"Who put all those rocks there, I wonder?" mused Little White Fox, scratching his head and looking puzzled. "They are white and all the same size. How queer!"
Little White Fox had climbed almost to the top of Cape Prince of Wales Mountain. He had crept around among the rocks until he was way out on a ledge looking out over the great blue sea. And here he had found these strange rocks, all gathered in one little pile by themselves. As he looked around, he presently saw more piles here and there, and all just the same size. "Now, what do you think of that!" he said to himself, scratching his head again, and more puzzled than ever.
He was still rubbing his head thoughtfully, when a sound behind him made him look around, and his bright eyes fell on a group of the strangest little people any small fox ever came across. There were seven of them. They all stood in a row, and each was as straight up and down as the big whalebone over the grave Omnok, the hunter, had made for his father. Little White Fox had seen some of these strange folks when he was with his mother a few days before. She had told him that they belonged to the Sea Parrot family. "There is a very large family of them," she had said. "They live almost anywhere on the ocean most of the year, but they make Alaska their summer home."
These seven little black sea parrots all stood up stiffly in a row, and not one word did they say, either to Little White Fox or to one another. But Little White Fox felt that they were looking at him, and he didn't like it a bit. "What business is it of theirs if I walk around here and see what I can see?" he thought to himself. "They are very ugly little people, anyway. Look at their faces! They are nearly all nose! And such ugly, bent noses I never saw before in all my life, either!"
Just then a strange, pleasing smell came to Little White Fox's quivering nostrils. Could it come from those strange, round rocks? He would see. He walked up to one of the piles, and, putting his nose down close, gave a big, long sniff. Yes, sir, that's just where it did come from! "How queer!" thought he. "I never saw such rocks before. Guess I'll push one of them around and see what will happen." At that, he stretched out one of his front paws, and began to roll one of the rocks about. Bing! something struck him an awful blow right on the top of his head.
"Ouch! What was that!" cried Little White Fox, peering about and rubbing his head.
The seven strangers were standing still stiff in a straight row. Not a word did they say, but they had moved quite a bit closer to Little White Fox.
"I wonder," said Little White Fox. Then he began to roll the rock again. Bing! something struck his head, harder than before. Little White Fox whirled about quickly this time. One of the strangers was straightening up.
"What has she been doing?" he said to himself. "I shouldn't wonder if she had been hitting me with her ugly face. I have a great mind to bite her! What business is it of hers if I come up here and roll these little stones around? Don't all the stones in the world belong to anybody who wants them?"
He gave the rock a vigorous push this time. It rolled over a small ledge, gave a little squash! and broke in two in the middle. Little White Fox could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the inside of the stone spread out on the ground, all yellow and white! And Ah-ne-ca! how strong it smelled! But the smell was the most delicious that Little White Fox had ever sniffed.