The Boy Who Ate Too Much
     There was a small boy. He lived in an igloo with an old, old woman. This boy was always hungry. It seemed he could never get enough to fill his stomach. One day, all the food in the igloo was gone. There was nothing left for the boy or the old woman to eat.
     So the old woman sent the boy out to search for food. She told him to go down to the beach to see what he could find. The boy put on his warm parka and left the igloo. He went straight to the beach just as he had been told. He walked along the water's edge, looking for what he could find.
     The first thing the boy found was a tasty-looking fish. He picked it up and held it in his hands. The boy's stomach was making loud noises. In the next minute, the boy swallowed the fish in one big gulp!
     The boy continued his search for food. After some time had passed, he came upon a seal. Since his stomach still felt empty, he caught the seal and ate the whole thing. On he went down the beach. Then he spotted another seal. This one was much larger than the first one. The seal was sunning itself on a rock and didn't hear the boy 's approach. Before it could get away, the boy grabbed the large seal. What did the boy do then? Well, he ate that seal, too.
     But the boy's stomach was still not full. He walked on, searching for something more to eat. Then he spotted a white whale. It was stranded on the sand and could not swim away. Just as he had had done with the fish and the seals, the boy caught the whale. Then he began to eat this whale. In what seemed like no time at all, there was nothing left. He ate everything -- skin, bones, blubber and all.
     After the boy had finished eating the whale, he began to feel better. He felt good enough to start singing a little song. He rubbed and patted his full belly. For the first time in his life, he had had enough to eat. But after eating all that food, he began to get very thirsty. The boy kept walking until he came to a nearby pond. He stooped down by the water's edge and began to drink. He drank and drank and drank and drank. He drank until the pond was dry. When he finished the last drop, he felt much better. Then he started off again. This time he was headed back to the igloo where he and the old woman lived.
     When he got back home, the boy tried to go in the door. But he could not fit through it. He had eaten so much he had grown too big for the door. He called to the old woman, "I can't get in. What should I do now?"
"You must come in through the window," the old woman answered. The window was even smaller than the door. The boy tried it any way. He pushed and pushed, but only his head would go through.
     "I can't get in this way either, " he called to the old woman. "What am I to do now?"
     " Come through the smoke hole in the roof," cried the old woman.
     This idea seemed very strange to the boy. The smoke hole was even smaller than the window. But he tried it anyway. The boy pushed and squirmed and finally his head and shoulders poked through, but he could go no further. The boy did not know what to do next. Again he called to the old woman. The old woman shouted up to him, "Come in through the eye of my needle."
    The old woman held up her needle where he could see it. All of a sudden, the boy tumbled through the eye of the old woman's needle. He landed with a thud on the floor at her feet. The old woman saw how the boy's body had swelled from eating so much.    
     Be careful!" she cried. "You must keep away from the oil lamp"!
Then an awful thing happened. As the boy was getting to his feet, he stumbled. He started to fall forward, right where the oil lamp was standing. The old woman jumped to her feet. She barely had time to rush out the door before BOOM!
     There was a sound like a mighty clap of thunder. It echoed over the icy land. When all was still again, the old woman crawled to the window. She peeked inside the igloo. The boy was nowhere to be found. The lamp was gone, too. She peered around the room. When she looked down toward the floor, she was greatly surprised. There was a deep, dark pool. And there swam the fish, the two seals, and big white whale. Now this story is ended.