Mother Reindeer looked at her son for a moment in silence and then continued her story.
“‘A woman and her three children squatted near the fire.’”
VIII
The First Human Friend
“Inside the big tent,” Mother Reindeer went on, “a woman and her three children squatted near the fire. They were eating a freshly cooked duck. They were so taken by surprise when the little band of caribou fawns dashed in through their open tent flap that at first they could not speak or move. Then the mother sprang up and fastened the tent flap tight.
“White Feet and his followers had come to a stop at the farther side of the tent. They stood bunched together, with heads erect. All but White Feet were shaking with fear. They had seen the woman close the tent flap. They knew that they were prisoners now, and they thought that they had escaped one death only to meet another. Then they saw the tent flap open a little way. The hunter peeped in; then he opened it wider, slipped inside the tent, and closed the flap quickly.
“White Feet noticed that the hunter carried his big bow in his hand. He noticed also that he and his family all wore clothes made of caribou skins. They spoke to each other in strange sounds such as the fawns had never before heard. They all appeared to be very much excited and pleased. They looked at the fawns, and the fawns looked at them.
“Suddenly the bigger boy gave a loud cry and pointed at White Feet. The hunter and the others looked at White Feet, too. Then they talked in excited tones.
“White Feet, of course, didn’t know what they were saying, but he felt quite sure that they were talking about his white markings. Oh, how he wished his mother had been with him! Then he remembered that a leader must not think of himself when others depend on him. Here were the six poor little fawns scared half to death, and he had promised to take care of them. What should he do?
“He looked at the bigger boy, and the bigger boy looked at him. There was something in the boy’s eyes that gave White Feet courage. He didn’t seem like an enemy. He stood near his father, but his head came only as high as the hunter’s elbow.