The boy was terribly proud of himself; indeed, he could hardly believe he had killed that great giant, and he waited a little way off until he saw that the giant did not move; then he went into the house. When he got inside he heard a sound of crying that seemed to come from under the floor. There, in a deep pit, he found his four brothers, who were being kept by the giant for a great feast that was to take place the next day. If the boy had come two days later he would have found nothing left of his brothers but their bones.
You may be sure the four boys were happy to be saved from such a cruel fate, and they could not praise their brother enough for his cleverness and courage.
Bringing the great drum with them, they hurried back as fast as they could to their parents.
After that they were all content to stay at home and hunt walruses and whales; for they had had enough of going abroad in search of adventure.
Long ago, on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea there lived a strong man named Lovek. This man was very bad; indeed, he was a big bully. Whenever any of his neighbors went hunting, Lovek would take away whatever they had killed, as soon as they had hauled it over the ice to the shore. Every one in the village was afraid of this man who took away all their food, and who was so strong no one could beat him. The people did not know what to do, and were almost afraid to go hunting at all, for Lovek was sure to find them and take away their game.
Now in this village there lived an orphan boy with his uncle. The boy’s name was Seranak, and he was so poor he had scarcely any clothes to wear and almost no food to eat.
One night at the kasga, Seranak heard the people talking about Lovek. They hardly dared to speak aloud, and Seranak had to creep up close to his uncle to hear what they were saying; but he heard enough to make him feel very sorry for all the people, and determined to do something to help them get rid of such a bad man.
When his uncle reached home, Seranak begged for some clothes and weapons that he might go hunting.
At first his uncle refused, saying, “No, Seranak. What would a little boy like you do if Lovek came along? He would take away anything you had caught and might kill you too.”