While they were sleeping, the daughter woke with a violent throbbing of the heart. She started up and looked round, and saw what seemed to be a wolf’s tail. However, it disappeared, so she went to sleep again, and was not disturbed any more that night.

    The following day there was no sign of anything, and when evening came on, the family all retired to bed as usual. For the second time, the girl was awakened by the violent throbbing of her heart. She opened her eyes rather sleepily, and saw again what looked like a wolf’s tail; but just as before it immediately disappeared, and she fell asleep again and did not see it any more.

    When she went outside and scanned the horizon again in the morning, leaving her parents still asleep, she saw something black down on the sea ice. She went over, and found a freshly killed seal, so she returned and told her parents. Her father told her to bring it in, and when this was done, he cut it up, and they ate heartily of seal meat that day; then at night they went to bed again.

    Once more the girl was awakened in exactly the same way, but as she looked slowly around she saw, not a wolf’s tail, but a wolverine’s. This time she rose and took her lamp-stick and went outside; but whatever it was, it had disappeared, so she went inside again.

    Next day she could find no trace of anything, but in the evening they heard the footsteps of a man outside. Then the door was opened, and there entered a young man whose clothes were fringed with wolf fur. He sat down opposite the girl and said, “I have come at my father’s bidding;” but before he could proceed any further more footsteps were heard outside, the door opened a second time, and another youth entered. This one wore clothes fringed with wolverine fur. He sat down beside the first youth, and said to him, “You may have got here before me, but I am going to marry the girl, not you.” “No, you are not,” the other replied, and the two began to wrangle. Then the girl’s father told them that if they wanted to quarrel they had better go outside; so they both got up and went out. Presently the family within the hut heard heavy stamping up and down outside. However, they took no notice, and after a time the noise died away, so they all went to bed.

    In the morning the girl saw two trails outside, one a wolf’s, the other a wolverine’s. They were covered with blood stains, and when she followed them along, she saw something black ahead of her. It was a wolverine, dead; there was a great gash visible in its side. She went home and told her parents, and her father warned her not to go away. They sat up that night, and about the same time as the two youths had appeared the previous evening, they heard the sound of footsteps again. Then a man entered, and he too had clothes fringed with wolf fur; but he was not a young man. As soon as he came in he said, “My son is very ill, so I came to get your daughter. He may be dead already, so it is no use wasting time here talking over the matter.”

    The two old people were unable to travel themselves, but they agreed to let the girl go, though they said that she couldn’t walk very far, and asked if he had brought a sled. He said he had not, but when he left with the girl, he took her hand and led her inland. Then as soon as they were out of sight of the house, he put her on his back and, warning her not to look about, started to run; only, as he ran, the motion became more like galloping. At last he set her down just as it was growing light, and, taking her hand, dragged her along until they reached the house. There he drew her down into the long passage, and they entered.

    In the rear of the hut sat the son, with his back towards them. “Am I too late after all?” said his father; but at the sound of his words the youth looked around, and, seeing both his father and his bride, he smiled. Then his mother said, “Let the bride take charge of his food and feed her future husband.” The father told his wife to bring in some clothes, so she went out and after a time brought in some fine clothing. They stripped off the old clothes that the girl was wearing, and gave her the new ones to put on, after which she took over the care of her husband.

    The young man was woefully thin, but after a time he began to walk again, and soon was able to resume caribou hunting. Then his parents bade them return to his wife’s father and mother, for they thought they might be in want of food. So the young man made ready his sled. First he set a load of caribou meat on it, then laid deer skins in the middle, and made a kind of tent for his wife to sit in. When all was ready, he placed her inside, warning her not to look around. At first they travelled rather slowly, but soon their speed greatly increased. After a time he bade her alight, and they walked on a little farther, until, just as dawn was breaking, they saw her parents’ home.

    As soon as they reached it, they went inside, and told the old people that they had brought them some food, whereupon the old man bade his daughter bring some in off the sled. She then went out and brought some in. When they got up in the morning, the young man wanted to go hunting, but before he left he warned them not to go outside about noon. They therefore stayed indoors at that time, and after a while he came in with the news that he had killed some deer close by. Her parents went over and found five caribou lying in a row one beyond the other, so they cut them up and stored them away.

    The young man was very successful in his caribou hunting, but never managed to secure any seals. How, indeed, could he be expected to seal, when he had always lived on the land? But his father-in-law gave him his own sealing weapons, and taught him to seal as he himself used to in his younger days. After that the young man would go down to the sea, spear a bearded seal and drag it home with a special harness that he made for the purpose.

    In this way they finally filled two stagings with food of various kinds. The girl’s parents then sent them back to the young man’s father and mother, who would be waiting for them. So the youth made ready again, piled blubber on his sled, then made a kind of tent on top for his wife and told her to get in. She climbed in, and the two started out, travelling first slowly, then very swiftly. After a while he told his wife to alight. By this time it was broad day, for their sled was very heavy, so they rested where they were that day, not far from the houses. Later they continued their journey and reached home.

    Here they remained with his parents for a short time, till some men came with an invitation to the young man, Irelaq, to attend a dance at another place. His parents warned him that his wife would die if he took her there, adding further that there was a big bird in that country which would kill them both. However, the runners who had brought the invitation began to make their preparations for returning, and Irelaq and his wife did the same.

    One morning they all started out, the men pulling their own sleds and Irelaq’s as well, while his wife sat on top. They had not travelled far before they came to a river with steep banks, and the men, who until then had been walking in front of their sleds, went behind them. Irelaq and his wife dropped into the rear. The men walked down the slope, but Irelaq and his wife, is soon is they came to the cliff, stopped. Meanwhile the men in front crossed the river without stopping and ascended the other bank, which was so steep that they had to lean back as they neared the top.

    No sooner were they on top, however, than they returned to help Irelaq. They lashed his wife inside the sled cover, and lowered her down the cliff in front of them by means of ropes, themselves descending slowly afterwards. Thus they managed to reach the river below. There they took her onto their shoulders and carried her across, then began the ascent of the opposite bank. After they had dragged the sled up a little way it began to rise into the air. For a moment it seemed to pause, then it rose straight up. The men climbed on top of it, and it was pulled up the cliff the remainder of the distance, till finally it came to rest on the top. They moved on a little farther, and at last stopped altogether, everyone uttering a deep sigh of relief.

    Irelaq’s wife was lashed on top of the sled again, and they travelled along to another river, which they crossed in the same way. This time, hard as they pulled on the sled, it did not move as fast as before. On reaching the top, they lashed the woman on again, and continued their journey a little farther until they came in sight of some houses where the inhabitants were already singing. The visitors on their arrival entered the dance-house and began to exchange presents. When Irelaq produced his presents and gave them to his host everyone cheered and said they had nothing of equal value to give in return. At the conclusion of the exchange of presents Irelaq and his wife retired to the house of their host.

    Bed-time came, and Irelaq’s wife went outside. A little girl came up to her and, taking hold of her, said, “My grandmother over there wants to speak to you about something or other. Come quickly.” The woman hesitated, but the girl begin to drag her along, so at last she followed. The girl led her along the bank of a river till they reached what appeared to be a cavern in a small knoll. As they were entering the door the woman smelt something like blood, and as soon as they were inside she saw what seemed to be blood boiling in a pot.

    The old grandmother, with many protestations of affection, requested her to undress so that she might wash her. Her clothes were laid all in one place; then the old woman took down a large pan that was hanging up, emptied the contents of the pot into it, and wished her visitor. As soon as she had finished she washed the little girl, her grandchild, and told her to pour the bath water into the river and wash out the dish. But the child, as she passed Irelaq’s wife with the tub in her hand, poured it all over her. Immediately the woman shriveled up to the size of the girl, and the girl took the form of the woman.

    The false woman then put on the other’s clothes and escaped with them. Irelaq’s wife tried to speak, but her voice had changed. The old witch bade her put on her grandchild’s clothes, which she did very unwillingly, and returned to her host’s house. There she found the witch’s grandchild hugging her husband. Irelaq, not recognizing his wife when she entered, ordered her out, and kicked her to make her go. So the poor wife had to stay out-of-doors; she could not go back to the witch’s house, for the witch was not her relative.

    When they rose in the morning Irelaq and his new wife danced, the latter making a great flourish and display. At the conclusion everyone went home to sleep. The real wife was trying to get a little sleep out-of-doors, but as she dozed someone took hold of her by the front hair and raised her head. It was a little girl, who said to the woman, “My grandmother over there bids you come. Your kinsfolk are going away soon.” Then the child departed. The woman, not caring any longer what happened to her, followed the child to the river, along which they proceeded until they reached an old hut.

    They entered, this time through a real door, and inside the woman saw a pot full of hot water. The old grandmother said that to show her affection for Irelaq’s wife she wanted to wash her, so she stripped again while the old woman brought in a pan and filled it with hot water from the pot. Then she washed her for a while, and finally asked her if she had the same form as before. The woman said she had, and thanked the old woman for restoring her speech, for she had believed herself incapable of speaking. The old woman bade her throw the water out into the river, then took clean water and washed the old coat that Irelaq’s wife was wearing; and because she had no clothes of her own, the old woman gave her a loin cloth of squirrel skin and a pair of slippers. She handed her too a pot and bade her empty it into the false wife’s ear, after which she was to throw the squirrel skin, the slippers, and the pot into the passage and wish them to return to their donor.

    After receiving these instructions from the old woman Irelaq’s wife went straight back to the house, naked save for the loin cloth. She slipped in quietly without disturbing anyone and emptied the pot over the false wife. Then she threw the squirrel skin, the slippers, and the pot into the passage, wishing them to return to their donor, and went and crouched down in the corner. The false wife immediately changed to her real shape, and Irelaq, springing up, seized her by the hair and flung her out of the house into the passage. Then he went over to his true wife and tried to take her up onto the sleeping platform, but she broke away from him and asked him why he did not wish to keep his new wife. Irelaq became very angry and threatened to kill everyone in the settlement. This so terrified his hosts that they begged his wife to return to him, which she did out of affection for them.

    Next morning Irelaq and his party took their departure and travelled to the river. There they let the woman down the cliff without any difficulty, but when they tried to carry her up the other side they could not keep their footing. They made another attempt, but failed to reach even as far as they had gone before, and at the last could not even lift the sled. So they made a boat of it, and laid skins one above the other on top of it. Then they made a little door in the top, and filled the boat with food and sewing materials and various other things, with a lamp to give light and heat. They told the woman that the river would take her to her parents’ home. Whenever she wanted to go ashore she had only to wish and the boat would obey her. Irelaq further told her that she would pass three villages on the way but that he would protect her. Then, after she reached her parents, he would send a messenger to her about the same time of year as his father had visited her before.

    The woman entered the boat and the men pushed it off. She sewed a little, and slept whenever she felt inclined. When she wanted to go ashore she merely wished, and the boat put into the bank of its own accord. She tried to push it off again, but it would not move; she re-embarked, and it moved off of itself.

    Thus she floated down the river. Once, just after she had re-embarked, she heard a noise, and looking out she saw a crowd of people outside their houses; but they did not see her. So it happened that every time she reached a settlement she passed unseen. Then, one day, she awakened to find her boat aground, and looking out she saw that its bow was resting on the beach. On getting out she recognized the place; it was her old hunting-ground for berries; climbing a low hill, she could see her parents’ hut. First she unloaded her boat and pulled it up onto the beach; then she went home.

    As soon as she entered her mother asked her if her husband had not come also. But she told them that she was alone, that her husband, after the dance was over, had set out on his return journey and she did not know when he would arrive. However, if there were any messenger he could send he would send him in the winter at the same time as he himself had come before.

    The three lived very happily on the food that she had brought, and when the time came watched for the messenger. Irelaq’s father appeared. He had come for his son’s wife, he said, though he did not know whether her husband would be dead or not before they got back. If he lived, however, he would conduct himself better in the future. The two set out, and the father took her on his back, telling her not to look about. After galloping apparently for some time, he bade her alight, just a little before daybreak, and they entered the house.

    On the sleeping platform was Irelaq, but only his head was of normal size, so thin and shrivelled had he become. His wife took a spoon and fed him on soup that contained a few scraps of meat, and with this diet he began to recover his strength. Then she fed him on a thicker broth until at last he recovered and was able to go hunting again.

    They returned to his wife’s parents and lived with them until they died of old age. Then they went to live with Irelaq’s parents until they too died, worn out with years. Finally Irelaq made a distribution of all his food, two stagings laden with meat of various kinds. He told the people that he and his wife were going away to live in a place where sorrow and pain could never enter, and then the two turned into wolves and departed.