THE LOST SON
Long ago, in a village on the Arctic coast of Alaska, there lived a man and his wife, with their only son.
The boy was clever and brave, and a good hunter. Every spring he went out with his harpoon and killed a whale, but he did not worship the whales as his father did. The father thought the whales had great power, and he used to pray to them.
One winter while the young man was out hunting, the ice broke and drifted away from land, leaving him on the ice floe with a great expanse of shining sea between himself and the shore. There was no way for him to reach land, and, to make matters worse, a storm arose, and the wind blew and howled, and the waves grew so big that they looked like mountains. Pretty soon the ice was all broken up, so that he found himself on a very small, high iceberg. He had scarcely room to turn around, and all night long he clung there, cramped up and cold.
When daylight came again, and he saw that he was all alone on a little piece of ice, floating on a big black ocean, without even a glimpse of land to cheer him, he fell into deep despair. Very miserably he waited there, looking out over the sea until night began to fall once more; then he could bear it no longer. Taking his hunting knife from its sheath, he made ready to kill himself. As he raised the knife, a hand from above seized his hand, and a great voice spoke in his heart, saying, “You must not do that. It is wrong.” On hearing this, he dropped the knife in the water, and suddenly he felt himself being drawn up swiftly through the air. When he recovered his breath and looked about him, he was in heaven. It was very light, and he was not cold or sad any more.
While he stood there enjoying the balmy air and warm sunshine, a kind man came along, and took him to his home, where he was as well fed and treated as by a loving father.
Now his own father and mother were in great distress, and scarcely knew how to live without him. The neighbors were sorry for them, and every one in the village spoke kindly of the young man, whom they looked upon as lost forever.
At the far end of the village, in a tiny hut, there lived an old woman with her little granddaughter.
One day the little girl said, “Grandma, I wish I might bring back that young man.”