They dived into the igloo. Their mother was standing beside the oil
lamp, putting strands of dried moss into the oil. This lamp was their
only stove and their only light. It didn't look much like our stoves.
It was just a piece of soapstone, shaped something like a clamshell. It
was hollowed out so it would hold the oil. All along the shallow side
of the pan there were little tendrils of dried moss, like threads.
These were the wicks.
Over the fire pan there was a rack, and from the rack a stone pan hung
down over the lamp flame. It was tied by leather thongs to the rack. In
the pan a piece of bear's meat was simmering. The fire was not big
enough to cook it very well, but there was a little steam rising from
it, and it made a very good smell for hungry noses.
"We're hungry enough to eat our boots," Menie said to his mother.
"You must never eat your boots; you have but one pair!" his mother
answered. She pinched Menie's cheek and laughed at him.
Then she cut two chunks of fat from a piece of bear's meat which lay on
the bench. She gave one to each of the twins. "Eat this, and soon you
can have some cooked meat," she said. "It isn't quite done yet."
"We don't want to wait for the cooked meat," cried Monnie. "We want to
go fishing before the sun is gone. Give us more fat and we'll eat it
outside."
"You may go fishing if your father will go with you and cut holes for
you in the ice," said her mother.
Koolee cut off two more pieces of fat. The twins took a piece in each
hand. Then their mother reached down their own little fishing rods,
which were stuck in the walls of the igloo. The twins had bear's meat
in both hands. They didn't see how they could manage the fishing rods
too.
But Menie thought of a way. "I'll show you how," he said to Monnie. He
held one chunk of meat in his teeth! In his left hand he held the
fishing rod, in his right he carried the other piece of meat!
Monnie did exactly what Menie did, and then they crawled down into the
tunnel.