294 G. Holm and Johan Petersen. 



40. NUKARPIARTEKAK 



told by Sanimuinak. 



An old bachelor never went out in his kaiak, and so his kaiak 

 became mantled over with green. Farther up the fjord there lived 

 a man who had a very beautiful daughter. 



One morning the bachelor got up while the other people in the 

 house were sleeping. He washed his head and his whole body, and 

 picked the green plants off the kaiak, and then he travelled to the 

 man with the beautiful daughter. When he came up there, the in- 

 habitants said: "Step ashore!", and, when he had landed, they said 

 "Come inside!" The daughter was sitting at one end of the house. 

 He looked askance at her, saw she was very beautiful, got very hot, 

 and nearly died with love. When Nukarpiartekak had taken off his 

 anorak and hung it up, he saw that the beautiful girl was smiling 

 at him, and this made him lose consciousness. When he came to 

 himself again, he looked askance at her again, and saw that she was 

 still smiling at him. He loved her very much, and collapsed again. 

 Every time he lost consciousness and rose up again, he moved his 

 seat a little nearer towards the beautiful girl. When the others 

 lay down to sleep, Nukarpiartekak saw that she was preparing a 

 couch for him as well as for herself, and when he saw this he 

 fainted, and his head fell to the platform with a crash. When he 

 came to himself again, he found he loved her very much; he now 

 moved onto the sleeping-platform, but as he rested his hand on it, 

 he fell wdth his face down on it. They lay down by the side of 

 each other, and he almost died, so beautiful was she. Nukarpiartekak 

 embraced her and fainted. 



At first it was as if he sank in up to his knees, then up to his 

 arms, then up to his arm-pits, the right arm sank down, and 

 then he sank in right up to his chin. At last he gave a shriek and 

 vanished into her entirely. "What Avas that shriek?" said the others, 

 who awoke at the cry; but none answered. When the lamps were 

 lit next morning Nukarpiartekak had vanished, while his kaiak still 

 lay by the shore. 



The beautiful one went out to make water, and, as she did so, 

 Nukarpiartekak's bones (skeleton) came out. 



41. THE OLD BACHELOR AND THE KOBAJAK CHILD 



told b}' Sanimuinak. 



There was once an old bachelor who never went oui in a 

 kaiak, so Ihal it became overgrown with green. One day his step- 



