Page:The Netsilik Eskimos (1931).djvu/289

One day the brother said to his sister: "Take me out to the edge of the ice, there where whales and walruses pass."

His sister led him out to the edge of the ice. There she did not want to leave him, but he would be alone. While he stood there, out by the open sea listening to the blowing of whales and walruses,^[1] a sound came to him, a sound as of padding kayak-men. They were great northern divers in human form coming to him. There were two of them; one licked him across the eyes with its rough tongue, and at once he could see; then the other came and licked him; its tongue was still more rough than that of the first, but he already had got his sight again so that he could see the slightest hollow in the ground, even if it were very far away. Then Aningâ went home.

When Agtulg-rârnân saw him coming, not as a blind boy but as one who could see, she suddenly became eager to give him food, but her son would not accept the food she brought to him.

"No," he said, "I will eat nothing till I catch something myself." And then his mother wept.

"I am going out to the ice-edge to harpoon a walrus, and I will tie my line to my mother."

"Whom are you most fond of, me or mother?" asked his sister.

"I am fond enough of mother, but most of you," answered her brother.

So they went out together to the edge of the ice, and when the mother saw a small walrus, one that was not full grown, she said: "u^vfa una kimikilᴇrtɔq: Here is one that is not so strong." But the son pretended not to hear her, and harpooned a big walrus. When the walrus tightened the line the mother bent right out by the edge and the children saw her jump out into the water. She was dragged down, but when she came up again they heard her cry:

"alo·k aluktaut

sɔ·rme qimiutaigɔ·q

pikuɳatɔ·q piɳɔrajo·p

qa·ɳanut ᴀquibluga

miluktik·ibkit

sᴀrʟiᴀribkit

qo·vʟo igʃorunaɳo

alumᴀq.

Slobber, slobber,

Why, people say, be choked?