Legends iind Tales from Angmagsallk. 277 



then they were bound to die, but, when one of the kaiakers recited 

 a magic charm, they got past. On their way they came to some 

 ringed seals and harl)our seals which could not dive down. They 

 perceived something in the water, and thought it was ice; but when 

 they drew nearer, it turned out to be seals who were black in the 

 face from* crying so much. When one of them could not paddle 

 any more, the other recited a charm and paddled round him, and 

 then he was able to paddle hard again. Once, when a bright 

 mirage came on, they caught sight of the land, and saw^ that it was 

 Kalerajiiek, which was the place where the mother of one of them 

 had died; but, as soon as the mirage vanished, they lost the land 

 from sight. 



At length then they came to Kardlit near Pikiutdlek, and thence 

 they journeyed to Sermilik. Here they saw a number of tents; but 

 people could not see them, for they looked almost like dead men, 

 having been so long away. When they came home hither, their 

 wives had taken other husbands; for they had left here in spring, 

 and did not return home till the autumn, when people were about 

 to move into houses. — However, they got back their wives again. 



26. A TALE ABOUT A BIG WORM 



told by Kutuluk. 



A married couple lived alone together in a house. When their 

 dog had puppies, some of them alw-ays disappeared. One day after 

 one of the dogs had disappeared as usual, and the husband was 

 out in his kaiak, the wife thought she w^ould sweep the house. As 

 she removed one of the flat stones from under the window plat- 

 form where the dogs had their place, she saw a huge worm, w'hose 

 head looked like the moon. It was lying in the earth, and it was 

 it that eat the dogs. 



She went out to wait for her husband, for she was very fright- 

 ened, and she had to walk about outside the whole day, for her 

 husband did not return home before dusk. When he stepped 

 ashore she went down to him and said: "It is not so strange that the 

 puppies disappear; for there is a huge worm that eats them!" 



When the man had come up into the house, he removed the 

 stone, saw the big worm, and immediately put the stone back in its 

 place. He then set to work to make a stake with which he could 

 kill the worm, and when the stake was ready, he took his wife 

 and set her up on the ledge of a rock. He himself could run 

 quickly. He now stuck the stake into the worm, and the earth 



