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B0AB.1 STORY OF THE ORIGIN OF THE NARWHAL. G25 



ORIGIN OF THE NARWHAL. 



A long, long time ago a widow lived witli her daughter and her 

 son in a hut. When the boy was quite young he made a bow and 

 arrows of walrus tusks and shot birds, which they ate. Before he 

 was grown up he accidentally became blind. From that moment his 

 mother maltreated him in every way. She never gave him enough 

 to eat, though he had formerly added a great deal to their sustenance, 

 and did not allow her daughter, wlio loved her brother tenderly, to 

 give him anything. Thus they lived many years and the poor boy 

 was very unhappy. 



Once upon a time a polar bear came to the hut and thrust his head 

 riglit through the window. They were all very much frightened 

 and the mother gave the boy his bow and arrows that he might kill 

 the animal. But he said, " I cannot see the window and I shall miss 

 him." Then the sister leveled the bow and the boy shot and killed 

 the bear. The mother and sister went out and took the cai-cass down 

 and skinned it. 



After they had retiirned into the hut they told the boy that lie had 

 missed the bear, which had run away when it had seen him taking 

 his bow and arrows. The bad mother had strictly ordered her 

 daughter not to tell that the bear was dead, and she did not dare to 

 disobey. The mother and the daughter ate the bear and had an 

 ample supply of food, while the boy was almost starving. Some- 

 times, when the mother had gone away, the girl gave her brother 

 something to eat, as she loved him dearly. 



One day a loon flew over the hut and observing the poor blind boy 

 it resolved to restore his eyesight. It sat down on the top of the 

 roof and cried, "Come out, boy, and follow me."' When he heard 

 this he crept out and followed the bird, which -flew along to a lake. 

 There it took the boy and dived with him to the bottom. When they 

 had risen again to the surface it asked, "Can you see anything?" 

 The boy answered, "No, I cannot yet see." They dived again and 

 staid a long time in the water. When they emerged, the bird 

 asked, "Can you see now?" The boy answered, "I see a dim shim- 

 mer." Then they dived the third time and staid very long under 

 water. When they had risen to the surface the boy had recovered 

 his eyesight altogether. 



He was very glad and thankful to the Inrd, which told him to re- 

 turn to the hut. Then he found the skin of the bear he had killed 

 drying in the warm rays of the sun. He got very angry and cut it 

 into small i^ieces. He entered the hut and asked his mother: " From 

 whom did jow get the bearskin I saw outside of the hiit?" The 

 mother was frightened when slie found that her son had recovered 

 his eyesight, and prevaricated. She said, " Come here, I will give 

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