Eskimo boys were -walking from their own home to a far-away village. While they were going -along, a terrible storm overtook them and they had to hold each other by -the hand to keep from falling. Pretty soon the wind rose so high, and -the snow fell so fast, they felt they could go no farther. In despair, -they clung to each other, blinded by the snow, when a tremendous gust of -wind suddenly caught them, and blew them against the side of a little -snow house. How glad they were to find shelter!</p> -<p>Inside the house was an old woman, living all alone. She was very kind -and invited them to sit down and rest; then she gave them something to -eat, and told them that she was going out.</p> -<p>“Do not look after me to see what I am doing,” said she, “or you will be -sorry.”</p> -<p>She put on her parka and mukluks, and took her stone skin scraper in her -hand and went out the door.</p> -<p>The Eskimo women have a scraper which they use to scrape the flesh, or -meat, from the skin of the animals they prepare for clothing. This -scraper is somewhat the shape of a carpenter’s plane. The blade is made -of a sharp piece of stone. That was the kind of thing the old woman took -out with her.</p> -<p>The boys were devoured with curiosity, and after she had gone the oldest -one said, “Let us go out and look at her.” But the younger boy -whispered, “No, no.” He was afraid; but his brother was determined to -see what that old woman was doing out there with her knife, so he -persuaded the little one to creep softly to the door with him, and peek -out.</p> -<p>Where do you think the old woman was? And what do you think she was -doing? Way up in the sky she sat, scraping away at the clouds. She had -already scraped off half the clouds, and where she had scraped, the sky -was as blue, as blue as could be, but the other half was still covered -with thick black clouds.</p> -<p>When she saw the two boys peeping at her, she let go of the sky and fell -down. As she came into the house, the boys were sitting on the floor, -just as she had left them, hoping she had not really seen them looking -at her.</p> -<p>“You rascals! You bad boys!” she cried. “You did just what I told you -not to do. If you had not looked out at me, and made me fall off, I -would have cleaned all the clouds away, and we should never have had any -more storms. But alas! I cannot go up there again, and now we shall have -both clear and cloudy weather.”</p> -<p>Ever since then it has been sometimes clear and sometimes stormy, -because the old woman had only had time to clean off one-half of the -sky.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='howthe'>HOW THE WHITE WHALES HAPPENED</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-017.jpg' alt='HOW THE WHITE WHALES HAPPENED' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long, long ago, on St. Lawrence Island, there lived with his grandmother -a little blind orphan boy. He was so blind that he could not even see a -ray of light.</p> -<p>The grandmother was a wicked old witch, and treated him very badly.</p> -<p>They were frightfully poor, and had to eat muskrats, for they had no one -to go hunting food for them.</p> -<p>One day the old woman came in very much excited because she had seen a -polar bear with two cubs. Now you must understand that the bear cubs are -the baby bears, and are nice and round and plump and juicy and covered -with white fluffy fur. The grandmother smacked her lips at the thought -of those delicious little bears.</p> -<p>After grumbling about for a while, and scolding the boy because he could -not see to go hunting, she handed him a strong bow made from driftwood -and some fine arrows tipped with bone, and told him to go out and kill -those bears.</p> -<p>“But, Grandmother,” said he, “how can I kill the bears when I cannot see -to shoot them?”</p> -<p>“Come out and I will show you.” And she shoved him out of the house.</p> -<p>They sat down outside and waited for Mother Bear to come by with her -babies.</p> -<p>The grandmother told the boy to hold the arrow pointed straight in front -of him, and that she would tell him when to let it fly.</p> -<p>They waited a long time for the bears to come, and just as he was -getting so tired he feared he would drop the heavy bow, who should come -sauntering slowly along but Mother Bear and her two frisky babies. Just -as they passed the very spot at which the blind boy was aiming, his -grandmother whispered, “Shoot!” and he let fly the arrow. One by one he -killed the three bears in this way.</p> -<p>Of course the poor little fellow could not see the bears at all and was -not sure that he had killed them, but when he asked her the old witch -would tell him nothing. She only scolded him and shoved him into the -house.</p> -<p>Saying that she was going to gather sticks for the fire, she took her -big knife, with a green jade blade and walrus ivory handle, and went out -to skin the bears. Having carefully removed the skins, she hung the meat -to dry in the cache, a sort of high drying-frame, where no wild animal -could get at it.</p> -<p>When dinner time came the old grandmother feasted greedily on bear -steak, but she gave only lean muskrats to the hungry little boy.</p> -<p>In the morning the little fellow crawled out on his hands and knees to -search for willow weeds, which the Eskimos like to make tea from. They -chew it too sometimes. He had to feel his way very carefully so as not -to hurt himself, for of course he could see nothing.</p> -<p>While he was crawling along, reaching out with his hands for the -willows, he heard something hopping lightly before him.</p> -<p>A little twittering voice said, “Good-morning, boy.”</p> -<p>“Who are you?” said the boy, and he stopped to listen.</p> -<p>“I am a snipe, and I can make your eyes see if you will let me.”</p> -<p>“Well,” said the boy, “I have always been blind, and I don’t think a -snipe could give me my sight, but I could not be worse off than I am -now, so you might try, if you want to.”</p> -<p>No sooner had he said this than the snipe hopped on his shoulder and -began brushing his eyes very lightly with the tip of her pretty spotted -wing. This she did gently back and forth many times, until at last he -shouted gladly that he could see.</p> -<p>The little snipe did not let him go just then, but made him keep very -quiet until she had polished his eyes so bright that he could see the -tiniest speck of sand in the bottom of the ocean; then she sent him -home.</p> -<p>Thanking his little new-found friend, the boy ran back as fast as his -feet could carry him. When he got near the house, he dropped down on his -hands and knees again, and closing his eyes, came crawling in. As he -entered he detected the odor of bear meat.</p> -<p>“Grandmother, what is that good smell that makes me so hungry?” said he; -but the old woman spoke harshly, and scolded him for not bringing back -any willow weed. He still kept asking for food, hoping she would give -him some of the bear, but she placed the muskrat before him again, while -she ate the bear steaks. When she was too busy eating to notice him, he -peeped at her with one eye, and saw her devouring greedily. When she was -too well filled to eat any more, she went down to the sea to wash the -bear grease off her hands and face, but she was so heavy with food that -when she leaned over she fell into the water head first.</p> -<p>The boy heard a shriek and ran to the shore just in time to see her rise -to the surface, turn into a white whale, and swim away.</p> -<p>Ever since then the Eskimos have believed that all white whales were -once old women. Indeed, to this day, they insist that a bunch of white -hair is found inside the brain of a white whale, which makes them all -the more sure of it.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='agiant'>A GIANT AND HIS DRUM</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-018.jpg' alt='A GIANT AND HIS DRUM' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long ago, in a village in Eskimo Land, there lived a man with his wife -and five sons, of whom they were very proud.</p> -<p>One day the oldest son came to his father and said, “Father we have -always been in the same place, and seen the same kind of people. I think -it is time for me to go in search of another village and see something -of the world.”</p> -<p>So bidding them all goodby, he took his hunting knife and his strong bow -with a quiver full of arrows and went away.</p> -<p>The next day the second son said that he must go after his brother. So -he went too; and after him the third. At last the fourth followed the -others and the parents found themselves alone with the youngest son, who -was only a boy. He of course wanted to go to find his brothers, and the -father and mother, who were already very sad at losing four boys, had -hard work to keep him at home. They shut him in the house, and took -turns watching that he did not get away.</p> -<p>One day, however, the mother fell asleep and the boy, who had been -waiting for a chance, slipped out of the house and ran as fast as he -could go. After he had run far enough to feel sure they could not catch -him, he made the image of a man out of birchbark and fastened it to the -top of his parka hood, where it stood up very high and white. Having -done this he went merrily on his way.</p> -<p>After walking a long time he saw a huge house, with an enormous giant -standing out in front of it. Beside the giant hung a drum. This drum was -a big box, with seal intestine stretched over the ends, and all around -the edge of it was bone, as sharp as a knife. The Eskimos use drums for -their ceremonial dances, but the boy had never seen such a big one as -this. On the ground all about the giant were the bones and skulls of the -men he had devoured.</p> -<p>The little fellow was so frightened he wanted to run away, but it was -too late, for the giant had already seen him and shouted to him that he -must dance. The boy obeyed, and while he was dancing the giant beat upon -the drum and sang a long song. When he came to the end of the song, he -gave a mighty shout and hurled the drum at the boy’s head. Whizzing -through the air, the drum struck the arm of the birchbark image and -broke it off; then the boy took the drum and sang the giant’s song. When -he had finished, he threw the drum back and it cut off one of the -giant’s arms. They kept throwing the drum back and forth at each other -until at last the image was broken, and the giant fell dead. The -birchbark image had saved the boy’s life, because the giant mistook it -for the boy and threw the drum at it every time.</p> -<p>The boy was terribly proud of himself; indeed, he could hardly believe -he had killed that great giant, and he waited a little way off until he -saw that the giant did not move; then he went into the house. When he -got inside he heard a sound of crying that seemed to come from under the -floor. There, in a deep pit, he found his four brothers, who were being -kept by the giant for a great feast that was to take place the next day. -If the boy had come two days later he would have found nothing left of -his brothers but their bones.</p> -<p>You may be sure the four boys were happy to be saved from such a cruel -fate, and they could not praise their brother enough for his cleverness -and courage.</p> -<p>Bringing the great drum with them, they hurried back as fast as they -could to their parents.</p> -<p>After that they were all content to stay at home and hunt walruses and -whales; for they had had enough of going abroad in search of adventure.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='loveka'>LOVEK AND SERANAK</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-019.jpg' alt='LOVEK AND SERANAK' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long ago, on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea there lived a strong -man named Lovek. This man was very bad; indeed, he was a big bully. -Whenever any of his neighbors went hunting, Lovek would take away -whatever they had killed, as soon as they had hauled it over the ice to -the shore. Every one in the village was afraid of this man who took away -all their food, and who was so strong no one could beat him. The people -did not know what to do, and were almost afraid to go hunting at all, -for Lovek was sure to find them and take away their game.</p> -<p>Now in this village there lived an orphan boy with his uncle. The boy’s -name was Seranak, and he was so poor he had scarcely any clothes to wear -and almost no food to eat.</p> -<p>One night at the kasga, Seranak heard the people talking about Lovek. -They hardly dared to speak aloud, and Seranak had to creep up close to -his uncle to hear what they were saying; but he heard enough to make him -feel very sorry for all the people, and determined to do something to -help them get rid of such a bad man.</p> -<p>When his uncle reached home, Seranak begged for some clothes and weapons -that he might go hunting.</p> -<p>At first his uncle refused, saying, “No, Seranak. What would a little -boy like you do if Lovek came along? He would take away anything you had -caught and might kill you too.”</p> -<p>Seranak begged so hard that at last his uncle said he might go, and gave -him a warm parka, a good pair of mukluks and a fine strong spear with a -sharp tip made of walrus ivory, and a long line made of walrus hide. The -boy thanked his uncle and went down to the ice which spread out like a -roof over the sea.</p> -<p>No sooner did he reach the edge of the ice than a walrus stuck his great -head up out of the water. To Seranak that walrus looked very funny with -his whiskers like an old man and two long tusks; he seemed to be saying, -“What do you think you can do, little boy, with that long spear?” But he -soon knew what “little boy” could do, for quickly Seranak raised his -arm, gave the spear a thrust, and it sank deep into the side of the -walrus. After that the boy hauled the animal upon the ice and began -cutting him up for meat.</p> -<div id='i020' class='figcenter' style='width:70%; max-width:519px;'> -<img src='images/img-020.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -<p class='caption'>“‘Lovek, I have you at my mercy now’”</p> -</div> -<p>While he was working away with his uncle’s fine hunting knife, Lovek -came along, and stopping beside him with an evil grin, said, “Ha ha, -Seranak. So you are a big man now that you have killed a walrus! It is -good of you to go hunting for me. I will take the head now and the meat -later.”</p> -<p>Seranak said not a word but went on with his work just as though he had -heard nothing at all.</p> -<p>This surprised Lovek, whose stupid big face took on a puzzled -expression. He had never been treated like that before. Usually people -jumped and looked scared when he shouted at them.</p> -<p>Coming a little nearer, he roared at Seranak, “Boy, don’t you hear me? -Hand me that walrus head!”</p> -<p>Seranak paid no attention at all, until Lovek was almost on top of him; -then suddenly springing to his feet, he flung the surprised Lovek into -the deep water between the floes of ice. After a while Lovek came to the -top, puffing and blowing like a whale. Every time he stuck his head out -of the water, there was Seranak with his big spear. At last, when Lovek -was nearly drowned and almost frozen, Seranak said, “Lovek, I have you -at my mercy now and I will not let you out unless you promise to be good -and never again take that which does not belong to you.”</p> -<p>Of course Lovek promised. He was terribly frightened and greatly -surprised to find that he could be beaten by a little boy. After that he -was good to the hunters and became the kindest man in the village.</p> -<p>From that time Seranak was the hero of the people, and when he grew up -the people called him “Ommalik,” which is the same almost as “Big -Chief.”</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='thecar'>THE CARIBOU</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-021.jpg' alt='THE CARIBOU' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long ago there was an Eskimo family living in a place quite by -themselves, and far away from any village.</p> -<p>The father had been killed by a caribou some years before, so the -widowed mother was alone with her two sons. They had been little boys -when the father died, but now they were young men and fine hunters.</p> -<p>Every day they used to go hunting. Always they brought back game of some -kind, so the family lived on the fat of the land.</p> -<p>At that time there were many caribou, which in those days had long sharp -teeth and could bite and kill people. Men used to hunt them with bows -and arrows and spears.</p> -<p>One day the two young men went out to hunt as usual, but this time they -did not return.</p> -<p>Days passed and they did not come. Their poor mother was sad and -anxious, waiting for them. Every day she looked about and watched and -waited, but still they did not come home. She did not dare to go far -from the house to search for them, for she was afraid of the fierce -caribou with their sharp teeth.</p> -<p>One day as she was watching, always hoping to see her sons coming back, -a big crow came flying by. She called out, “Crow, Crow, can you tell me -where are my two boys?”</p> -<p>And the crow said, “Yes, I know where your two boys are.” Then he flew -up still higher and circled about saying, “Caw, caw!” and the poor -mother was nearly frantic for fear that he would fly away without -telling her.</p> -<p>“O please come back!” she cried; but he flew a little higher, teasingly -saying, “Caw, caw! Wouldn’t you like to know?”</p> -<p>The woman went into her house and brought a piece of seal blubber and -held it up.</p> -<p>“I will give you this, Crow, if you tell me where to find them.”</p> -<p>Lazily the crow floated down and perched on the ground nearby.</p> -<p>“Give it to me,” said he.</p> -<p>“Tell me first,” said she.</p> -<p>So cocking his head on one side he said, “All right, I will tell you, -but your sons are both dead. The caribou killed them with their long -teeth.”</p> -<p>The poor mother was in despair, but she remembered to give the crow his -meat, and as he was about to fly away, she said, “Crow, if you will show -me the way to my sons, I will feed you whenever you come.”</p> -<p>So the crow told her where to go, but he said, “You will never feed me -again if you go there, because the caribou will tear you with their -teeth.”</p> -<p>Then he flapped his big black wings and said, “Caw, caw!” And the woman -thought he was laughing at her.</p> -<p>Going into the house, she covered herself all over with the red juice of -cranberries. It is very sour and tastes very bad. Her whole parka was -stained bright red with it; even her mukluks and mittens. Then, without -taking a weapon of any kind, she started off for the place where the -crow had told her she would find her boys.</p> -<p>It was a long way, and many caribou came after her and caught her parka -in their teeth and tried to bite her, but as soon as they tasted the -cranberry juice it was so terribly sour all their teeth fell out, -leaving them unable to bite any more.</p> -<p>When the mother came to where her two sons were lying, they seemed to be -asleep and covered with wounds from the bites of the caribou.</p> -<p>Crying, “Wake up, wake up!” in a loud voice, she kicked the soles of -their feet, first one then the other. As she did this, each one in turn -sat up and opened his eyes. They were very happy to see their mother, -and she rejoiced to find them alive. Then she helped them to their feet -and took them home and nursed them back to health.</p> -<p>As soon as their wounds healed, the boys went hunting as before, but -without fear, for from that time on, the caribou have never had any long -teeth.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='afoxst'>A FOX STORY</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-022.jpg' alt='A FOX STORY' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long ago, in the mountains of the Seward Peninsula, there lived a fox -who had a family of babies in his den. It was summer time, and he was -busy trying to find food for his little family. Every morning he used to -go hunting, while Mother Fox stayed home to take care of the baby foxes, -and see that they got into no mischief. When the young foxes grew big -enough to hunt for themselves, Father Fox decided to go on a journey of -adventure.</p> -<p>One day he climbed a high mountain. There was a deep ravine and then -another mountain, and he thought he would like to cross the divide to -see if there was any game on the opposite mountain. He had never been -over there, and he hoped he might find some good, fat ptarmigans or -rabbits on a new hunting-ground. Looking about, he saw a bear who was -eating a newly killed caribou.</p> -<p>The fox called to the bear in a coaxing voice, saying, “Dear Cousin, -give me a piece of that meat and some of the fat.”</p> -<p>“No!” growled the bear. “You get away from here right away! If you don’t -I will kill you, too!” That bear was not at all polite, nor was he very -generous, but the fox did not dare to say anything because he was really -afraid of the bear, so he just went slinking away through the brush with -his bushy tail dragging on the ground.</p> -<p>“I will get even with the bear somehow,” he muttered.</p> -<p>After a while what should he meet but another bear.</p> -<p>“Good-morning, Cousin,” said the fox most politely; “I was looking for -you.”</p> -<p>“What were you looking for me for?” asked the bear.</p> -<p>“Well, if you are hungry, I know where you can get a fine dinner,” said -the sly fox.</p> -<p>“Where is that?” asked the bear, beginning to look interested.</p> -<p>“A little while ago I saw another animal like you, only not so big, and -he was eating a fine, fat caribou. I will show you where he is if you -want; then, together, we can kill that other bear, and both have plenty -to eat.”</p> -<p>The bear looked surprised. “O no,” said he. “We never do such things as -that. Bears do not kill each other. We are friends.”</p> -<p>“That is nothing,” said the fox. “When we are hungry, we foxes kill each -other, and eat each other, too. The bear I saw is a bad bear. He said he -would bite you, if he met you.”</p> -<p>Now the fox knew he was telling an untruth, but he wanted to make this -bear angry with the other one. He was not a good character, that fox. Of -course, the bear was angry at that.</p> -<p>“We will go fight now, and I will see what that bear means by saying -such things.” He was really furious, and went off through the woods with -great strides, so that the fox had to run to keep up with him.</p> -<p>As soon as he saw the bear with the caribou, he jumped at him and a -desperate battle began. While they were busy fighting, the fox took all -the fat from the caribou and hid it under his skin.</p> -<p>When the second bear had beaten the bear with the caribou, and had -driven him away, he saw the fox lying on the ground moaning and groaning -as though in great pain.</p> -<p>“What is the matter, Cousin?” asked the bear.</p> -<p>“O!” groaned the fox, “I am almost dead!” And he rolled over and made -believe to cry. “I got terribly hurt helping you in that terrible fight. -It was I who gave your enemy the blow that drove him away.”</p> -<p>Now of course this was not true at all, but the bear was very sorry and -thought him a brave and loyal friend.</p> -<p>“You are a brave fox,” he said, “and we will always be friends.”</p> -<p>Then they ate all they wanted of the caribou, and left the place -together.</p> -<p>When the fox got hungry he would just take some of the fat of the -caribou from under his skin and feed on that. When the bear got hungry -he could find nothing to eat but a few blueberries. The poor animal who -was starving began to wonder why the fox was never hungry, so he asked -him, “Cousin have you been eating something?” and the fox said, “When I -am hungry, I just make a little hole in my skin and eat some of my own -fat, then I am satisfied.” Wasn’t he an awful story-teller?</p> -<p>The bear thought he would like to try that, too, so he took a bite out -of himself, and pretty soon he died. The wicked fox laughed at that, for -it was the very thing he had planned. He was pleased to have the bear to -eat, and removing the fat from his one-time friend, he stuffed it under -his own skin, and for a long while lived not on the “fat of the land” as -they say, but on the fat of the companion who trusted and admired him.</p> -<p>Winter was coming; the days were growing dark and cold, and Mr. Sly Fox -was beginning to get hungry again. He wondered what he should do for -food, and began to hunt about the woods.</p> -<p>One day he met a wolf who was also in search of food.</p> -<p>The wolf asked him, “Fox, Fox, where have you been, you look so fine and -fat, while all the other animals are hungry these cold days?”</p> -<p>“Of course I look fine,” said the fox. “I hunt all the time and get -plenty of food.”</p> -<p>“What do you hunt?”</p> -<p>The fox had to think hard for an answer; then he said, “Well, I fish -every day.”</p> -<p>It was winter then, and so far north the days were very short. The sun -got up late in the morning, and went to bed again in about three hours; -even then he didn’t get far up in the sky, but hung low like a great big -red balloon on the horizon.</p> -<p>The wolf asked the fox where he was getting all that fish.</p> -<p>The fox answered, “O, I have a big lake where I get all the fish I want. -I will show it to you if you would like me to.” And he asked the wolf if -he had any hooks to fish with.</p> -<p>“No,” said the wolf. “I have no fish-hooks because I never fish. I don’t -know how.”</p> -<p>“I will make you a hook and show you how to fish. It is easy,” said the -fox.</p> -<p>Then he took some of the dried grass which is used by the Eskimo women -for making baskets; weaving a rope out of it, he put a piece of stone on -the end, and he and the wolf went fishing like the best of friends. When -they reached the lake the fox made a hole in the ice and told the wolf -to sit near the hole and to drop the stone into the water through the -hole, then to keep moving it up and down by the string.</p> -<p>“Now,” said the fox, “you must remain the whole day moving that string -up and down. When the sun sets you will get fish.”</p> -<p>The fox stayed, playing about watching the wolf, who sat patiently by -the hole splashing the stone up and down in the water. Pretty soon the -fox saw the wolf’s big, bushy tail was getting covered with water. Now -it was getting colder every minute, and almost dark, and at last the fox -saw that the wolf’s tail was freezing fast to the ice of the lake. Then -he began to laugh out loud: “Ha ha ha!”</p> -<p>The wolf looked around suspiciously to see if the fox was laughing at -him, as he was beginning to get cross. He was tired, anyway, of sitting -there joggling that line up and down all day.</p> -<p>“What are you laughing at, Fox?” he said. “Are you trying to trick me -like you do every one?”</p> -<p>Mr. Sly Fox put on a very surprised and sorry face. “O no,” said he. “I -wouldn’t think of doing such a thing. I was just laughing with joy at -the thought of all the fine whitefish we will soon have for supper.” -Then he began to play around the wolf, and soon he laughed. “Ha! ha! ha! -O my! I will have plenty to eat now!”</p> -<p>The wolf turned with an angry snarl, showing his long fangs. “What! Are -you talking about me? Do you think you will eat me? We will see!” And he -made a leap for the fox, but his tail was stuck fast to the ice so that -he could not get away. Throwing himself from side to side, and yelping -like a dog, he struggled to get free, but still the ice held him -prisoner, until at last, with an angry howl, he snapped off his tail -with his own sharp teeth, and ran furiously after the treacherous fox, -who was already nearly out of sight. The wolf chased him as hard as he -could, and had nearly caught up with him, when the fox saw a hole in a -steep bank and popped inside. The wolf was too big to go into the hole, -so he sat outside, waiting for the fox to come out; but Mr. Fox was not -to be caught that way. Knowing that the wolf would die from having -chopped off his tail with his teeth, the fox just stayed safely where he -was until morning; then came out and ate up his former friend. When he -had finished devouring the wolf and felt well fed and comfortable, he -started out in search of some other animal to fool.</p> -<p>In his wanderings he came upon a high mountain, which had a long smooth -place down its steep side, made by a snowslide which had swept -everything before it, leaving a glistening path in its wake.</p> -<p>The fox began to play sliding-down-the-mountain, and was enjoying it -hugely. In one place he had to pass close to some big, sharp rocks, and -he dug into the snow a little with his claws to get safely by. After -that he climbed up to the top again, and there he saw a mountain sheep -coming toward him.</p> -<p>“Hello, Sheep. Don’t you want to play with me?” asked the fox; but the -sheep said that he did not want to slide there.</p> -<p>“Why not?” inquired the fox in a surprised sort of voice.</p> -<p>“Because I know that if I slide down there, I shall be killed by those -sharp rocks,” said the sheep.</p> -<p>But the fox answered, “Why, I thought a mountain sheep would not be -afraid of a nice little slide like that. I will tell you how to do it. -When you slide down, shut your eyes tight, as soon as you come near the -rocks, and you will get past all right.”</p> -<p>The sheep said, “Let me see you do it first.”</p> -<p>So the fox lay down on the snow and slid. As he came near the rocks he -dug his claws a little into the snow to steer himself safely past. When -the sheep saw the fox come back without a scratch on his fine red coat, -he said, “Well, I will try it, for surely a mountain sheep is as brave -as a red fox!”</p> -<p>Shutting his eyes tight, he said, “One, two, three!” And away he went, -down like the wind straight into the sharp rocks, and was killed.</p> -<p>That wicked fox was glad. He laughed again, for now he had a whole -mountain sheep to eat, and that is the sweetest and tenderest meat in -the world, and would last him a long time.</p> -<p>Before he had finished eating the sheep, a bear came along.</p> -<p>“Fox, how did you kill that sheep?”</p> -<p>“I didn’t kill that sheep. I found it dead,” said the fox, for he did -not want the bear to know how treacherous he was.</p> -<p>“Well, we will share what is left,” said the bear; and of course the fox -did not dare to refuse him. He was a pretty big bear, and looked rather -fierce and very hungry.</p> -<p>No bear has any business to be wandering about the forest in winter. He -should have been snugly sleeping in his den until summer time like any -self-respecting bear does, except a polar bear, who stays out all night.</p> -<p>They filled themselves up on sheep meat, and then walked away through -the woods together like old friends.</p> -<p>“Fox,” said the bear, “are you ever afraid of animals?”</p> -<p>“There is not an animal in the world I am afraid of,” said the fox, -“except that two-legged creature called Man. Of him I am in constant -terror.”</p> -<p>The bear laughed at him. “You are silly to be afraid of that. I am not -afraid of a man; only of ptarmigan.”</p> -<p>Then it was the fox’s turn to laugh. “Why, I kill ptarmigan and eat -them!”</p> -<p>The bear did not like to be laughed at much by a fox, so he walked -quietly along for a while, thinking; then he said, “Well, Fox, I will -make a bargain with you. If you will kill two ptarmigan for me, I will -kill two men, and give you one.”</p> -<p>The fox looked pleased. “That is easy,” said he. “You wait here.” And -off he went trotting out of sight.</p> -<p>I am sure he played some trick again, for ptarmigan are not easy to see -in winter against the snow, when they wear their white dresses.</p> -<p>Mr. Fox very shortly came back with a ptarmigan in his mouth. He gave it -to the bear, who after eating it said, “Now, Fox, I will go and find a -man for you.”</p> -<p>For two whole days the fox waited for the bear, and the bear did not -come back. Then the fox felt sure that the bear had been killed, and he -wanted to see how the man had killed him.</p> -<p>Closely following the bear’s tracks, he found the tracks of two men -also. The fox was really scared at the sight of the men’s tracks. He was -terribly afraid of men, and he began to be sorry that he had been so -wicked and had killed so many of his friends.</p> -<p>Sneaking through the woods with his tail dragging, he passed near a -trap, which he could smell for a long distance, it was so dirty. There -was no danger of his being caught in that trap. He said to himself, -“That man is lazy; he will never catch any animals in his dirty traps. A -lazy man will never catch anything.”</p> -<p>After a while he passed another trap, but this one had been set out -hastily, so the fox got the bait without getting caught.</p> -<p>“That man is lazy, too,” said the fox, “for he gets up too late in the -morning to put out his trap. These men are stupid creatures anyway. I -don’t believe I am afraid of them after all.”</p> -<p>Just as he said this, snap, Mr. Smart Fox was caught at last.</p> -<div id='i023' class='figcenter' style='width:70%; max-width:521px;'> -<img src='images/img-023.jpg' alt='' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -<p class='caption'>“<i>Snap</i>, Mr. Smart Fox was caught at last”</p> -</div> -<p>“Ah!” sighed the fox. “There is one man who is not lazy. His trap is -clean; I could neither smell it, nor see it. I am caught now.”</p> -<p>So this is what happened to the bad fox who had killed so many animals.</p> -<p>It never pays to be treacherous. One should always be loyal to one’s -friends.</p> -</div> -<div class='chapter' style='margin-bottom:2em'> -<h2 style='visibility:hidden' id='mierak'>MI-E-RAK-PUK</h2> -<div class='figcenter' style='width:95%; max-width:800px;'> -<img src='images/img-024.jpg' alt='MI-E-RAK-PUK' style='width:100%;height:auto;' /> -</div> -<p>Long ago, near the mouth of the Copper Mine River, which flows into the -Arctic River, there lived an enormous giant whose name was Mi-e-rak-puk, -which in the Eskimo language means “Giant.” His cave was not far from an -Eskimo village, and he kept the people of that village in constant -terror because when he could not get enough whale meat, or seal to eat, -he would capture the little children and eat them up.</p> -<p>One fine day in the autumn a band of children went out from the village -to gather berries. There were different sorts of berries all about there -that were good to eat: blueberries, lowbush cranberries, salmon-berries -and still others. The mothers put these berries away, so that they would -all have something good during the long cold winters.</p> -<p>Before starting, the children had been cautioned not to go near the -giant’s cave; but the sun was bright and warm, and the farther they got -from home, the bigger and sweeter the berries seemed to grow. Then, too, -they grow close to the ground, so that the children were looking down, -and not noticing where their footsteps were leading them.</p> -<p>There was great rivalry as to which one would get the most berries.</p> -<p>One little girl said, “Look at my basket. It is nearly full!” And -another one said, “Mine are the biggest berries!”</p> -<p>Then they all fell to quarreling about their berries, and no one thought -of the giant; until suddenly a big voice roared at them, and there he -stood.</p> -<p>Before they had time to recover from their surprise and run away, the -giant gathered them all up in his immense hands and popped them into his -big parka. Then, laughing loudly, he threw the coat over his shoulder -and carried them to his cave. Poor little things! They writhed and -wriggled and screamed and cried, but it did them no good at all.</p> -<p>The giant only laughed the louder.</p> -<p>“Oh, if we had only paid attention to our parents,” cried one little -boy, “we would not have come near the cave! Now the giant will eat us -up!”</p> -<p>They all fell to weeping bitterly, saying they would never be -disobedient again, if only they could get away from the giant.</p> -<p>Just outside of the cave was a tall post with the giant’s totem, which -was a large whale. Mi-e-rak-puk tied the parka to the post and left it -hanging there.</p> -<p>Pretty soon, one of the children saw a bird fly by. They all began to -sing:</p> -<p style='text-indent:0; margin:1em auto 1em 2em'> -“Please come and set us free,<br /> -For if we must stay here,<br /> -Then eaten up we’ll be.”<br /> -</p> -<p>But the bird was a sea gull, and flapping his beautiful gray wings he -sailed past them as though he heard nothing. Then they all fell to -crying again.</p> -<p>After a while a weasel came along, and they started again to sing:</p> -<p style='text-indent:0; margin:1em auto 1em 2em'> -“O Weasel, if you are kind,<br /> -Please come and set us free.<br /> -For if we must stay here,<br /> -Then eaten up we’ll be.”<br /> -</p> -<p>But the weasel went along about his business, and never even turned his -head around.</p> -<p>Then the children spied some little mice playing around the foot of the -post, and sang their song to them; but the wretched little creatures -only frisked their little tails and scampered away.</p> -<p>At last a fox came by, the kind called “cross fox” because he has a -beautiful dark cross on his back.</p> -<p>When the fox reached the post, he stopped and sniffed the air and looked -up.</p> -<p>Then the little children sang their song once more, and the fox freed -them by biting the rawhide rope with which they were tied to the post. -But there was one little girl who had fallen asleep, way down deep in -one of the sleeves of the parka, and didn’t hear the others when they -tumbled out, which they did in such a hurry that they did not notice her -absence.</p> -<p>The fox, who was very wise, suggested that they fill the coat with the -white reindeer moss which grew so abundantly about them, so that the -giant, seeing the coat so full, might think the children were still -inside of it. Quickly they set to work and stuffed it out; then, hearing -the giant coming, hid themselves behind a clump of low bushes nearby, -and watched.</p> -<p>Pretty soon he came striding along with a huge jade knife in his hand -which he was busily sharpening on a great boulder he had picked up in -front of his cave.</p> -<p>He smacked his lips as he walked along, just as if he were tasting -something good.</p> -<p>When he came to the post, he raised the knife and slashed open one of -the sleeves, saying, “Now, my little birds, you are going to make me a -fine dainty for my dinner!”</p> -<p>When he said that, and a bunch of moss fell out of the sleeve instead of -a nice tasty baby, Mi-e-rak-puk flew into a rage, and stormed about the -place and stamped his foot until the earth shook and the seismographs -recorded an earthquake. Ask your parents what a seismograph is.</p> -<p>Well, then the angry giant tore at the coat, and the moss fell out and -got into his hair and eyes, it blew about so; when suddenly out tumbled -the frightened little girl from the end of the sleeve. Mi-e-rak-puk -picked her up by the back of her dress, and held her out with her legs -and arms waving in the air, just as a person sometimes holds a kitten by -the back of its neck.</p> -<p>“Ha ha!” roared the giant. “Now I’ve got you! But there’s so little of -you, I couldn’t even make one good bite out of you.”</p> -<p>The little girl squirmed and kicked, and then she said, “O please, Mr. -Giant, if you only won’t eat me, I will be good and work for you all my -life, and keep your house clean, and do the cooking.”</p> -<p>So the giant carried her in and put her down on the floor.</p> -<p>“If you dare to try to run away, I will throw you into the soup,” he -said, pointing to a huge stone pot.</p> -<p>Then he made her take off her little parka and put on one of his, which -dragged about her feet so that she could hardly move at all without -falling down. After that he tied her by a long rope made of walrus hide, -which is very strong, so that she could go out of doors but could not -possibly get away.</p> -<p>While the giant was off hunting one day, the little girl’s parents came -looking for her, and wanted to take her home at once; but she told them -that the giant would surely come after her and destroy the whole -village, if they did that; so the parents planned a trick to fool the -giant.</p> -<p>The father and mother hid behind some bushes, and when the giant came -home with a seal on his back, the child began to cry pitifully.</p> -<p>“What is the matter with you?” said the giant. “You squeak like a -mouse!”</p> -<p>“Oh, some of my old friends, the little children I used to play with, -passed by picking berries, and they made fun of these clothes.” Then she -cried some more.</p> -<p>“Well,” said the giant, “stop that silly squalling, and put on your own -parka. You can’t get away from me anyway, for I keep you tied all the -time. But give me my dinner first. I am hungry, and would eat you, if -you were fat enough.”</p> -<p>The little girl placed a whole cooked seal before him, which he devoured -as though it were a dainty lamb chop, then she sang a little song, and -he went to sleep. He snored so loud that the people thought it was -thunder, which is very seldom heard so far north.</p> -<p>Softly slipping into his hand a tiny seal-skin pouch containing some -“sleep charms” the witch-doctor had given her father, the little girl -slipped out of the giant’s clumsy parka into her own small one. Taking a -last look at the giant, to make sure that he was fast asleep, she ran -out to her father, who cut the rope with his hunting knife. Lifting the -little girl to his back, he started for the village as fast as he could -go. The mother trotted along behind, keeping a sharp lookout over her -shoulder to see if they were being followed.</p> -<p>Before they got out of sight, the giant snored so loud that the bag -shook out of his hand and he awoke. Loudly he called for the little -girl. No one answered. Muttering angrily, he rushed outside, and saw -them hurrying away.</p> -<p>With a howl of rage, he strode after them, gaining rapidly upon them at -every step.</p> -<p>When the little girl saw that he was catching up with them, she slipped -down from her father’s back and struck the ground with her little -fingers, saying some magic words that just came into her mind. -Immediately a deep river flowed between the giant and her. It was so -deep and wide that he could not cross it.</p> -<p>The little girl and her parents sat on their side of the river to rest, -and watched the giant, who tried in vain to get across.</p> -<p>After a while he called out to the little girl to tell him how to get -over.</p> -<p>She told him to get into a mussel shell, so he looked and found a mussel -shell, but as soon as he touched it, the shell sank.</p> -<p>Then he called over to the child again, commanding her to show him a way -across, and she told him to drink up the river and walk over.</p> -<p>Stooping down, the giant began to drink. He drank and drank until he was -so full of water that he rolled right over into the river and was -drowned.</p> -<p>Then the little girl and her parents went home, and the people of the -village were safe and happy once more.</p> -<p>And so the winter is passing.</p> -</div> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANIMAL STORIES FROM ESKIMO LAND***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 61875-h.htm or 61875-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/1/8/7/61875">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/8/7/61875</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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