SYNOPSIS: Surviving a fierce storm on the ice sea, Oonik and Keotuk, his faithful dog, have finally reached Santa Land, where they hope to enlist Santa's help in getting the Ice King to end the terrible continuous winter.

CHAPTER FIVE
OONIK IN SANTA LAND

Oonik hurried over the hill and into the valley where he had seen smoke trailing into the sky.

Sure enough the smoke was coming from a little red chimney on top of a little red house.

"It's Santa's house! I know it is!" exclaimed Oonik joyfully and , with Keotuk at his heels he rushed up to the porch.

Tap, tap! He knocked eagerly at the door.

There was no answer.
Bang, bang! He pounded.
Still no answer.
Oonik looked around. Now he saw another house nearly buried under the ice and snow. It was a long low building. Although it had a chimney, there was no smoke coming from it. Jurther away he saw a large red barn but still no sign of any living creature.

Keotuk sniffed at the door of the little red house. He whimpered, Puzzled, Oonik put his hand on the knob and opened the knob and opened the door.

"Hello!" he called. "May I come in?"

There was no answer. Holding his breath, Oonik tiptoed in. He found himself in a room with four square walls not at all like the round snow walls he was used to at home.

There was a little fire burning in the fireplace. Two large empty chairs at before the fire. Tehre was a desd in the corner wit papers and letters strewn over its top.

"Oh my!" breathed Oonik gazing around admiringly.

In all his life he had never been in any house except an igloo or tent. He had never seen a fireplace or a chair or a desk! He felt that he had walked into a palace such as he had heard kings lived in in faraway places.

He was about to lower himself int one of the chairs when suddenly he heard a groan. He leaped up. The groan came again. It was from over his head! Astonished, he realized there was another room on top of the one he was in. He found some stairs and, trembling, he tiptoed up to the second floor.

He found himself in a bedroom and in the bedroom was a bed and in the bed there was someone. At least Oonik thought there was someone in the bed but it was hard to be sure because here were so many covers on it.

There were quilts and comforters and blankets and even an enormous polar bear rug on top of whoever was in the bed.

Oonik cleared his throat. "I beg your pardon," he said.

The great pile of covers heayed upward and the astonished face of Mrs. Santa Claus appeared.

"Land sakes!" she cried "Who are you?"

"I am an Eskimo boy," said Oonik nervously. "I have come from across the sea to ask Santa to save me and my people from the Ice King's anger. You see, it is summer but still summer has not come."

"Oh, I know! Don't tell me!" said Mrs. Claus and she threw herself back into the covers with another groan.

"We too have been waiting all these months for summer which has not come. And now I have terrible rheumatism which I should only have in winter months.

"And the snow is so high and the ice so thick we cannot get wood for the fires so the fairies have no fire in the workshops and they are too cold to work. We ourselves are using the dinning room chairs for firewood but even those won't last much longer.'

"And the ice is so thick the reindeer have not been able to dig moss to eat and they are starving.

"Oh, Don't tell me about the Ice King's anger. He's gone plumb ot of his head, I say and --."

"Where is Santa Claus?" interrupted Oonik uneasily.

"In the barn, I expect nursing the reindeer. Santa says unless something happens soon there's just not going to be any Christmas anymore.

Oonik slipped from the room. He ran down the stairs and out of the house.

"Oh, Keotuk," he exclaimed to his dog waiting at the door "It's much worse than I knew! Why, even Santa doesn't know what to do!"

Next: A Talk with Santa