So they all went into the cave. Presently a black bear made its appearance. The women quickly cut a hole through the roof and climbed out—all except the eldest, who stuck half-way by reason of the child in her womb. Before her sisters could release her the bear had dragged her down and killed her. It ripped open her womb, took out the child, a fine boy, and laid it on a platform at the back of the cave. Then it lifted up the body of the mother, and laid it also at the back of the cave close to the baby. Meanwhile the other women had been watching through the hole in the roof, but when they saw this they ran home to tell their father.

    Time went on and the baby grew into a fine boy. The bear fed him on meat; squirrel, fox, caribou, and other kinds. Meanwhile the dead woman lay on the platform at the back of the cave; slowly the flesh rotted away and the bones fell to the floor. Summer came round and the boy wanted to go outside, for hitherto he had never left the cave. In winter Bruin covered him with the skins of foxes when he lay down to sleep; otherwise he ran about naked, for she did not know how to make clothes for him. So now when he said to her, “I want to go outside,” she answered, “Not today, my son. It is raining hard today; tomorrow you shall go out if you want to.”

    The next day was bright and sunny, and the boy began to run about outside; but the light hurt his eyes and the sun scorched his body so that he soon ran inside again. Bruin asked him how he liked it. “It was fine,” he said; “Only the light hurt my eyes and the sun was like a big fire and scorched me.” Soon he ran outside again, and this time he was able to stay out a little longer; so it continued until at last he was able to stay out all day.

    By and by he noticed Bruin bringing in dead caribou, wolves, and other game. “How do you kill them?” he asked. “Why,” said Bruin, “I just run after them on all fours like this and seize them in my hands and break them; that’s all I do.” One day when the boy was outside he saw a mouse, which he caught and killed exactly as Bruin had shown him. He took the body home and gave it to his foster-mother, who was delighted at his success. Another day he caught a squirrel, later a fox, then a wolf, and last of all a caribou. He was now a sturdy lad and a very skillful hunter.

    From time to time Bruin would bring home some black whale-skin which they both enjoyed very much. One day the boy said to her: “Do you like seal?” “Yes,” she said, “I do.” “Well, I’ll try and catch one.” “No, don’t go down to the beach. You might fall into the water. You keep to the land. If I want black-skin or seal I’ll get it myself; keep to the land.”

    However, the boy determined to go in spite of her, so the next day he started off inland as usual, but as soon as he was out of sight he circled round and went down to the beach. There he saw a huge stranded whale, from which he cut a large piece of black-skin and returned home. Bruin took the black-skin, but scolded him for disobeying her. “Don’t go down to the beach again,” she said, and he replied, “Very well.”

    So he hunted on the land for a time until game became very scarce and difficult to catch. He was out looking for caribou one day and wandered about for a long time without seeing anything. Then be began to ponder over his foster-mother’s warning; “Why doesn’t she want me to go down to the beach? I’ll go and have a look whether she wants me to or not;” so down he went. This time he saw something moving near the whale. He crept near and saw a crowd of people like himself. This puzzled him, and he pondered over it all the way home. “I wonder what it all means. My mother is different from me; she has a long nose, big teeth, and great nails on her hands and feet, and her body is covered with hair; besides, she walks on all fours, not upright as I do. And what is the meaning of those bones at the back of the house? They are like my bones, hers are different. Perhaps she is not my mother after all; perhaps those bones belonged to my mother and Bruin killed her.”

    It was very late when he reached home, and his foster-mother said to him: “Where have you been? What makes you so late?” But he merely answered, “I walked round all day and saw nothing at all. I think we have too many skins in the house. The animals smell them and won’t come near. I think we had better take them outside and burn them.” “Very well,” said Bruin; so they took the skins out and made a great fire.

    Then the boy said to Bruin, “Mother, come and lie down here while I search your head.” So Bruin lay down and the boy picked the lice out of her head. Soon she fell asleep and began to snore. The boy cautiously slipped her head off his lap and let it drop onto the ground. Bruin woke with a start, but the boy ran away laughing.

    After the skins were burnt the caribou came round again and he was able to secure plenty of game. He would catch every animal that was to be found in the neighbourhood; only the ducks and the ptarmigan he did not know how to catch. But one day he noticed some ptarmigan resting among the willows on the bank of a river. He crept up very quietly and when he was underneath sprang up and caught one by the tail. After that he caught many of them.

    Winter came, and they remained in the cave without venturing to stir abroad. In due season winter changed to spring, and spring gave place to summer; the boy, now grown into a hardy young man, resumed his hunting. He made up his mind to visit the beach again, but told his foster-mother that he was going after caribou. As he approached the whale, he saw a great number of people gathered round it exactly like those he had seen before, and he thought to himself: “Perhaps these are my people after all and Bruin is not my mother. She doesn’t want me to know my own people, and that is why she forbids me to come down here to the beach. I believe that was my real mother whose bones are lying in the back of the cave. Well, I’ll go down and talk to these people.”

    So he descended to the beach and approached the group round the whale. They drew their knives when they saw the stranger, and were about to fall upon him and kill him when an old man suddenly cried “Stop!” and checked their onslaught. “Long ago,” he told them, “My eldest daughter went out one summer to gather berries and a black bear killed her. She was due to have a baby at the time and this youth greatly resembles her. Perhaps he is her son.”

    So they asked the youth where he came from. He said, “My home is inland in a cave in the mountains. My mother Bruin lives there, but she is not at all like me; she has a long nose and big teeth and hair all over her body; on her hands and feet are great long nails. Perhaps she is not my mother, for in the back of the cave are some bones just like my bones.”

    Then they were sure that he was their kinsman, and the old man told him who he was and how the bear had killed his mother. “Take this bow,” he said, “And kill her when you get back.” The youth had never seen a bow before, and held it very gingerly in his hands. They showed him how to string it. He laid the arrow on the string, but was afraid and dropped it immediately. He tried again, bent the bow a little, and dropped it again. “I’ll kill her with my hands,” he said, “In the same way as I kill caribou.” “Better take the bow ind arrow,” his grand-father said; “She is big and strong and may be too much for you.” So the youth tried once more and succeeded a little better. Before long he knew how to use it quite well.

    Then he went back to the cave, taking the bow and arrow with him and a small piece of black-skin as well. Bruin said, “Where have you been? Why are you so late in coming home?” “Oh, I wandered round and round and saw nothing, so I went down to the beach and have brought a piece of black-skin.” “Never do that again, my son. I warned you about it before. You might fall into the water.” However, they ate the black-skin.

    The next day the boy said, “I think we had better burn the skins again; there seems to be no game around, and it must be because they smell the skins.” “I’ll go out and have a look myself,” said Bruin; “Perhaps I shall find something.” “No, you stay at home, you are too old now to go hunting. Long ago, when I was very small you went out and got food for me; now I want to do the same for you—I want to show my gratitude.” Bruin believed him and said, “Oh, very well, we’ll burn the skins.”

    So they carried them outside and made a great pile of them, and set them on fire. They burnt fiercely and the flames mounted into the sky. Then the youth said, “Come here and lie down while I search your head.” So Bruin lay down with her head in his lap and he began to scratch it very gently. Soon she fell asleep and began to snore, whereupon the youth quietly slipped away and went to take up his bow and arrow, which he had hidden near the door. But before he could string it, Bruin woke up and saw him.

    Immediately she rushed at him, saying, “So you thought you could fool me as you did before? You have been visiting your people down on the beach. I killed your mother, and now I’m going to kill you too, and afterwards I’ll eat you.” The youth ran round the fire with Bruin close on his heels. She was almost on top of him when he jumped right through the fire out to the other side. Bruin jumped too, but she fell into the midst of the flames and was burnt to death.

    After this the youth went to live with his grandfather, but he was unaccustomed to the smell and heat of an Eskimo house, and could never endure to stay indoors for any length of time; so soon afterwards he built a house of his own. One of his aunts made him a fine set of deerskin clothes, but he found them very uncomfortable, for he could not move his limbs freely in them. So she made him another set of thin clothes with very little hair on them. These were very stiff too, but he grew accustomed to them in time. He lived a long time after this and became a very famous hunter, but he never married.