This poor boy was kept by a grandmother who had no one to go out hunting, and no articles to offer in exchange for skins of the seal and reindeer, so it came to pass that both of them had to be content with clothes made from the skins of birds, instead of the double fur suit which Eskimo people usually wear. Playmates who were better clad mocked young Kiviung, and some went so far as to tear his birdskin coat, a cruel act which made him run home to his grandmother, crying for protection.

Now it so happened that the grandmother was a very clever witch, but no one knew of this, for the old lady had been too kind to harm any of the villagers until her anger was aroused by the unkind treatment of her grandson, who had many times been chased home by big strong men who called out insulting remarks concerning the birdskin suit.

An Eskimo Boy.

At last the old woman swore to have revenge, and in order to do this she commanded her boy to step into a puddle which had formed in their miserable dwelling. No sooner had he obeyed than he was transformed into a healthy young seal. His coat was so beautiful and glossy that it attracted the attention of all the villagers, who watched him basking on a piece of ice near the shore. Then the kayaks were launched, and each Eskimo began to paddle furiously in the direction of the young seal, which could see the cruel-looking harpoons always carried by the hunter. Nearer and nearer they came, then the baby seal slipped gently from the ice and disappeared beneath the surface of the cold green sea. Presently he came up to breathe, and at the same time noticed with pleasure that all the kayaks were being swiftly paddled in his direction. So diving once more, he headed for a most dangerous piece of water, where heavy green seas were breaking, and huge pieces of ice were floating about, dashing together with a crunching noise. Excited by the chase, these Eskimo hunters had no thought of danger, and so little Kiviung, in the form of a seal, led them into the perilous position from which no one escaped. Once among the billows and blocks of ice, these frail kayaks, made of skin stretched over a frame of whalebone, were tossed about and dashed against the ice until not one of them remained on the surface, and the hunters, after a few feeble struggles in the ice-cold water, sank down and down into the regions inhabited by fierce Kalopaling.

The agile little seal used his tail and strong flappers to good advantage, and presently landed safely at a point where the old witch, his grandmother, was waiting to restore him to human form. This severe lesson had a good effect on the remaining inhabitants of the Eskimo encampment, and never again were they inclined to be cruel and unkind to those who were weaker and poorer than themselves.

BOOKS FOR SCHOOL REFERENCE LIBRARY