A TEEASUEY OF ESKIMO TALES 



ing hold of the line, she ascended the ladder, go- 

 ing up into the sky. As she was going up, the 

 younger brother came out and, seeing her, at once 

 ran back and called to his brothers: 



" Our sister is climbing the sky! Our sister is 

 climbing the sky ! " 



" Oh, you lazy youngster, why do you tell us 

 that? She is doing no such thing," said they. 



" Come and see for yourselves ! Come, quick ! " 

 he cried, very much excited. 



Sure enough! Up she was going at a rapid 

 rate. 



The boy caught up his sealskin breeches and, 

 being in a hurry, thrust one leg into them and 

 then drew a deerskin sock on the other foot as he 

 ran outside. There he saw the girl far away up 

 in the sky and began at once to go up the ladder 

 toward her; but she floated away, he following in 

 turn. 



The girl became the sun and the boy became 

 the moon, and ever since that time he pursues but 

 never overtakes her. At night the sun sinks in 

 the west, and the moon is seen coming up in the 

 east to go circling after, but always too late. The 

 moon, being without food, wanes slowly away 

 from starvation until it is quite lost to sight ; then 

 the sun reaches out and feeds it from the dish in 



88 



