“White Feet made up his mind to trust this boy. Then he did the boldest thing ever done by a caribou. He walked across the tent to where the bigger boy stood and rubbed his head against the boy’s arm.”
“Oh!” gasped White Sox. “How brave he was!”
“Yes,” said Mother Reindeer, “that little caribou fawn was the first of his kind to try to make friends with an enemy. Of course the boy was surprised. He touched White Feet on the head. He spoke kindly to him and patted his shoulder. All the others stopped talking and watched them.
“The bigger boy stooped down and stroked White Feet’s beautiful stockings. White Feet rubbed his head against the boy’s arm again and tried to tell him how much he wanted him for a friend.
“The boy’s young sister wanted to touch the fawn’s pretty stockings. She was a little bit afraid. She moved close beside the bigger boy, put out her hand very carefully, and just touched the top of the nearest white stocking. Then she laughed, and the two boys laughed, and their mother laughed. And what do you think White Feet did?
“He kissed that little girl. Yes, he did—right on the cheek. He licked her cheek with his warm tongue.
“The little girl wasn’t a bit afraid of him after that. She stroked his white stockings, talked baby talk to him, and then she put her arms about his neck and loved him.
“White Feet felt pretty sure that the children would not let the hunter kill him—just then. But he had to think for Blackie—the other male fawn of his little band—and the five does. He told Blackie and the doe fawns to make friends with the other boy and his mother. At first they were too scared to move, but at last poor Blackie got courage enough to walk up to the younger boy and rub his head against his arm. This seemed to please the younger boy very much. Before long all the doe fawns had followed his example, and the human beings were laughing and talking kindly to them.
“The hunter had been shaking his head, but now he nodded it upward and downward. White Feet felt sure that he was saying ‘yes’ to what the children had been asking, and that none of the little band would be killed at once. White Feet watched the hunter very carefully, but he kept close to the bigger boy because the boy was his first friend.
“After a little while the hunter made two small halters of sealskin rope. He put one over White Feet’s head and the other over Blackie’s. Then the bigger boy led White Feet out of the tent and on to the narrow spit. The younger boy led Blackie. The five doe fawns followed them, and so did the little girl and her mother and father.