One spring morning, very early, while the moon still shone and every
one else in the village was asleep, Menie and Monnie crept out of the
dark entrance of their little stone house by the sea.
The entrance to their little stone house was long and low like a
tunnel. The Twins were short and fat. But even if they were short they
could not stand up straight in the tunnel.
So they crawled out on all fours. Nip and Tup came with them. Nip and
Tup were on all fours, too, but they had run that way all their lives,
so they could go much faster than the twins. They got out first.
Then they ran round in circles in the snow and barked at the moon. When
Menie and Monnie came out of the hole, Tup jumped up to lick Monnie's
face. He bumped her so hard that she fell right into the snowbank by
the entrance.
Monnie didn't mind a bit. She just put her two fat arms around Tup, and
they rolled over together in the snow.
Monnie had on her fur suit, with fur hood and mittens, and it was hard
to tell which was Monnie and which was Tup as they tumbled in the snow
together.
Pretty soon Monnie picked herself up and shook off the snow. Then Tup
shook himself, too. Menie was rolling over and over down the slope in
front of the little stone house. His head was between his knees and his
hands held his ankles, so he rolled just like a ball.
Nip was running round and round him and barking with all his might.
They made strange shadows on the snow in the moonlight.
Monnie called to Menie. Menie straightened himself out at the bottom of
the slope, picked himself up and ran back to her.
"What shall we play?" said Monnie.
"Let's get Koko, and go to the Big Rock and slide downhill," said Menie.
"All right," said Monnie. "You run and get your sled."
Menie had a little sled which his father had made for him out of
driftwood. No other boy in the village had one. Menie's father had
searched the beach for many miles to find driftwood to make this sled.
The Eskimos have no wood but driftwood, and it is so precious that it
is hardly ever used for anything but big dog sledges or spears, or
other things which the men must have.
Most of the boys had sleds cut from blocks of ice. Menie's sled was
behind the igloo. He ran to get it, and then the twins and the
pups--all four--started for Koko's house.
Koko's house was clear at the other end of the village. But that was
not far away, for there were only five igloos in the whole town.
First there was the igloo where the twins lived. Next was the home of
Akla, the Angakok, and his two wives. Then there were two igloos where
several families lived together. Last of all was the one where Koko and
his father and mother and baby brother lived.
Koko was six. He was the twins' best friend.