The big snake hissed at him and said, “I will eat you up.”
The boy was terribly frightened, but he was a brave little fellow, so he answered, “All right, I am ready.”
All the time he was looking desperately about for a weapon of some sort; but the only thing he saw was the skin of the flipper of a seal. This he pulled quickly onto his own right hand, which it fitted like a glove.
“Come on, Snake, and eat me up,” said he.
The big snake opened his mouth very wide, and quickly the boy thrust his hand with the seal claws on it down the snake’s long throat, and pulled out the snake’s stomach. Such an angry hissing as there was! Then the snake glided away very fast.
Early in the morning, knowing that his uncle would come to see if the shaman had killed him, the boy got out of his bag, and started to run around on the floor to keep warm.
Soon the uncle climbed to the top of the kasga and peered down through the window hole to see if the boy was there. When he saw his nephew running about, he was more angry than ever, and called down in a loud voice, “Try as hard as you can to live, I will kill you.” Then the boy heard the footsteps going away over the snow, and crept back into the sleeping-bag.
When it began to be dark, some one crept up to the window hole and said, “Hello.” It was the kind man, and happy indeed was the poor little boy to hear the voice of his friend.
The man was very much surprised to hear the boy’s answering “Hello,” and very much pleased, and said, “Last night, the wicked shaman transformed himself into a snake and went out. In the morning he came crawling back without his stomach, and died. You killed that shaman, I am sure. Now tonight your uncle sent for the very highest shaman of all, and told him he must kill you himself. I am afraid he will succeed this time, with his great magic. You must try your very best to save yourself any way.”
Leaving some food and water, the kind man went away, and the boy, shivering with cold and fright, crept back into his bag.