This question catches the chief off guard. He was never taught how to look at the animals or the trees or sky to determine the forecast but he also doesn’t want to look foolish so he replies “I think it will be cold. Go gather some more wood.”
When they leave, he goes to his room and calls his local weather office and asks “is it going to be cold in Nyuktuk this winter?”
The forecaster comes back after a few minutes and says “yes it appears it will be a cold winter.”
So when the reserve residents return he tells them to gather more wood since it will be colder than he thought. So they all leave to get more wood.
The chief is still uncertain so he calls the weather office again and says “are you sure it’s going to be cold in Nyuktuk this winter?”
After a pause the forecaster says “it is definitely going to be a cold winter this year.”
So when the residents return he says to them. “It’s going to be brutally cold this winter so gather up all the wood you can find.”
They head out once more but the chief is still wondering if he made a mistake so he calls the weather office again. “Are you sure it will be cold in Nyuktuk this winter?”
The forecaster says “not only will it be cold, but it is going to be one of the coldest winters in Nyuktuk in recent memory.”
The chief says “how do you know that?”
The forecaster answers “because the natives are gathering up wood like crazy!”
