« Return to the Inuit legends list

Seal Boy

This is a story about a small boy who turned into a seal pup when his grandmother tossed him into the sea.

Long ago, there was a small boy who had no mother or father. He was neglected, and people treated him badly. They even ripped his clothing, and tore off pieces of it. His grandmother brought him new clothing made of caribou skins, but people continued to rip it up. They even came to his home to rip his clothes.

One day, his grandmother could take this mistreatment of her grandson no longer. She took the small boy down to the edge of the sea, and threw him into the water. As she did so, she said, “You will surface on the water as a natsiavinaapik [a seal pup].”

Just as his grandmother promised, the boy turned into a seal pup. Then his grandmother said, “When the hunters chase you, lead them far from shore, then spread your arms when you reach the water’s surface, and ungallak!” [the noise seals make with their flippers].

Soon, some of the men who had mistreated the boy saw the seal pup surface near their qajait. The hunters tried to spear him with harpoons, but they failed. There were many qajait chasing the seal boy, but not one hunter was able to catch him.

The seal pup led the hunters far from shore. Then he surfaced, spread his arms, and ungallak [clapped his flippers]. This caused a big wind and raging seas. The qajait and their occupants were caught in the storm, and —unable to reach the safety of land— they all drowned.

Moral

We should never mistreat any human being, no matter who they are, not even if we dislike them. Instead, we should try to change our own attitude, make peace with the person we do not like, and have a good talk with them.

Excerpt from: Unikkaangualaurtaa (Let's Tell a Story)