s
house! They did go way, way out on the white roof of the ocean. There
were splendid hills of ice to hide behind, and everywhere were great ice
boulders over which they could play leap-frog.

Little White Bear had just started to leap over one fine, large boulder,
and Little Black Bear was coming right after him, when all of a sudden
Little White Bear turned a backward somersault and tumbled right into
Little Black Bear.

"Wow!" howled Little Black Bear. "What's the matter?"

"Shish!" whispered Little White Bear. "I saw something!"

"On the ice?" asked Little Black Bear, beginning to be frightened.

"Right out there a little bit farther," whispered Little White Bear.
"And it was the biggest thing! Oh! My! I can't tell how big it was!"
Then Little Black Bear was frightened! What could it be, way out here on
the ice, miles and miles from shore? Little White Bear hadn't seen it
move, but how could it get way out here if it weren't alive? Trees and
things like that couldn't grow on the roof of the ocean.

They lay crouched down behind that big ice boulder until Little White
Bear's foot had gone to sleep, and Little Black Bear was catching cold
from sitting on the ice.

"I am going to peek round and see if it has moved," said Little White
Bear bravely. He looked, and it hadn't moved one little bit, so it
seemed as if it couldn't really be alive! Perhaps it was something that
Omnok had left there. They crept up toward it, little by little, until
they were right up to it, and what do you think? It was nothing but
Omnok's big whaling boat he had left on the ice.

They looked all around to see if Omnok were about, then they tumbled
right into that boat for a frolic. There were a great many things in the
boat, but the most interesting of all was a great, long "pooksack." It
wasn't full of seal oil. If it had been, I am quite sure Little Black
Bear would have had nothing to do with it. It was just full of air.
Omnok had used it for a sled when he drew his boat over the roof of the
ocean. And what a splendid football it did make, and how they did knock
it about! First Little White Bear would give it a boost with his big,
clumsy paws, then Little Black Bear would boost it right over Little
White Bear's head! Then there would be a scramble to see who would get
to it first. But one time Little Black Bear kicked it right over Little
White Bear's head so high that it tumbled off the roof of the ocean and
down into the great da