Traditional Stories
The Orphan with Sharp Hands
There was an orphan. He didn't have anybody, no parents, no brothers, no sisters. He lived with an uncle. When they were at home the uncle didn't give him anything to eat. When the uncle went hunting, his wife would give the boy a little bit to eat. And when he came back the uncle would say, "You must be feeding him, that's why he's not getting skinny."
And she would say, "Why should I feed him when his own relative won't? I don't want to feed him." And when they had finished eating the uncle would throw him leftovers from the big tough pieces of walrus meat. All night the boy chewed and chewed.
Then from the corridor the boy heard someone bump his head. The book looked - in those days there were no doors, just reindeer skins hanging.
The boy looked. A man was standing there.
"What's the matter? Is your uncle not feeding you?" asked the man.
"He just gives me these though pieces and I can't chew them." He showed the man a piece of meat.
And the man said, "I'll show you what to do." He blew on his hand and then used it to cut the meat so the boy could eat it.
"You, too, blow on your hand and then you'll be able to cut the meat," he said.
The boy blew on his hand. He cut the meat and ate.
"Tomorrow do that same thing," said the man, "and you'll always be able to eat."
The man in the corridor disappeared.
The boy went to sleep feeling very satisfied. In the morning he woke up afraid of his uncle who yelled at him. Whenever the uncle went hunting the woman would give the boy something to eat. This time she brought in some frozen walrus meat and she couldn't cut it.
"Let me cut it," said the boy.
"You're so thin," she answered, "how will you cut walrus meat?"
But the boy said, "Let me try."
The boy blew on his palm and then started to cut the meat. The woman said, "Quick, take a piece for yourself."
He began to eat. The woman took the frozen meat that the boy had cut and put it in the corridor.
The uncle came back and set out the special cutting board, ayut'ka, and began to cut meat.
He said to his wife, "You should have brought this in sooner. How are you going to cut this frozen meat?"
The woman turned to the boy and said, "You cut it," and the man said, "How will he cut it, he's so skinny?"
All the same, the boy blew on his hand. Holding it a distance above, he cut the meat into small pieces.
After this he started to eat with them. The man said, "Eat with us," and the boy started to eat with them.
The man said to his wife, "Tomorrow I won't go hunting. When I go out, I'll see somebody and I'll ask them to come in and eat. You'll bring out the frozen meat."
He started to respect that boy. He saw him cut the meat. The next day the uncle didn't go hunting. He went outside and looked around. He saw somebody and said to him, "Come to us and eat."
They came in and he said to his wife, "A guest has come, let's eat."
The woman set out the board and brought in some frozen meat. The man who had come to visit said, "Why did you bring that?"
They called the boy.
"How can he cut that mean, he's so skinny?" said the guest.
The uncle sat down. He was in a good mood. The boy blew on his hand and started to cut the frozen walrus meat from above. He cut it thin as thin.
The uncle said, "You eat with us, too."
After that the boy ate with them, and he started to live well. Probably that uncle was afraid the boy would blow on his hand one day and kill him!
That's all!
