In the morning the boy got up and put on his clothes, which fit as though made for him, and which felt so good and warm after having had no clothes at all for such a long time. He tried the little bow, and that was just the right size for him, too. When he had blackened his face, and put on the little crown, he sat down to wait for the chief.
He did not have long to wait. Pretty soon he heard the crunch, crunch, of footsteps coming over the snow; then the cruel voice of his uncle calling him to come out.
Now the little fellow knew that he was going through that door to be killed, but he took his spear and his bow, and went out as bravely as any man.
When he got outside he saw his uncle standing by the door with a big spear, and a crowd of people armed with spears and bows, all waiting to kill one little boy.
As soon as they saw him they raised a great howl, and hurled their spears at him and shot their arrows; but the weapons struck the oily surface of his parka and glanced aside without harming him at all. Then the boy hurled his spear at his uncle with all his might. It struck deep into his flesh, and the wicked man went off, howling like a dog, and never came back; for which every one was sincerely thankful.
After that the boy heard some one calling, and looking up he saw the kind man and his wife standing on the roof of their igloo, and they were shouting, “Let us make him chief! Let us make him chief!”
Then the people who wanted to kill him when the wicked uncle was there, shouted, “He will be our chief now! He will be our chief!” So the boy became chief, and went to live with the kind man and his wife, and took them for his parents and was good to them, just as they had been good to him when he was in trouble.
From that time on, the Eskimos have continued the custom of adopting little orphan children into their homes, and taking care of them; being very kind, and never like the wicked uncle at all.
A RACE BETWEEN A REINDEER AND A TOM-COD
Long ago somewhere on the shore of the Arctic Ocean a reindeer was taking a walk on the beach, enjoying the fine air, and the sea salt of which the reindeer are so fond. As he passed a little point on the beach jutting out into the ocean, a fish called tom-cod said, “Well, Deer, how do you do?” The deer stopped to say good-morning to the fish, and asked him if he did not think it would be fun to run a race, and settle for all time which could go the fastest, a reindeer or a fish.