The first thing that was done after they got the sledge back to the
village was to feed the dogs. The dogs were very hungry; they had
smelled the fresh meat for a long time without so much as a bite of it,
and they had had nothing to eat for two whole days. They jumped about
and howled again and got their harnesses dreadfully tangled.
Kesshoo unharnessed them and gave them some bones, and while they were
crunching them and quarreling among themselves, Koolee crawled into the
igloo and brought out a bowl. The bowl was made of a hollowed-out
stone, and it had water in it.
"This is for a charm," said Koolee. "If you each take a sip of water
from this bowl my son will always have good luck in spying bears!"
She passed the bowl around, and each person took a sip of the water.
When Menie's turn came he took a big, big mouthful, because he wanted
to be very brave, indeed, and find a bear every week. But he was in too
much of a hurry. The water went down his "Sunday-throat" and choked
him! He coughed and strangled and his face grew red. Koolee thumped him
on the back.
"That's a poor beginning for a great bear-hunter," she said.
Everybody laughed at Menie. Menie hated to be laughed at. He went away
and found Nip and Tup. They wouldn't laugh at him, he knew. He thought
he liked dogs better than people anyway.
Nip and Tup were trying to get their noses into the circle with the
other dogs, but the big dogs snapped at them and drove them away, so
Menie got some scraps and fed them.
Meanwhile Koolee stood by the sledge and divided the meat among her
neighbors. First she gave one of the hind legs to the wives of the
Angakok, because he always had to have the best of everything. She gave
the kidneys to Koko's mother. To each one she gave just the part she
had asked for. When each woman had been given her share, Kesshoo took
what was left and put it on the storehouse.
The storehouse wasn't really a house at all. It was just a great stone
platform standing up on legs, like a giant's table. The meat was placed
on the top of it, so the dogs could not reach it, no matter how high
they jumped.