XXII 



WHY THE MOON WAXES AND 

 WANES 



IN a certain village on the Yukon River there 

 once lived four brothers and a sister. The sister's 

 companion was the youngest boy, of whom she 

 was very fond. This boy was lazy and could 

 never be made to work. The other brothers were 

 great hunters and in the fall they hunted at sea, 

 for they lived near the shore. As soon as the 

 Bladder feast in December was over, they went 

 to the mountains and hunted reindeer. The boy 

 never went with them, but remained at home with 

 his sister, and they amused each other. 



One time, however, she became angry at him, 

 and that night when she carried food to the other 

 brothers in the kashim or assembly house where 

 the men slept, she gave none to the youngest 

 brother. When she went out of the assembly 

 house she saw a ladder * leading up into the sky, 

 with a line hanging clown by the side of it. Tak- 



1 Probably the Milky Way. 



87 



