Big People and Little People of Other Lands — John Shaqi
Big People and Little People of Other LandsShaw, Edward R. (Edward Richard)
General
Big People and Little People of Other Lands
Shaw, Edward R. (Edward Richard)
Children's literature; Readers -- Geography
In some places they have a funny way of storing their food. They make
a little log house on the top of a post. They have a ladder to go up
to it. In this little house they store cheese and milk and other
things. Then wild animals cannot reach them.
[Illustration: A Lapland Wolf.]
There are bears and wolves and foxes in Lapland. These animals are
sometimes very fierce. They would come into the people's tents and
houses at night, were it not for the dogs. Nearly every person has a
dog. Even the hoys and girls have dogs. The dogs are very brave.
They are not afraid to attack wolves or bears.
But you will wish to know about the children in Lapland. You have
heard about the old woman who lived in a shoe. The Lapp baby has a
cradle shaped like a shoe. It is made of a single piece of wood. It
is lined with moss and other warm things. The mother often carries it
in her arms. Sometimes she carries it on her back, slung from her
shoulders. The baby plays with strings of buttons or glass beads.
When a baby is born in Lapland they give it a reindeer. If the
reindeer has any young ones, they keep them for the baby until it is a
man or woman. They also give a reindeer to the person who is the first
to find that the baby has cut a tooth.
The Lapp boys and girls have very few toys. The toys they have they
make themselves. The boys make willow flutes and play on them. When
the boys go on the water they have long, narrow boats like canoes.
Some boys also make sleighs.
Many of the boys and girls go to school. They learn to read and write
and count.
There are towns near the sea and by the rivers and lakes. In these
towns they have schools and churches.
GREENLAND.
Very strange people live in Greenland. They are called Eskimos.
Greenland is a country very far north. It is always cold there. So
the children need warm clothing. Their stockings are made of birdskin.
The soft feathers keep their little feet very warm. Their shoes are
made of sealskin.
An Eskimo girl does not wear skirts. Her clothes are like her
brother's. Her trousers are made of white bearskin. Her jacket is
made of fur. When she goes out sleigh riding, she puts on fur mittens.
Do you know what a fur boa is? This little girl wears one around her
neck. It is made of the tail of a fox. The strings to it are made of
long pieces of skin.
[Illustration: An Eskimo Girl.]
Perhaps you think the Eskimo children are white. No, they are brown.
Their faces are round and fat.
Our babies ride in carriages, but an Eskimo baby rides on its mother's
back. The mother wears a coat with a pocket on the back of it. The
pocket is lined inside with soft reindeer skin. This makes a nice warm
nest for baby.
[Illustration: Eskimo Mother and Baby.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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