Читать книгу Animal Stories from Eskimo Land. Adapted from the Original Eskimo Stories Collected by Dr. Daniel S. Neuman онлайн

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“Now,” said Father, “shut your eyes tight and we will put on our invisible caps and go to Eskimo Land, right inside a kasga to see what is happening there this cold winter night.”

So the little boy and girl shut their eyes and clung tightly to Father’s hand while he counted very slowly, “One, two, three!”

“Stoop over,” said Father, “and creep on your hands and knees, for to get into the kasga we have to go through a long, low, tunnel-like entrance, until we come to a hole right over our heads. Here we are! I will give you a push. Jump up now!” And they popped right through a hole into the middle of the floor of a big room. Isn’t that a funny way to get into a house? They were in the kasga at last.

There are no windows to this house, but a round hole in the middle of the ceiling, or roof, serves both as window and ventilator. This, in winter, is usually covered with a curtain of bear or seal intestine, which keeps out the cold. Also it keeps out the fresh air. Sometimes, when the room is very full of people, the warmth from their bodies and the steam from many breaths form a moisture that drops down upon them like rain.