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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..465ccea --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64109 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64109) diff --git a/old/64109-0.txt b/old/64109-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9497b21..0000000 --- a/old/64109-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2825 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Christmas Reindeer, by Thornton W. -Burgess - -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 -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Christmas Reindeer - -Author: Thornton W. Burgess - -Illustrator: Rhoda Chase - -Release Date: December 22, 2020 [eBook #64109] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Tim Lindell, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was - produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital - Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHRISTMAS REINDEER *** - - - - - THE CHRISTMAS REINDEER - - [Illustration] - - [Illustration: Whitefoot goes astray] - - - - - THE CHRISTMAS - REINDEER - - BY - THORNTON W. BURGESS - - ILLUSTRATED BY - RHODA CHASE - - - NEW YORK - THE BOOK LEAGUE OF AMERICA - 1929 - - COPYRIGHT, 1926, - BY THORNTON W. BURGESS - - - All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction - in whole or in part in any form. - - Set up and electrotyped. - Published October, 1926. - Reprinted August, 1928. - - - _Special edition published by arrangement with - The Macmillan Company._ - - - _Printed in the United States of America_ - - - - - DEDICATION - - -To the beautiful faith of childhood, the perpetuation of a charming -fable, and to a world made better by the Christmas spirit, this little -volume is dedicated. - - THE AUTHOR - - - - -CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER PAGE - - I. TUKTU AND AKLAK 3 - - II. KRINGLE VALLEY 9 - - III. TUKTU’S SOFT HEART 16 - - IV. WHITEFOOT GOES ASTRAY 22 - - V. LOST IN THE FOG 29 - - VI. THE AWAKENING OF TUKTU 34 - - VII. THE GREAT MILL 39 - - VIII. THE GOOD SPIRIT 45 - - IX. THE CHOSEN DEER 52 - - X. TUKTU’S HAPPY THOUGHT 57 - - XI. TUKTU TELLS HER STORY 62 - - XII. THE DEER PEOPLE 67 - - XIII. THE WILFUL YOUNG DEER 73 - - XIV. WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG 81 - - XV. THE FIRST REINDEER 87 - - XVI. LITTLE SPOT AND TUKTU DREAM 93 - - XVII. TUKTU AND AKLAK HAVE A SECRET 100 - -XVIII. THE ROUND-UP 107 - - XIX. THE CHRISTMAS STORY 113 - - XX. THE GREAT TEMPTATION 118 - - XXI. ATTACKED BY WOLVES 123 - - XXII. THE CHRISTMAS INVITATION 128 - -XXIII. THE CHRISTMAS VISION 134 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - -Whitefoot goes astray _Frontispiece_ - - Page - -Kutok watching the herd 11 - -Aklak goes hunting 23 - -Tuktu and Santa Claus 47 - -“They are wolves” 79 - -Tuktu making boots with her mother 95 - -Tuktu watching Aklak train a young deer 103 - - - - -THE CHRISTMAS REINDEER - - - - -CHAPTER I - -TUKTU AND AKLAK - - -Tuktu was a little Eskimo girl. Tuktu means caribou. She had been given -this name, because only a few days before her birth, a relative named -Tuktu had died; and as is the custom, this name had been given to the -baby. She was well named, for caribou were to have much to do with her -life. On the very day that she was born, Kutok, her father, had killed a -caribou when food was greatly needed. That year, for some unknown -reason, caribou had moved from their usual feeding grounds, and Kutok -and his family had had to depend almost wholly on seal and polar bear, -and these had been none too plentiful. So this caribou had brought great -joy to the home of Kutok. In the days following, he found the caribou -back in their old feeding grounds. Later, Kutok was to become a herder -of reindeer, and the reindeer, you know, are first cousins of the -caribou. So it was that Tuktu was well named. - -Aklak, her brother, bore the name of the great Brown Bear. Aklak was two -years older than Tuktu and gave promise of being like his father--a -mighty hunter. Already he had killed his seal and none knew better than -he how to snare the ptarmigan. In the summer he and Tuktu gathered eggs -when the waterfowl came north in untold thousands for the nesting. -Whatever Aklak did, Tuktu tried to do. - -While the children were still small, their father had become a herder of -reindeer, and the little folk spent much of their time with the deer. -They helped herd them. They did their part at the annual round-up. In -the spring they hunted for stray calves that had lost their mothers. -Both learned to drive deer to a sled. - -During the long winter nights, the herders often gathered in Kutok’s -house, and there they told stories while the children listened. There -were stories of hunting, stories of adventure, stories of many strange -things. But the story that Tuktu and Aklak liked the best of all was -that of the chosen deer of the Valley of the Good Spirit. This was -especially true of Tuktu. She used to dream of that wonderful valley. -And whenever she saw the Northern Lights, the Aurora, shooting up high -overhead, she would wonder what would happen to any one who might stray -into that valley, for it was said that it was from this valley that -those lights came. - -At last there came a time when she and Aklak actually were to live for a -week or two almost on the border of that valley. Do you wonder that she -tingled clear to the tips of her fingers and toes with little thrills of -anticipation, excitement, and perhaps just a wee bit of fear? It was the -fulfilment of a promise that their father had made them, that, when the -deer moved over from their summer feeding grounds to the Valley of the -Good Spirit, they should go with him to keep watch from a distance. - -Even Aklak was excited, though he did his utmost not to appear so, and -trudged along behind his father as if visiting the Valley of the Good -Spirit were an everyday affair. All day they traveled. That is, they -traveled what would have been all day where you and I live. It wasn’t -all day there, for you know way up in the North there is no real night -in summer. - -At last they reached the hut in which they were to live while the deer -grazed on the hills of the Valley of the Good Spirit. This hut was a -very rude affair, built partly in the ground and partly on the ground. -It was of wood and stone with a skin roof and a long entrance passage. -While not as big and comfortable as the house at home, it was the sort -of thing these children were used to and it was quite good enough. - -That night after the evening meal, Tuktu begged her father to once more -tell the story of the Valley of the Good Spirit and of the chosen -reindeer. “Why is it called the Valley of the Good Spirit?” she asked. - -“Because,” replied Kutok, “a wonderful and good spirit lives and moves -there.” - -“Has any one ever seen him?” Aklak asked. - -“No,” replied Kutok, “none but the deer people, and of these only the -chosen ones ever go down into that valley. But we know that a good -spirit lives there, for always the deer that graze on the hills about -the valley are safe from the wolf, the bear, and all other enemies. They -do not need to be watched. There need be no herder here, were it not -that it is well to know when the herd moves out, for then the summer -grazing is over. It is a good spirit, for is it not true that every year -eight deer are chosen and the next year returned to us the finest -sled-deer in all the North? The Good Spirit dwells there and with him -live many lesser spirits, who do his bidding.” - -Thus it was that Kutok told the children of what you and I know as -fairies, and elves, and gnomes, and trolls. Eskimo children know nothing -about these little unseen people. To them, all are spirits. - -“Have you ever looked down into the valley?” asked Aklak. - -“No,” replied Kutok. “It is not well to be curious. I am content to stay -here and wait for the deer to move. So must you be.” - -“What would happen if one should venture down into the valley?” asked -Aklak. - -“That no man knows, for no man has ever been so bold as even to think of -doing such a thing,” replied his father. “My son, be wise with the -wisdom of your elders, and be satisfied. None but the deer folk ever -enter that valley and these, only the chosen ones. We will stay here and -from a distance watch the herd.” - -“If it is such a good spirit,” thought Tuktu, although she didn’t -venture to express her thought aloud, “why should any one fear to go -down into the valley?” - -And she was still wondering as she fell asleep. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -KRINGLE VALLEY - - -For the greater part of the short Arctic summer, the great herd of -reindeer had grazed within sound of the waters of the Arctic Ocean -lapping on the beach. More than two thousand deer were in that herd. -They were not all Kutok’s, although all were in his charge, for he was -chief herder. Only about two hundred of the deer were his, as shown by -the ear-marks. It was in deer that Kutok was paid for his services in -looking after the great herd, which was owned by white men. With the -approach of the long winter, the deer would move inland to winter range, -and Kutok and his family would return to their permanent home. - -For several days before the opening of this story the deer had been -uneasy. They had done more or less milling. This means that they had -gathered in a great body, the outer members traveling in a large circle -and trotting tirelessly most of the time. Kutok knew the sign. “They -will soon seek the Valley of the Good Spirit,” said he to the other -herders who assisted him. That very afternoon, the herd, as if at a -signal from some wise old leader, began to move inland. In a short time, -all the deer but the trained pack animals, which had been fastened, had -disappeared. - -It was then that Kutok had taken Tuktu and Aklak to the hut not far from -the entrance to the Valley of the Good Spirit. It was the greatest event -in the lives of these two little Eskimo folk, for always they had heard -this valley spoken of with awe that was almost reverence. Now perhaps -they might be permitted to see the wondrous colored mists that were said -to rise from it. - -Kringle Valley was the name by which it was known to the white men, none -of whom believed in it, for none had ever seen it. But to the Eskimos, -it was, as I have already stated, the Valley of the Good Spirit. Did -they not know that on its gentle slopes wild grasses grew in such -abundance and such richness as could be found nowhere else in all - -[Illustration: Kutok watching the herd] - -the North? Were not the hillsides carpeted with wild flowers until they -glowed in patches of brilliant color? You see, even the Arctic has its -summer. It is a short summer, but a wonderful summer. Up there above the -Arctic Circle there are days when the sun does not set at all and the -number of days during which the sun does not set increases as one goes -North, until at the North Pole there are six months and five days of -continuous daylight. When the sun does set for a few hours, the twilight -is so brilliant that it is difficult to think of the day as having ended -when the sun disappears. - -Kringle Valley is a valley of mystery. No man as yet has been privileged -to enter it. No man has even looked down into it, save from a distance. -It is said to be filled with a soft many-colored mist, which is neither -of dampness nor of smoke. The Eskimos believe it to be the birthplace of -the ever-changing, many-colored lights of the Aurora. Only the herders -of the reindeer, which yearly seek pasturage on the hills about the -valley, have ever ventured near enough to see even from a distance the -curtain of many-colored mist. - -Around the winter firepots the story is told to the children of how -every year just before the great herd leaves the valley, the deer gather -at the upper end, and, there for a time, mill. - -There is no fear among these milling deer. As they trot tirelessly in a -huge circle, there is a constant shifting, until in turn each of the -bucks has made at least one circuit in the outer ring. Thus each has a -chance to show his full strength and beauty. From time to time as at a -signal, one of these trotting deer leaves the circle and stands -motionless just without the curtain of colored mist. When eight have -been thus chosen, they disappear in single file in the mist of the -valley, while the leaders of the great herd at once start the southern -migration, and the herders know that no longer will the deer feed in -Kringle Valley until toward the end of another summer. - -And the herders know, too, that when the winter round-up in the corrals -is made for the yearly count, the eight best sled-deer in all the herds -will be missing. They will be the ones which vanished in the shimmering -mists of Kringle Valley. And the herders whose deer have so disappeared -will rejoice greatly. They will be counted as being blessed above their -fellows. They know that their deer are not lost. They know that when -once again the great herd moves to Kringle Valley, they will find there -the eight deer--fat, sleek, well-cared for. They know that these deer -thereafter will never mingle with the herd, but will be for as long as -they live the finest sled-deer in all the world. So it is considered -good fortune if, after the herd leaves Kringle Valley, one’s deer be -found missing. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -TUKTU’S SOFT HEART - - -These were happy days for Tuktu and Aklak. Tuktu’s only duties were to -cook meals for her father and brother. An Eskimo girl learns these -things very young and Tuktu had been well taught. Aklak spent most of -his time hunting. Their father did little but sit for long hours smoking -and watching the distant hillsides where the reindeer grazed above the -Valley of the Good Spirit. These were lazy, happy days and Kutok was -making the most of them, for the summer was nearly at an end and he knew -that when the herd moved there would be little time for lazing. - -Tuktu roamed about picking the flowers that grew in such profusion, and -also hunting for the flocks of young ptarmigan, for she dearly loved to -watch these pretty “Chickens of the North.” Not for the world would -Tuktu have harmed one of them. Not for the world would she have told -her brother Aklak how she felt when he brought in ptarmigan and other -birds for the cooking-pot. But despite the fact that she ate them and -enjoyed the eating, there was all the time in her heart a wee feeling of -sadness, for Tuktu’s heart was the loving heart. - -Aklak was a good herder and had a way with the deer which some of the -older herders might well have envied; but there was no one among all the -herders or their families who could go among the deer as freely and -unnoticed as could Tuktu. It was as if she held some strange power over -the deer people; as if they had accepted her as one of their own number. -She could approach the most timid and nervous among the wilder members -of the big herds. As for the sled-deer, they might balk and strike at -others, but never at Tuktu when she harnessed them. She loved them, -every one, and seemingly they knew it. - -So it was that Tuktu found her playmates among the wild people, who were -not wild with her. Many a time had she stroked a ptarmigan on the nest. -Many a time had the Arctic Hare fed from her fingers. The sea fowl paid -no attention to her. Love has a strange way of making itself felt among -the wild folk, and the soft heart of Tuktu was soft because of love. - -So it was that when she found the home of a Blue Fox, about the entrance -to which four half-grown little foxes were playing, she did not tell her -brother. Each day she would steal away and sit by the entrance to the -den, taking with her bits of meat for the little foxes. How she loved to -see them roll and tumble about her feet. Sometimes two of them would get -hold of the same piece of meat and then there would be a tug of war. -Tuktu’s eyes would dance and she would laugh softly. And then, when one -little fox had succeeded in pulling the meat from the other, she would -give the loser the extra piece which she always had for that purpose. -And a short distance away sat Mother Fox, grinning happily. - -While she picked the flowers and played with the foxes, and now and then -mothered a young ptarmigan that had been lost from the flock, she -dreamed of the Valley of the Good Spirit. It seemed such a little -distance to the brow of the nearest hill overlooking that valley that -she couldn’t help but wonder what she would see if she should climb up -there. But not once did the thought of really doing it enter her head. -It was enough for Tuktu that it was forbidden. It was not that she was -afraid. She knew that her father was afraid. She knew that Aklak was -afraid. She knew that they regarded the Good Spirit and the valley where -he lived with reverence and awe. But Tuktu was not afraid. It was enough -for her that the Valley of the Good Spirit was sacred and not to be -approached by other than the deer people. So, no matter how great her -longing to look down from that hilltop, the thought of actually trying -to do such a thing never entered her wildest dreams. - -[Illustration] - -She would sit for hours looking over toward the valley and wondering -what the deer folk saw therein. Now and again she could see the deer -moving on the upper hills. Once as she was watching them, she said -softly--for she had a way of talking to herself: “I wish I were really a -Tuktu--a caribou.” - -“Why?” asked Aklak, who had stolen softly up behind her, just in time to -hear what she said. - -“Because then I might go into the Valley of the Good Spirit and I might -even be chosen by the Good Spirit. Who knows?” - -Aklak laughed, but it was a good-natured laugh. “It is the reindeer, not -the caribou, who go down into the valley,” said he. - -“But the caribou go too,” replied Tuktu quickly, “for only this morning -I saw a band of them heading that way; and after all the reindeer are -but tame caribou.” - -“You saw a band this morning!” exclaimed Aklak excitedly, for all that -morning he had been hunting for caribou and had not seen one. - -Tuktu nodded. “Yes,” said she. “And Aklak, I’m glad you didn’t see them. -I am glad they have gone where you cannot follow, for I would not like -to have a caribou killed here so near to the Valley of the Good Spirit.” - -Aklak opened his mouth for a quick retort, then thought better of it. -Perhaps after all Tuktu was right. Perhaps it were better that there -should be no killing of the deer folk so near the Valley of the Good -Spirit. He remembered that not even the wolves, nor the great Brown Bear -for whom he was named, ever killed there. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -WHITEFOOT GOES ASTRAY - - -The two pack-deer with which Kutok had moved up near the Valley of the -Good Spirit had been kept fastened, each with a long rawhide line. But -Kutok well knew that should they be allowed to go free, they would be -likely to join the herds over on the hills above the valley. So they -were kept tethered by long lines, and each day were moved to a new -grazing ground. Sometimes Kutok attended to this; sometimes Aklak. - -It happened one day that both Kutok and Aklak had gone hunting. Tuktu -was not at all lonely, for loneliness is something that Eskimo folk know -little about. Had she not the two deer for company, to say nothing of -the little foxes with whom she played daily? It was nothing new for her -to be left alone while her father and brother went hunting. It was Aklak -who had moved the deer to new - -[Illustration: Aklak goes hunting] - -grazing ground just before starting that morning. Two or three times -Tuktu wandered over to pat them and pet them, as was her habit. When she -became sleepy, she lay down for a nap. It was when she awoke from this -that she discovered one of the deer had pulled the peg by which he had -been fastened, and had wandered away. - -“It must be that Aklak was in too much of a hurry when he drove that -peg,” thought Tuktu. “I must find Whitefoot and bring him back, or -father will be very angry. He will blame Aklak, and it will be very -unpleasant to have only one deer when it is time to move. Yes, I must -find Whitefoot and bring him back.” Whitefoot was the deer’s name, for -his off forefoot was white. - -Having often helped in the rounding up of strays from the herd, Tuktu -was skilled in reading signs. Almost at once she found traces of the -wandering Whitefoot. He was grazing as he moved along, taking a bit now -on this side and now on that side. Once she found a little bush in which -the dragging peg had become entangled. Whitefoot had broken the branches -of the bush in tearing himself free. Tuktu hurried on, for she saw that -the course was leading toward the hills above the Valley of the Good -Spirit. - -“I must catch him before he gets much farther,” thought Tuktu as she -hurried on. “Father was right. Whitefoot is doing just what father said -the deer would do if they should be free; he is going to join the great -herd. I must get him before he gets there, or we shall see no more of -him until the herd moves out from the valley.” - -It was warm work, for in summer it becomes unpleasantly hot, even way up -there in the Northland. Tuktu was panting and perspiring, and she was -growing tired. But not for an instant did she delay. - -“I must get him. I must get him,” she kept saying over and over. “I must -get Whitefoot.” - -At last, from a little rise of ground, she saw the wanderer just going -up a little hill. “Whitefoot!” she called, “Whitefoot! Stop, Whitefoot!” - -At the sound of her voice, Whitefoot lifted his head and looked back. -“Whitefoot! Whitefoot!” she called, hurrying forward. Whitefoot -hesitated. He looked back in the direction in which he had been -traveling. Somewhere ahead of him was the great herd. The scent of it -was borne to him on the wind. The longing to join it was almost -irresistible. Behind him rang the commands of the little mistress he had -learned to love and obey. “Stop, Whitefoot! Stop!” His nose demanded -obedience to the call of the herd. His ears demanded obedience to the -command of his little mistress. Which should he obey? No wonder -Whitefoot hesitated. - -It was not for nothing that Tuktu was known among her companions as -“Little Fleetfoot.” She was out of breath, she was tired and she -was--oh, so hot! But despite all this, she ran now as if she were -running a race. Just as Whitefoot decided that the call of the herd must -be heeded, Tuktu threw herself forward on the dragging peg at the end of -the long line which trailed behind Whitefoot The decision was no longer -his. Tuktu had won. - -Holding fast to the line, Tuktu seated herself in the grass and slowly -drew the reluctant Whitefoot toward her. All the time she talked to -him, chiding him for wandering away; telling him how necessary he was; -calling him names of endearment in one breath and scolding him in the -next. Whitefoot stamped once or twice impatiently. Then, as if having -made up his mind that he might as well make the best of the matter, he -fell to grazing. - -For a long time Tuktu sat there, for as I have said, she was tired. At -last she arose. “Whitefoot,” she said severely, “you have made me run a -long way. Now you will have to carry me back.” - -As you know, Whitefoot was a pack animal. He had been trained to carry -loads on his back. Tuktu had ridden him many times. So it was nothing -new for him to feel his little mistress on his back. She turned his head -toward camp and then she saw the white, thick mist of the Arctic fog -rolling in from the coast. Already it had almost reached them. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -LOST IN THE FOG - - -In from the distant sea rolled the Arctic fog. It was as if one of those -great, white fleecy clouds you have seen sailing high in the sky had -come to earth and was being pushed forward to bury everything in its -fleecy depths. Tuktu urged Whitefoot forward in the swinging trot the -reindeer know. Would he be able to get her to camp before that swiftly -moving fogbank would cut off all sight in any direction? She knew all -about the fogs of the Far Northland. Had she been at home, she would not -have minded it. But to be caught far from the camp was another matter. - -“But I can trust Whitefoot,” thought Tuktu. “The deer folk can find -their way even though they cannot see. So long as I am safe on the back -of Whitefoot, I need not worry. Whitefoot is headed in the right -direction and he will take me safely back.” - -The soft mist swirled about them and Tuktu could see nothing. She could -see nothing and she could hear nothing but the clicking of Whitefoot’s -feet. There was no other sound. It was as if she and Whitefoot were -alone in a white, wet world of silence. Click, click, click, click -sounded Whitefoot’s feet--a click with every step. It was comforting to -hear that much, for each click meant a forward step, and each forward -step meant so much nearer to the camp. At least, that is what Tuktu -encouraged herself by thinking. - -“I wonder where Father and Aklak are,” she thought. “This fog must have -caught them first, for they were hunting in the direction of the -seacoast. They must have seen it coming and probably made camp. They -will stay there until the fog lifts. If only I were back at the camp, I -would not mind a bit. Trot, Whitefoot! Trot! Remember that Tuktu is on -your back and she wants to get home.” - -Whitefoot did trot. He trotted steadily, despite the fact that he could -see nothing. His head was carried forward and his nose out and his -nostrils were extended. With every breath he was testing the damp air. -By the motion, Tuktu could tell when he was going up a hill and when he -started down again. She was enjoying the ride. - -But there came a time when Tuktu began to wonder. “We should be there by -this time,” she thought. “Yes, indeed, we should be there by this time. -Whitefoot has been traveling so fast that I am sure we should have been -home long ago. If he did not trot along so steadily, I should think he -were lost and wandering about But he seems to know just where he is -going. Oh dear, I wish I could see just a little way. Whitefoot, what is -that?” - -Whitefoot stopped abruptly. Through the mist at one side a dim form -moved. Tuktu gave a little sigh of thankfulness and was about to drop to -the ground, for she was sure that this was the other pack-deer that had -been left grazing near the camp. But she didn’t drop, for she became -aware that another dim form was on the other side of her. And then she -heard the muffled click, click, click of many feet--a sound that could -be heard only where many deer were near. Too often had she listened to -it not to know that she was now in the midst of a herd. She heard the -click in front, behind, and on both sides, and as she strained her eyes -could see dim shapes appear and disappear on all sides. - -“Whitefoot!” she whispered, “Whitefoot, where have you taken me?” - -She wondered if by chance some other herd of reindeer had moved in from -the seacoast on its way to the Valley of the Good Spirit. She wondered -if it might be that she was in the midst of a band of caribou. She -decided that this must be it. Probably Whitefoot had smelled, or -perchance heard them, so had joined them. - -She was not afraid. Did she not know that the reindeer are the most -gentle of animals? Had she not lived with them and loved them from -babyhood? She would remain on Whitefoot’s back and hope that the fog -would lift soon. If it did not, she would stop Whitefoot and push the -peg into the ground to fasten him. Then they would remain there together -until such time as the fog should disappear. There was only one thing -that worried Tuktu. If she had to remain there long, what should she -eat? But even this did not greatly worry her, for she was sure that the -fog would last but a little while and she knew they could not be far -from camp. - -Whitefoot no longer was trotting, nor were any of the other deer folk. -All seemed to be grazing, moving along slowly as they grazed. Tuktu -became drowsy. Once or twice she nodded and the wonder was that she -didn’t slip from Whitefoot’s back. And all about her there was the -gentle click, click, click, click of moving feet, and now and then the -soft intake of breath and gentle sniff of grazing deer. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE AWAKENING OF TUKTU - - -Unafraid, Tuktu rode in the midst of the great herd. How long it was -before she had a chance to slip from Whitefoot’s back, she had no idea. -But presently from sundry sounds, dull but unmistakable, which reached -her through the fog, she knew that the deer were bedding down. They were -lying down to chew the cud, as you have so often seen cattle do. -Whitefoot stopped. Tuktu slipped from his back. A moment later Whitefoot -lay down. Tuktu snuggled up against his back. Despite the dampness of -the fog, she was conscious of a pleasant warmth. In a few minutes she -was asleep. - -Tuktu was awakened by the sound of a bell. She knew it was a bell, -because she had once heard a bell on a ship which had come in close to -the shore when they were camped there. But this bell was sweeter far -than had been that bell on the ship, though that had seemed the most -wonderful sound that she and Aklak had ever heard. Slowly she opened her -eyes. Abruptly she sat upright and rubbed both eyes with her knuckles. -Her first thought was that she was still in the fog. But when she looked -up, she saw there was neither fog nor cloud. It was only when she looked -below that she saw a fog, and this fog was not like any fog she ever had -known. It was a mist of many colors, that shimmered and blended and -parted and flashed, as she had so often seen the northern lights, or -Aurora, do in the winter. And somewhere, hidden by that wondrous colored -mist, was that silver bell. Do you wonder that Tuktu rubbed her eyes? - -She was on the slope of a great hill. All about her, contentedly chewing -their cuds, were the deer people. As far as she could see in either -direction, and across on the sides of the opposite hill, the deer lay. -She knew that not only was Kutok’s herd here, but also many other herds. -Never had she seen such rich pasture. Never had she seen such flowers. -And there were great masses of reindeer moss, lichens, showing the -season’s growth. No wonder the deer people sought the hillsides of this -wondrous Valley. She caught her breath. It had come to her where she -was! She knew that she was with the herd on one of the slopes of the -Valley of the Good Spirit. It was just as she had heard it described -around the winter firepots, only far more beautiful. - -Tuktu rubbed her eyes and rubbed her eyes. Perhaps this was only a -dream. She put out her hand. There was Whitefoot contentedly chewing his -cud, and Whitefoot was no dream. He was real, for even as she touched -him, he bent his head and gently scratched one of his antlers with the -point of a hind hoof. - -Again she heard the soft, clear, silvery notes of that hidden bell. Then -clearly, though faintly, she heard many other sounds. There was the -blowing of trumpets, the beating of drums, fairy music coming from the -heart of that wonderful mist below her, and the mist itself--never had -she seen anything so beautiful! All the colors of the rainbow, all the -wondrous colors of the sunset, all the shooting, flashing fires of the -Aurora, seemed mingled there. - -Tuktu knew that she ought to be afraid. Had not her father said that -only from a distance had any man looked into that wondrous valley? Had -she not seen fear in his eyes at the mere mention of the Valley of the -Good Spirit?--he, who was not afraid to meet Nanuk, the polar bear, -single-handed. Had she not heard the herders speak in whispers when they -told of the Valley of the Good Spirit? Of a certainty, she should be -afraid. But somehow she wasn’t. She knew she ought to be, for she knew -that she was where not even the boldest man in all the great Northland -would dare to put his foot. Yet she was not afraid. - -“It must be that the Good Spirit means no harm to little children,” -thought Tuktu. “It must be that the Good Spirit who loves the deer folk -loves also little children, or he would not have allowed Whitefoot to -bring me here. I wonder what is going on below that wonderful mist. I -wonder! Oh, how I wonder. But if it were meant that I should know, or -that any one should know, that mist would not be there. I guess it is -all right to wonder, but it would be all wrong to try to find out. The -deer people are satisfied to stay on these hills, so I will be -satisfied. But there must be something very wonderful and very beautiful -down there. I wish Aklak were here. He will not believe me when I tell -him that I have looked into the Valley of the Good Spirit. My father -will not believe me. No one will believe me. Only the deer folk will -know. I, Tuktu, am looking down in the Valley of the Good Spirit and no -harm has come to me. I think it must be because the Spirit of Love is -here. The deer are rising. I wonder what that means. I must hold fast to -Whitefoot, for he must take me home.” - -Whitefoot already had scrambled to his feet. Once more Tuktu climbed on -his back. Then Whitefoot began to move toward the upper end of the -Valley and Tuktu saw that all the other deer on both sides were moving -in the same direction. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE GREAT MILL - - -Never had Tuktu seen so many deer together. Behind her, on both sides, -in front of her, all along that hillside, the deer were moving forward. -On the farther hillside countless numbers also were moving toward the -head of the valley. They were moving slowly, but steadily, as with a -purpose. As they drew near the upper end of the valley, Tuktu saw that -there was a level plain surrounded by the hills. Out into the middle of -this plain moved the great herd of deer. Then it was that Tuktu -discovered that young deer and the mothers with the fawns were gradually -being pushed to the center. She knew what it meant. She knew that -presently that great herd would be milling on that plain. - -Many times had Tuktu watched the deer mill. She had seen them mill in -the great corrals into which they were driven for the yearly counting -and ear-marking. She had seen them mill when they were grazing. But -never had she seen such a mill as this one. Presently, Whitefoot began -to trot. He had joined the ring of deer circling the outer edge of the -great herd. There was a constant shifting and Tuktu saw that gradually -the biggest and finest of the bucks were working to the outer edge of -the herd. From Whitefoot’s back she looked over what was like a forest -of dead tree branches, all clashing and tossing as if in a wind. They -were the newly-grown antlers of the deer not yet wholly out of the -velvet, strips of the brown skin fluttering from them like pennants. -Only the fawns were without antlers, for the does among the reindeer -have antlers just as do the bucks. It is only in the caribou tribe that -this happens in the deer family. - -Faster and faster trotted that outside ring. More and more quiet became -the great mass within the ring. Presently, all were still and only the -outer deer were moving. Whitefoot was a splendid animal. That is why he -had been chosen for a pack-deer. So he continued to trot in the outer -circle. Click, click, click, click, click, sounded the feet of the -trotting deer. There is no sound like it in all the animal world. It -comes from within the foot as the deer steps, sometimes it is when the -weight is put on the foot and sometimes when it is lifted from the foot. -It is not made by the snapping together of the two parts of the hoof, as -long was supposed, even by the herders themselves. The sound comes from -within the foot, and just its purpose no one knows. Click, click, click, -click, click--never had Tuktu seen the deer trot in a mill as they were -now trotting. It seemed as if each was trying to show his best pace and -each was trying to look his best. They had had plenty of food and their -new coats for the coming winter had grown. All the old hair had fallen, -giving way to the new hair. - -Suddenly the deer stopped. They stopped and stood motionless. A moment -later they started trotting again. Tuktu had been on the far side at the -upper end of the plain, farthest from the curtain of beautiful mist. -Now, when she came around, she saw that standing just outside the edge -of that many-colored curtain was a magnificent reindeer. He stood -motionless, his head held proudly to show to best advantage his -widespreading antlers with many points. - -Once more the herd began to mill. Presently, it stopped as abruptly as -before. This time, when Whitefoot brought Tuktu around where she could -see, there were two deer standing motionless, one behind the other, at -the edge of the beautiful mist. - -So it went on, until seven deer were standing there. Tuktu knew what it -meant. She knew that she was looking at the chosen deer of the Good -Spirit. She knew that one more was to be chosen. So far, she had not -seen the choosing. Each time she had been on the far side of the herd -when it had so abruptly stopped. - -Perhaps you can guess how her heart was beating with excitement, as once -more the outer ring of deer took up that fast, clicking trot. Would the -eighth and last deer be chosen while she was on the far side and could -not see? - -Round and round the deer trotted. Once more Tuktu was coming in sight of -the seven chosen deer. It seemed to Tuktu as if from that colored mist -there shot out a flash of light. The deer stopped. Motionless they -stood, as if frozen in their tracks. Tuktu held her breath. She saw that -the head of every deer was turned toward that shining curtain of colored -mist. A ray of light shot out from it. It touched a splendid deer two -places ahead of Whitefoot. At its touch he stepped out from the circle -and slowly took his place with the seven standing deer. It was -Speedfoot, the finest deer in Kutok’s herd. - -The sound of a silver whistle was heard and the eight deer began to move -forward. Slowly, proudly they walked. The leader disappeared in the -wonderful mist. The second followed; and so on until the last one had -vanished. Then once more the outer deer of the great herd began to mill. -Tuktu saw that no longer were the does and fawns standing motionless -within that milling circle. They were all headed in one direction and -that was toward a low place in the hills leading out of the valley--a -pass out to the great wide prairie. The time had come for the herd to -leave the Valley of the Good Spirit. - -Would Whitefoot insist on going with them? Or, when they had left the -valley, would he take her back to the camp? - -He was once more bringing her around to the point nearest the cloud of -mist, wherein the eight chosen deer had disappeared. Tuktu looked -eagerly to see if by any chance she might get one more glimpse of them. -And even as she looked, that ray of light shot out once more, and this -time it touched Whitefoot. Whitefoot stepped out from the herd and stood -motionless. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE GOOD SPIRIT - - -Motionless, facing the curtain of glorious mist, Whitefoot stood. On his -back, as motionless, sat Tuktu. Once more the clicking of many feet had -begun. The great herd was moving. Tuktu did not turn to look. She was -not exactly frightened, but she was filled with a great awe. She felt as -if she could not take her eyes from that curtain of mist, even if she -would. The clicking back of her grew fainter. Then it ceased altogether. -Still Whitefoot stood motionless. - -Directly in front of Tuktu the mist began to glow, first faintly pink, -then a beautiful rose, and finally a rich, warm red. Tuktu drew a long -breath and closed her eyes. - -When she opened them again, there stood before her one such as she had -never seen before. - - He was short and jolly and round and fat, - With a fur trimmed coat and a fur trimmed hat. - -He was dressed all in red. His hair was white and he wore a long, white -beard. Never had Tuktu seen such a beard before. Eskimos have beards -that are straggly and black. His eyes twinkled, like the twinkling of -the stars on a frosty night. Around them were many fine wrinkles. They -were laugh wrinkles. He was laughing now. - - He laughed “Ha! Ha!” and he laughed “Ho! Ho!” - “Hello, little girl,” he cried, “Hello! - What are you doing alone up here? - Have you come in search of your straying deer?” - -Poor Tuktu! She couldn’t find her tongue. She knew who this must be. She -knew that this must be the Good Spirit--the Good Spirit whom no one had -ever seen. She felt that she ought to slip from Whitefoot’s back and bow -herself at the Good Spirit’s feet. But she couldn’t move. No, sir, she -couldn’t move. When at last she could find her tongue, all she could do -was to whisper, “Are you the Good Spirit?” - -Those eyes looking at her in such a kindly - -[Illustration: Tuktu and Santa Claus] - -way, twinkled more than ever, and all the little laugh wrinkles around -them grew deeper. He began to shake all over. He shook and shook. And he -laughed so merrily that presently Tuktu herself began to laugh. She -couldn’t help it. It was catching. Yes, sir, it was catching. - - “Ho! Ho!” said he, “My dear Tuktu, - It may be I am _that_ to you. - I hope I am. It seems to me - That nothing could much nicer be. - - “But elsewhere all the great world ’round, - Wherever there are children found, - I’m known as Santa Clause, my dear; - Or else, perchance, of me you hear - As Old Saint Nick, who once a year - With pack and sleigh and wondrous deer - To little folk who have been good, - And done those things that children should, - Brings Christmas Day the books and toys - That always gladden girls and boys. - But when the Christmas season ends - I hasten here to where my friends - The Fairies, Elves, and busy Gnomes - For countless years have made their homes. - Ho! Ho! Ho! You are, my dear, - The first who ever ventured here.” - -It was such a jolly voice, and those eyes twinkled so, and he shook all -over so when he laughed, that Tuktu no longer had the slightest fear. -“If you please, Good Santa,” said she, “I have never heard of Christmas. -What is Christmas?” - -Santa’s face sobered. No longer was the twinkle in his eyes, nor the -laugh in the wrinkles around them. All the lines softened from his face -and it became very beautiful. Simply, so that Tuktu could fully -understand, he explained that Christmas is the season of loving thought. -It is the season when self is forgotten and the desire of each is to -make others happy. - -It was a wonderful story he told her, a wonderful story of how all -through the long years he had carried Christmas joy to the boys and -girls of all the great world. He told her how all the year through the -Fairies and Elves and Trolls and Gnomes were busy down in this valley, -hidden by the wondrous many-colored mist, making the things which he was -to take on his yearly journey to make glad the hearts of little -children. He explained how it grieved him when sometimes he could leave -nothing, because a little girl or a little boy had not been good. He -told her how the Spirit of Love was abroad throughout all the Great -World in the Christmas season, and how those who do for and give to -others are the ones in whom the Christmas spirit lives all the year -through, and who thus find the greatest happiness. - - “It is not in receiving, my dear,” said he, - “But in giving in love you will find to be - That fullness of joy, and that sweet content - For the beautiful Christmas season meant.” - -“And does no one give to you, kind Santa?” Tuktu asked a little -breathlessly. - -You should have heard Santa Claus laugh then. Indeed, you should have -heard him laugh! You should have seen his eyes twinkle. “Every year I -receive the greatest gift in all the Great World,” said he. - -“And what is that?” whispered Tuktu. - -“The love of little children,” replied Santa Claus. “Not in all the -Great World is there any gift to compare with the love of little -children. And it is mine--all mine--every Christmas.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE CHOSEN DEER - - -Tuktu still sat on the back of Whitefoot. As Santa Claus talked, he came -over to Whitefoot and gently stroked his face. Whitefoot stood without -motion. It was the more surprising, because Whitefoot had always been -rather unruly. He never had been one to willingly acknowledge a master. -Only Tuktu had been able to handle him without trouble. Santa looked up -straight into the eyes of Tuktu. “Tell me, my dear,” said he, “how you -came to venture into this valley. Did you not know that only the deer -folk come here?” - -“Yes, I knew,” replied Tuktu in a low voice. “I knew, Good Santa, and I -would not have thought of coming myself. It was Whitefoot who brought me -here. He brought me here, and I didn’t know where he was bringing me.” - -Then she told how she had been lost in the fog, and how when she had -awakened from her nap in the midst of the great herd, she had discovered -where she was. She told how she would have left, even then, but could -not. And her lips trembled a little as she talked, for she was fearful -that the Good Spirit might think that she had done wrong. - -“And why do you think that the deer folk come here every year?” inquired -Santa Claus. - -“That the blessed eight may be chosen,” said Tuktu. - -“And what, my dear, do you mean by the blessed eight?” Santa Claus -inquired. - -Then Tuktu told him of the tales she had heard around the winter -firepots, and how it had been long known that every year eight deer were -chosen from the great herd in the Valley of the Good Spirit; and how the -following year these deer always returned to their owners, and were the -finest sled-deer in all the North, so that the owner of one of these was -considered blessed above his fellows. - -Santa Claus sighed. “They ought to be good sled-deer,” said he. “I spend -enough time in training them. For what purpose, my dear, do you think -these deer are chosen each year?” - -Tuktu shook her head. “That,” said she, “no one knows. All that is known -is that each year the eight deer are chosen, and the following year they -are returned to bless their owners. That is enough. The Good Spirit has -some wise purpose, or the deer would not be taken and returned.” - -“Do you know,” said Santa, “that the reindeer are among the oldest of -all the peoples of the earth? It is so. It has been said that man was -created to look after the reindeer, and the reindeer were created to -look after man. Almost since man was, the reindeer have furnished him -with food and clothing, and have carried him or drawn him wherever he -wished to go. Have you driven deer to the sled? Have you ever sat behind -a running reindeer and felt the rush of the cutting wind? And felt now -and then the sting of the snow thrown from his flying feet?” - -Tuktu’s eyes shone and she clapped her hands softly. “Don’t you love -it?” she cried. - -Santa Claus nodded, and he chuckled. “That is why the eight deer are -chosen each year,” said he. “When I made my first Christmas journey, it -was a reindeer who drew my sled. My pack was small and my journey was -short, and a single deer was all I needed. But as the Christmas spirit -swept farther and farther throughout the Great World, and more and more -children looked for my coming, my pack became larger and I had to travel -much faster. So then I used two deer; and then three, four, five, until -now eight are needed. Eight of the finest deer to be found in all the -herds. - -“They must have speed and strength, for they must take me fast and carry -me far. They must have beauty, with antlers of many points. They must be -stout of heart and full of courage. They must be gentle. So it is that -each year I must get a new team, and so each year the reindeer, the -finest in all the great Northland, feed for a while in Kringle Valley. -Then when the time comes, as it came to-day, they pass before me at -their best, that I may choose those for my next Christmas journey into -the Great World. Those you saw vanish in the colored mist are the eight -who will take me next Christmas to carry joy to little folk. In all -that great herd you saw, there is none other the equal of those chosen. -And all the deer folk know it. Just once will they make that wonderful -journey, for only for that one time will they be at their very best. At -the next Christmas there will be eight others to take their places. But -always the eight bear the same names. Would you like to hear them, -Tuktu?” - -Shyly Tuktu nodded. “If you please,” she said. - -My, how the eyes of old Santa Claus twinkled! “They are Donder and -Blitzen, Dancer and Prancer, Dasher and Vixen, Comet and Cupid” said he. -“I couldn’t drive deer by any other names. They are magic names. And -those deer will become magic deer when they start on their Christmas -journey. Now, my dear, Whitefoot will take you straight back to the -place from which he brought you. You have seen that which you may never -see again--the choosing of the deer. But always you will remember that -in the Valley of the Good Spirit, love dwells, and that love may be -carried throughout the world, the blessed reindeer are chosen each -year.” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -TUKTU’S HAPPY THOUGHT - - -“Donder and Blitzen, Dasher and Vixen, Dancer and Prancer, Comet and -Cupid,” repeated Tuktu to herself, and her eyes were like stars. “Do the -children out in the Great World love them?” - -You should have seen Santa’s eyes twinkle then. And you should have seen -all the laugh wrinkles around his eyes. “I suspect they do,” said he. “I -suspect they do, for they love me and they must love the ones who bring -me to them each year. But they have never seen my reindeer, so I really -don’t know.” - -And then you should have seen Tuktu’s eyes open. “Do you mean,” she -asked, “that they never, never have seen your deer?” - -Santa Claus nodded. “That’s what I mean,” said he. “You see, the night -before Christmas when I make that magic trip, I must go so far and I -must go so fast that there is no time, not even one wee minute, to -waste. And so, no one sees me then. Sometimes little boys and girls hide -and watch for me and for my deer. But they never see us. And those -little boys and girls do not always find all the things they hoped I -would bring them.” - -A dreamy look had come into Tuktu’s eyes, a very far-away look. “Do they -have as fine deer out there in the Great World as we have here?” she -asked. - -The laugh wrinkles wrinkled up more than ever, and Santa Claus laughed -right out. “They have no deer at all, Little One,” said he. “That is, -they have no reindeer. Most of them would not know a reindeer if they -saw one.” - -“No reindeer!” cried Tuktu, and such a look of astonishment as spread -over her face. “How can they live without the wonderful deer? Oh, I am -so sorry for those children. I wish--” Tuktu paused. - -“What do you wish, Child?” Santa Claus asked in his kindly voice. “Tell -me what you wish, for you know it is my business to make the wishes of -children come true.” - -Tuktu hesitated. She dropped her eyes shyly. “I wish,” she said very -softly, “that I could send them some reindeer.” - -Santa Claus looked at her sharply. He could read her thoughts and there -was not one single little thought of self there. She was thinking of the -children who had never seen the reindeer and how wonderful it would be -if only they could see the blessed eight. When she looked up and saw -Santa’s kindly eyes studying her, she spoke impulsively. - -“Kind Santa Claus,” said she, speaking hurriedly, so hurriedly that the -words tripped over each other, “couldn’t you go down early some year -with your blessed deer so that the children of the Great World might see -them? I know they would love them, just as I do.” - -Santa Claus sighed. “I am afraid,” said he, “there isn’t time. You know -it takes time to train deer, and there are no deer in all the Great -Northland so well trained as those which take me out into the Great -World every Christmas. You saw the eight chosen to-day. It will take me -most of my time from now until Christmas to get them properly trained -for that magic journey. If the deer were better trained when I got -them, I might be able to do it. You know I do not even have to have -reins, they are so perfectly trained. That is why when I am through with -them, they are the finest sled-deer in all the world. They are no longer -magic deer, but they are wonderful sled-deer. So you think the children -of the Great World would like to see the deer? Perhaps they would! -Perhaps they would! I shall have to think it over, my dear. I certainly -shall have to think it over.” - -“Oh, if you only would!” cried Tuktu, her dark eyes shining with -excitement “I-I-I wish I could help. I am so sorry for children who have -never seen the beautiful deer.” - -Down somewhere in the midst of the wonderful mist a silver bell rang. It -was so clear, so sweet, that Tuktu turned her head to listen. When she -looked back--Santa Claus had disappeared. The bell rang again and from -out the curtain of mist came Santa’s voice once more. - -“Good-bye, little girl,” said he. “The great herd moves, and you must -leave the valley. But remember this, my dear, that whenever you think of -others, others will think of you. And to those who love is love given -in return. That is why Christmas is. Remember that, my dear, and always -your Christmas will be merry. Better than that, it will be happy.” - -Abruptly, Whitefoot turned and began to move away. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -TUKTU TELLS HER STORY - - -With his long, swinging trot, Whitefoot rapidly made his way out of the -Valley of the Good Spirit. Once only did Tuktu look back at the cloud of -shimmering, many-colored mist. At one point it glowed a rich deep red, -and as she looked, this turned to rose and finally to a faint pink and -then vanished. Nowhere was the Good Spirit to be seen. - -Out of the valley, over the hill, climbed Whitefoot, and Tuktu turned -him in the direction of the camp. There presently she fastened him where -Aklak had put him to graze. Her father and brother had not returned. As -in a dream, she looked back to the hills around the Valley of the Good -Spirit. Could it be that she had been there? Was it not all a dream? But -if it were a dream, it had been a wonderful dream--the most beautiful of -all dreams. She knew that Kutok and Aklak would not believe the story -she had to tell. They would say that she had been asleep and the dream -spirits had visited her. She looked across to the distant hills above -the valley, and with a suddenness that startled her, she realized that -not a deer was to be seen. Of course not. Had she not seen them move out -of the upper end of the valley? There was the proof. - -With the realization of this, all thought of anything else was driven -from the mind of Tuktu--even the wonderful experience she had been -through. The great herd was moving and there were no herders! She must -get word back to the herders on the coast. She would take the other pack -deer, for Whitefoot must be tired. Perhaps she would meet her father and -brother on the way. She had just prepared to start when in the distance -she saw Kutok and Aklak approaching. When they reached her, they were in -high spirits. They had had good hunting and they brought with them -plenty to eat. - -“They have moved!” cried Tuktu. “The deer have left the Valley of the -Good Spirit.” Kutok threw down his load and hurried to the rise of -ground from which he had been accustomed to watch the deer on the -distant hills. Long he looked, searching every bit of ground within -range of his eyes. Not a deer was to be seen. - -“It is so, Little Tuktu,” said he on his return. “The herd has started -for the winter grazing grounds. It is time that we also should move. -Aklak shall go back to carry word to the herders, while you and I will -follow the deer. They will move slowly, so there is no hurry. But it is -well that we should catch up with them soon, lest the wolves attack, -finding them unguarded.” - -So Aklak started back to the summer camp to send up the herders and to -help break the camp and move toward the winter home. Tuktu and her -father, with a small skin iglu or tent wherein to sleep, and food enough -for their immediate needs, started at once to catch up with the great -herd. Through years of experience, Kutok knew in what direction the deer -would travel and the shortest way to reach them. - -They traveled too fast for much talking. Tuktu longed to tell her father -what she had seen in the Valley of the Good Spirit, but somehow she -couldn’t. “He will laugh at me,” she thought. “He will not believe, and -he will laugh at me; and I do not want to be laughed at.” So she said -nothing. But all the time there was a song in her heart. - -It was not until Aklak had rejoined them that she told of her adventure -in the Valley of the Good Spirit. At first Aklak laughed, as she had -known he would. “It was a dream, Tuktu,” he cried. “It was a dream. You -must have slept through that fog while Father and I were hunting, and -the dream spirits took you with them. No one ever has seen the Good -Spirit, and no one ever will.” - -But Tuktu stubbornly insisted that it was not a dream, until at last -even Aklak began to believe that it might be so. You would have laughed -to hear him ply her with questions, all the time pretending that he -didn’t believe a word of it. But Tuktu caught him looking at her with a -respect in his black eyes which was new in her experience. And she -noticed, too, that he no longer teased her, and that now he was never -selfish. The biggest share of anything was always hers. Never had he -been so gentle and thoughtful. Yet never once could she get him to say -that he believed her story of the Valley of the Good Spirit. - -Now there was one thing that Tuktu did not tell Aklak. It was that the -last deer chosen was from their father’s own herd. Never had Kutok had a -deer chosen by the Good Spirit from his herd until now. Tuktu had known -that it was her father’s deer, because she had been near enough to see -the ear-mark. Besides, there was no other deer in the herd to compare -with it. Sometimes when Aklak insisted that it was all a dream, she -would be almost persuaded that he was right. Then she would remember -that it was her father’s finest deer Speedfoot, which had been chosen. - -“If,” she would say to herself, “we cannot find Speedfoot in the round -up, I shall know for a certainty that I did not dream. It will be the -proof.” - -Thereafter she spent many hours wandering in and out through the great -herd looking for this particular deer and rejoicing that she could not -find it. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE DEER PEOPLE - - -Winter had come. The deer were on their winter feeding grounds. Could -you have been there, you would, until you had watched them awhile, have -wondered where they could find anything to eat. As far as could be seen, -and far, far beyond that, there was nothing but snow. - -But the deer people minded this not at all. They knew that the snow was -but a blanket to protect and keep in splendid condition the food they -loved best, the reindeer moss as it is called, which carpeted the -ground, the lichens which nature had provided specially for the reindeer -and caribou. - -Tuktu liked to go out and watch them paw down through the snow. “See, -Aklak,” she cried, “they know just where they will find the best food. -Do you suppose they never make mistakes?” - -“The deer are wise with a wisdom not given us,” replied Aklak. “Perhaps -they make mistakes sometimes, but it is not often. I heard such a queer -thing the other day. It makes me laugh every time I think of it.” - -“Tell me, for I want to laugh too,” cried Tuktu. “What was it, Aklak?” - -Aklak chuckled. “You remember the visitors that came in great ships last -summer,” said he. Tuktu nodded. “Well, one of them who never had seen -reindeer before, asked if the deer used their horns to shovel away the -snow in winter. He said that he had been told this, and that many people -believed it to be so. It is a lucky thing it isn’t so, or those big, old -bucks would go hungry now that they have dropped their horns. But just -look at the way they are pawing up that moss over there. I guess it is a -good thing they haven’t their horns, or they would be so greedy and -selfish that they would get all the best of the food. See, Tuktu! See -that young spikehorn over there driving away the old buck from that moss -he has uncovered!” - -Sure enough, a youngster with only two sharp spikes for horns was -butting a big old buck who had just pawed away the snow from a bed of -reindeer moss. Those spikes were sharp and they made the old buck grunt. -Having no horns himself, he could not fight back except by striking with -his forefeet, and these the youngster took care to avoid. So finally the -old fellow gave up and went to look for a new supply of food while the -youngster ate undisturbed. - -“I have wondered a great many times,” said Tuktu, “why it is that the -old bucks drop their wonderful antlers so long before the mother deer -and the young spikehorns do. But I guess I know now. It is because they -are the strongest, and so they are made to look after the weaker ones, -whether they want to or not.” - -[Illustration] - -Aklak nodded. “That’s it I guess,” said he. “By and by those little -spikes will drop. Then the only ones to have horns will be the mothers. -Theirs will not drop until after the fawns are born. Do you know why the -reindeer always face the wind when they are feeding?” - -“So that the wind may bring them the scent of any enemies that may be -ahead of them,” replied Tuktu promptly. - -Aklak nodded. “That is one reason, but it isn’t the only reason,” said -he. “The wind keeps their eyes clear of drifting snow. So they always -face the wind, no matter how bitter it may be. They are a wise people, -the deer people. They know how to take care of themselves. They cannot -see as well as some other animals, but they can smell and hear better -than most. Their wild cousins, the caribou, are the same way. When we -are hunting them we have to take the greatest care that they neither -hear nor smell us.” - -The children were standing on the outer edge of the herd. As always, -Tuktu was watching for a glimpse of Speedfoot, the splendid deer she -felt sure the Good Spirit had chosen. Now, for the first time she -mentioned it to Aklak. He knew the deer she meant. He had hoped that -some day he might have it for his own. So now when Tuktu told him that -she was sure it had been chosen by the Good Spirit, and that she had -been unable to find it anywhere in the herd, he straightway began -keeping watch himself. - -Together they passed back and forth through the grazing herd. They are a -gentle people, these reindeer folk. The children could quite safely go -about among them as freely as they pleased. There was nothing to fear. - -Long they searched, but in the end Aklak had to admit that Speedfoot was -missing. “It may be that Amarok, the wolf, has gotten him,” said he. “Or -it may be that he has strayed into one of the other herds. We cannot -know until the deer are driven into the corrals and counted.” - -Tuktu merely smiled. “I know,” said she. “Amarok has never set tooth in -him, and he has not strayed to another herd. He is one of the chosen of -the Good Spirit. You shall see, Aklak, that I am right when the count -comes.” - -“But not even the count will tell us if Amarok has killed him,” said -he. - -There was a faraway look in Tuktu’s eyes and a half-smile hovering -around her lips. “You will find him next summer when we move over near -the Valley of the Good Spirit,” said she. “Then will you know that I -speak truly. He is of the chosen eight, the blessed deer of the Good -Spirit.” - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE WILFUL YOUNG DEER - - -Of all the young deer in the great herd,--and there were many,--Little -Spot was the most wilful. He was called Little Spot because he was -marked exactly like his mother, who was known as Big Spot. Each had a -white spot between the eyes. Now, Big Spot was one of the wisest leaders -among all the reindeer people. She was wise in the ways of the wolf and -the bear, and she was wise in the ways of men. Under her leadership the -herd thrived and increased and was seldom troubled. - -But with all her wisdom, Big Spot was a poor mother. You see, she was -just like a great many other mothers--she spoiled her children. So -Little Spot, who was so like his mother, had never been taught to mind. -Almost from the day of his birth, which had been in the spring before -the snow had melted, he had been headstrong and wilful. He had been a -handsome baby, as reindeer babies go, and his mother had been very proud -of him. Perhaps that is why she spoiled him. Anyway, he went where he -pleased and did what he pleased and was forever in trouble of some sort. -When he got his first horns, two sharp spikes, he made such a nuisance -of himself that he soon became known as the worst young deer in the -whole herd. Other young deer would have nothing to do with him, because -he was so overbearing. He was a little bigger and a little stronger than -any others of his own age, and this, together with the fact that he had -been allowed to have his own way, had quite spoiled him. - -“My son,” said his mother, when she found him with a small band of -caribou which he had run away to join, “follow me to the top of yonder -hill. I want to talk to you.” - -“I don’t want to be talked to,” said Little Spot, with an angry toss of -his head. “I know what you want. You want me to go back with the herd. -I’m not going. I’m going to stay with my wild cousins, the caribou. I -don’t want to go back to the herd. I won’t go back to the herd.” He -stamped his feet in the naughtiest way. - -“Very well,” said his mother. “You may stay with your cousins, the -caribou. But remember that if you need me, you will find me on the top -of that hill over there.” - -Little Spot tossed his head. He sniffed. You see, he didn’t like it at -all that his mother should think that he had any need of her. Had he not -horns already? He felt quite equal to taking care of himself. So he -tossed his head and sniffed, then went over to join some of the young -caribou about his own age. - -His mother said nothing more, but slowly walked away in the direction of -the hill. When she reached the top, she stood motionless for a long -time. Looking up, Little Spot could see her against the sky and, he, -being a foolish young deer, became very angry. He felt that she was -keeping watch over him. So he pretended not to see her, and, when -presently the small band of caribou started to move away briskly, he -trotted along with them. They were glad to have him; at least they made -no objections. The farther he got from that hill where his mother still -stood, the bigger and more important he felt. He was out in the Great -World now. He was master of his own movements. There was no one to make -him do this or do that. He held his head high and he stepped high. You -see, he was trying to look as important as he felt. - -[Illustration] - -Without warning, four great gray wolves swept out from behind some -willow trees to cut off the young caribou from the remainder of the -band. Such terror as there was then! Each young caribou started in a -different direction. It was well for Little Spot that he was swifter of -foot than any of the others. At the first glimpse of the dreaded wolves, -he had whirled about and started back for that hill where his mother -was. They were the first wolves he had ever seen, but he knew what they -were. Not once did he look behind to see what was happening to the young -caribou. Forgotten was all his pride. He wanted his mother, and he -wanted her as he had never wanted her before. Was she not the wisest of -all the mothers of the big herd? She would know what to do. She would -know how to care for him. - -[Illustration] - -He looked over to the top of that little hill. For a moment it seemed as -if his heart stopped beating. He could not see Big Spot anywhere. Had -she left him after all? Had she started off on that long swift trot of -hers to get back to the herd? The mere thought that he might never see -her again gave added speed to Little Spot. Never had he run as he was -running now. But it was not good running. It was unwise running, for it -was taking his wind and his strength. He was panting hard when he came -over the top of the hill. There, in a little hollow just beyond, stood -his mother. - -“What is it, my son?” said she, as little Spot crowded against her, -panting as if he could never get his breath again. “What is it, my son? -I thought you wanted to go out into the Great World.” - -“Wolves!” panted Little Spot, “Wolves! We must run!” - -His mother merely walked up to the brow of the hill and looked back. -“Truly, my son, they are wolves,” said she, and returned to him as if -wolves were the most commonplace things in the world. - -[Illustration: “They are wolves.”] - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG - - -Little Spot, the wilful young reindeer, trembled as he crowded up to his -mother. He couldn’t get close enough to her. He no longer wanted to be -out in the Great World by himself. He wondered that his mother did not -run. Every moment or two he looked back to see if those wolves were -coming up over the hill. But Big Spot seemed in no hurry at all. You -see, she was wise with the wisdom of experience. She didn’t want Little -Spot to get over his fright so soon that he would forget the lesson he -had learned. Then, too, she wanted him to get rested a little and get -his wind back. - -At last, she quieted Little Spot’s fears. “Those wolves did not chase -you, my son,” said she. “They chased the young caribou, and it is very -fortunate for you that they did.” - -“I’m sure I could run faster than those wolves,” said Little Spot -boastfully. - -“Yes, you could,” replied his mother. “You could run faster than they -could for a while, but you do not know the patience of wolves, my dear. -You would have run so hard and so fast that presently you would have -tired yourself out so that the wolves would have had no trouble in -catching you. Ever since you were a little fawn I have told you about -the wolves, and that they are our worst enemies; but I don’t think you -ever have believed it. Now you have seen them and you know what they are -like. The wolves are very smart people. They watch for a deer to stray -away. Then they get between the herd and that deer. When this happens, -that deer will not live long.” - -“Have the deer always been afraid of the wolves?” asked Little Spot. - -“Ever since the days when the world was young,” replied his mother. - -“Tell me about the days when the world was young,” begged Little Spot. - -For a few moments his mother said nothing. Gradually, into her big, dark -eyes there crept a far-away look. “Once upon a time,” she began at -last, “the world was mostly water, like the salt water that you saw in -the summer.” - -“But where did the deer live then?” interrupted Little Spot. - -“There were no deer then,” said his mother. “There were no deer and -there were no wolves and there were none of those two-legged creatures -called men. You see, Old Mother Nature had not made them yet, for there -was no land for them to live on. But by and by there was land and then -for a very long time Old Mother Nature was very, very busy making the -different kinds of people to live on the land. Some of these people she -made to live where it was summer all the year round.” - -You should have seen Little Spot’s big ears prick up at that. “Is there -such a place?” he cried. - -His mother nodded. “Yes,” said she, “I am told there is a land where it -is summer all the time. How do you think you would like that?” - -Little Spot thought it over for a moment. “I shouldn’t like it,” he -decided. “Why, if it is summer all the time, there can be no snow! What -a queer land it must be without the beautiful snow. I shouldn’t like -it.” - -His mother again nodded her head approvingly. “Neither should I, my -son,” said she. “But it seems that in those days when the world was -young, all the people, big and little, wanted to live where it was -summer. So after awhile it became difficult for all the people to get -food enough. It was then that the hard times began, and some of the big -people began to hunt the little people for food. - -“Now, it happened that Mr. and Mrs. Caribou, the first of all the -caribou, had wandered beyond the land where it was summer all the time. -They had come to the land where it was summer for half the year and -winter for the other half. When the winter came, they moved back, -because you see they were not fitted to make their living when snow -covered the ground, and they were not clothed warmly enough to stand the -bitter winds. But they always stayed as long as they could before moving -south, for they loved the Northland. Then, too, they felt safer there, -for there were fewer to hunt them. - -“It was on the edge of the Northland that Old Mother Nature found Mr. -and Mrs. Caribou looking longingly at the land they must leave because -of the coming of the snow and ice. ‘How would you like to live in the -Northland all of the time?’ asked Old Mother Nature. - -“Mr. Caribou looked at Mrs. Caribou, and Mrs. Caribou looked at Mr. -Caribou, and then both looked at Old Mother Nature. Mr. Caribou spoke -rather hesitatingly. ‘We could not eat when all the ground is covered -with snow,’ said he. - -“‘There is always plenty of food beneath the snow,’ replied Old Mother -Nature. ‘You could dig away the snow with your feet and find plenty.’ - -“‘But we should freeze,’ protested Mrs. Caribou, and shivered; for in -those days the coats of the caribou were thin. - -“‘But supposing I gave you warm coats and fitted you to live in the -Northland; would you do it?’ Old Mother Nature asked. - -“Again Mr. Caribou looked at Mrs. Caribou and Mrs. Caribou looked at -Mr. Caribou, then both nodded. - -“So Mother Nature gave them warm coats. She gave them each a thick -mantle of long hair on the neck, so that it hung down and the wind could -not get through it. She fashioned their feet so that they were different -from the feet of any other of the deer family, and they could walk in -snow and on soft ground, where others could not go. Then she sent them -into the Northland, and there the caribou have been ever since.” - -“But what about the reindeer?” cried Little Spot. - -“I am coming to that,” replied his mother. - - - - -[Illustration] CHAPTER XV - -THE FIRST REINDEER - - -Mr. and Mrs. Caribou were the first of all the caribou to make their -home in the Far North, and they loved it. Old Mother Nature had told -them truly that they would find plenty of food. So they and their -children and their children’s children took possession of all the great -land where the snow lay most of the year. “They found the moss, which -you like so well, my son,” said his mother. “They found the moss, and -they found that it was best in winter. It isn’t true moss you know, but -is called reindeer moss by everybody. In the summer they lived on grass -and other plants, just as we do. So in time there became very many -caribou, and they lived in peace, for it was long before others came to -live in the Land of Snow. - -“But there came a time when these two-legged creatures called men -appeared. They were hunters, and they hunted the caribou. They needed -the meat for food and the skins for clothing and to make their tents. So -the caribou became necessary to men. Then one day the hunters surrounded -a band of caribou and captured alive all the fawns and young caribou. -These they kept watch over and protected from the wolves and the bears, -which had by this time come to live in the Northland. And because there -were no wise old deer to protect these young deer, the young deer did -not try to run away. They were content to graze near the homes of the -hunters. In time, they grew and had fawns of their own, and these grew, -and the herd increased. And these, my son, were the first reindeer. They -were necessary to man if he would live in the Far North, and they found -that man was necessary to them. - -“They furnished man with food and clothing. From their antlers he made -tools. Man furnished them protection and found the best feeding grounds -for them, so that they lived better and more contentedly than their -cousins, the wild caribou, for the latter had always by day and night to -be on the watch for enemies. - -“Then one day a boy fastened a halter to a pet deer and fastened him so -that he could not stray away. In time that deer became used to the -halter and to being fastened. Then the boy built a sled. It wasn’t such -a nice sled as the sleds of to-day, because you know this was the first -sled of its kind. Then he fastened the deer to the sled and, with a long -line fastened to the halter on each side of the deer’s head, so that he -might guide him, the boy climbed on the sled. Of course, that deer was -frightened and he ran. By and by the sled upset. But the boy still held -the reins. That was the first reindeer to be driven by man. The boy’s -father had seen all that happened. He built a better sled, and he and -the boy trained that deer and other deer. Then with these deer they made -long journeys. So it was that the reindeer became of still more use to -man.” - -“But I don’t want to be harnessed and driven and have to drag a sled,” -said Little Spot. - -“That shows your lack of wisdom, my son,” replied his mother. “The deer -who best draw the sleds are the deer that are cared for best, and will -live longest. Other deer are killed for food and for their skins, but -not the deer who draw the sleds. Those are the deer that are thought -most of, and it is my hope that you will one day be the finest sled-deer -in all the herd. Who knows? Perhaps you may be chosen in the Valley of -the Good Spirit to be one of the eight deer who once in the early winter -of each year carry the Good Spirit on a wonderful journey out into the -Great World, that he may spread Love and Happiness. Do you remember, my -son, how on the day we left the Valley of the Good Spirit, all we mother -deer and all you youngsters stood while the finest bucks in all the herd -milled around us? And how every once in a while they stopped?” - -Little Spot bobbed his head. “I remember,” said he. - -“Each time they stopped,” replied his mother, “the Good Spirit chose -one of their number to be added to his team for that wonderful journey -out into the Great World. They become magic deer just for a little -while, at a time that men folk call Christmas. They become magic deer, -and all the children of the Great World love them, though they never -have seen them. So, my son, be wise in the wisdom of the deer folk. Be -not unruly, should it be that you are chosen to draw the sled of a man, -for it is only the best sled-deer that are chosen by the Good Spirit and -become the Christmas deer for that magic journey into the Great World. -Now, we must be getting back to the herd, or those wolves may get upon -our trail.” - -Little Spot trotted beside his mother, Big Spot, over the snow-covered -prairie, and as he trotted he thought deeply of all his mother had told -him. And as he thought, his eyes were opened, so that by the time they -reached the big herd, Little Spot was no longer a wilful young deer. He -no longer thought that he knew all there was to know, but he did his -very best to try to learn all there was for a wise deer to know. And -you know when one tries to learn, it is surprisingly easy. - -So, from being the most wilful and unruly of all the young deer, Little -Spot became the most obedient and the best-mannered. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -LITTLE SPOT AND TUKTU DREAM - - -Do you ever have day-dreams? If you do, you know that they are made up -partly of wishes, partly of plans and partly of the same sort of stuff -that sleep dreams are made of. Tuktu was very busy these winter days. -She was very busy indeed, as were all the Eskimo girls and their -mothers. What do you think she was doing? You never would guess. She was -chewing. Yes, sir, she was chewing. And it wasn’t gum that she was -chewing, either, although she dearly loved to chew gum when she got the -chance. She was chewing skins. - -What’s that? You think I am fooling? I’m not. Tuktu was chewing skins. -Tuktu was making boots for her brother and her father. They were made of -skin, and Tuktu was chewing this in order to soften it and make it -workable. - -But as she chewed, and later as she sewed, making the skin clothing for -herself and for her brother and father, she did a great deal of -dreaming. Perhaps you can guess what she dreamed of. It was Santa Claus. -She didn’t call him Santa Claus even to herself. She still called him -the Good Spirit. I think myself that is rather a beautiful name for -Santa Claus. - -And it wasn’t of things that she wanted Santa Claus to bring her that -Tuktu dreamed. It was of helping Santa Claus. It seemed to her that -nothing in all the Great World would be so good, or make her so happy, -as to help the Good Spirit spread the message of love and good cheer and -happiness to all the little children less fortunate than she. Now, this -is going to surprise you. Tuktu actually thought that she lived in the -finest part of all the Great World, and she was sorry for little boys -and girls who lived where there were no reindeer and where snow and ice -were seldom found. She was sorry for boys and girls who had never ridden -behind a fast-trotting deer. Yes, Tuktu thought that she lived in the -very best part of all the Great - -[Illustration: Tuktu making boots with her mother] - -World, and she loved it. And she wished somehow that she could help -Santa--the Good Spirit--when he carried happiness and joy to all the -Great World. Sometimes when she dreamed, she would forget to chew the -skin that she was at work on, and her mother would gently remind her -that the boots were needed. - -She wondered if she could make a pair of boots for the Good Spirit, and -then her face grew warm with shame at her boldness. How could any one -even think of doing anything for the Good Spirit? For could not the Good -Spirit have all things he desired? And then she remembered something. -She remembered that the Good Spirit had said that those chosen deer -ought to be good sled-deer because of the time he spent training them. -Supposing she and Aklak could get the deer trained so well beforehand -that the Good Spirit would not have to spend time in training them. -Perhaps then he could start earlier. Then she sighed, for how could she -be sure the Good Spirit would choose the deer she and Aklak trained? - -And while Tuktu dreamed her day-dreams as she worked, Little Spot, the -finest young deer in all the herd, was dreaming day-dreams. And the -queer part of it is, his dreams were very like the dreams of Tuktu. He -dreamed of being a magic deer. He dreamed of being one of that team of -magic deer with which the Good Spirit made his wonderful journey out -into the Great World each Christmas. And because he remembered what his -mother had said, he tried very hard to be what a young deer should be, -for he hoped that in time he would be chosen for a sled-deer. Perchance -if he were chosen for a sled-deer and became the best sled-deer in all -the great herd, he might some day be chosen in the Valley of the Good -Spirit. So he did his best to grow strong and handsome, and to be the -swiftest-footed, for he had discovered that it was the strongest, -handsomest and swiftest deer that were chosen to draw the sleds of the -herders. - -But there was one big difference in the dreaming of these two young -dreamers. Tuktu had no thought of self, whereas Little Spot was thinking -chiefly of his own glory. He had no thought of others, but only great -ambition for himself. There are many people like Little Spot in this -Great World. - -Now, I don’t want you to think that Tuktu spent all her time chewing and -sewing skins. That was work which could be done when the great storms -and the bitter cold kept her indoors. She had her play time, as well as -her working time, and there were many happy hours spent with Aklak, -helping him herd the deer, for she dearly loved the deer people and they -loved her. Even the wildest of them and the most unruly would allow -Tuktu to approach and even to pet them. Aklak was growing to be a very -fine herder. His father, Kutok, said that Aklak would one day be the -best herder in all the Northland. But not even Aklak understood the deer -as did Tuktu. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -TUKTU AND AKLAK HAVE A SECRET - - -It was while Tuktu was watching Aklak training a young deer to the sled, -the great idea came to her. It just happened that the young deer was -none other than Little Spot. And because he wanted to be a sled-deer, -and because he was very proud over having been chosen, Little Spot was -making no trouble at all. He was not yet old enough to be a real -sled-deer, and Aklak had started to train him just for fun. He was -looking forward to the day when Little Spot should be fully grown. He -wanted to see if he would be a better sled-deer for having begun his -training early. - -“Aklak,” cried Tuktu. “I know you don’t really believe that I saw the -Good Spirit, but you know that the deer visit the Valley of the Good -Spirit every year; and you know that every year some are chosen and do -not return with the herd; but are found the next year.” - -Aklak nodded. “Yes,” said he, “I know all that.” - -“Then listen to me, Aklak,” said Tuktu. “Those deer are chosen because -they are the finest in all the great herd. They are chosen to be the -sled-deer of the Good Spirit when he makes his great journey to carry -the message of love and happiness to the children of the Great World. -Why couldn’t we train those deer for the Good Spirit, that he may not -have to do it himself?” - -Boylike, Aklak laughed. “How,” he demanded, “can we train the deer when -we do not know which deer the Good Spirit will choose? You say that this -year he has chosen one from our own herd, but it is the first time it -has happened even if it be true. The other deer were chosen from other -herds. So how can we know what deer the Good Spirit may choose?” - -“We cannot know,” replied Tuktu. “That is, we cannot know for a -certainty. But we can do this, Aklak: we can pick out the finest and the -handsomest, the swiftest and the strongest of the deer in our herd, and -we can train them--I mean, you can train them, Aklak, and perhaps I can -help a little. Then, perhaps, when the herd visits the Valley of the -Good Spirit next summer, he will discover that these deer are already -trained. I just know that he will _know_. Just think, Aklak, how -wonderful it would be to help Santa, the Good Spirit.” - -Now, Tuktu’s thought was all of helping the Good Spirit, but Aklak, -though he thought of this, was more selfish in his thoughts, though he -said nothing to Tuktu. To himself he thought, “If Tuktu should be right -and the Good Spirit should choose the deer I have trained, it would be -the first time that all the magic deer have been chosen from one herd. -If the owner of one or two chosen by the Good Spirit is blessed, how -much greater would the blessing be if the eight deer should be chosen -from one herd.” - -The more Aklak thought over Tuktu’s plan, the better it seemed to him. -So, a few days later when they were out together, he promised to try it. - -“But we must keep the secret,” said he. “No one must know what we are -doing, for the herders would laugh at us and make fun - -[Illustration: Tuktu watching Aklak train a young deer] - -of us. They will see me training the deer, but they will not suspect -that they are being trained for a special purpose. Let us go out now and -pick out those to be trained.” - -Now, Aklak was a splendid judge of deer. He knew all the fine points, -for he had been well taught by his father. So it was that often when -Tuktu would point out what seemed to her a particularly fine animal, -Aklak would shake his head and would point out to her that it was not as -fine as it seemed. There would be some little blemish. Now and then he -would find a deer that suited him. Sometimes the deer would be wild and -difficult to approach. Then Tuktu would help. Sometimes the deer would -struggle after it had been roped, and every time that Aklak came near -would strike with its forefeet, as only a reindeer can. Then Tuktu would -pet it and soothe it, until in a few days it would be gentle and easy to -handle. - -At first, Aklak would look only among his father’s deer. He wanted those -eight deer to be from his father’s herd. And so he would not look at -some of the finest deer of the great herd, which his father did not -own, but of which he had charge. That was the selfishness in Aklak. But -when Tuktu refused to have anything to do with these deer, because there -were finer ones in the great herd, he admitted after a while that she -was right. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was honest. He knew that -Tuktu was right. He knew that the Good Spirit would not choose less than -the best. - -All that winter Aklak worked with his eight deer. Every day he drove one -or another of them. The other herders began to take notice, and some of -them became envious. But he was the son of Kutok, the chief herder, and -there was nothing they could do about it. As for Kutok, he became very -proud. “Said I not that Aklak would one day become a great herder?” he -would demand, as he watched the boy driving a deer as none of the other -herders could drive it. - -And all that winter Tuktu and Aklak kept their secret. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE ROUND-UP - - -Spring came, and before the snow was gone, the fawns were born. It was a -cold, cold world that those baby deer came into, but they did not seem -to mind it. Those were busy days for Tuktu and Aklak, for they spent -much time looking up the mother deer to see that their babies were -properly taken care of. Now and then they would find a fawn that had -lost its mother and then would begin a search for the mother. Little by -little the snow disappeared and the big herd began to move toward the -sea. It was heading toward the summer range. - -Tuktu and Aklak looked forward eagerly to the summer visit to the -coast--Aklak for the hunting and fishing, and Tuktu for the delight of -watching the sea fowl and hunting for their eggs. Then there was the -great round-up. That was always exciting. Tuktu took no part in it, but -Aklak was big enough now to help. The round-up would occur soon after -the herd reached the coast. Some of the herders had already gone ahead -to prepare the great corral. This was simply a huge pen of brush and -sticks with wings to it, so that as the grazing herd came on, it got -between these wings without knowing it at first, and then kept on going -until the whole herd was in the great pen, called the corral. The -herders would follow and shut them in. - -[Illustration] - -The families of the herders who had gone ahead were taken with them, so -that the camp was made and everything ready before the arrival of the -deer. The latter had not been driven, but had been allowed to take their -own time, grazing as they went. But they too were eager to get to the -shore, and so they had moved forward quite rapidly. - -One morning Aklak came hurrying in with word that the great herd was -approaching. Everybody went out to see the round-up and to help by -seeing that none of the deer were allowed to get outside of the wings of -the corral. The leaders of the big herd unsuspiciously came up over the -brow of a little hill. It was beyond this hill that the great corral had -been built, so that the deer would not see it until they were over the -hill. At first, the herd was widely spread, but as they came within the -wings of the great corral, the fences forced them nearer together, until -as they entered the corral they were closely packed. Once inside, they -began to mill, which is, as you know, to go around and around. It was a -wonderful sight. It would have been still more wonderful had they had -their antlers, but these had been shed and the new ones had but just -started. On the farther side of the corral was a gateway opening into a -very narrow passage, which grew narrower and narrower until it was just -wide enough for one deer to pass through. Into this the herders turned -the milling animals as fast as they could be handled. As the deer came -through this narrow passage, they were counted and the ear-marks were -noted. Of course, there were the ear-marks of several owners in that -great herd and each kept a record of the deer bearing his ear-mark, as -they came through this narrow passage called the “chute.” The fawns -going through with their mothers were roped as they came out of the -chute and ear-marked, each one being given the ear-mark of its mother. -It was very exciting. - -Now, could you have sat on the corral fence and seen that great herd of -animals milling within the corral, I am sure you would have held tight -to your seat. You would have been quite sure that no one could go down -inside without being trampled to death. But the deer people are a gentle -people. More than once Tuktu or Aklak, wishing to be on the other side -of the corral, walked right through the herd, the deer making way for -them as they walked. - -Perhaps you can guess how eagerly Tuktu watched to see if Speedfoot, -that deer of her father’s, which she was sure the Good Spirit had -chosen, would appear in the herd. She was sure he wouldn’t, but there -would be no convincing Aklak until the last deer had passed through the -chute. Aklak was so busy helping in the marking of the unmarked deer, -that he could not watch all the deer that passed through, but you may be -sure he kept as good a watch as he could. - -At last, the round-up was over. All the fawns had been ear-marked. Each -owner had counted his deer and knew just how much his herd had -increased. As soon as there was a chance, Tuktu whispered in Aklak’s -ear, “I told you that Speedfoot was not in the herd. Wait now until the -herd moves up to the Valley of the Good Spirit, and you will find him -there.” - -Of course Kutok had been watching for that particular deer. It had been -the pride of his heart the year before, and its disappearance had -worried him. He had thought that somehow it might have been overlooked -on the winter grazing grounds, but when the round-up was over, he knew -that the animal was not in the herd. Then he was torn between fear and -hope. His fear was that the animal had strayed from the herd and been -killed by wolves. His hope was--I do not have to tell you what his hope -was. It was that this summer they would find Speedfoot bearing the -ear-marks of the Good Spirit. To Kutok and to Aklak it was merely a -hope, but to Tuktu it was a certainty. She hadn’t the least shadow of -doubt, and her heart sang for joy. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE CHRISTMAS STORY - - -That was a never to be forgotten summer to Tuktu and Aklak. A ship came -in the harbor near which they were camped, and they had a chance to see -how the white men lived on the ship and all the wonders that the ship -contained. One of the white men spent much time at their camp asking -through one of the herders, who could speak his language, all sorts of -questions, questions that made Tuktu and Aklak think that he knew very -little. But then when they in their turn began asking questions, he told -them such wonderful things that they began to think that they knew very -little. - -One day, as he sat watching Tuktu and her mother, Navaluk, making a -coat--with a hood attached, trimmed with a fringe of wolverine fur -around the edge--he told them stories, and the story that he told of -Christmas was the story that Tuktu liked best of all. She told it to -Aklak. - -“What do you think, Aklak?” she said. “The children outside of our -beautiful Northland have no reindeer. Most of them have never seen a -reindeer.” - -“What drags their sleds then, dogs?” demanded the practical Aklak. - -“No,” replied Tuktu, “they have other animals called horses. But they -cannot be beautiful like our deer, for they have no antlers. But all -those children have heard of our reindeer, Aklak, and there is a certain -time in the winter called Christmas when in the night after every one is -asleep, there comes the children’s saint and visits each home. And, -Aklak, he comes with reindeer!” - -Aklak looked up quickly. “The Good Spirit?” he cried. - -Tuktu’s eyes were shining as she nodded. “It must be,” she said, “for -who else would have reindeer? And, listen, Aklak: he is short and round -and shakes when he laughs; and he has a white beard and a fur-trimmed -coat and a fur-trimmed hat; and his reindeer take him right up on the -roofs of the houses; and then he takes a pack on his back and goes -right down the chimney; and he leaves gifts for little children while -they are asleep. And if any little boy or little girl lies awake and -peeps and tries to see him, he doesn’t leave any presents for that -little girl or that little boy and they never do see him. When he has -made his visit, he goes right up the chimney again and jumps in his -sleigh and calls to his reindeer and away he goes to the next stopping -place. And he makes all those visits in one night. No wonder he wants -reindeer. No wonder he wants the very best reindeer.” - -“But if no one ever sees him, how do they know what he looks like?” -demanded practical Aklak. - -“Oh,” replied Tuktu, “it is only on the night before Christmas that he -never is seen. I mean he is never seen coming down the chimney and -putting the gifts for the children where they will find them. But he is -seen often going about before Christmas, for he has to find out who have -been good, that they may receive presents. And the children give him -letters and tell him what they want, and if they have been good, he -tries to give them what they want. So he leaves the Northland early, -some time before Christmas, and goes out into the Great World. Then he -returns for the gifts and the night before Christmas makes that -wonderful flying trip with the deer. He loves reindeer.” - -“Of course he loves the reindeer!” Aklak interrupted. “How could he help -loving the reindeer? Aren’t they the most important animals in all the -Great World?” - -“That is what I said, but the man said that horses are more important -down there. I asked him if they ate the meat of the horses and he said -no. And I asked him if they made clothing from the skins of the horses -and he said no. He said they were important because they worked for -men.” - -Aklak shrugged his shoulders. “The reindeer work for men also. They -carry us where we want to go. We do not have to carry food for them, for -they find it for themselves. They furnish us with food and clothing and -our tents. I would not for the world live down there where there are no -reindeer. Did the man tell you anything else?” - -Tuktu’s eyes were like stars. “Yes,” said she. “He said that all over -that land at Christmas time they have beautiful green trees covered with -lights at night and many shining things. And sometimes these trees are -hung with presents for the boys and girls; and sometimes the Good Saint -appears at one of these trees and with his own hands gives the gifts to -the children. But the very day after Christmas he disappears and he is -seen no more until the Christmas season comes again; and no one knows -where he is. All the children wonder and wonder where he is all through -the year, but they have never been able to find out.” - -“Did you tell the man that we know?” Aklak asked. - -Tuktu shook her head. “He wouldn’t believe,” said she. “But we do know, -Aklak, for that children’s saint is the Good Spirit who lives in the -Valley of the Good Spirit. Oh, Aklak, wouldn’t it be too wonderful if he -would choose our deer for that marvelous Christmas journey?” - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -THE GREAT TEMPTATION - - -Tuktu and Aklak loved the summer by the shore. Yet both were impatient -for the coming of the time when the herds would move up to the Valley of -the Good Spirit. The eight deer Aklak had so carefully trained had been -grazing with the herd all summer. The two children had kept their secret -well, but, oh, how eager they were to see if the Good Spirit would -choose any of their deer! - -At last the big herd moved and as before Kutok took the two children -with him to watch that the deer should not leave the valley without -knowledge of the herders. When they got there, they found grazing near -the camp Speedfoot, the missing deer, which Tuktu had seen chosen in the -Valley of the Good Spirit. Looking at the ears, they found Kutok’s mark, -but also a new mark, the mark of the Good Spirit, for it was unlike any -other mark in all that region. This splendid deer and seven others were -grazing near the hut, and Kutok and Aklak promptly fastened them, that -they might not go back with the herd. For were not these the blessed -deer? - -But the herd moved on. Looking over toward the hills around the valley, -the children could see the grazing deer in the distance, but they were -too far away to tell one deer from another. - -This year Aklak spent less time hunting than he had the previous year. -He could think of nothing but those eight deer. “If the Good Spirit -chooses all of them, how wonderful it would be! I do hope he will,” said -he. - -Tuktu hoped so, too, but she didn’t say so. She merely reminded Aklak -that only one of his father’s deer had been chosen the year before. - -As the days slipped by, Aklak was less and less certain that his deer -would be chosen. Finally, he confessed to Tuktu that if the Good Spirit -would just take one, he would be satisfied. - -“He will. I know he will,” replied Tuktu. - -One morning when their father was off hunting, Aklak proposed that they -take the two pack-deer and go over to the edge of the Valley of the Good -Spirit, where they could look down into it. Tuktu shook her head and -there was a startled look in her big eyes. “Oh, no, Aklak,” she cried, -“we mustn’t do that!” - -“Why not?” demanded Aklak. “You went down into the valley last year. Why -should you be afraid to do it again?” - -“But I didn’t go of my own will,” cried Tuktu. “I was taken there -without knowing I was going, and that is very different. I think the -Good Spirit knew and meant for me to come.” - -“Well, anyway,” said Aklak, “let’s go up on the hills where we can look -down on the curtain of beautiful mist. That will do no harm. Besides, I -want to see if those deer I trained are all right.” - -But Tuktu would not be moved. “Do you remember the story the white man -told, and that I told you?” she demanded. - -Aklak nodded. “What of it?” said he. - -“Do you not remember that the children who peek, not only never see the -good saint when he visits them at Christmas, but get no gifts?” - -Aklak hung his head. “Yes,” he admitted, “I remember. But this is -different.” - -“No,” said Tuktu, “it is not different. Have we not always been told -that the deer people only may visit the Valley of the Good Spirit? If we -should anger the Good Spirit, our deer would not be chosen.” - -“Perhaps they won’t be anyway,” declared Aklak. - -“Perhaps they won’t,” agreed Tuktu, “but I know the Good Spirit will -know that we trained them for him. And even if he does not choose them -for his Christmas journey, I think he will be pleased. Aklak, we mustn’t -do anything so dreadful as even to seem to be spying on the Good Spirit. -If he wants us to visit him, I am sure he will let us know in some way.” - -Aklak looked over toward the specks dotting the distant hillside, the -deer feeding above Kringle Valley. He sighed. “Of course you are right, -Tuktu,” said he, “but, oh dear, I should so like to look down in that -valley.” His face brightened suddenly. “Perhaps we will have a fog,” he -exclaimed. “If we have a fog, we will just get on the two pack-deer and -perhaps they’ll take us in there. I’ll ride Whitefoot, because he has -been there before.” - -“We won’t do anything of the kind,” replied Tuktu decidedly. “That would -be just as bad as going right up in there ourselves. Aklak, I feel it in -my bones that the Good Spirit is going to choose some of our deer. So, -let’s forget all about wanting to see into that valley.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -ATTACKED BY WOLVES - - -Summer this year was shorter than usual. As if they knew that the winter -would come early and be long and hard, the deer left the Valley of the -Good Spirit earlier than ever before, and began the slow journey back -toward the winter grazing grounds. At the first movement of the herds, -Aklak and Tuktu had been sent back to the main camp to help break camp -and move to their winter home. So it was not until the deer were back on -the home pastures that they had an opportunity to look for the deer -Aklak had so carefully trained. - -An unusually bold family of wolves had attacked the herd on the way. -There are no more cunning people in all the great world than the wolves. -For days they had followed the deer without once being discovered by -either the deer or the herders. Perhaps the latter had grown careless. -Perhaps they had allowed the deer to scatter too widely. Anyway, the -attack came when there were no herders near enough to interfere. - -A wary, clever old mother was the leader of those wolves. She knew deer -as not even the herders knew them. She knew just how to cut out a small -band of animals from the main herd and drive them into the hills to be -killed at leisure. She knew how to do it without stampeding the rest of -the herd, and she and her well-grown children did it. It wasn’t until -one of the herders found their tracks in newly-fallen snow that the -presence of the wolves was suspected. Then it didn’t take long to -discover what had happened. - -Two of the herders, who were also noted hunters, set out on the trail of -the wolves to make sure that the band was not still hanging around. They -also hoped that they might find some of the missing deer. - -But those deer had been run hard and fast and all the hunters found were -the cleanly picked bones of several. The others had been so scattered -that it was useless to try to round them up. - -There was no way of knowing whose deer the wolves had killed until the -winter round-up. Then when the count was made, it would be discovered -whose deer were missing. But it was a long time to wait for that winter -round-up, so Tuktu and Aklak spent much time going about in the herd -looking for those trained deer. And they were not the only ones who were -looking. Kutok, their father, had been very proud of those deer, and as -soon as the herd was back on the home pastures, he asked Aklak where -they were. Of course Aklak had to tell him that he hadn’t seen them. - -Now trained sled-deer are valuable animals, and Kutok at once called the -other herders to him and told them to watch out for these particular -deer. He remembered the attack of the wolves and he feared greatly that -the eight sled-deer might have been the victims. This was the same fear -that was tugging at the hearts of Aklak and Tuktu. There was no way for -them to know whether the Good Spirit had chosen those deer, or whether -the wolves had killed them. There could be no way of knowing until the -return of the herds to the seashore in the early summer. Meanwhile, -Aklak was busy training more deer, and one of these was Little Spot. He -was still young for sled work, but he was such a splendid young deer, so -big and so strong and so willing, that everybody who saw him said that -in time he would make the finest sled-deer in all the Northland. - -Of course, Tuktu and Aklak said nothing to their father of their hope -that the Good Spirit had chosen those deer. They suspected that should -they tell, they would be laughed at. Also, they were afraid their father -would not like it that they should have dared to think that they could -train deer for the Good Spirit. So, when the round-up came and none of -the deer were found, but it was discovered that several others of -Kutok’s deer were also missing, they pretended to think as did all the -other folk, that Kutok had been unfortunate and that the wolves had -gotten his deer. This was what every one believed and it was repeated so -often that Tuktu and Aklak found it difficult at times not to believe -that it was true. “Had it not been for those wolves, we should know,” -Tuktu kept saying over and over. “I hate those wolves! I do so!” - -Kutok also hated the wolves. He hated them for the same reason that -Tuktu did, and he hated them because he knew that if those deer were not -safe in the Valley of the Good Spirit, they most certainly had been -eaten by this time and all his hard work had gone for nothing. So it was -that the wolves brought worry to the home of Kutok. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -THE CHRISTMAS INVITATION - - -[Illustration] - -It had been known to the village since the forming of new ice that the -ship which they had visited in summer had not left for the far-away -country from which it had come, but was now frozen in the ice and would -spend the winter in the Far Northland. So there was no surprise when one -day there arrived two white men and an Eskimo guide, who had journeyed -overland by dog sledge. One of these men was the one who had told Tuktu -the story of Christmas. As Kutok’s house was the largest and the best -house in the village, the visitors were entertained there. - -They remained two or three days and when they left to return to their -ship, all the village turned out to see them go. They had brought things -to trade and in return for deer meat and warm clothing of deerskin had -left things which were of equal value to the Eskimos. And they had left -the feeling of goodwill, for in all their trading they had taken the -greatest care to be fair. When they left they had taken with them a -promise that those of the men who could be spared from their duties in -watching the deer, together with some of the women and children from the -village, would visit the ship at a certain time, which the white men -called Christmas. There would be much feasting and merrymaking and -strange things to see on the ship. - -The white man who had made friends with Tuktu had made Kutok promise -that Tuktu should come. And this her father had been the more willing to -grant, because he had been given a knife he had long wanted. So it was -arranged that unless the weather should be too bad, so there could be -no traveling, Ikok, Navaluk, and the two children, and perhaps some -others of the village, should pay a Christmas visit to the ship. - -Tuktu and Aklak could think of and talk about little else. Aklak saw to -it that the sled-deer were in the best possible condition. It would take -them at least two days and one sleep. That sleep would be at the -herder’s hut near Kringle Valley. At least, that is the way that Kutok -planned to go. There was a longer way around by way of another village -and this would be the way that others from the village would go. - -Kutok and Aklak went to work on the sleds. They must be put in the best -condition for such a long journey. They would take six, one for each of -them and two extra to carry provisions and things for trade. It would -not be necessary to have extra drivers, for often one driver handles at -least three sleds. He rides on the first one, the deer drawing the -second one is attached to the rear of his sled, and to the rear of that -sled is attached the third deer. So, it would be a simple matter to look -out for the extra sleds on this journey. Kutok was to drive Speedfoot; -Tuktu would drive Big Spot; Aklak would drive Little Spot; and Navaluk -would drive Whitefoot. - -While her father and brother were busy going over the sleds and seeing -to it that they were in perfect order, Tuktu and her mother were equally -busy. They had promised two pairs of boots and two new suits, for which -they had taken the measurements when their visitors were with them, and -there would be none too much time to get them ready. As she worked, -Tuktu kept thinking of all that she had heard from the white man about -Christmas. This would be her first Christmas and she wondered if she -would see the wonderful Santa Claus. Then she remembered that he would -be on his journey around the great world. Besides, had not she been told -that those who peeked never saw him? But, despite this, right down in -her heart, she couldn’t help hoping that she might get just a glimpse of -him. She did want to see if this Santa of the white man was in very -truth the Good Spirit whom she had seen in Kringle Valley. - -The cold grew stronger. The Northern Lights flashed, and the stars -seemed so close that one could almost pick them from the sky. It was a -world of white, but the snow was not so deep but that the deer could -easily paw down through it and get their food. It was just right for -good sledding and as the time for the start approached, Tuktu and Aklak -watched anxiously lest a fierce northern blizzard should sweep down and -delay their journey. - -But the blizzard did not come, and at last they were ready to start. -Each wore two suits. The inner one was worn with the fur turned in and -the outer one with the fur out. The inner hood was trimmed with -wolverine fur, because frost does not cling to this fur. With any other -fur, the moisture from the breath would freeze and soon make a ring of -ice around the face. - -The outer hood was trimmed with wolfskin, the long hair of which would -protect the face from the bitter wind. With their bearskin trousers and -their double boots, they had nothing to fear from the cold. So with -Kutok leading, with a deer and one of the luggage sleds following, -Aklak next with the second extra deer and sled behind him, Navaluk next, -and Tuktu at the end, the little procession started for their Christmas -outing. - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE CHRISTMAS VISION - - -It was late when Kutok and his family reached the camp near the Valley -of the Good Spirit. It had been a wonderful journey. The snow had been -just right and the reindeer had traveled steadily and fast, for they -were in splendid condition. Now they were fastened out, each tied by a -long line to a hummock under the snow. There was plenty of food here and -the deer at once began to paw down to get it. It is one of the -advantages in traveling with reindeer that their food does not have to -be carried for them. They will get their own food at the end of the -day’s trip. - -Kutok and Navaluk had no thought for anything but rest after the evening -meal. But not so the two children. They could not forget that they were -in sight of the hills around the Valley of the Good Spirit and that it -might be that over there in that Valley were the eight missing deer. So, -when their father and mother were asleep, they slipped out from the hut -for a look over toward the wonderful valley, for was it not from that -valley that the marvelous Northern Lights flashed up through the sky? - -There was no wind. The cold was intense. But Tuktu and Aklak were -dressed for it and they minded it not at all. It seemed as if the stars -were so close that they could be reached. It was not moonlight, for this -was the period when the moon was not visible. But the starlight almost -made up for it. - -And then as they stood there, looking over toward the Valley of the Good -Spirit, a long streamer of light suddenly flashed out, and up, up, up, -until it was quite overhead. It quivered, almost died down, then shot up -again! Then came another and another and another. The Northern -Lights--the Merry Dancers of the Sky--dimmed the stars and made the -night almost as light as day. At first, these Northern Lights were -simply white; and then they were shot with yellow and red. - -All their lives Tuktu and Aklak had been familiar with these fires of -the sky, but never had they seen them as they now saw them. They caught -their breath and held to each other with a little bit of fear. Those -fires were no longer mere flashing white, shimmering, dancing streamers -of light. They were yellow and red in many shades, and they appeared, as -if in very truth they were fires leaping high up in the sky. And as they -had so often heard it said, those dancing, leaping lights were coming -out of the Valley of the Good Spirit. Certainly, they were flashing from -directly behind the hills that shut away that valley, so of course they -must be coming from the valley. - -The lights died down. For a few moments there was no light save from the -stars. Then from directly over the Valley of the Good Spirit a long -streamer of white flickering light crept up and up, and as it crept, it -broadened until it was like a broad path across the sky toward the -south. There was the tinkle of silver bells. Tuktu touched Aklak. “See, -Aklak! See the deer!” she whispered. - -But Aklak had already seen them. On that broad shining path a pair of -reindeer had appeared. He knew them instantly. They were two of the deer -he had trained, and which had disappeared. Out of the shimmering light -behind them moved two more. And these he recognized. There could be no -doubt. He would have known them among ten thousand deer. They were -harnessed two and two, and as they moved forward, another pair appeared, -and then another. - -Clinging together, breathless, round-eyed, Aklak and Tuktu stared. Eight -deer they counted--eight deer harnessed two and two. Would there be -more? The curtain of light low above the hilltop seemed to burst in a -glory of color such as made what they had seen before seem as nothing. -And out of the midst of that glory, drawn by the eight deer, came a -sled. On it Tuktu recognized instantly Santa Claus, the Good Spirit, -whom she had seen in the Valley. - - He was short and jolly and round and fat, - With a fur-trimmed coat and a fur-trimmed hat. - He laughed “Ha! Ha!” and he laughed “Ho! Ho!” - “Hello, Little Folk,” he cried, “Hello! - The boys and girls of the world this year - Will see for themselves my splendid deer; - Will see and love them and surely know - That the reindeer come, though there be no snow. - For they’re magic deer for my magic sleigh, - And we circle the world in a single day. - There is naught so faithful and naught so quick - To carry the message of Old St. Nick. - By training my steeds you have saved for me - Some weeks of labor; and so you see - It happens I’m able to start this year - In time for the children to see the deer. - And all who see them I tell you true - A Christmas greeting will send to you. - -“As you will have given joy to all the little folk of the Great World -this year, in like degree will your own Christmas be merry, and will -happiness fill your hearts. And now, my dears, I must away.” - -Santa waved a mittened hand to them, then turned to his deer and cried: - - “‘Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen! - On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!’” - -Down a shining path of light, across the sky toward the south, the eight -deer dashed, until in a breath they were mere specks. Up from the -valley the orange and red lights streamed higher and higher, until all -the sky was a blaze of beautiful light. When they died down, only the -stars were to be seen, twinkling so close that it seemed as if they -might be picked from the sky. - -With shining eyes Tuktu and Aklak returned to the hut. “No one will -believe us if we tell it,” whispered Tuktu. “They’ll say we dreamed it. -We’ll wait, Aklak, until the blessed deer are returned to us by the Good -Spirit next summer, and we can show his ear-mark. Then all will know -that we speak truly.” - -Thus it was that it was made possible for the boys and girls of the -Great World to really see Santa Claus and his blessed reindeer. And thus -it was that Tuktu and Aklak found happiness and great content, and the -real joy of the blessed Christmas Spirit. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHRISTMAS REINDEER *** - -***** This file should be named 64109-0.txt or 64109-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - https://www.gutenberg.org/6/4/1/0/64109/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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Burgess</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> -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="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Christmas Reindeer</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Thornton W. Burgess</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: Rhoda Chase</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 22, 2020 [eBook #64109]</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Tim Lindell, Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)</div> -<div style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHRISTMAS REINDEER ***</div> -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="border:8px double red;"> -<tr class="c"><td><a href="#CONTENTS"><b>CONTENTS</b></a></td></tr> -<tr class="c"><td><a href="#ILLUSTRATIONS"><b>ILLUSTRATIONS</b></a></td></tr> -</table> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/inside.jpg"> -<img src="images/inside.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="cb">THE CHRISTMAS REINDEER</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_half_title.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_half_title.jpg" width="391" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter"><a name="ill_1" id="ill_1"></a> -<a href="images/i_frontispiece.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_frontispiece.jpg" height="501" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>Whitefoot goes astray</p></div> -</div> - -<h1> -THE CHRISTMAS<br /> -REINDEER</h1> - -<p class="cb">BY<br /> -THORNTON W. BURGESS<br /> -<br /> -ILLUSTRATED BY<br /> -RHODA CHASE<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -NEW YORK<br /> -THE BOOK LEAGUE OF AMERICA<br /> -1929<br /> -<br /><small> -<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1926,<br /> -By THORNTON W. BURGESS</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction<br /> -in whole or in part in any form.<br /> -<br /> -Set up and electrotyped.<br /> -Published October, 1926.<br /> -Reprinted August, 1928.<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>Special edition published by arrangement with<br /> -The Macmillan Company.</i><br /></small> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>Printed in the United States of America</i><br /> -</p> - -<h2><a name="DEDICATION" id="DEDICATION"></a>DEDICATION</h2> - -<div class="blk"> -<p class="nind">To the beautiful faith of childhood, the perpetuation of a charming -fable, and to a world made better by the Christmas spirit, this little -volume is dedicated.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">The Author</span><br /> -</p> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td> </td> -<td><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">Tuktu and Aklak</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_3">3</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">Kringle Valley</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_9">9</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">Tuktu’s Soft Heart</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_16">16</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">Whitefoot Goes Astray</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_22">22</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">Lost in the Fog</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_29">29</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">The Awakening of Tuktu</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_34">34</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">The Great Mill</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_39">39</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">The Good Spirit</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_45">45</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">The Chosen Deer</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_52">52</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">Tuktu’s Happy Thought</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_57">57</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">Tuktu Tells Her Story</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_62">62</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">The Deer People</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_67">67</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">The Wilful Young Deer</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_73">73</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">When the World Was Young</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_81">81</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">The First Reindeer</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_87">87</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">Little Spot and Tuktu Dream</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_93">93</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">Tuktu and Aklak Have a Secret</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_100">100</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">XVIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">The Round-Up</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_107">107</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">XIX.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">The Christmas Story</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_113">113</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">XX.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">The Great Temptation</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_118">118</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">XXI.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">Attacked by Wolves</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_123">123</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">XXII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">The Christmas Invitation</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_128">128</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top" class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">XXIII.</a></td><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">The Christmas Vision</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_134">134</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<h2><a name="ILLUSTRATIONS" id="ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_1">Whitefoot goes astray</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#ill_1"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt">Page</td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_2">Kutok watching the herd</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_11">11</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_3">Aklak goes hunting</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_23">23</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_4">Tuktu and Santa Claus</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_47">47</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_5">“They are wolves”</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_79">79</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_6">Tuktu making boots with her mother</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_95">95</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#ill_7">Tuktu watching Aklak train a young deer</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_103">103</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">{1}</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">{2}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">{3}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="cb"><big>THE CHRISTMAS REINDEER</big></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br /><br /> -<small>TUKTU AND AKLAK</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>UKTU was a little Eskimo girl. Tuktu means caribou. She had been given -this name, because only a few days before her birth, a relative named -Tuktu had died; and as is the custom, this name had been given to the -baby. She was well named, for caribou were to have much to do with her -life. On the very day that she was born, Kutok, her father, had killed a -caribou when food was greatly needed. That year, for some unknown -reason, caribou had moved from their usual feeding grounds, and Kutok -and his family had had to depend almost wholly on seal and polar bear, -and these had been none too plentiful. So this caribou had brought great -joy to the home of Kutok. In the days following, he found the caribou -back in their old feeding grounds. Later, Kutok was to become a herder -of reindeer, and the rein<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">{4}</a></span>deer, you know, are first cousins of the -caribou. So it was that Tuktu was well named.</p> - -<p>Aklak, her brother, bore the name of the great Brown Bear. Aklak was two -years older than Tuktu and gave promise of being like his father—a -mighty hunter. Already he had killed his seal and none knew better than -he how to snare the ptarmigan. In the summer he and Tuktu gathered eggs -when the waterfowl came north in untold thousands for the nesting. -Whatever Aklak did, Tuktu tried to do.</p> - -<p>While the children were still small, their father had become a herder of -reindeer, and the little folk spent much of their time with the deer. -They helped herd them. They did their part at the annual round-up. In -the spring they hunted for stray calves that had lost their mothers. -Both learned to drive deer to a sled.</p> - -<p>During the long winter nights, the herders often gathered in Kutok’s -house, and there they told stories while the children listened. There -were stories of hunting, stories of adventure, stories of many strange -things. But the story that Tuktu and Aklak liked the best<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">{5}</a></span> of all was -that of the chosen deer of the Valley of the Good Spirit. This was -especially true of Tuktu. She used to dream of that wonderful valley. -And whenever she saw the Northern Lights, the Aurora, shooting up high -overhead, she would wonder what would happen to any one who might stray -into that valley, for it was said that it was from this valley that -those lights came.</p> - -<p>At last there came a time when she and Aklak actually were to live for a -week or two almost on the border of that valley. Do you wonder that she -tingled clear to the tips of her fingers and toes with little thrills of -anticipation, excitement, and perhaps just a wee bit of fear? It was the -fulfilment of a promise that their father had made them, that, when the -deer moved over from their summer feeding grounds to the Valley of the -Good Spirit, they should go with him to keep watch from a distance.</p> - -<p>Even Aklak was excited, though he did his utmost not to appear so, and -trudged along behind his father as if visiting the Valley of the Good -Spirit were an everyday affair. All day they traveled. That is, they -traveled what<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">{6}</a></span> would have been all day where you and I live. It wasn’t -all day there, for you know way up in the North there is no real night -in summer.</p> - -<p>At last they reached the hut in which they were to live while the deer -grazed on the hills of the Valley of the Good Spirit. This hut was a -very rude affair, built partly in the ground and partly on the ground. -It was of wood and stone with a skin roof and a long entrance passage. -While not as big and comfortable as the house at home, it was the sort -of thing these children were used to and it was quite good enough.</p> - -<p>That night after the evening meal, Tuktu begged her father to once more -tell the story of the Valley of the Good Spirit and of the chosen -reindeer. “Why is it called the Valley of the Good Spirit?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Because,” replied Kutok, “a wonderful and good spirit lives and moves -there.”</p> - -<p>“Has any one ever seen him?” Aklak asked.</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Kutok, “none but the deer people, and of these only the -chosen ones ever go down into that valley. But we know that a good -spirit lives there, for always the deer<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">{7}</a></span> that graze on the hills about -the valley are safe from the wolf, the bear, and all other enemies. They -do not need to be watched. There need be no herder here, were it not -that it is well to know when the herd moves out, for then the summer -grazing is over. It is a good spirit, for is it not true that every year -eight deer are chosen and the next year returned to us the finest -sled-deer in all the North? The Good Spirit dwells there and with him -live many lesser spirits, who do his bidding.”</p> - -<p>Thus it was that Kutok told the children of what you and I know as -fairies, and elves, and gnomes, and trolls. Eskimo children know nothing -about these little unseen people. To them, all are spirits.</p> - -<p>“Have you ever looked down into the valley?” asked Aklak.</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Kutok. “It is not well to be curious. I am content to stay -here and wait for the deer to move. So must you be.”</p> - -<p>“What would happen if one should venture down into the valley?” asked -Aklak.</p> - -<p>“That no man knows, for no man has ever been so bold as even to think of -doing such a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">{8}</a></span> thing,” replied his father. “My son, be wise with the -wisdom of your elders, and be satisfied. None but the deer folk ever -enter that valley and these, only the chosen ones. We will stay here and -from a distance watch the herd.”</p> - -<p>“If it is such a good spirit,” thought Tuktu, although she didn’t -venture to express her thought aloud, “why should any one fear to go -down into the valley?”</p> - -<p>And she was still wondering as she fell asleep.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">{9}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II<br /><br /> -<small>KRINGLE VALLEY</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">F</span>OR the greater part of the short Arctic summer, the great herd of -reindeer had grazed within sound of the waters of the Arctic Ocean -lapping on the beach. More than two thousand deer were in that herd. -They were not all Kutok’s, although all were in his charge, for he was -chief herder. Only about two hundred of the deer were his, as shown by -the ear-marks. It was in deer that Kutok was paid for his services in -looking after the great herd, which was owned by white men. With the -approach of the long winter, the deer would move inland to winter range, -and Kutok and his family would return to their permanent home.</p> - -<p>For several days before the opening of this story the deer had been -uneasy. They had done more or less milling. This means that they had -gathered in a great body, the outer<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">{10}</a></span> members traveling in a large circle -and trotting tirelessly most of the time. Kutok knew the sign. “They -will soon seek the Valley of the Good Spirit,” said he to the other -herders who assisted him. That very afternoon, the herd, as if at a -signal from some wise old leader, began to move inland. In a short time, -all the deer but the trained pack animals, which had been fastened, had -disappeared.</p> - -<p>It was then that Kutok had taken Tuktu and Aklak to the hut not far from -the entrance to the Valley of the Good Spirit. It was the greatest event -in the lives of these two little Eskimo folk, for always they had heard -this valley spoken of with awe that was almost reverence. Now perhaps -they might be permitted to see the wondrous colored mists that were said -to rise from it.</p> - -<p>Kringle Valley was the name by which it was known to the white men, none -of whom believed in it, for none had ever seen it. But to the Eskimos, -it was, as I have already stated, the Valley of the Good Spirit. Did -they not know that on its gentle slopes wild grasses grew in such -abundance and such richness as could be found nowhere else in all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">{11}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><a name="ill_2" id="ill_2"></a> -<a href="images/i_011.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_011.jpg" height="505" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>Kutok watching the herd</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">{12}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">{13}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">the North? Were not the hillsides carpeted with wild flowers until they -glowed in patches of brilliant color? You see, even the Arctic has its -summer. It is a short summer, but a wonderful summer. Up there above the -Arctic Circle there are days when the sun does not set at all and the -number of days during which the sun does not set increases as one goes -North, until at the North Pole there are six months and five days of -continuous daylight. When the sun does set for a few hours, the twilight -is so brilliant that it is difficult to think of the day as having ended -when the sun disappears.</p> - -<p>Kringle Valley is a valley of mystery. No man as yet has been privileged -to enter it. No man has even looked down into it, save from a distance. -It is said to be filled with a soft many-colored mist, which is neither -of dampness nor of smoke. The Eskimos believe it to be the birthplace of -the ever-changing, many-colored lights of the Aurora. Only the herders -of the reindeer, which yearly seek pasturage on the hills about the -valley, have ever ventured near enough to see even from a distance the -curtain of many-colored mist.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">{14}</a></span></p> - -<p>Around the winter firepots the story is told to the children of how -every year just before the great herd leaves the valley, the deer gather -at the upper end, and, there for a time, mill.</p> - -<p>There is no fear among these milling deer. As they trot tirelessly in a -huge circle, there is a constant shifting, until in turn each of the -bucks has made at least one circuit in the outer ring. Thus each has a -chance to show his full strength and beauty. From time to time as at a -signal, one of these trotting deer leaves the circle and stands -motionless just without the curtain of colored mist. When eight have -been thus chosen, they disappear in single file in the mist of the -valley, while the leaders of the great herd at once start the southern -migration, and the herders know that no longer will the deer feed in -Kringle Valley until toward the end of another summer.</p> - -<p>And the herders know, too, that when the winter round-up in the corrals -is made for the yearly count, the eight best sled-deer in all the herds -will be missing. They will be the ones which vanished in the shimmering -mists of Kringle Valley. And the herders<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">{15}</a></span> whose deer have so disappeared -will rejoice greatly. They will be counted as being blessed above their -fellows. They know that their deer are not lost. They know that when -once again the great herd moves to Kringle Valley, they will find there -the eight deer—fat, sleek, well-cared for. They know that these deer -thereafter will never mingle with the herd, but will be for as long as -they live the finest sled-deer in all the world. So it is considered -good fortune if, after the herd leaves Kringle Valley, one’s deer be -found missing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">{16}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br /><br /> -<small>TUKTU’S SOFT HEART</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HESE were happy days for Tuktu and Aklak. Tuktu’s only duties were to -cook meals for her father and brother. An Eskimo girl learns these -things very young and Tuktu had been well taught. Aklak spent most of -his time hunting. Their father did little but sit for long hours smoking -and watching the distant hillsides where the reindeer grazed above the -Valley of the Good Spirit. These were lazy, happy days and Kutok was -making the most of them, for the summer was nearly at an end and he knew -that when the herd moved there would be little time for lazing.</p> - -<p>Tuktu roamed about picking the flowers that grew in such profusion, and -also hunting for the flocks of young ptarmigan, for she dearly loved to -watch these pretty “Chickens of the North.” Not for the world would -Tuktu have harmed one of them. Not for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">{17}</a></span> the world would she have told -her brother Aklak how she felt when he brought in ptarmigan and other -birds for the cooking-pot. But despite the fact that she ate them and -enjoyed the eating, there was all the time in her heart a wee feeling of -sadness, for Tuktu’s heart was the loving heart.</p> - -<p>Aklak was a good herder and had a way with the deer which some of the -older herders might well have envied; but there was no one among all the -herders or their families who could go among the deer as freely and -unnoticed as could Tuktu. It was as if she held some strange power over -the deer people; as if they had accepted her as one of their own number. -She could approach the most timid and nervous among the wilder members -of the big herds. As for the sled-deer, they might balk and strike at -others, but never at Tuktu when she harnessed them. She loved them, -every one, and seemingly they knew it.</p> - -<p>So it was that Tuktu found her playmates among the wild people, who were -not wild with her. Many a time had she stroked a ptarmigan on the nest. -Many a time had the Arctic Hare fed from her fingers. The sea<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">{18}</a></span> fowl paid -no attention to her. Love has a strange way of making itself felt among -the wild folk, and the soft heart of Tuktu was soft because of love.</p> - -<p>So it was that when she found the home of a Blue Fox, about the entrance -to which four half-grown little foxes were playing, she did not tell her -brother. Each day she would steal away and sit by the entrance to the -den, taking with her bits of meat for the little foxes. How she loved to -see them roll and tumble about her feet. Sometimes two of them would get -hold of the same piece of meat and then there would be a tug of war. -Tuktu’s eyes would dance and she would laugh softly. And then, when one -little fox had succeeded in pulling the meat from the other, she would -give the loser the extra piece which she always had for that purpose. -And a short distance away sat Mother Fox, grinning happily.</p> - -<p>While she picked the flowers and played with the foxes, and now and then -mothered a young ptarmigan that had been lost from the flock, she -dreamed of the Valley of the Good Spirit. It seemed such a little -distance to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">{19}</a></span> the brow of the nearest hill overlooking that valley that -she couldn’t help but wonder what she would see if she should climb up -there. But not once did the thought of really doing it enter her head. -It was enough for Tuktu that it was forbidden. It was not that she was -afraid. She knew that her father was afraid. She knew that Aklak was -afraid. She knew that they regarded the Good Spirit and the valley where -he lived with reverence and awe. But Tuktu was not afraid. It was enough -for her that the Valley of the Good Spirit was sacred and not to be -approached by other than the deer people. So, no matter how great her -longing to look down from that hilltop, the thought of actually trying -to do such a thing never entered her wildest dreams.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_019.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_019.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">{20}</a></span></p> - -<p>She would sit for hours looking over toward the valley and wondering -what the deer folk saw therein. Now and again she could see the deer -moving on the upper hills. Once as she was watching them, she said -softly—for she had a way of talking to herself: “I wish I were really a -Tuktu—a caribou.”</p> - -<p>“Why?” asked Aklak, who had stolen softly up behind her, just in time to -hear what she said.</p> - -<p>“Because then I might go into the Valley of the Good Spirit and I might -even be chosen by the Good Spirit. Who knows?”</p> - -<p>Aklak laughed, but it was a good-natured laugh. “It is the reindeer, not -the caribou, who go down into the valley,” said he.</p> - -<p>“But the caribou go too,” replied Tuktu quickly, “for only this morning -I saw a band of them heading that way; and after all the reindeer are -but tame caribou.”</p> - -<p>“You saw a band this morning!” exclaimed Aklak excitedly, for all that -morning he had been hunting for caribou and had not seen one.</p> - -<p>Tuktu nodded. “Yes,” said she. “And Aklak, I’m glad you didn’t see them. -I am<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">{21}</a></span> glad they have gone where you cannot follow, for I would not like -to have a caribou killed here so near to the Valley of the Good Spirit.”</p> - -<p>Aklak opened his mouth for a quick retort, then thought better of it. -Perhaps after all Tuktu was right. Perhaps it were better that there -should be no killing of the deer folk so near the Valley of the Good -Spirit. He remembered that not even the wolves, nor the great Brown Bear -for whom he was named, ever killed there.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">{22}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><br /> -<small>WHITEFOOT GOES ASTRAY</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HE two pack-deer with which Kutok had moved up near the Valley of the -Good Spirit had been kept fastened, each with a long rawhide line. But -Kutok well knew that should they be allowed to go free, they would be -likely to join the herds over on the hills above the valley. So they -were kept tethered by long lines, and each day were moved to a new -grazing ground. Sometimes Kutok attended to this; sometimes Aklak.</p> - -<p>It happened one day that both Kutok and Aklak had gone hunting. Tuktu -was not at all lonely, for loneliness is something that Eskimo folk know -little about. Had she not the two deer for company, to say nothing of -the little foxes with whom she played daily? It was nothing new for her -to be left alone while her father and brother went hunting. It was Aklak -who had moved the deer to new<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">{23}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><a name="ill_3" id="ill_3"></a> -<a href="images/i_023.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_023.jpg" height="486" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>Aklak goes hunting</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">{24}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">{25}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">grazing ground just before starting that morning. Two or three times -Tuktu wandered over to pat them and pet them, as was her habit. When she -became sleepy, she lay down for a nap. It was when she awoke from this -that she discovered one of the deer had pulled the peg by which he had -been fastened, and had wandered away.</p> - -<p>“It must be that Aklak was in too much of a hurry when he drove that -peg,” thought Tuktu. “I must find Whitefoot and bring him back, or -father will be very angry. He will blame Aklak, and it will be very -unpleasant to have only one deer when it is time to move. Yes, I must -find Whitefoot and bring him back.” Whitefoot was the deer’s name, for -his off forefoot was white.</p> - -<p>Having often helped in the rounding up of strays from the herd, Tuktu -was skilled in reading signs. Almost at once she found traces of the -wandering Whitefoot. He was grazing as he moved along, taking a bit now -on this side and now on that side. Once she found a little bush in which -the dragging peg had become entangled. Whitefoot had broken the branches -of the bush in tearing himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">{26}</a></span> free. Tuktu hurried on, for she saw that -the course was leading toward the hills above the Valley of the Good -Spirit.</p> - -<p>“I must catch him before he gets much farther,” thought Tuktu as she -hurried on. “Father was right. Whitefoot is doing just what father said -the deer would do if they should be free; he is going to join the great -herd. I must get him before he gets there, or we shall see no more of -him until the herd moves out from the valley.”</p> - -<p>It was warm work, for in summer it becomes unpleasantly hot, even way up -there in the Northland. Tuktu was panting and perspiring, and she was -growing tired. But not for an instant did she delay.</p> - -<p>“I must get him. I must get him,” she kept saying over and over. “I must -get Whitefoot.”</p> - -<p>At last, from a little rise of ground, she saw the wanderer just going -up a little hill. “Whitefoot!” she called, “Whitefoot! Stop, Whitefoot!”</p> - -<p>At the sound of her voice, Whitefoot lifted his head and looked back. -“Whitefoot! Whitefoot!” she called, hurrying forward.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">{27}</a></span> Whitefoot -hesitated. He looked back in the direction in which he had been -traveling. Somewhere ahead of him was the great herd. The scent of it -was borne to him on the wind. The longing to join it was almost -irresistible. Behind him rang the commands of the little mistress he had -learned to love and obey. “Stop, Whitefoot! Stop!” His nose demanded -obedience to the call of the herd. His ears demanded obedience to the -command of his little mistress. Which should he obey? No wonder -Whitefoot hesitated.</p> - -<p>It was not for nothing that Tuktu was known among her companions as -“Little Fleetfoot.” She was out of breath, she was tired and she -was—oh, so hot! But despite all this, she ran now as if she were -running a race. Just as Whitefoot decided that the call of the herd must -be heeded, Tuktu threw herself forward on the dragging peg at the end of -the long line which trailed behind Whitefoot The decision was no longer -his. Tuktu had won.</p> - -<p>Holding fast to the line, Tuktu seated herself in the grass and slowly -drew the reluctant Whitefoot toward her. All the time she<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">{28}</a></span> talked to -him, chiding him for wandering away; telling him how necessary he was; -calling him names of endearment in one breath and scolding him in the -next. Whitefoot stamped once or twice impatiently. Then, as if having -made up his mind that he might as well make the best of the matter, he -fell to grazing.</p> - -<p>For a long time Tuktu sat there, for as I have said, she was tired. At -last she arose. “Whitefoot,” she said severely, “you have made me run a -long way. Now you will have to carry me back.”</p> - -<p>As you know, Whitefoot was a pack animal. He had been trained to carry -loads on his back. Tuktu had ridden him many times. So it was nothing -new for him to feel his little mistress on his back. She turned his head -toward camp and then she saw the white, thick mist of the Arctic fog -rolling in from the coast. Already it had almost reached them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">{29}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br /><br /> -<small>LOST IN THE FOG</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>N from the distant sea rolled the Arctic fog. It was as if one of those -great, white fleecy clouds you have seen sailing high in the sky had -come to earth and was being pushed forward to bury everything in its -fleecy depths. Tuktu urged Whitefoot forward in the swinging trot the -reindeer know. Would he be able to get her to camp before that swiftly -moving fogbank would cut off all sight in any direction? She knew all -about the fogs of the Far Northland. Had she been at home, she would not -have minded it. But to be caught far from the camp was another matter.</p> - -<p>“But I can trust Whitefoot,” thought Tuktu. “The deer folk can find -their way even though they cannot see. So long as I am safe on the back -of Whitefoot, I need not worry. Whitefoot is headed in the right -direction and he will take me safely back.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">{30}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>The soft mist swirled about them and Tuktu could see nothing. She could -see nothing and she could hear nothing but the clicking of Whitefoot’s -feet. There was no other sound. It was as if she and Whitefoot were -alone in a white, wet world of silence. Click, click, click, click -sounded Whitefoot’s feet—a click with every step. It was comforting to -hear that much, for each click meant a forward step, and each forward -step meant so much nearer to the camp. At least, that is what Tuktu -encouraged herself by thinking.</p> - -<p>“I wonder where Father and Aklak are,” she thought. “This fog must have -caught them first, for they were hunting in the direction of the -seacoast. They must have seen it coming and probably made camp. They -will stay there until the fog lifts. If only I were back at the camp, I -would not mind a bit. Trot, Whitefoot! Trot! Remember that Tuktu is on -your back and she wants to get home.”</p> - -<p>Whitefoot did trot. He trotted steadily, despite the fact that he could -see nothing. His head was carried forward and his nose<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">{31}</a></span> out and his -nostrils were extended. With every breath he was testing the damp air. -By the motion, Tuktu could tell when he was going up a hill and when he -started down again. She was enjoying the ride.</p> - -<p>But there came a time when Tuktu began to wonder. “We should be there by -this time,” she thought. “Yes, indeed, we should be there by this time. -Whitefoot has been traveling so fast that I am sure we should have been -home long ago. If he did not trot along so steadily, I should think he -were lost and wandering about But he seems to know just where he is -going. Oh dear, I wish I could see just a little way. Whitefoot, what is -that?”</p> - -<p>Whitefoot stopped abruptly. Through the mist at one side a dim form -moved. Tuktu gave a little sigh of thankfulness and was about to drop to -the ground, for she was sure that this was the other pack-deer that had -been left grazing near the camp. But she didn’t drop, for she became -aware that another dim form was on the other side of her. And then she -heard the muffled click, click, click of many feet—a sound that could -be heard only<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">{32}</a></span> where many deer were near. Too often had she listened to -it not to know that she was now in the midst of a herd. She heard the -click in front, behind, and on both sides, and as she strained her eyes -could see dim shapes appear and disappear on all sides.</p> - -<p>“Whitefoot!” she whispered, “Whitefoot, where have you taken me?”</p> - -<p>She wondered if by chance some other herd of reindeer had moved in from -the seacoast on its way to the Valley of the Good Spirit. She wondered -if it might be that she was in the midst of a band of caribou. She -decided that this must be it. Probably Whitefoot had smelled, or -perchance heard them, so had joined them.</p> - -<p>She was not afraid. Did she not know that the reindeer are the most -gentle of animals? Had she not lived with them and loved them from -babyhood? She would remain on Whitefoot’s back and hope that the fog -would lift soon. If it did not, she would stop Whitefoot and push the -peg into the ground to fasten him. Then they would remain there together -until such time as the fog should disappear. There was only one thing -that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">{33}</a></span> worried Tuktu. If she had to remain there long, what should she -eat? But even this did not greatly worry her, for she was sure that the -fog would last but a little while and she knew they could not be far -from camp.</p> - -<p>Whitefoot no longer was trotting, nor were any of the other deer folk. -All seemed to be grazing, moving along slowly as they grazed. Tuktu -became drowsy. Once or twice she nodded and the wonder was that she -didn’t slip from Whitefoot’s back. And all about her there was the -gentle click, click, click, click of moving feet, and now and then the -soft intake of breath and gentle sniff of grazing deer.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">{34}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -<small>THE AWAKENING OF TUKTU</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">U</span>NAFRAID, Tuktu rode in the midst of the great herd. How long it was -before she had a chance to slip from Whitefoot’s back, she had no idea. -But presently from sundry sounds, dull but unmistakable, which reached -her through the fog, she knew that the deer were bedding down. They were -lying down to chew the cud, as you have so often seen cattle do. -Whitefoot stopped. Tuktu slipped from his back. A moment later Whitefoot -lay down. Tuktu snuggled up against his back. Despite the dampness of -the fog, she was conscious of a pleasant warmth. In a few minutes she -was asleep.</p> - -<p>Tuktu was awakened by the sound of a bell. She knew it was a bell, -because she had once heard a bell on a ship which had come in close to -the shore when they were camped there. But this bell was sweeter far -than had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">{35}</a></span> that bell on the ship, though that had seemed the most -wonderful sound that she and Aklak had ever heard. Slowly she opened her -eyes. Abruptly she sat upright and rubbed both eyes with her knuckles. -Her first thought was that she was still in the fog. But when she looked -up, she saw there was neither fog nor cloud. It was only when she looked -below that she saw a fog, and this fog was not like any fog she ever had -known. It was a mist of many colors, that shimmered and blended and -parted and flashed, as she had so often seen the northern lights, or -Aurora, do in the winter. And somewhere, hidden by that wondrous colored -mist, was that silver bell. Do you wonder that Tuktu rubbed her eyes?</p> - -<p>She was on the slope of a great hill. All about her, contentedly chewing -their cuds, were the deer people. As far as she could see in either -direction, and across on the sides of the opposite hill, the deer lay. -She knew that not only was Kutok’s herd here, but also many other herds. -Never had she seen such rich pasture. Never had she seen such flowers. -And there were great masses of reindeer moss,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">{36}</a></span> lichens, showing the -season’s growth. No wonder the deer people sought the hillsides of this -wondrous Valley. She caught her breath. It had come to her where she -was! She knew that she was with the herd on one of the slopes of the -Valley of the Good Spirit. It was just as she had heard it described -around the winter firepots, only far more beautiful.</p> - -<p>Tuktu rubbed her eyes and rubbed her eyes. Perhaps this was only a -dream. She put out her hand. There was Whitefoot contentedly chewing his -cud, and Whitefoot was no dream. He was real, for even as she touched -him, he bent his head and gently scratched one of his antlers with the -point of a hind hoof.</p> - -<p>Again she heard the soft, clear, silvery notes of that hidden bell. Then -clearly, though faintly, she heard many other sounds. There was the -blowing of trumpets, the beating of drums, fairy music coming from the -heart of that wonderful mist below her, and the mist itself—never had -she seen anything so beautiful! All the colors of the rainbow, all the -wondrous colors of the sunset, all the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">{37}</a></span> shooting, flashing fires of the -Aurora, seemed mingled there.</p> - -<p>Tuktu knew that she ought to be afraid. Had not her father said that -only from a distance had any man looked into that wondrous valley? Had -she not seen fear in his eyes at the mere mention of the Valley of the -Good Spirit?—he, who was not afraid to meet Nanuk, the polar bear, -single-handed. Had she not heard the herders speak in whispers when they -told of the Valley of the Good Spirit? Of a certainty, she should be -afraid. But somehow she wasn’t. She knew she ought to be, for she knew -that she was where not even the boldest man in all the great Northland -would dare to put his foot. Yet she was not afraid.</p> - -<p>“It must be that the Good Spirit means no harm to little children,” -thought Tuktu. “It must be that the Good Spirit who loves the deer folk -loves also little children, or he would not have allowed Whitefoot to -bring me here. I wonder what is going on below that wonderful mist. I -wonder! Oh, how I wonder. But if it were meant that I should know, or -that any one should know, that mist<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">{38}</a></span> would not be there. I guess it is -all right to wonder, but it would be all wrong to try to find out. The -deer people are satisfied to stay on these hills, so I will be -satisfied. But there must be something very wonderful and very beautiful -down there. I wish Aklak were here. He will not believe me when I tell -him that I have looked into the Valley of the Good Spirit. My father -will not believe me. No one will believe me. Only the deer folk will -know. I, Tuktu, am looking down in the Valley of the Good Spirit and no -harm has come to me. I think it must be because the Spirit of Love is -here. The deer are rising. I wonder what that means. I must hold fast to -Whitefoot, for he must take me home.”</p> - -<p>Whitefoot already had scrambled to his feet. Once more Tuktu climbed on -his back. Then Whitefoot began to move toward the upper end of the -Valley and Tuktu saw that all the other deer on both sides were moving -in the same direction.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">{39}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><br /> -<small>THE GREAT MILL</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">N</span>EVER had Tuktu seen so many deer together. Behind her, on both sides, -in front of her, all along that hillside, the deer were moving forward. -On the farther hillside countless numbers also were moving toward the -head of the valley. They were moving slowly, but steadily, as with a -purpose. As they drew near the upper end of the valley, Tuktu saw that -there was a level plain surrounded by the hills. Out into the middle of -this plain moved the great herd of deer. Then it was that Tuktu -discovered that young deer and the mothers with the fawns were gradually -being pushed to the center. She knew what it meant. She knew that -presently that great herd would be milling on that plain.</p> - -<p>Many times had Tuktu watched the deer mill. She had seen them mill in -the great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">{40}</a></span> corrals into which they were driven for the yearly counting -and ear-marking. She had seen them mill when they were grazing. But -never had she seen such a mill as this one. Presently, Whitefoot began -to trot. He had joined the ring of deer circling the outer edge of the -great herd. There was a constant shifting and Tuktu saw that gradually -the biggest and finest of the bucks were working to the outer edge of -the herd. From Whitefoot’s back she looked over what was like a forest -of dead tree branches, all clashing and tossing as if in a wind. They -were the newly-grown antlers of the deer not yet wholly out of the -velvet, strips of the brown skin fluttering from them like pennants. -Only the fawns were without antlers, for the does among the reindeer -have antlers just as do the bucks. It is only in the caribou tribe that -this happens in the deer family.</p> - -<p>Faster and faster trotted that outside ring. More and more quiet became -the great mass within the ring. Presently, all were still and only the -outer deer were moving. Whitefoot was a splendid animal. That is why he -had been chosen for a pack-deer. So he continued<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">{41}</a></span> to trot in the outer -circle. Click, click, click, click, click, sounded the feet of the -trotting deer. There is no sound like it in all the animal world. It -comes from within the foot as the deer steps, sometimes it is when the -weight is put on the foot and sometimes when it is lifted from the foot. -It is not made by the snapping together of the two parts of the hoof, as -long was supposed, even by the herders themselves. The sound comes from -within the foot, and just its purpose no one knows. Click, click, click, -click, click—never had Tuktu seen the deer trot in a mill as they were -now trotting. It seemed as if each was trying to show his best pace and -each was trying to look his best. They had had plenty of food and their -new coats for the coming winter had grown. All the old hair had fallen, -giving way to the new hair.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the deer stopped. They stopped and stood motionless. A moment -later they started trotting again. Tuktu had been on the far side at the -upper end of the plain, farthest from the curtain of beautiful mist. -Now, when she came around, she saw that standing just outside the edge -of that many-<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">{42}</a></span>colored curtain was a magnificent reindeer. He stood -motionless, his head held proudly to show to best advantage his -widespreading antlers with many points.</p> - -<p>Once more the herd began to mill. Presently, it stopped as abruptly as -before. This time, when Whitefoot brought Tuktu around where she could -see, there were two deer standing motionless, one behind the other, at -the edge of the beautiful mist.</p> - -<p>So it went on, until seven deer were standing there. Tuktu knew what it -meant. She knew that she was looking at the chosen deer of the Good -Spirit. She knew that one more was to be chosen. So far, she had not -seen the choosing. Each time she had been on the far side of the herd -when it had so abruptly stopped.</p> - -<p>Perhaps you can guess how her heart was beating with excitement, as once -more the outer ring of deer took up that fast, clicking trot. Would the -eighth and last deer be chosen while she was on the far side and could -not see?</p> - -<p>Round and round the deer trotted. Once more Tuktu was coming in sight of -the seven<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">{43}</a></span> chosen deer. It seemed to Tuktu as if from that colored mist -there shot out a flash of light. The deer stopped. Motionless they -stood, as if frozen in their tracks. Tuktu held her breath. She saw that -the head of every deer was turned toward that shining curtain of colored -mist. A ray of light shot out from it. It touched a splendid deer two -places ahead of Whitefoot. At its touch he stepped out from the circle -and slowly took his place with the seven standing deer. It was -Speedfoot, the finest deer in Kutok’s herd.</p> - -<p>The sound of a silver whistle was heard and the eight deer began to move -forward. Slowly, proudly they walked. The leader disappeared in the -wonderful mist. The second followed; and so on until the last one had -vanished. Then once more the outer deer of the great herd began to mill. -Tuktu saw that no longer were the does and fawns standing motionless -within that milling circle. They were all headed in one direction and -that was toward a low place in the hills leading out of the valley—a -pass out to the great wide prairie. The time had come for the herd to -leave the Valley of the Good Spirit.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">{44}</a></span></p> - -<p>Would Whitefoot insist on going with them? Or, when they had left the -valley, would he take her back to the camp?</p> - -<p>He was once more bringing her around to the point nearest the cloud of -mist, wherein the eight chosen deer had disappeared. Tuktu looked -eagerly to see if by any chance she might get one more glimpse of them. -And even as she looked, that ray of light shot out once more, and this -time it touched Whitefoot. Whitefoot stepped out from the herd and stood -motionless.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">{45}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -<small>THE GOOD SPIRIT</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">M</span>OTIONLESS, facing the curtain of glorious mist, Whitefoot stood. On his -back, as motionless, sat Tuktu. Once more the clicking of many feet had -begun. The great herd was moving. Tuktu did not turn to look. She was -not exactly frightened, but she was filled with a great awe. She felt as -if she could not take her eyes from that curtain of mist, even if she -would. The clicking back of her grew fainter. Then it ceased altogether. -Still Whitefoot stood motionless.</p> - -<p>Directly in front of Tuktu the mist began to glow, first faintly pink, -then a beautiful rose, and finally a rich, warm red. Tuktu drew a long -breath and closed her eyes.</p> - -<p>When she opened them again, there stood before her one such as she had -never seen before.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">{46}</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He was short and jolly and round and fat,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With a fur trimmed coat and a fur trimmed hat.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>He was dressed all in red. His hair was white and he wore a long, white -beard. Never had Tuktu seen such a beard before. Eskimos have beards -that are straggly and black. His eyes twinkled, like the twinkling of -the stars on a frosty night. Around them were many fine wrinkles. They -were laugh wrinkles. He was laughing now.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He laughed “Ha! Ha!” and he laughed “Ho! Ho!”<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Hello, little girl,” he cried, “Hello!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">What are you doing alone up here?<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Have you come in search of your straying deer?”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Poor Tuktu! She couldn’t find her tongue. She knew who this must be. She -knew that this must be the Good Spirit—the Good Spirit whom no one had -ever seen. She felt that she ought to slip from Whitefoot’s back and bow -herself at the Good Spirit’s feet. But she couldn’t move. No, sir, she -couldn’t move. When at last she could find her tongue, all she could do -was to whisper, “Are you the Good Spirit?”</p> - -<p>Those eyes looking at her in such a kindly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">{47}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><a name="ill_4" id="ill_4"></a> -<a href="images/i_047.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_047.jpg" height="501" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>Tuktu and Santa Claus</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">{48}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">{49}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">way, twinkled more than ever, and all the little laugh wrinkles around -them grew deeper. He began to shake all over. He shook and shook. And he -laughed so merrily that presently Tuktu herself began to laugh. She -couldn’t help it. It was catching. Yes, sir, it was catching.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Ho! Ho!” said he, “My dear Tuktu,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">It may be I am <i>that</i> to you.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I hope I am. It seems to me<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That nothing could much nicer be.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“But elsewhere all the great world ’round,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Wherever there are children found,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I’m known as Santa Clause, my dear;<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Or else, perchance, of me you hear<br /></span> -<span class="i1">As Old Saint Nick, who once a year<br /></span> -<span class="i1">With pack and sleigh and wondrous deer<br /></span> -<span class="i1">To little folk who have been good,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">And done those things that children should,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Brings Christmas Day the books and toys<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That always gladden girls and boys.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">But when the Christmas season ends<br /></span> -<span class="i1">I hasten here to where my friends<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The Fairies, Elves, and busy Gnomes<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For countless years have made their homes.<br /></span> -<span class="i1">Ho! Ho! Ho! You are, my dear,<br /></span> -<span class="i1">The first who ever ventured here.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>It was such a jolly voice, and those eyes twinkled so, and he shook all -over so when he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">{50}</a></span> laughed, that Tuktu no longer had the slightest fear. -“If you please, Good Santa,” said she, “I have never heard of Christmas. -What is Christmas?”</p> - -<p>Santa’s face sobered. No longer was the twinkle in his eyes, nor the -laugh in the wrinkles around them. All the lines softened from his face -and it became very beautiful. Simply, so that Tuktu could fully -understand, he explained that Christmas is the season of loving thought. -It is the season when self is forgotten and the desire of each is to -make others happy.</p> - -<p>It was a wonderful story he told her, a wonderful story of how all -through the long years he had carried Christmas joy to the boys and -girls of all the great world. He told her how all the year through the -Fairies and Elves and Trolls and Gnomes were busy down in this valley, -hidden by the wondrous many-colored mist, making the things which he was -to take on his yearly journey to make glad the hearts of little -children. He explained how it grieved him when sometimes he could leave -nothing, because a little girl or a little boy had not been good. He -told her<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">{51}</a></span> how the Spirit of Love was abroad throughout all the Great -World in the Christmas season, and how those who do for and give to -others are the ones in whom the Christmas spirit lives all the year -through, and who thus find the greatest happiness.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“It is not in receiving, my dear,” said he,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“But in giving in love you will find to be<br /></span> -<span class="i1">That fullness of joy, and that sweet content<br /></span> -<span class="i1">For the beautiful Christmas season meant.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>“And does no one give to you, kind Santa?” Tuktu asked a little -breathlessly.</p> - -<p>You should have heard Santa Claus laugh then. Indeed, you should have -heard him laugh! You should have seen his eyes twinkle. “Every year I -receive the greatest gift in all the Great World,” said he.</p> - -<p>“And what is that?” whispered Tuktu.</p> - -<p>“The love of little children,” replied Santa Claus. “Not in all the -Great World is there any gift to compare with the love of little -children. And it is mine—all mine—every Christmas.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">{52}</a></span>”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX<br /><br /> -<small>THE CHOSEN DEER</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>UKTU still sat on the back of Whitefoot. As Santa Claus talked, he came -over to Whitefoot and gently stroked his face. Whitefoot stood without -motion. It was the more surprising, because Whitefoot had always been -rather unruly. He never had been one to willingly acknowledge a master. -Only Tuktu had been able to handle him without trouble. Santa looked up -straight into the eyes of Tuktu. “Tell me, my dear,” said he, “how you -came to venture into this valley. Did you not know that only the deer -folk come here?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I knew,” replied Tuktu in a low voice. “I knew, Good Santa, and I -would not have thought of coming myself. It was Whitefoot who brought me -here. He brought me here, and I didn’t know where he was bringing me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">{53}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Then she told how she had been lost in the fog, and how when she had -awakened from her nap in the midst of the great herd, she had discovered -where she was. She told how she would have left, even then, but could -not. And her lips trembled a little as she talked, for she was fearful -that the Good Spirit might think that she had done wrong.</p> - -<p>“And why do you think that the deer folk come here every year?” inquired -Santa Claus.</p> - -<p>“That the blessed eight may be chosen,” said Tuktu.</p> - -<p>“And what, my dear, do you mean by the blessed eight?” Santa Claus -inquired.</p> - -<p>Then Tuktu told him of the tales she had heard around the winter -firepots, and how it had been long known that every year eight deer were -chosen from the great herd in the Valley of the Good Spirit; and how the -following year these deer always returned to their owners, and were the -finest sled-deer in all the North, so that the owner of one of these was -considered blessed above his fellows.</p> - -<p>Santa Claus sighed. “They ought to be good sled-deer,” said he. “I spend -enough time in training them. For what purpose, my<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">{54}</a></span> dear, do you think -these deer are chosen each year?”</p> - -<p>Tuktu shook her head. “That,” said she, “no one knows. All that is known -is that each year the eight deer are chosen, and the following year they -are returned to bless their owners. That is enough. The Good Spirit has -some wise purpose, or the deer would not be taken and returned.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know,” said Santa, “that the reindeer are among the oldest of -all the peoples of the earth? It is so. It has been said that man was -created to look after the reindeer, and the reindeer were created to -look after man. Almost since man was, the reindeer have furnished him -with food and clothing, and have carried him or drawn him wherever he -wished to go. Have you driven deer to the sled? Have you ever sat behind -a running reindeer and felt the rush of the cutting wind? And felt now -and then the sting of the snow thrown from his flying feet?”</p> - -<p>Tuktu’s eyes shone and she clapped her hands softly. “Don’t you love -it?” she cried.</p> - -<p>Santa Claus nodded, and he chuckled. “That is why the eight deer are -chosen each<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">{55}</a></span> year,” said he. “When I made my first Christmas journey, it -was a reindeer who drew my sled. My pack was small and my journey was -short, and a single deer was all I needed. But as the Christmas spirit -swept farther and farther throughout the Great World, and more and more -children looked for my coming, my pack became larger and I had to travel -much faster. So then I used two deer; and then three, four, five, until -now eight are needed. Eight of the finest deer to be found in all the -herds.</p> - -<p>“They must have speed and strength, for they must take me fast and carry -me far. They must have beauty, with antlers of many points. They must be -stout of heart and full of courage. They must be gentle. So it is that -each year I must get a new team, and so each year the reindeer, the -finest in all the great Northland, feed for a while in Kringle Valley. -Then when the time comes, as it came to-day, they pass before me at -their best, that I may choose those for my next Christmas journey into -the Great World. Those you saw vanish in the colored mist are the eight -who will take me next Christmas to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">{56}</a></span> carry joy to little folk. In all -that great herd you saw, there is none other the equal of those chosen. -And all the deer folk know it. Just once will they make that wonderful -journey, for only for that one time will they be at their very best. At -the next Christmas there will be eight others to take their places. But -always the eight bear the same names. Would you like to hear them, -Tuktu?”</p> - -<p>Shyly Tuktu nodded. “If you please,” she said.</p> - -<p>My, how the eyes of old Santa Claus twinkled! “They are Donder and -Blitzen, Dancer and Prancer, Dasher and Vixen, Comet and Cupid” said he. -“I couldn’t drive deer by any other names. They are magic names. And -those deer will become magic deer when they start on their Christmas -journey. Now, my dear, Whitefoot will take you straight back to the -place from which he brought you. You have seen that which you may never -see again—the choosing of the deer. But always you will remember that -in the Valley of the Good Spirit, love dwells, and that love may be -carried throughout the world, the blessed reindeer are chosen each -year.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">{57}</a></span>”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X<br /><br /> -<small>TUKTU’S HAPPY THOUGHT</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">“D</span>ONDER and Blitzen, Dasher and Vixen, Dancer and Prancer, Comet and -Cupid,” repeated Tuktu to herself, and her eyes were like stars. “Do the -children out in the Great World love them?”</p> - -<p>You should have seen Santa’s eyes twinkle then. And you should have seen -all the laugh wrinkles around his eyes. “I suspect they do,” said he. “I -suspect they do, for they love me and they must love the ones who bring -me to them each year. But they have never seen my reindeer, so I really -don’t know.”</p> - -<p>And then you should have seen Tuktu’s eyes open. “Do you mean,” she -asked, “that they never, never have seen your deer?”</p> - -<p>Santa Claus nodded. “That’s what I mean,” said he. “You see, the night -before Christmas when I make that magic trip, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">{58}</a></span> must go so far and I -must go so fast that there is no time, not even one wee minute, to -waste. And so, no one sees me then. Sometimes little boys and girls hide -and watch for me and for my deer. But they never see us. And those -little boys and girls do not always find all the things they hoped I -would bring them.”</p> - -<p>A dreamy look had come into Tuktu’s eyes, a very far-away look. “Do they -have as fine deer out there in the Great World as we have here?” she -asked.</p> - -<p>The laugh wrinkles wrinkled up more than ever, and Santa Claus laughed -right out. “They have no deer at all, Little One,” said he. “That is, -they have no reindeer. Most of them would not know a reindeer if they -saw one.”</p> - -<p>“No reindeer!” cried Tuktu, and such a look of astonishment as spread -over her face. “How can they live without the wonderful deer? Oh, I am -so sorry for those children. I wish—” Tuktu paused.</p> - -<p>“What do you wish, Child?” Santa Claus asked in his kindly voice. “Tell -me what you wish, for you know it is my business to make the wishes of -children come true.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">{59}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Tuktu hesitated. She dropped her eyes shyly. “I wish,” she said very -softly, “that I could send them some reindeer.”</p> - -<p>Santa Claus looked at her sharply. He could read her thoughts and there -was not one single little thought of self there. She was thinking of the -children who had never seen the reindeer and how wonderful it would be -if only they could see the blessed eight. When she looked up and saw -Santa’s kindly eyes studying her, she spoke impulsively.</p> - -<p>“Kind Santa Claus,” said she, speaking hurriedly, so hurriedly that the -words tripped over each other, “couldn’t you go down early some year -with your blessed deer so that the children of the Great World might see -them? I know they would love them, just as I do.”</p> - -<p>Santa Claus sighed. “I am afraid,” said he, “there isn’t time. You know -it takes time to train deer, and there are no deer in all the Great -Northland so well trained as those which take me out into the Great -World every Christmas. You saw the eight chosen to-day. It will take me -most of my time from now until Christmas to get them properly trained -for that magic journey. If the deer were bet<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">{60}</a></span>ter trained when I got -them, I might be able to do it. You know I do not even have to have -reins, they are so perfectly trained. That is why when I am through with -them, they are the finest sled-deer in all the world. They are no longer -magic deer, but they are wonderful sled-deer. So you think the children -of the Great World would like to see the deer? Perhaps they would! -Perhaps they would! I shall have to think it over, my dear. I certainly -shall have to think it over.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, if you only would!” cried Tuktu, her dark eyes shining with -excitement “I-I-I wish I could help. I am so sorry for children who have -never seen the beautiful deer.”</p> - -<p>Down somewhere in the midst of the wonderful mist a silver bell rang. It -was so clear, so sweet, that Tuktu turned her head to listen. When she -looked back—Santa Claus had disappeared. The bell rang again and from -out the curtain of mist came Santa’s voice once more.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, little girl,” said he. “The great herd moves, and you must -leave the valley. But remember this, my dear, that whenever you think of -others, others will think of you.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">{61}</a></span> And to those who love is love given -in return. That is why Christmas is. Remember that, my dear, and always -your Christmas will be merry. Better than that, it will be happy.”</p> - -<p>Abruptly, Whitefoot turned and began to move away.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">{62}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI<br /><br /> -<small>TUKTU TELLS HER STORY</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>ITH his long, swinging trot, Whitefoot rapidly made his way out of the -Valley of the Good Spirit. Once only did Tuktu look back at the cloud of -shimmering, many-colored mist. At one point it glowed a rich deep red, -and as she looked, this turned to rose and finally to a faint pink and -then vanished. Nowhere was the Good Spirit to be seen.</p> - -<p>Out of the valley, over the hill, climbed Whitefoot, and Tuktu turned -him in the direction of the camp. There presently she fastened him where -Aklak had put him to graze. Her father and brother had not returned. As -in a dream, she looked back to the hills around the Valley of the Good -Spirit. Could it be that she had been there? Was it not all a dream? But -if it were a dream, it had been a wonderful dream—the most beautiful of -all dreams. She knew that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">{63}</a></span> Kutok and Aklak would not believe the story -she had to tell. They would say that she had been asleep and the dream -spirits had visited her. She looked across to the distant hills above -the valley, and with a suddenness that startled her, she realized that -not a deer was to be seen. Of course not. Had she not seen them move out -of the upper end of the valley? There was the proof.</p> - -<p>With the realization of this, all thought of anything else was driven -from the mind of Tuktu—even the wonderful experience she had been -through. The great herd was moving and there were no herders! She must -get word back to the herders on the coast. She would take the other pack -deer, for Whitefoot must be tired. Perhaps she would meet her father and -brother on the way. She had just prepared to start when in the distance -she saw Kutok and Aklak approaching. When they reached her, they were in -high spirits. They had had good hunting and they brought with them -plenty to eat.</p> - -<p>“They have moved!” cried Tuktu. “The deer have left the Valley of the -Good Spirit.” Kutok threw down his load and hurried to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">{64}</a></span> the rise of -ground from which he had been accustomed to watch the deer on the -distant hills. Long he looked, searching every bit of ground within -range of his eyes. Not a deer was to be seen.</p> - -<p>“It is so, Little Tuktu,” said he on his return. “The herd has started -for the winter grazing grounds. It is time that we also should move. -Aklak shall go back to carry word to the herders, while you and I will -follow the deer. They will move slowly, so there is no hurry. But it is -well that we should catch up with them soon, lest the wolves attack, -finding them unguarded.”</p> - -<p>So Aklak started back to the summer camp to send up the herders and to -help break the camp and move toward the winter home. Tuktu and her -father, with a small skin iglu or tent wherein to sleep, and food enough -for their immediate needs, started at once to catch up with the great -herd. Through years of experience, Kutok knew in what direction the deer -would travel and the shortest way to reach them.</p> - -<p>They traveled too fast for much talking. Tuktu longed to tell her father -what she had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">{65}</a></span> seen in the Valley of the Good Spirit, but somehow she -couldn’t. “He will laugh at me,” she thought. “He will not believe, and -he will laugh at me; and I do not want to be laughed at.” So she said -nothing. But all the time there was a song in her heart.</p> - -<p>It was not until Aklak had rejoined them that she told of her adventure -in the Valley of the Good Spirit. At first Aklak laughed, as she had -known he would. “It was a dream, Tuktu,” he cried. “It was a dream. You -must have slept through that fog while Father and I were hunting, and -the dream spirits took you with them. No one ever has seen the Good -Spirit, and no one ever will.”</p> - -<p>But Tuktu stubbornly insisted that it was not a dream, until at last -even Aklak began to believe that it might be so. You would have laughed -to hear him ply her with questions, all the time pretending that he -didn’t believe a word of it. But Tuktu caught him looking at her with a -respect in his black eyes which was new in her experience. And she -noticed, too, that he no longer teased her, and that now he was never -selfish. The biggest share of anything was always hers. Never<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">{66}</a></span> had he -been so gentle and thoughtful. Yet never once could she get him to say -that he believed her story of the Valley of the Good Spirit.</p> - -<p>Now there was one thing that Tuktu did not tell Aklak. It was that the -last deer chosen was from their father’s own herd. Never had Kutok had a -deer chosen by the Good Spirit from his herd until now. Tuktu had known -that it was her father’s deer, because she had been near enough to see -the ear-mark. Besides, there was no other deer in the herd to compare -with it. Sometimes when Aklak insisted that it was all a dream, she -would be almost persuaded that he was right. Then she would remember -that it was her father’s finest deer Speedfoot, which had been chosen.</p> - -<p>“If,” she would say to herself, “we cannot find Speedfoot in the round -up, I shall know for a certainty that I did not dream. It will be the -proof.”</p> - -<p>Thereafter she spent many hours wandering in and out through the great -herd looking for this particular deer and rejoicing that she could not -find it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">{67}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII<br /><br /> -<small>THE DEER PEOPLE</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">W</span>INTER had come. The deer were on their winter feeding grounds. Could -you have been there, you would, until you had watched them awhile, have -wondered where they could find anything to eat. As far as could be seen, -and far, far beyond that, there was nothing but snow.</p> - -<p>But the deer people minded this not at all. They knew that the snow was -but a blanket to protect and keep in splendid condition the food they -loved best, the reindeer moss as it is called, which carpeted the -ground, the lichens which nature had provided specially for the reindeer -and caribou.</p> - -<p>Tuktu liked to go out and watch them paw down through the snow. “See, -Aklak,” she cried, “they know just where they will find the best food. -Do you suppose they never make mistakes?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">{68}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“The deer are wise with a wisdom not given us,” replied Aklak. “Perhaps -they make mistakes sometimes, but it is not often. I heard such a queer -thing the other day. It makes me laugh every time I think of it.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me, for I want to laugh too,” cried Tuktu. “What was it, Aklak?”</p> - -<p>Aklak chuckled. “You remember the visitors that came in great ships last -summer,” said he. Tuktu nodded. “Well, one of them who never had seen -reindeer before, asked if the deer used their horns to shovel away the -snow in winter. He said that he had been told this, and that many people -believed it to be so. It is a lucky thing it isn’t so, or those big, old -bucks would go hungry now that they have dropped their horns. But just -look at the way they are pawing up that moss over there. I guess it is a -good thing they haven’t their horns, or they would be so greedy and -selfish that they would get all the best of the food. See, Tuktu! See -that young spikehorn over there driving away the old buck from that moss -he has uncovered!”</p> - -<p>Sure enough, a youngster with only two sharp spikes for horns was -butting a big old<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">{69}</a></span> buck who had just pawed away the snow from a bed of -reindeer moss. Those spikes were sharp and they made the old buck grunt. -Having no horns himself, he could not fight back except by striking with -his forefeet, and these the youngster took care to avoid. So finally the -old fellow gave up and went to look for a new supply of food while the -youngster ate undisturbed.</p> - -<p>“I have wondered a great many times,” said Tuktu, “why it is that the -old bucks drop their wonderful antlers so long before the mother deer -and the young spikehorns do. But I guess I know now. It is because they -are the strongest, and so they are made to look after the weaker ones, -whether they want to or not.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_069.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_069.jpg" width="586" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Aklak nodded. “That’s it I guess,” said he. “By and by those little -spikes will drop. Then the only ones to have horns will be the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">{70}</a></span> mothers. -Theirs will not drop until after the fawns are born. Do you know why the -reindeer always face the wind when they are feeding?”</p> - -<p>“So that the wind may bring them the scent of any enemies that may be -ahead of them,” replied Tuktu promptly.</p> - -<p>Aklak nodded. “That is one reason, but it isn’t the only reason,” said -he. “The wind keeps their eyes clear of drifting snow. So they always -face the wind, no matter how bitter it may be. They are a wise people, -the deer people. They know how to take care of themselves. They cannot -see as well as some other animals, but they can smell and hear better -than most. Their wild cousins, the caribou, are the same way. When we -are hunting them we have to take the greatest care that they neither -hear nor smell us.”</p> - -<p>The children were standing on the outer edge of the herd. As always, -Tuktu was watching for a glimpse of Speedfoot, the splendid deer she -felt sure the Good Spirit had chosen. Now, for the first time she -mentioned it to Aklak. He knew the deer she meant. He had hoped that -some day he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">{71}</a></span> might have it for his own. So now when Tuktu told him that -she was sure it had been chosen by the Good Spirit, and that she had -been unable to find it anywhere in the herd, he straightway began -keeping watch himself.</p> - -<p>Together they passed back and forth through the grazing herd. They are a -gentle people, these reindeer folk. The children could quite safely go -about among them as freely as they pleased. There was nothing to fear.</p> - -<p>Long they searched, but in the end Aklak had to admit that Speedfoot was -missing. “It may be that Amarok, the wolf, has gotten him,” said he. “Or -it may be that he has strayed into one of the other herds. We cannot -know until the deer are driven into the corrals and counted.”</p> - -<p>Tuktu merely smiled. “I know,” said she. “Amarok has never set tooth in -him, and he has not strayed to another herd. He is one of the chosen of -the Good Spirit. You shall see, Aklak, that I am right when the count -comes.”</p> - -<p>“But not even the count will tell us if Amarok has killed him,” said -he.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">{72}</a></span></p> - -<p>There was a faraway look in Tuktu’s eyes and a half-smile hovering -around her lips. “You will find him next summer when we move over near -the Valley of the Good Spirit,” said she. “Then will you know that I -speak truly. He is of the chosen eight, the blessed deer of the Good -Spirit.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_072.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_072.jpg" width="382" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">{73}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII<br /><br /> -<small>THE WILFUL YOUNG DEER</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">O</span>F all the young deer in the great herd,—and there were many,—Little -Spot was the most wilful. He was called Little Spot because he was -marked exactly like his mother, who was known as Big Spot. Each had a -white spot between the eyes. Now, Big Spot was one of the wisest leaders -among all the reindeer people. She was wise in the ways of the wolf and -the bear, and she was wise in the ways of men. Under her leadership the -herd thrived and increased and was seldom troubled.</p> - -<p>But with all her wisdom, Big Spot was a poor mother. You see, she was -just like a great many other mothers—she spoiled her children. So -Little Spot, who was so like his mother, had never been taught to mind. -Almost from the day of his birth, which had been in the spring before -the snow had melted,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">{74}</a></span> he had been headstrong and wilful. He had been a -handsome baby, as reindeer babies go, and his mother had been very proud -of him. Perhaps that is why she spoiled him. Anyway, he went where he -pleased and did what he pleased and was forever in trouble of some sort. -When he got his first horns, two sharp spikes, he made such a nuisance -of himself that he soon became known as the worst young deer in the -whole herd. Other young deer would have nothing to do with him, because -he was so overbearing. He was a little bigger and a little stronger than -any others of his own age, and this, together with the fact that he had -been allowed to have his own way, had quite spoiled him.</p> - -<p>“My son,” said his mother, when she found him with a small band of -caribou which he had run away to join, “follow me to the top of yonder -hill. I want to talk to you.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t want to be talked to,” said Little Spot, with an angry toss of -his head. “I know what you want. You want me to go back with the herd. -I’m not going. I’m going to stay with my wild cousins, the caribou. I -don’t want to go back to the herd. I won’t go<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">{75}</a></span> back to the herd.” He -stamped his feet in the naughtiest way.</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said his mother. “You may stay with your cousins, the -caribou. But remember that if you need me, you will find me on the top -of that hill over there.”</p> - -<p>Little Spot tossed his head. He sniffed. You see, he didn’t like it at -all that his mother should think that he had any need of her. Had he not -horns already? He felt quite equal to taking care of himself. So he -tossed his head and sniffed, then went over to join some of the young -caribou about his own age.</p> - -<p>His mother said nothing more, but slowly walked away in the direction of -the hill. When she reached the top, she stood motionless for a long -time. Looking up, Little Spot could see her against the sky and, he, -being a foolish young deer, became very angry. He felt that she was -keeping watch over him. So he pretended not to see her, and, when -presently the small band of caribou started to move away briskly, he -trotted along with them. They were glad to have him; at least they made -no objections. The farther he got from that hill where his mother still -stood,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">{76}</a></span> the bigger and more important he felt. He was out in the Great -World now. He was master of his own movements. There was no one to make -him do this or do that. He held his head high and he stepped high. You -see, he was trying to look as important as he felt.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_076.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_076.jpg" width="383" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Without warning, four great gray wolves swept out from behind some -willow trees to cut off the young caribou from the remainder of the -band. Such terror as there was then! Each young caribou started in a -different direction. It was well for Little Spot that he was swifter of -foot than any of the others. At the first glimpse of the dreaded wolves, -he had whirled about and started back for that hill where his mother -was. They were the first wolves he had ever seen, but he knew<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">{77}</a></span> what they -were. Not once did he look behind to see what was happening to the young -caribou. Forgotten was all his pride. He wanted his mother, and he -wanted her as he had never wanted her before. Was she not the wisest of -all the mothers of the big herd? She would know what to do. She would -know how to care for him.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_077.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_077.jpg" width="389" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p>He looked over to the top of that little hill. For a moment it seemed as -if his heart stopped beating. He could not see Big Spot anywhere. Had -she left him after all? Had she started off on that long swift trot of -hers to get back to the herd? The mere thought that he might never see -her again gave added speed to Little Spot. Never had he run as he was -running now. But it was not good running. It was unwise running, for it -was tak<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">{78}</a></span>ing his wind and his strength. He was panting hard when he came -over the top of the hill. There, in a little hollow just beyond, stood -his mother.</p> - -<p>“What is it, my son?” said she, as little Spot crowded against her, -panting as if he could never get his breath again. “What is it, my son? -I thought you wanted to go out into the Great World.”</p> - -<p>“Wolves!” panted Little Spot, “Wolves! We must run!”</p> - -<p>His mother merely walked up to the brow of the hill and looked back. -“Truly, my son, they are wolves,” said she, and returned to him as if -wolves were the most commonplace things in the world.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">{79}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><a name="ill_5" id="ill_5"></a> -<a href="images/i_079.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_079.jpg" height="550" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>“They are wolves.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">{81}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">{80}</a></span>”</p></div> -</div> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV<br /><br /> -<small>WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">L</span>ITTLE Spot, the wilful young reindeer, trembled as he crowded up to his -mother. He couldn’t get close enough to her. He no longer wanted to be -out in the Great World by himself. He wondered that his mother did not -run. Every moment or two he looked back to see if those wolves were -coming up over the hill. But Big Spot seemed in no hurry at all. You -see, she was wise with the wisdom of experience. She didn’t want Little -Spot to get over his fright so soon that he would forget the lesson he -had learned. Then, too, she wanted him to get rested a little and get -his wind back.</p> - -<p>At last, she quieted Little Spot’s fears. “Those wolves did not chase -you, my son,” said she. “They chased the young caribou, and it is very -fortunate for you that they did.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">{82}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure I could run faster than those wolves,” said Little Spot -boastfully.</p> - -<p>“Yes, you could,” replied his mother. “You could run faster than they -could for a while, but you do not know the patience of wolves, my dear. -You would have run so hard and so fast that presently you would have -tired yourself out so that the wolves would have had no trouble in -catching you. Ever since you were a little fawn I have told you about -the wolves, and that they are our worst enemies; but I don’t think you -ever have believed it. Now you have seen them and you know what they are -like. The wolves are very smart people. They watch for a deer to stray -away. Then they get between the herd and that deer. When this happens, -that deer will not live long.”</p> - -<p>“Have the deer always been afraid of the wolves?” asked Little Spot.</p> - -<p>“Ever since the days when the world was young,” replied his mother.</p> - -<p>“Tell me about the days when the world was young,” begged Little Spot.</p> - -<p>For a few moments his mother said nothing. Gradually, into her big, dark -eyes there crept<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">{83}</a></span> a far-away look. “Once upon a time,” she began at -last, “the world was mostly water, like the salt water that you saw in -the summer.”</p> - -<p>“But where did the deer live then?” interrupted Little Spot.</p> - -<p>“There were no deer then,” said his mother. “There were no deer and -there were no wolves and there were none of those two-legged creatures -called men. You see, Old Mother Nature had not made them yet, for there -was no land for them to live on. But by and by there was land and then -for a very long time Old Mother Nature was very, very busy making the -different kinds of people to live on the land. Some of these people she -made to live where it was summer all the year round.”</p> - -<p>You should have seen Little Spot’s big ears prick up at that. “Is there -such a place?” he cried.</p> - -<p>His mother nodded. “Yes,” said she, “I am told there is a land where it -is summer all the time. How do you think you would like that?”</p> - -<p>Little Spot thought it over for a moment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">{84}</a></span> “I shouldn’t like it,” he -decided. “Why, if it is summer all the time, there can be no snow! What -a queer land it must be without the beautiful snow. I shouldn’t like -it.”</p> - -<p>His mother again nodded her head approvingly. “Neither should I, my -son,” said she. “But it seems that in those days when the world was -young, all the people, big and little, wanted to live where it was -summer. So after awhile it became difficult for all the people to get -food enough. It was then that the hard times began, and some of the big -people began to hunt the little people for food.</p> - -<p>“Now, it happened that Mr. and Mrs. Caribou, the first of all the -caribou, had wandered beyond the land where it was summer all the time. -They had come to the land where it was summer for half the year and -winter for the other half. When the winter came, they moved back, -because you see they were not fitted to make their living when snow -covered the ground, and they were not clothed warmly enough to stand the -bitter winds. But they always stayed as long as they could before moving -south, for they loved the Northland.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">{85}</a></span> Then, too, they felt safer there, -for there were fewer to hunt them.</p> - -<p>“It was on the edge of the Northland that Old Mother Nature found Mr. -and Mrs. Caribou looking longingly at the land they must leave because -of the coming of the snow and ice. ‘How would you like to live in the -Northland all of the time?’ asked Old Mother Nature.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Caribou looked at Mrs. Caribou, and Mrs. Caribou looked at Mr. -Caribou, and then both looked at Old Mother Nature. Mr. Caribou spoke -rather hesitatingly. ‘We could not eat when all the ground is covered -with snow,’ said he.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>There is always plenty of food beneath the snow,’ replied Old Mother -Nature. ‘You could dig away the snow with your feet and find plenty.’</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>But we should freeze,’ protested Mrs. Caribou, and shivered; for in -those days the coats of the caribou were thin.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>But supposing I gave you warm coats and fitted you to live in the -Northland; would you do it?’ Old Mother Nature asked.</p> - -<p>“Again Mr. Caribou looked at Mrs. Cari<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">{86}</a></span>bou and Mrs. Caribou looked at -Mr. Caribou, then both nodded.</p> - -<p>“So Mother Nature gave them warm coats. She gave them each a thick -mantle of long hair on the neck, so that it hung down and the wind could -not get through it. She fashioned their feet so that they were different -from the feet of any other of the deer family, and they could walk in -snow and on soft ground, where others could not go. Then she sent them -into the Northland, and there the caribou have been ever since.”</p> - -<p>“But what about the reindeer?” cried Little Spot.</p> - -<p>“I am coming to that,” replied his mother.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">{87}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a> -<a href="images/i_087.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_087.jpg" width="385" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<br />CHAPTER XV<br /><br /> -<small>THE FIRST REINDEER</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">M</span>R. and Mrs. Caribou were the first of all the caribou to make their -home in the Far North, and they loved it. Old Mother Nature had told -them truly that they would find plenty of food. So they and their -children and their children’s children took possession of all the great -land where the snow lay most of the year. “They found the moss, which -you like so well, my son,” said his mother. “They found the moss, and -they found that it was best in winter. It isn’t true moss you know, but -is called reindeer moss by everybody. In the summer they lived on grass -and other plants, just as we do. So in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">{88}</a></span> time there became very many -caribou, and they lived in peace, for it was long before others came to -live in the Land of Snow.</p> - -<p>“But there came a time when these two-legged creatures called men -appeared. They were hunters, and they hunted the caribou. They needed -the meat for food and the skins for clothing and to make their tents. So -the caribou became necessary to men. Then one day the hunters surrounded -a band of caribou and captured alive all the fawns and young caribou. -These they kept watch over and protected from the wolves and the bears, -which had by this time come to live in the Northland. And because there -were no wise old deer to protect these young deer, the young deer did -not try to run away. They were content to graze near the homes of the -hunters. In time, they grew and had fawns of their own, and these grew, -and the herd increased. And these, my son, were the first reindeer. They -were necessary to man if he would live in the Far North, and they found -that man was necessary to them.</p> - -<p>“They furnished man with food and clothing. From their antlers he made -tools. Man<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">{89}</a></span> furnished them protection and found the best feeding grounds -for them, so that they lived better and more contentedly than their -cousins, the wild caribou, for the latter had always by day and night to -be on the watch for enemies.</p> - -<p>“Then one day a boy fastened a halter to a pet deer and fastened him so -that he could not stray away. In time that deer became used to the -halter and to being fastened. Then the boy built a sled. It wasn’t such -a nice sled as the sleds of to-day, because you know this was the first -sled of its kind. Then he fastened the deer to the sled and, with a long -line fastened to the halter on each side of the deer’s head, so that he -might guide him, the boy climbed on the sled. Of course, that deer was -frightened and he ran. By and by the sled upset. But the boy still held -the reins. That was the first reindeer to be driven by man. The boy’s -father had seen all that happened. He built a better sled, and he and -the boy trained that deer and other deer. Then with these deer they made -long journeys. So it was that the reindeer became of still more use to -man.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">{90}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“But I don’t want to be harnessed and driven and have to drag a sled,” -said Little Spot.</p> - -<p>“That shows your lack of wisdom, my son,” replied his mother. “The deer -who best draw the sleds are the deer that are cared for best, and will -live longest. Other deer are killed for food and for their skins, but -not the deer who draw the sleds. Those are the deer that are thought -most of, and it is my hope that you will one day be the finest sled-deer -in all the herd. Who knows? Perhaps you may be chosen in the Valley of -the Good Spirit to be one of the eight deer who once in the early winter -of each year carry the Good Spirit on a wonderful journey out into the -Great World, that he may spread Love and Happiness. Do you remember, my -son, how on the day we left the Valley of the Good Spirit, all we mother -deer and all you youngsters stood while the finest bucks in all the herd -milled around us? And how every once in a while they stopped?”</p> - -<p>Little Spot bobbed his head. “I remember,” said he.</p> - -<p>“Each time they stopped,” replied his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">{91}</a></span> mother, “the Good Spirit chose -one of their number to be added to his team for that wonderful journey -out into the Great World. They become magic deer just for a little -while, at a time that men folk call Christmas. They become magic deer, -and all the children of the Great World love them, though they never -have seen them. So, my son, be wise in the wisdom of the deer folk. Be -not unruly, should it be that you are chosen to draw the sled of a man, -for it is only the best sled-deer that are chosen by the Good Spirit and -become the Christmas deer for that magic journey into the Great World. -Now, we must be getting back to the herd, or those wolves may get upon -our trail.”</p> - -<p>Little Spot trotted beside his mother, Big Spot, over the snow-covered -prairie, and as he trotted he thought deeply of all his mother had told -him. And as he thought, his eyes were opened, so that by the time they -reached the big herd, Little Spot was no longer a wilful young deer. He -no longer thought that he knew all there was to know, but he did his -very best to try to learn all there was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">{92}</a></span> for a wise deer to know. And -you know when one tries to learn, it is surprisingly easy.</p> - -<p>So, from being the most wilful and unruly of all the young deer, Little -Spot became the most obedient and the best-mannered.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">{93}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI<br /><br /> -<small>LITTLE SPOT AND TUKTU DREAM</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">D</span>O you ever have day-dreams? If you do, you know that they are made up -partly of wishes, partly of plans and partly of the same sort of stuff -that sleep dreams are made of. Tuktu was very busy these winter days. -She was very busy indeed, as were all the Eskimo girls and their -mothers. What do you think she was doing? You never would guess. She was -chewing. Yes, sir, she was chewing. And it wasn’t gum that she was -chewing, either, although she dearly loved to chew gum when she got the -chance. She was chewing skins.</p> - -<p>What’s that? You think I am fooling? I’m not. Tuktu was chewing skins. -Tuktu was making boots for her brother and her father. They were made of -skin, and Tuktu was chewing this in order to soften it and make it -workable.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">{94}</a></span></p> - -<p>But as she chewed, and later as she sewed, making the skin clothing for -herself and for her brother and father, she did a great deal of -dreaming. Perhaps you can guess what she dreamed of. It was Santa Claus. -She didn’t call him Santa Claus even to herself. She still called him -the Good Spirit. I think myself that is rather a beautiful name for -Santa Claus.</p> - -<p>And it wasn’t of things that she wanted Santa Claus to bring her that -Tuktu dreamed. It was of helping Santa Claus. It seemed to her that -nothing in all the Great World would be so good, or make her so happy, -as to help the Good Spirit spread the message of love and good cheer and -happiness to all the little children less fortunate than she. Now, this -is going to surprise you. Tuktu actually thought that she lived in the -finest part of all the Great World, and she was sorry for little boys -and girls who lived where there were no reindeer and where snow and ice -were seldom found. She was sorry for boys and girls who had never ridden -behind a fast-trotting deer. Yes, Tuktu thought that she lived in the -very best part of all the Great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">{95}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><a name="ill_6" id="ill_6"></a> -<a href="images/i_095.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_095.jpg" height="496" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>Tuktu making boots with her mother</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">{96}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">{97}</a></span> </p> - -<p>World, and she loved it. And she wished somehow that she could help -Santa—the Good Spirit—when he carried happiness and joy to all the -Great World. Sometimes when she dreamed, she would forget to chew the -skin that she was at work on, and her mother would gently remind her -that the boots were needed.</p> - -<p>She wondered if she could make a pair of boots for the Good Spirit, and -then her face grew warm with shame at her boldness. How could any one -even think of doing anything for the Good Spirit? For could not the Good -Spirit have all things he desired? And then she remembered something. -She remembered that the Good Spirit had said that those chosen deer -ought to be good sled-deer because of the time he spent training them. -Supposing she and Aklak could get the deer trained so well beforehand -that the Good Spirit would not have to spend time in training them. -Perhaps then he could start earlier. Then she sighed, for how could she -be sure the Good Spirit would choose the deer she and Aklak trained?</p> - -<p>And while Tuktu dreamed her day-dreams<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">{98}</a></span> as she worked, Little Spot, the -finest young deer in all the herd, was dreaming day-dreams. And the -queer part of it is, his dreams were very like the dreams of Tuktu. He -dreamed of being a magic deer. He dreamed of being one of that team of -magic deer with which the Good Spirit made his wonderful journey out -into the Great World each Christmas. And because he remembered what his -mother had said, he tried very hard to be what a young deer should be, -for he hoped that in time he would be chosen for a sled-deer. Perchance -if he were chosen for a sled-deer and became the best sled-deer in all -the great herd, he might some day be chosen in the Valley of the Good -Spirit. So he did his best to grow strong and handsome, and to be the -swiftest-footed, for he had discovered that it was the strongest, -handsomest and swiftest deer that were chosen to draw the sleds of the -herders.</p> - -<p>But there was one big difference in the dreaming of these two young -dreamers. Tuktu had no thought of self, whereas Little Spot was thinking -chiefly of his own glory. He had no thought of others, but only great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">{99}</a></span> -ambition for himself. There are many people like Little Spot in this -Great World.</p> - -<p>Now, I don’t want you to think that Tuktu spent all her time chewing and -sewing skins. That was work which could be done when the great storms -and the bitter cold kept her indoors. She had her play time, as well as -her working time, and there were many happy hours spent with Aklak, -helping him herd the deer, for she dearly loved the deer people and they -loved her. Even the wildest of them and the most unruly would allow -Tuktu to approach and even to pet them. Aklak was growing to be a very -fine herder. His father, Kutok, said that Aklak would one day be the -best herder in all the Northland. But not even Aklak understood the deer -as did Tuktu.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">{100}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII<br /><br /> -<small>TUKTU AND AKLAK HAVE A SECRET</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>T was while Tuktu was watching Aklak training a young deer to the sled, -the great idea came to her. It just happened that the young deer was -none other than Little Spot. And because he wanted to be a sled-deer, -and because he was very proud over having been chosen, Little Spot was -making no trouble at all. He was not yet old enough to be a real -sled-deer, and Aklak had started to train him just for fun. He was -looking forward to the day when Little Spot should be fully grown. He -wanted to see if he would be a better sled-deer for having begun his -training early.</p> - -<p>“Aklak,” cried Tuktu. “I know you don’t really believe that I saw the -Good Spirit, but you know that the deer visit the Valley of the Good -Spirit every year; and you know that every year some are chosen and do -not return with the herd; but are found the next year.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">{101}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Aklak nodded. “Yes,” said he, “I know all that.”</p> - -<p>“Then listen to me, Aklak,” said Tuktu. “Those deer are chosen because -they are the finest in all the great herd. They are chosen to be the -sled-deer of the Good Spirit when he makes his great journey to carry -the message of love and happiness to the children of the Great World. -Why couldn’t we train those deer for the Good Spirit, that he may not -have to do it himself?”</p> - -<p>Boylike, Aklak laughed. “How,” he demanded, “can we train the deer when -we do not know which deer the Good Spirit will choose? You say that this -year he has chosen one from our own herd, but it is the first time it -has happened even if it be true. The other deer were chosen from other -herds. So how can we know what deer the Good Spirit may choose?”</p> - -<p>“We cannot know,” replied Tuktu. “That is, we cannot know for a -certainty. But we can do this, Aklak: we can pick out the finest and the -handsomest, the swiftest and the strongest of the deer in our herd, and -we can train them—I mean, you can train them,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102">{102}</a></span> Aklak, and perhaps I can -help a little. Then, perhaps, when the herd visits the Valley of the -Good Spirit next summer, he will discover that these deer are already -trained. I just know that he will <i>know</i>. Just think, Aklak, how -wonderful it would be to help Santa, the Good Spirit.”</p> - -<p>Now, Tuktu’s thought was all of helping the Good Spirit, but Aklak, -though he thought of this, was more selfish in his thoughts, though he -said nothing to Tuktu. To himself he thought, “If Tuktu should be right -and the Good Spirit should choose the deer I have trained, it would be -the first time that all the magic deer have been chosen from one herd. -If the owner of one or two chosen by the Good Spirit is blessed, how -much greater would the blessing be if the eight deer should be chosen -from one herd.”</p> - -<p>The more Aklak thought over Tuktu’s plan, the better it seemed to him. -So, a few days later when they were out together, he promised to try it.</p> - -<p>“But we must keep the secret,” said he. “No one must know what we are -doing, for the herders would laugh at us and make fun<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103">{103}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"><a name="ill_7" id="ill_7"></a> -<a href="images/i_103.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_103.jpg" height="503" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>Tuktu watching Aklak train a young deer</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">{104}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">{105}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">of us. They will see me training the deer, but they will not suspect -that they are being trained for a special purpose. Let us go out now and -pick out those to be trained.”</p> - -<p>Now, Aklak was a splendid judge of deer. He knew all the fine points, -for he had been well taught by his father. So it was that often when -Tuktu would point out what seemed to her a particularly fine animal, -Aklak would shake his head and would point out to her that it was not as -fine as it seemed. There would be some little blemish. Now and then he -would find a deer that suited him. Sometimes the deer would be wild and -difficult to approach. Then Tuktu would help. Sometimes the deer would -struggle after it had been roped, and every time that Aklak came near -would strike with its forefeet, as only a reindeer can. Then Tuktu would -pet it and soothe it, until in a few days it would be gentle and easy to -handle.</p> - -<p>At first, Aklak would look only among his father’s deer. He wanted those -eight deer to be from his father’s herd. And so he would not look at -some of the finest deer of the great herd, which his father did not -own,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">{106}</a></span> but of which he had charge. That was the selfishness in Aklak. But -when Tuktu refused to have anything to do with these deer, because there -were finer ones in the great herd, he admitted after a while that she -was right. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was honest. He knew that -Tuktu was right. He knew that the Good Spirit would not choose less than -the best.</p> - -<p>All that winter Aklak worked with his eight deer. Every day he drove one -or another of them. The other herders began to take notice, and some of -them became envious. But he was the son of Kutok, the chief herder, and -there was nothing they could do about it. As for Kutok, he became very -proud. “Said I not that Aklak would one day become a great herder?” he -would demand, as he watched the boy driving a deer as none of the other -herders could drive it.</p> - -<p>And all that winter Tuktu and Aklak kept their secret.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">{107}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII<br /><br /> -<small>THE ROUND-UP</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">S</span>PRING came, and before the snow was gone, the fawns were born. It was a -cold, cold world that those baby deer came into, but they did not seem -to mind it. Those were busy days for Tuktu and Aklak, for they spent -much time looking up the mother deer to see that their babies were -properly taken care of. Now and then they would find a fawn that had -lost its mother and then would begin a search for the mother. Little by -little the snow disappeared and the big herd began to move toward the -sea. It was heading toward the summer range.</p> - -<p>Tuktu and Aklak looked forward eagerly to the summer visit to the -coast—Aklak for the hunting and fishing, and Tuktu for the delight of -watching the sea fowl and hunting for their eggs. Then there was the -great round-up. That was always exciting. Tuktu<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">{108}</a></span> took no part in it, but -Aklak was big enough now to help. The round-up would occur soon after -the herd reached the coast. Some of the herders had already gone ahead -to prepare the great corral. This was simply a huge pen of brush and -sticks with wings to it, so that as the grazing herd came on, it got -between these wings without knowing it at first, and then kept on going -until the whole herd was in the great pen, called the corral. The -herders would follow and shut them in.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_108.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_108.jpg" width="380" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p>The families of the herders who had gone ahead were taken with them, so -that the camp was made and everything ready before the ar<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">{109}</a></span>rival of the -deer. The latter had not been driven, but had been allowed to take their -own time, grazing as they went. But they too were eager to get to the -shore, and so they had moved forward quite rapidly.</p> - -<p>One morning Aklak came hurrying in with word that the great herd was -approaching. Everybody went out to see the round-up and to help by -seeing that none of the deer were allowed to get outside of the wings of -the corral. The leaders of the big herd unsuspiciously came up over the -brow of a little hill. It was beyond this hill that the great corral had -been built, so that the deer would not see it until they were over the -hill. At first, the herd was widely spread, but as they came within the -wings of the great corral, the fences forced them nearer together, until -as they entered the corral they were closely packed. Once inside, they -began to mill, which is, as you know, to go around and around. It was a -wonderful sight. It would have been still more wonderful had they had -their antlers, but these had been shed and the new ones had but just -started. On the farther side of the corral was a gateway open<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">{110}</a></span>ing into a -very narrow passage, which grew narrower and narrower until it was just -wide enough for one deer to pass through. Into this the herders turned -the milling animals as fast as they could be handled. As the deer came -through this narrow passage, they were counted and the ear-marks were -noted. Of course, there were the ear-marks of several owners in that -great herd and each kept a record of the deer bearing his ear-mark, as -they came through this narrow passage called the “chute.” The fawns -going through with their mothers were roped as they came out of the -chute and ear-marked, each one being given the ear-mark of its mother. -It was very exciting.</p> - -<p>Now, could you have sat on the corral fence and seen that great herd of -animals milling within the corral, I am sure you would have held tight -to your seat. You would have been quite sure that no one could go down -inside without being trampled to death. But the deer people are a gentle -people. More than once Tuktu or Aklak, wishing to be on the other side -of the corral, walked right through<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">{111}</a></span> the herd, the deer making way for -them as they walked.</p> - -<p>Perhaps you can guess how eagerly Tuktu watched to see if Speedfoot, -that deer of her father’s, which she was sure the Good Spirit had -chosen, would appear in the herd. She was sure he wouldn’t, but there -would be no convincing Aklak until the last deer had passed through the -chute. Aklak was so busy helping in the marking of the unmarked deer, -that he could not watch all the deer that passed through, but you may be -sure he kept as good a watch as he could.</p> - -<p>At last, the round-up was over. All the fawns had been ear-marked. Each -owner had counted his deer and knew just how much his herd had -increased. As soon as there was a chance, Tuktu whispered in Aklak’s -ear, “I told you that Speedfoot was not in the herd. Wait now until the -herd moves up to the Valley of the Good Spirit, and you will find him -there.”</p> - -<p>Of course Kutok had been watching for that particular deer. It had been -the pride of his heart the year before, and its disappearance had -worried him. He had thought that some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112">{112}</a></span>how it might have been overlooked -on the winter grazing grounds, but when the round-up was over, he knew -that the animal was not in the herd. Then he was torn between fear and -hope. His fear was that the animal had strayed from the herd and been -killed by wolves. His hope was—I do not have to tell you what his hope -was. It was that this summer they would find Speedfoot bearing the -ear-marks of the Good Spirit. To Kutok and to Aklak it was merely a -hope, but to Tuktu it was a certainty. She hadn’t the least shadow of -doubt, and her heart sang for joy.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113">{113}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX<br /><br /> -<small>THE CHRISTMAS STORY</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>HAT was a never to be forgotten summer to Tuktu and Aklak. A ship came -in the harbor near which they were camped, and they had a chance to see -how the white men lived on the ship and all the wonders that the ship -contained. One of the white men spent much time at their camp asking -through one of the herders, who could speak his language, all sorts of -questions, questions that made Tuktu and Aklak think that he knew very -little. But then when they in their turn began asking questions, he told -them such wonderful things that they began to think that they knew very -little.</p> - -<p>One day, as he sat watching Tuktu and her mother, Navaluk, making a -coat—with a hood attached, trimmed with a fringe of wolverine fur -around the edge—he told them stories, and the story that he told of -Christ<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114">{114}</a></span>mas was the story that Tuktu liked best of all. She told it to -Aklak.</p> - -<p>“What do you think, Aklak?” she said. “The children outside of our -beautiful Northland have no reindeer. Most of them have never seen a -reindeer.”</p> - -<p>“What drags their sleds then, dogs?” demanded the practical Aklak.</p> - -<p>“No,” replied Tuktu, “they have other animals called horses. But they -cannot be beautiful like our deer, for they have no antlers. But all -those children have heard of our reindeer, Aklak, and there is a certain -time in the winter called Christmas when in the night after every one is -asleep, there comes the children’s saint and visits each home. And, -Aklak, he comes with reindeer!”</p> - -<p>Aklak looked up quickly. “The Good Spirit?” he cried.</p> - -<p>Tuktu’s eyes were shining as she nodded. “It must be,” she said, “for -who else would have reindeer? And, listen, Aklak: he is short and round -and shakes when he laughs; and he has a white beard and a fur-trimmed -coat and a fur-trimmed hat; and his reindeer take him right up on the -roofs of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115">{115}</a></span> houses; and then he takes a pack on his back and goes -right down the chimney; and he leaves gifts for little children while -they are asleep. And if any little boy or little girl lies awake and -peeps and tries to see him, he doesn’t leave any presents for that -little girl or that little boy and they never do see him. When he has -made his visit, he goes right up the chimney again and jumps in his -sleigh and calls to his reindeer and away he goes to the next stopping -place. And he makes all those visits in one night. No wonder he wants -reindeer. No wonder he wants the very best reindeer.”</p> - -<p>“But if no one ever sees him, how do they know what he looks like?” -demanded practical Aklak.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” replied Tuktu, “it is only on the night before Christmas that he -never is seen. I mean he is never seen coming down the chimney and -putting the gifts for the children where they will find them. But he is -seen often going about before Christmas, for he has to find out who have -been good, that they may receive presents. And the children give him -letters and tell him what they want, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116">{116}</a></span> if they have been good, he -tries to give them what they want. So he leaves the Northland early, -some time before Christmas, and goes out into the Great World. Then he -returns for the gifts and the night before Christmas makes that -wonderful flying trip with the deer. He loves reindeer.”</p> - -<p>“Of course he loves the reindeer!” Aklak interrupted. “How could he help -loving the reindeer? Aren’t they the most important animals in all the -Great World?”</p> - -<p>“That is what I said, but the man said that horses are more important -down there. I asked him if they ate the meat of the horses and he said -no. And I asked him if they made clothing from the skins of the horses -and he said no. He said they were important because they worked for -men.”</p> - -<p>Aklak shrugged his shoulders. “The reindeer work for men also. They -carry us where we want to go. We do not have to carry food for them, for -they find it for themselves. They furnish us with food and clothing and -our tents. I would not for the world live down there where there are no -reindeer. Did the man tell you anything else?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117">{117}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Tuktu’s eyes were like stars. “Yes,” said she. “He said that all over -that land at Christmas time they have beautiful green trees covered with -lights at night and many shining things. And sometimes these trees are -hung with presents for the boys and girls; and sometimes the Good Saint -appears at one of these trees and with his own hands gives the gifts to -the children. But the very day after Christmas he disappears and he is -seen no more until the Christmas season comes again; and no one knows -where he is. All the children wonder and wonder where he is all through -the year, but they have never been able to find out.”</p> - -<p>“Did you tell the man that we know?” Aklak asked.</p> - -<p>Tuktu shook her head. “He wouldn’t believe,” said she. “But we do know, -Aklak, for that children’s saint is the Good Spirit who lives in the -Valley of the Good Spirit. Oh, Aklak, wouldn’t it be too wonderful if he -would choose our deer for that marvelous Christmas journey?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118">{118}</a></span>”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX<br /><br /> -<small>THE GREAT TEMPTATION</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">T</span>UKTU and Aklak loved the summer by the shore. Yet both were impatient -for the coming of the time when the herds would move up to the Valley of -the Good Spirit. The eight deer Aklak had so carefully trained had been -grazing with the herd all summer. The two children had kept their secret -well, but, oh, how eager they were to see if the Good Spirit would -choose any of their deer!</p> - -<p>At last the big herd moved and as before Kutok took the two children -with him to watch that the deer should not leave the valley without -knowledge of the herders. When they got there, they found grazing near -the camp Speedfoot, the missing deer, which Tuktu had seen chosen in the -Valley of the Good Spirit. Looking at the ears, they found Kutok’s mark, -but also a new mark, the mark of the Good Spirit, for it was unlike any -other<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119">{119}</a></span> mark in all that region. This splendid deer and seven others were -grazing near the hut, and Kutok and Aklak promptly fastened them, that -they might not go back with the herd. For were not these the blessed -deer?</p> - -<p>But the herd moved on. Looking over toward the hills around the valley, -the children could see the grazing deer in the distance, but they were -too far away to tell one deer from another.</p> - -<p>This year Aklak spent less time hunting than he had the previous year. -He could think of nothing but those eight deer. “If the Good Spirit -chooses all of them, how wonderful it would be! I do hope he will,” said -he.</p> - -<p>Tuktu hoped so, too, but she didn’t say so. She merely reminded Aklak -that only one of his father’s deer had been chosen the year before.</p> - -<p>As the days slipped by, Aklak was less and less certain that his deer -would be chosen. Finally, he confessed to Tuktu that if the Good Spirit -would just take one, he would be satisfied.</p> - -<p>“He will. I know he will,” replied Tuktu.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120">{120}</a></span></p> - -<p>One morning when their father was off hunting, Aklak proposed that they -take the two pack-deer and go over to the edge of the Valley of the Good -Spirit, where they could look down into it. Tuktu shook her head and -there was a startled look in her big eyes. “Oh, no, Aklak,” she cried, -“we mustn’t do that!”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” demanded Aklak. “You went down into the valley last year. Why -should you be afraid to do it again?”</p> - -<p>“But I didn’t go of my own will,” cried Tuktu. “I was taken there -without knowing I was going, and that is very different. I think the -Good Spirit knew and meant for me to come.”</p> - -<p>“Well, anyway,” said Aklak, “let’s go up on the hills where we can look -down on the curtain of beautiful mist. That will do no harm. Besides, I -want to see if those deer I trained are all right.”</p> - -<p>But Tuktu would not be moved. “Do you remember the story the white man -told, and that I told you?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>Aklak nodded. “What of it?” said he.</p> - -<p>“Do you not remember that the children<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121">{121}</a></span> who peek, not only never see the -good saint when he visits them at Christmas, but get no gifts?”</p> - -<p>Aklak hung his head. “Yes,” he admitted, “I remember. But this is -different.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Tuktu, “it is not different. Have we not always been told -that the deer people only may visit the Valley of the Good Spirit? If we -should anger the Good Spirit, our deer would not be chosen.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps they won’t be anyway,” declared Aklak.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps they won’t,” agreed Tuktu, “but I know the Good Spirit will -know that we trained them for him. And even if he does not choose them -for his Christmas journey, I think he will be pleased. Aklak, we mustn’t -do anything so dreadful as even to seem to be spying on the Good Spirit. -If he wants us to visit him, I am sure he will let us know in some way.”</p> - -<p>Aklak looked over toward the specks dotting the distant hillside, the -deer feeding above Kringle Valley. He sighed. “Of course you are right, -Tuktu,” said he, “but, oh dear, I should so like to look down in that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122">{122}</a></span> -valley.” His face brightened suddenly. “Perhaps we will have a fog,” he -exclaimed. “If we have a fog, we will just get on the two pack-deer and -perhaps they’ll take us in there. I’ll ride Whitefoot, because he has -been there before.”</p> - -<p>“We won’t do anything of the kind,” replied Tuktu decidedly. “That would -be just as bad as going right up in there ourselves. Aklak, I feel it in -my bones that the Good Spirit is going to choose some of our deer. So, -let’s forget all about wanting to see into that valley.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123">{123}</a></span>”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI<br /><br /> -<small>ATTACKED BY WOLVES</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">S</span>UMMER this year was shorter than usual. As if they knew that the winter -would come early and be long and hard, the deer left the Valley of the -Good Spirit earlier than ever before, and began the slow journey back -toward the winter grazing grounds. At the first movement of the herds, -Aklak and Tuktu had been sent back to the main camp to help break camp -and move to their winter home. So it was not until the deer were back on -the home pastures that they had an opportunity to look for the deer -Aklak had so carefully trained.</p> - -<p>An unusually bold family of wolves had attacked the herd on the way. -There are no more cunning people in all the great world than the wolves. -For days they had followed the deer without once being discovered by -either the deer or the herders. Perhaps the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124">{124}</a></span> latter had grown careless. -Perhaps they had allowed the deer to scatter too widely. Anyway, the -attack came when there were no herders near enough to interfere.</p> - -<p>A wary, clever old mother was the leader of those wolves. She knew deer -as not even the herders knew them. She knew just how to cut out a small -band of animals from the main herd and drive them into the hills to be -killed at leisure. She knew how to do it without stampeding the rest of -the herd, and she and her well-grown children did it. It wasn’t until -one of the herders found their tracks in newly-fallen snow that the -presence of the wolves was suspected. Then it didn’t take long to -discover what had happened.</p> - -<p>Two of the herders, who were also noted hunters, set out on the trail of -the wolves to make sure that the band was not still hanging around. They -also hoped that they might find some of the missing deer.</p> - -<p>But those deer had been run hard and fast and all the hunters found were -the cleanly picked bones of several. The others had been so scattered -that it was useless to try to round them up.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125">{125}</a></span></p> - -<p>There was no way of knowing whose deer the wolves had killed until the -winter round-up. Then when the count was made, it would be discovered -whose deer were missing. But it was a long time to wait for that winter -round-up, so Tuktu and Aklak spent much time going about in the herd -looking for those trained deer. And they were not the only ones who were -looking. Kutok, their father, had been very proud of those deer, and as -soon as the herd was back on the home pastures, he asked Aklak where -they were. Of course Aklak had to tell him that he hadn’t seen them.</p> - -<p>Now trained sled-deer are valuable animals, and Kutok at once called the -other herders to him and told them to watch out for these particular -deer. He remembered the attack of the wolves and he feared greatly that -the eight sled-deer might have been the victims. This was the same fear -that was tugging at the hearts of Aklak and Tuktu. There was no way for -them to know whether the Good Spirit had chosen those deer, or whether -the wolves had killed them. There could be no way of knowing until the -return<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126">{126}</a></span> of the herds to the seashore in the early summer. Meanwhile, -Aklak was busy training more deer, and one of these was Little Spot. He -was still young for sled work, but he was such a splendid young deer, so -big and so strong and so willing, that everybody who saw him said that -in time he would make the finest sled-deer in all the Northland.</p> - -<p>Of course, Tuktu and Aklak said nothing to their father of their hope -that the Good Spirit had chosen those deer. They suspected that should -they tell, they would be laughed at. Also, they were afraid their father -would not like it that they should have dared to think that they could -train deer for the Good Spirit. So, when the round-up came and none of -the deer were found, but it was discovered that several others of -Kutok’s deer were also missing, they pretended to think as did all the -other folk, that Kutok had been unfortunate and that the wolves had -gotten his deer. This was what every one believed and it was repeated so -often that Tuktu and Aklak found it difficult at times not to believe -that it was true. “Had it not been for those wolves, we<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127">{127}</a></span> should know,” -Tuktu kept saying over and over. “I hate those wolves! I do so!”</p> - -<p>Kutok also hated the wolves. He hated them for the same reason that -Tuktu did, and he hated them because he knew that if those deer were not -safe in the Valley of the Good Spirit, they most certainly had been -eaten by this time and all his hard work had gone for nothing. So it was -that the wolves brought worry to the home of Kutok.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128">{128}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII<br /><br /> -<small>THE CHRISTMAS INVITATION</small></h2> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_128.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_128.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>T had been known to the village since the forming of new ice that the -ship which they had visited in summer had not left for the far-away -country from which it had come, but was now frozen in the ice and would -spend the winter in the Far Northland. So there was no surprise when one -day there arrived two white men and an Eskimo guide, who had journeyed -overland by dog sledge. One of these men was the one who had told<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129">{129}</a></span> Tuktu -the story of Christmas. As Kutok’s house was the largest and the best -house in the village, the visitors were entertained there.</p> - -<p>They remained two or three days and when they left to return to their -ship, all the village turned out to see them go. They had brought things -to trade and in return for deer meat and warm clothing of deerskin had -left things which were of equal value to the Eskimos. And they had left -the feeling of goodwill, for in all their trading they had taken the -greatest care to be fair. When they left they had taken with them a -promise that those of the men who could be spared from their duties in -watching the deer, together with some of the women and children from the -village, would visit the ship at a certain time, which the white men -called Christmas. There would be much feasting and merrymaking and -strange things to see on the ship.</p> - -<p>The white man who had made friends with Tuktu had made Kutok promise -that Tuktu should come. And this her father had been the more willing to -grant, because he had been given a knife he had long wanted. So it was -arranged that unless the weather should<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130">{130}</a></span> be too bad, so there could be -no traveling, Ikok, Navaluk, and the two children, and perhaps some -others of the village, should pay a Christmas visit to the ship.</p> - -<p>Tuktu and Aklak could think of and talk about little else. Aklak saw to -it that the sled-deer were in the best possible condition. It would take -them at least two days and one sleep. That sleep would be at the -herder’s hut near Kringle Valley. At least, that is the way that Kutok -planned to go. There was a longer way around by way of another village -and this would be the way that others from the village would go.</p> - -<p>Kutok and Aklak went to work on the sleds. They must be put in the best -condition for such a long journey. They would take six, one for each of -them and two extra to carry provisions and things for trade. It would -not be necessary to have extra drivers, for often one driver handles at -least three sleds. He rides on the first one, the deer drawing the -second one is attached to the rear of his sled, and to the rear of that -sled is attached the third deer. So, it would be a simple matter to look -out for the extra sleds on this journey.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131">{131}</a></span> Kutok was to drive Speedfoot; -Tuktu would drive Big Spot; Aklak would drive Little Spot; and Navaluk -would drive Whitefoot.</p> - -<p>While her father and brother were busy going over the sleds and seeing -to it that they were in perfect order, Tuktu and her mother were equally -busy. They had promised two pairs of boots and two new suits, for which -they had taken the measurements when their visitors were with them, and -there would be none too much time to get them ready. As she worked, -Tuktu kept thinking of all that she had heard from the white man about -Christmas. This would be her first Christmas and she wondered if she -would see the wonderful Santa Claus. Then she remembered that he would -be on his journey around the great world. Besides, had not she been told -that those who peeked never saw him? But, despite this, right down in -her heart, she couldn’t help hoping that she might get just a glimpse of -him. She did want to see if this Santa of the white man was in very -truth the Good Spirit whom she had seen in Kringle Valley.</p> - -<p>The cold grew stronger. The Northern<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132">{132}</a></span> Lights flashed, and the stars -seemed so close that one could almost pick them from the sky. It was a -world of white, but the snow was not so deep but that the deer could -easily paw down through it and get their food. It was just right for -good sledding and as the time for the start approached, Tuktu and Aklak -watched anxiously lest a fierce northern blizzard should sweep down and -delay their journey.</p> - -<p>But the blizzard did not come, and at last they were ready to start. -Each wore two suits. The inner one was worn with the fur turned in and -the outer one with the fur out. The inner hood was trimmed with -wolverine fur, because frost does not cling to this fur. With any other -fur, the moisture from the breath would freeze and soon make a ring of -ice around the face.</p> - -<p>The outer hood was trimmed with wolfskin, the long hair of which would -protect the face from the bitter wind. With their bearskin trousers and -their double boots, they had nothing to fear from the cold. So with -Kutok leading, with a deer and one of the luggage<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133">{133}</a></span> sleds following, -Aklak next with the second extra deer and sled behind him, Navaluk next, -and Tuktu at the end, the little procession started for their Christmas -outing.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/i_133.jpg"> -<img src="images/i_133.jpg" width="393" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134">{134}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII<br /><br /> -<small>THE CHRISTMAS VISION</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="letra">I</span>T was late when Kutok and his family reached the camp near the Valley -of the Good Spirit. It had been a wonderful journey. The snow had been -just right and the reindeer had traveled steadily and fast, for they -were in splendid condition. Now they were fastened out, each tied by a -long line to a hummock under the snow. There was plenty of food here and -the deer at once began to paw down to get it. It is one of the -advantages in traveling with reindeer that their food does not have to -be carried for them. They will get their own food at the end of the -day’s trip.</p> - -<p>Kutok and Navaluk had no thought for anything but rest after the evening -meal. But not so the two children. They could not forget that they were -in sight of the hills around the Valley of the Good Spirit and that it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135">{135}</a></span> -might be that over there in that Valley were the eight missing deer. So, -when their father and mother were asleep, they slipped out from the hut -for a look over toward the wonderful valley, for was it not from that -valley that the marvelous Northern Lights flashed up through the sky?</p> - -<p>There was no wind. The cold was intense. But Tuktu and Aklak were -dressed for it and they minded it not at all. It seemed as if the stars -were so close that they could be reached. It was not moonlight, for this -was the period when the moon was not visible. But the starlight almost -made up for it.</p> - -<p>And then as they stood there, looking over toward the Valley of the Good -Spirit, a long streamer of light suddenly flashed out, and up, up, up, -until it was quite overhead. It quivered, almost died down, then shot up -again! Then came another and another and another. The Northern -Lights—the Merry Dancers of the Sky—dimmed the stars and made the -night almost as light as day. At first, these Northern Lights were -simply white; and then they were shot with yellow and red.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136">{136}</a></span></p> - -<p>All their lives Tuktu and Aklak had been familiar with these fires of -the sky, but never had they seen them as they now saw them. They caught -their breath and held to each other with a little bit of fear. Those -fires were no longer mere flashing white, shimmering, dancing streamers -of light. They were yellow and red in many shades, and they appeared, as -if in very truth they were fires leaping high up in the sky. And as they -had so often heard it said, those dancing, leaping lights were coming -out of the Valley of the Good Spirit. Certainly, they were flashing from -directly behind the hills that shut away that valley, so of course they -must be coming from the valley.</p> - -<p>The lights died down. For a few moments there was no light save from the -stars. Then from directly over the Valley of the Good Spirit a long -streamer of white flickering light crept up and up, and as it crept, it -broadened until it was like a broad path across the sky toward the -south. There was the tinkle of silver bells. Tuktu touched Aklak. “See, -Aklak! See the deer!” she whispered.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137">{137}</a></span></p> - -<p>But Aklak had already seen them. On that broad shining path a pair of -reindeer had appeared. He knew them instantly. They were two of the deer -he had trained, and which had disappeared. Out of the shimmering light -behind them moved two more. And these he recognized. There could be no -doubt. He would have known them among ten thousand deer. They were -harnessed two and two, and as they moved forward, another pair appeared, -and then another.</p> - -<p>Clinging together, breathless, round-eyed, Aklak and Tuktu stared. Eight -deer they counted—eight deer harnessed two and two. Would there be -more? The curtain of light low above the hilltop seemed to burst in a -glory of color such as made what they had seen before seem as nothing. -And out of the midst of that glory, drawn by the eight deer, came a -sled. On it Tuktu recognized instantly Santa Claus, the Good Spirit, -whom she had seen in the Valley.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">He was short and jolly and round and fat,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">With a fur-trimmed coat and a fur-trimmed hat.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">He laughed “Ha! Ha!” and he laughed “Ho! Ho!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138">{138}</a></span>”<br /></span> -<span class="i0">“Hello, Little Folk,” he cried, “Hello!<br /></span> -<span class="i0">The boys and girls of the world this year<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Will see for themselves my splendid deer;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Will see and love them and surely know<br /></span> -<span class="i0">That the reindeer come, though there be no snow.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">For they’re magic deer for my magic sleigh,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And we circle the world in a single day.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">There is naught so faithful and naught so quick<br /></span> -<span class="i0">To carry the message of Old St. Nick.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">By training my steeds you have saved for me<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Some weeks of labor; and so you see<br /></span> -<span class="i0">It happens I’m able to start this year<br /></span> -<span class="i0">In time for the children to see the deer.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And all who see them I tell you true<br /></span> -<span class="i0">A Christmas greeting will send to you.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>“As you will have given joy to all the little folk of the Great World -this year, in like degree will your own Christmas be merry, and will -happiness fill your hearts. And now, my dears, I must away.”</p> - -<p>Santa waved a mittened hand to them, then turned to his deer and cried:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen!<br /></span> -<span class="i1">On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen!’<span class="lftspc">”</span><br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>Down a shining path of light, across the sky toward the south, the eight -deer dashed, until in a breath they were mere specks. Up<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139">{139}</a></span> from the -valley the orange and red lights streamed higher and higher, until all -the sky was a blaze of beautiful light. When they died down, only the -stars were to be seen, twinkling so close that it seemed as if they -might be picked from the sky.</p> - -<p>With shining eyes Tuktu and Aklak returned to the hut. “No one will -believe us if we tell it,” whispered Tuktu. “They’ll say we dreamed it. -We’ll wait, Aklak, until the blessed deer are returned to us by the Good -Spirit next summer, and we can show his ear-mark. Then all will know -that we speak truly.”</p> - -<p>Thus it was that it was made possible for the boys and girls of the -Great World to really see Santa Claus and his blessed reindeer. And thus -it was that Tuktu and Aklak found happiness and great content, and the -real joy of the blessed Christmas Spirit.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/inside.jpg"> -<img src="images/inside.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -</div> - -<hr class="full" /> -<div style='display:block;margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHRISTMAS REINDEER ***</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This file should be named 64109-h.htm or 64109-h.zip</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in https://www.gutenberg.org/6/4/1/0/64109/</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'> -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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