ys and girls get on their sleds and
slide down the hill. They must go between the antlers, but must not
touch them. Sometimes the boys and girls have bows and arrows. They
try to hit the antlers with their arrows. This is very hard, but it is
great fun. Do you think you could do this?

The boys have boats made of long, thin bones covered with skins. These
sail very well on the water. The boys use paddles to move the boats.
A paddle is like an oar. The boys sometimes go in their boats to help
their fathers catch fish.

Eskimo children cannot read or write. They do not go to school, for
the Eskimos have no schools. They are very fond of stories, but they
cannot read them in books. So their mothers tell them stories. The
mothers cannot read, either. The stories they tell are what they
heard from their mothers. Are you not happy that you can read stories
for yourself?

Perhaps you think the Eskimo children are unhappy? Oh, no! Though
they cannot read books, they play all kinds of games. There is a funny
game they play in the house. All the children get on their knees in a
ring. Then they hold their toes with their hands and move along by
jumps. The one who goes the fastest wins.

The Eskimo boys play a game like the game of "cup and ball." They have
two pieces of bone. One is flat, with holes in it. The other is long
and sharp like a pin. Both are joined by a string about a foot long.
The flat piece is tied to one end of the string, and the pin to the
other end. The pin is held in the hand, and the flat piece is thrown
into the air. The game is to catch the flat piece upon the point of
the pin, by one of the holes.

[Illustration: Eskimo Children.]

Eskimo boys play another game with a ball and a stick made of bone. It
is something like shinny, one of the games yon play. They also play a
game with a sealskin hall about as big as a baseball. They strike the
ball with their hands and try to keep it in the air all the time. The
Eskimo boys play football very well. They think it great fun. They
never touch the ball with their hands; they only kick it.

The girls have dolls made of wood, with fur clothes. The dolls look
like the little girls themselves.

Perhaps you would like to know about the houses the Eskimos live in.
They have summer houses and winter houses. The summer house is a tent
made of skins. The winter house is made of stones and earth covered
with snow. It is not mu