At last the nights shortened to nothing at all. The long day had
begun. The stone but, which they had found so comfortable in
winter, seemed dark and damp now.

Menie and Monnie remembered the summer days when they did not
have to dive down through a hole to get into their house, so
Menie said to Monnie one day, "Let's go and ask father if it
isn't time to put up the tents."

They ran out to find him. He was down on the beach talking with
Koko's father and the other men of the village.

On the beach were two very long boats. The men were looking them
over carefully to see if they were water tight.

Koko was with the men. When he saw the twins coming, he tore up
the slope to meet them, waving his arms and shouting, "They're
getting out the woman boats! They're getting out the woman
boats!"

This was glorious news to the twins. They ran down to the beach
with Koko as fast as their legs could carry them.

They got there just in time to hear Koko's father say to Kesshoo,
"I think it's safe to start. The ice is pretty well out of the
bay, and the reindeer will be coming down to the fiords after
fresh moss."

All the men listened to hear what Kesshoo would say, and the
twins listened, too, with all their ears.