From that time Seranak was the hero of the people, and when he grew up the people called him “Ommalik,” which is the same almost as “Big Chief.”
Long ago there was an Eskimo family living in a place quite by themselves, and far away from any village.
The father had been killed by a caribou some years before, so the widowed mother was alone with her two sons. They had been little boys when the father died, but now they were young men and fine hunters.
Every day they used to go hunting. Always they brought back game of some kind, so the family lived on the fat of the land.
At that time there were many caribou, which in those days had long sharp teeth and could bite and kill people. Men used to hunt them with bows and arrows and spears.
One day the two young men went out to hunt as usual, but this time they did not return.
Days passed and they did not come. Their poor mother was sad and anxious, waiting for them. Every day she looked about and watched and waited, but still they did not come home. She did not dare to go far from the house to search for them, for she was afraid of the fierce caribou with their sharp teeth.
One day as she was watching, always hoping to see her sons coming back, a big crow came flying by. She called out, “Crow, Crow, can you tell me where are my two boys?”
And the crow said, “Yes, I know where your two boys are.” Then he flew up still higher and circled about saying, “Caw, caw!” and the poor mother was nearly frantic for fear that he would fly away without telling her.
“O please come back!” she cried; but he flew a little higher, teasingly saying, “Caw, caw! Wouldn’t you like to know?”
The woman went into her house and brought a piece of seal blubber and held it up.
“I will give you this, Crow, if you tell me where to find them.”
Lazily the crow floated down and perched on the ground nearby.
So cocking his head on one side he said, “All right, I will tell you, but your sons are both dead. The caribou killed them with their long teeth.”
The poor mother was in despair, but she remembered to give the crow his meat, and as he was about to fly away, she said, “Crow, if you will show me the way to my sons, I will feed you whenever you come.”
So the crow told her where to go, but he said, “You will never feed me again if you go there, because the caribou will tear you with their teeth.”