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

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The room is square, and about it runs a wide platform. This platform is about four feet from the ground. All the men sit on it, while the women sit on the floor at their feet, with the little children gathered about them. There are lots of little children in Eskimo Land. They are good little ones, too. Their parents love them dearly, but they have to learn early in life to be good and patient, for sometimes they get little or nothing to eat for days at a time, when game is scarce and their fathers come back from hunting without any meat for them. So these little ones do not fuss and cry, for they know that they cannot always have what they want when they want it.

There are no electric lights in Eskimo Land, nor do they have big open fireplaces in the houses, with bright, crackling logs to keep them warm, for wood is hard to get.

About the floor of the kasga are placed lamps of heavy stone, hollowed out like dishes, in which wicks of moss soaked in seal oil are burned. The lamps give a yellow, flickering light and a little heat. The women take care of the lamps, keep them clean and see that they do not smoke or go out.