Far out in the ocean, a cradle of seaweed rocked on the waves, and birds circled above it. A baby lay in the cradle, and nothing but seaweed protected him from the birds and predators of the ocean. It was Maui, little Maui, wrapped in his mother Taranga's hair.
In the end, the sea washed the cradle ashore, and then the birds became bolder, and the flies clustered around the cradle. The algae dried and crumbled, the flies reached the baby’s delicate skin, and he began to cry.
God Tama heard the cry. He went down to the cradle, looked at Maui’s blue body, carefully took the child in his arms and hurried home - into the sky. At home, he placed the baby under the rafters, and the child soon warmed up from the stream of warm air that rose above the fireplace. The kid laughed and waved his arms cheerfully.
This is how Maui’s first adventure ended happily, this is how he was saved from death by an old man from the sky.
Maui grew up, and the god Tama willingly shared his wisdom with him. With the help of Tama, Maui studied the habits of birds and their language, the cunning tricks of fish, learned to play children's games and learned what old people talk about when they sit around the fire in the evenings.
Maui grew up high in the mountains, he met all the inhabitants of the mountain forests and learned spells, with the help of which he made friends with the forest people. And finally he found out where his mother lived.
“And now I will return to my tribe,” Maui said one day.
“Yes, you will return to your tribe,” Tama confirmed sadly. - You will leave the old man who taught you various wisdom. You will accomplish many feats, many adventures await you, but your last deed will eclipse all previous ones, although you will lose the last battle. My son, I will not say what kind of battle this is. It's good that it will happen, and it doesn't matter that you lose it. We will all be defeated in this battle.... But the memory of you, Maui, will remain forever. Now hurry up, my son, the world of people is waiting for you.
Maui raced across the sand dunes. He climbed the hills, descended into the valleys and went further and further west. Finally, a hut appeared far ahead with a thin curl of smoke above the roof, and Maui immediately felt that this was his mother’s house.
It's starting to get dark. When Maui reached the door, it became completely dark. He looked inside and saw a fire burning on the ground and rings of smoke floating in the hut. Maui slipped inside like a shadow and, unnoticed by anyone, sat down behind one of his brothers. At this time, the mother approached the children and said:
- Whoever I name, let him stand up and we will dance Maui-taha! The eldest son stood up.
- Here is my firstborn, Maui-roto! Here is my second son, Maui-pae! Here's the third one, Maui-waho! Here's the fourth one. All my sons are ready to dance.
Then little Maui stood up and walked out of the darkness into the light.
- I'm Maui too.
- No, no, you are not Maui! - the mother was surprised. - All my sons are here at home. I counted them myself.
“I’m Maui,” the boy stood his ground. -And they are my brothers. Look, I know their names: Maui-taha, Maui-roto, Maui-pae, Maui-waho. And I also came to you, me, little Maui.
“I’ve never seen you,” the mother answered. - No, baby, you are not Maui. Where did you come from?
- From the sea. The waves were my cradle, the fish and birds wanted to devour me, but I was swaddled in my mother's hair.
The mother took a burning piece of wood and brought it to Maui's face.
- What's my name? - she suddenly asked.
-Your name is Taranga, you are my mother.
Then Taranga leaned over and hugged Maui.
- Of course, you are my little Maui. Now you are with me again. You will be the fifth Maui, and we will call you Maui-ti-kitiki-a-Taranga - Maui who was swaddled in Taranga's hair. You will live here with us and become my little son again.
The appearance of Maui-ti-kitiki-a-Taranga was a real punishment for the four brothers. When they launched the kite, baby Maui's kite flew highest. When they played tag, Maui ran the fastest. When they threw darts, Maui's dart flew the farthest. When the boys competed to see who could go without breathing the longest, Maui was again the winner. When they swam and dived, Maui was always the bravest. Maui was friends with all the forest inhabitants and, with the help of the spells that Tama taught him, could at any moment turn into a bird and fly away from his angry brothers.
Stupid and clumsy, the brothers hated Maui for his dexterity and luck, because he constantly made them laugh. But the brothers' hatred did not touch Maui. After teasing them, he went into the forest and played with the birds. Only one thought worried Maui: he had never seen his father. Night after night, Maui fell asleep on the floor next to his mother, and in the morning, when he woke up, she was no longer there, and she did not appear until the evening.
—Where does our mother go every day? - Maui asked his brothers.
- How do we know!
- You've lived here longer than me!
“Maybe it goes north, or maybe it goes south, or east, or west.” What do we care? - the brothers made excuses.
Maui realized that they would not tell him anything, and decided to find out for himself.
One evening Maui pretended to be asleep, and when he heard his mother's steady breathing and was sure that she was sleeping, he crept up to her, took her beautiful belt and loincloth and hid it under his mat. Then he went around the windows and closed them so tightly that there was not a crack left through which the morning light could enter the house.
Early in the morning the mother woke up and got up to see if it was dawn. Outside, the clouds had already turned pink, but not a single ray of light penetrated into the house. The mother lay down again and fell asleep. When she woke up the second time, the house was still dark, but the birds were already singing outside. Taranga jumped up, opened the windows and saw that everything around was flooded with sunlight. She reached out for the belt and bandage, but did not find them. Then she threw an old cloak over her shoulders and ran out the door.
The harsh light woke Maui, he slipped out of the house and ran after his mother. Soon he saw her bend down and pick up a piece of turf. There was a large hole under the turf. Taranga easily climbed into it and put the turf in place.
Then Maui realized that his mother lived during the day in the twilight of the lower world, and ran back to his brothers.
“I found out where my mother is going!” - he shouted. “She goes to our father in the lower world.” Let's go get her!
- What do we care where she goes! - said one of the brothers.
And the others immediately agreed with him:
- What do we care!
“Then I’ll go alone,” said Maui. - Taranga is my mother. She brings us food, she stays with us at night, she loves us. I want to find her.
Maui took out his mother's belt and cloak and put it on himself. The brothers did not take their eyes off him. Maui suddenly became very small, and a moment later, in the place where he stood, the brothers saw a beautiful dove. A snow-white belt shone on the dove’s chest, and the soft play of feathers resembled the colors of Taranga’s loincloth. The dove flapped its wings, and the brothers could not help but shout with delight.
The dove soared above the trees and flew to the place where Taranga's trail ended. There he lifted a piece of turf and disappeared underground.
Maui flew along a winding underground passage that led to the lower world. He then tucked his wings when the passage narrowed, then spread them again and finally reached a mysterious country where the sun did not look and the wind did not fly. Tall trees with lush crowns grew here, but even the lightest breath did not disturb the peace of their leaves. Maui flew up to one of the trees and landed on a lower branch.
Several men and women passed by. The two stopped and sat down under a tree. Maui recognized his mother and guessed that the man next to her was his father. He grabbed a berry with his beak and threw it on his father's head.
“It was probably the bird that dropped the berry,” said the mother.
“No,” the father objected. “The berry is ripe, it’s time for it to fall.”
Then Maui picked a bunch of berries and threw them at his father and mother. They jumped up, and people who saw the dove were already running up to them. He was so different from the birds of the lower world with their dull, dirty gray feathers! The men began throwing stones to drive the handsome pigeon off the branch. Maui dodged.
Maui's father also threw a stone. The dove immediately rushed down and beat its wings at his feet. The dove grew before our eyes, it became tall, slender, and now a young man stood in front of his father in a beautiful cloak thrown over his shoulders and with a white belt that shone on his dark body.
The mother recognized her son.
- This is not Maui-taha, my firstborn. And not Maui-roto, my second son. And not Maui-pae, my third. And not Maui-waho. This is baby Maui, my youngest son, this is Maui-ti-kitiki-a-Taranga,” she said and hugged him tightly to her chest. “This is the child who was returned to me by the waves and the wind.” He will bring joy and sorrow to our world, he will conquer the sun and, perhaps, even overcome death.
A sacred rite was performed over Maui, and the spells that were cast during this rite helped Maui become a brave and invincible warrior.
Baby Maui lived with his parents and was happy, and the pigeons that fluttered in the bushes were also happy, because their feathers now shimmered with the same colors as Taranga’s cloak.
But sometimes Maui’s parents were sad because during the naming ceremony they did not have time to cast all the spells - and therefore they knew that Maui’s last, greatest feat would not bring happiness to people:
Maui will not be able to defeat the goddess of death.
When Maui got used to his new life, he noticed that in the lower world they carefully prepare food every day, and then take it to God knows where. Maui always wanted to understand what was going on around her.
—Who is this food prepared for? he asked.
- For your grandmother Muri.
“I know, I know, they told me about her,” said Maui. “I want to take her food myself.”
Maui took the basket and took it to the gloomy dungeon where the grandmother lived, but did not give her the basket, but put it in a dark corner where nothing could be seen. Every day Maui brought a basket of food and hid it, until finally Muri was thoroughly hungry.
- Where is my food?! - her voice thundered under the arches of the cave. -Who dared to take my food?!
Maui stood motionless, and the old woman tried to determine by the smell where her food was.
“I’ll catch this robber and eat him!” - she exclaimed.
The old woman turned to the south, sniffed, but did not feel the smell to the west and sniffed the air with her nose.
- 0th! - she screamed. - I can smell it. What is a silent piece of human flesh doing in our abandoned world? Is that you, Maui, my youngest grandson?
- Yes, it's me.
“Tell me, little Maui, why are you taking my food away?” What do you need, baby Maui?
“I need your jaw, Grandma Muri,” Maui replied. “Give me your jaw, then I’ll give you the food and leave you alone.”
Muri thought about it.
“Give me the food, Maui,” her thunderous voice rang out again. - Give me all the food. I'm already old. I don't need my jaw anymore. Take my jaw, you'll need it soon.
Maui fearlessly approached the old woman. He took Muri's magic jaw, returned home and hid it carefully.
Maui grew up and became a man. He married a woman from the upper world, the world of people, and made his home in the village where the brothers lived.
Every day Tama the sun jumped up into the sky in one leap, quickly ran from one end to the other and disappeared. People barely had time to eat the hastily prepared food before it became dark again. The inhabitants of the upper world were angry that the days were so short and the nights were long, but no one dared to think that this routine could be changed. Only Maui, following the running sun with his eyes, tried to figure out how to keep it in the sky, and in the end he came up with it.
“The days are too short,” he told his brothers.
- Very short! “We don’t have time to complete a single task, but we always rest in the dark,” the brothers responded.
“We need to lengthen the days,” Maui announced. The brothers laughed:
- Do you think the sun can be caught like a bird when it sits on a branch?
“Yes,” Maui said decisively. “I’ll catch him in a net like a bird.”
The brothers laughed even louder:
“Perhaps you are a god yourself if you think you can look into the face of the shining sun god?”
Maui's eyes sparkled.
- I can do a lot! You forgot about it too quickly! Can I or can't I turn into a bird? Am I or am I not stronger than all men? And who owns the magic jaw of Muri, our grandmother? Tomorrow we will go where the sun rises, make a net of strong ropes and catch him. We will make the sun serve us.
- The ropes will burn. Tama-sun will tear them apart like a web. The fire of his wrath will burn us to ashes,” the brothers disagreed.
“Tell the wives to bring flax, we’ll start twisting the ropes right away,” Maui stood his ground.
His eyes burned so much that the brothers got scared and began to weave ropes.
When the ropes were ready, Maui took out the magic jaw and went to where the sun rises. The brothers followed him with ropes. During the day they hid, and at night they quickly moved forward and finally reached the end of the world. There the brothers built a long clay wall behind which they could hide from the scorching sun. They built two huts on both sides of the wall. Maui hid in one, and the brothers in the other. In the place where the sun rose, the brothers laid out a large rope loop and covered it with green branches.
When the sun shone in full force, the brothers grabbed the ends of the rope loop.
- Hold it tight! - Maui whispered. - Wait until Tama puts his head and body through the noose. Ready! Pull!
The brothers pulled, and the noose around Tama the sun tightened ever tighter.
The sun trembled in pain, and the brothers pulled and pulled and sang a song about strong ropes, stretched like a bowstring.
Tama felt as if his body was being squeezed by a belt of fire. He tried to break the ropes, but could not. The taut ropes hummed like insects in the bushes.
The brothers grabbed the rope and breathed so heavily that, despite Tama’s loud screams, their every breath could be heard.
Maui jumped out of the hut and ran up to the brothers, holding Muri's magic jaw in his hand. Suddenly Maui straightened up and hit Tama with his jaw with all his might. He delivered blow after blow, and the air shook with Tama's screams. Tama dropped his head to his chest, and Maui's brothers tightened the loose rope. Maui's blows fell on Tama with such a roar that it seemed as if burning trees were falling. Tama fell to his knees and begged for mercy.
Then the brothers let him go, because Tama had lost his strength. Now he could no longer cross the sky in several jumps, he could barely move and still moves like that.
Maui had a very inquisitive mind. Everything around him occupied him.
-Where did the fire come from? - Maui asked one day.
“I got it, that’s all,” the brothers answered impatiently. - Why do you need to know this? If we have fire, does it matter where it comes from?
- What if the fire goes out?
“We won’t let it go out.” And if such a disaster happens, the mother knows where to get it. But she doesn't tell anyone this.
That evening, when the village fell asleep, Maui slipped out of the hut and secretly walked around all the hearths where fire flickered in the darkness. Without making too much noise, he filled the fireplaces with water and waited until the last spark died out. As soon as the first rays of the sun appeared in the sky, Maui called the servants:
- I'm hungry. Cook something, quickly.
The servants ran to the hearth, but found only a pile of gray ashes.
There was a commotion in the village; servants ran back and forth with loud shouts.
Taranga ordered the servants to go down to the lower world and bring fire.
“I’ll go get the fire myself,” said Maui. - How can I find the land of darkness? Who keeps the fire there?
Taranga looked at her son in disbelief:
“Since no one else agrees, my youngest son will have to go get the fire.” You will follow the road that I will show you and you will come to the house of your ancestress Mahuika. She is the one who keeps the fire. If Mahuika asks you your name, tell him who you are. Be careful. Speak to her respectfully, my son. We all know how brave Maui-ti-kitiki-a-Taranga is, but your ancestress is a powerful woman, do not try to deceive her, otherwise she will punish you.
Maui smiled and immediately set off. He walked with such a sweeping step that he soon stepped into the gloomy land where the goddess of fire lived. Maui approached a beautiful house, richly decorated with carvings and shells that sparkled in the darkness like eyes in the reflection of a flame. The creaky voice of an old woman reached his ears, like the crackling of branches in a fire.
-Who are you, mortal? And how did you dare to look at the house of the goddess of fire?
- My name is Maui.
— I have five grandchildren named Maui. Is this Maui-ti-kitiki-a-Taranga?
- Yes, it's me.
The old woman laughed joyfully:
- What do you need from your grandmother, youngest Maui?
- I need fire! I want to bring fire to my mother and brothers.
- Okay, Maui, I'll give you fire. Mahuika tore a nail off her finger, and it immediately burst into flames.
“Carry my nail carefully and light a fire in your village.”
Maui took the nail, walked a little away from Mahuika's house, threw the nail on the ground and stamped out the fire. And then he came back.
- That's right, it's Maui again! - exclaimed the old woman. -What do you need this time?
- I need fire. I didn't get the nail. The flame went out.
Mahuika frowned.
“So you weren’t careful enough, my grandson.” I'll give you one more nail, but make sure you cover the flame with your hand. Maui took the burning nail, walked away so that Mahuika could not see it, trampled the flame and returned back. The Fire Goddess frowned and gave him another nail with a grunt.
Five times Maui left with fire and five times he returned empty-handed.
Ten times Maui left and ten times he returned with nothing. Mahuika gave him all her fingernails.
She gave in to Maui's requests and gave him a toenail, but the cunning Maui soon returned for the next one. Five times he left and five times he returned empty-handed. Nine times he left and nine times he returned empty-handed.
At last Mahuika's patience was exhausted. An underground fire raged through her home, and Maui had to fight her way through the smoke and flames that burst from the door and windows. Mahuika's eyes sparkled like lightning in the black sky. The old woman tore off the last nail and threw it into Maui. The nail did not reach Maui, but when it touched the ground, there was a deafening roar, as if thunder had thundered, and Maui realized that a fire tornado was about to overtake him.
He ran with all his might, and the flames growled and chased him on his heels. Maui turned into a falcon. Several powerful flaps of his wings, and he soared above the ground, but the flames did not recede. Maui felt the fire already licking his feathers. Since then, all falcons have had brown markings in their plumage. They remained in the places where the flames touched the feathers of the Maui falcon.
Maui saw a pond, folded his wings and fell into the water like a stone. But the water in the pond began to warm up. The falcon shifted restlessly from paw to paw at the bottom of the pond. The water was getting hotter. After a few minutes the water began to boil. Maui took to the air again. And fire raged in the air. The forest was burning, and the flames were spreading across the sky.
It seemed that a little more and the fire would devour the whole world. But Maui remembered the gods he had learned about in Tama’s house, called them, and the gods saw that the earth was in danger of destruction. They immediately sent rain to the ground. The rain fell on the fire, knocked down the flames and pressed the fire to the ground.
At that moment, someone's piercing, frightened scream was heard. It was Mahuika who screamed. She rushed about in the flames, but her strength failed her, and she could not return home.
The flames subsided, and from time to time harmless flames flared up, but they soon disappeared, leaving only a cloud of smoke behind.
Mahuika threw the last sparks of fire to several trees, which they hid and preserved.
In the end, Maui's trick benefited people: they learned to rub pieces of wood against each other and make fire. Since then, people can call on the descendants of Mahuika to help them at any moment.
Maui made his fishhook from Grandma Muri's jaw. The hook was well polished, decorated with mother-of-pearl and dog hair, but most importantly, it had miraculous powers.
The sun had not yet risen over the sea when Maui quietly left the hut and crept towards the brothers' boat. He lifted the floorboards and crawled through the narrow gap underneath them. Then he lay down on the bottom of the boat and put the boards in place.
Maui didn't wait long. The sky in the east was just beginning to turn pink when the brothers put their fishing rods in the boat and pushed it into the water. Maui lay under their feet and heard them laughing.
“We got rid of baby Maui after all,” said Maui-pae. — Maui is probably still sleeping.
“Maui is not sleeping,” a low voice was heard.
The brothers looked at each other in amazement. It seemed to them that the voice was coming from under the boat.
“Maybe it’s a seagull,” said Maui-waho. But the brothers did not believe him. They took up the oars again, and the boat began to move again. But soon she stopped again. This time there was no doubt. The brothers heard Maui laugh. Maui laughed at them. The brothers lifted the boards and saw Maui, he was baring his teeth like an evil spirit.
- Maui! - the brothers shouted. - We won't take you! You will only get in our way.
The grin on Maui's face grew even wider.
- Take it! - he said.
- No. We'll turn back. Our boat has room enough for Maui-pae, for Maui-roto, for Maui-waho, for Maui-tahi, but it is too small for Maui-ti.
“You will take me,” Maui repeated. He extended his hand towards the shore. The brothers looked back, but saw nothing but the ocean, which is protected by the god Kiva - it was Maui who, with the help of magic, made the sea even larger, and the shore disappeared behind the high waves.
- Row! - Maui ordered.
“We won’t,” said the brothers and put down their oars.
- Row! - Maui shouted.
The grin disappeared from Maui's face, his eyes became cold and prickly, like shards of jade. The brothers silently raised their oars and began to row.
By the time Maui allowed them to stop, they were pretty tired.
“Get your fishing rods,” said Maui. “Now we’ll see if I chose a good place.”
The brothers silently baited their hooks and cast out their fishing rods. Soon the fishing rods were jumping in their hands, and a little later there was a mountain of fish at the bottom of the boat.
- Enough! - said the older brother. - We fished well. It's done.
Maui breathed on the magic hook and admired the play of light.
“You have done your job, brothers,” he said affectionately. - I haven’t started mine yet.
- What are you, Maui, what are you! - the brothers shouted in unison. - We caught fish for ourselves and for you. Let's sail home to our wives and children.
“No, brothers, you haven’t seen Maui fish yet.” I'll only cast the line once. Give me some bait!
The brothers did not want to give Maui the bait because they were afraid that he would do something bad. Then Maui hit himself on the nose with such force that blood began to flow. He smeared the blood on the hook and threw it over the side of the boat. Fathom by fathom the linen rope sank into the water and sank deep into the sea.
Soon Maui felt the hook get caught on something. He held his breath, the brothers stared at the water in silence. Maui tugged lightly on the rope, and somewhere in the depths the hook firmly stuck into the invisible prey.
Maui's hook penetrated into the silent realm of the sea god and caught on the door of his son's house. Maui felt the rope tighten. He rested his foot on the side of the boat, gathered all his strength and began to pick out the rope. The house began to crackle. Then he rose up, sank again and finally broke away from the seabed along with a huge piece of land.
Maui chanted a spell that made everything that was hard light. The brothers plunged their oars deep into the water. Maui's voice sounded more and more shrill, the muscles swelled in his arms and became like tree roots. The rope was loud enough to make my head explode.
And then the brothers saw the walls and a door slowly emerge from the water with a magic hook that was stuck in the board. The ground appeared behind them. She shone like a fish, and her huge tail disappeared over the horizon. The ocean parted under her pressure, and the boat rose high above the water.
So the fish of Maui swam out - Te-Ika-a-Maui.
“Sit in the boat and be silent,” Maui said to the brothers. “The God of the Sea is angry, I need to make peace with him.” And then we will divide this land among ourselves.
And Maui left.
A bright, shining world raised Maui from the bottom of the sea! There were houses here and there on the wide plain. The air was still, and columns of smoke from the fireplaces rose straight into the sky. Birds sang, streams gurgled in the distance.
- This area is mine! - Maui-taha exclaimed.
- No, mine! - Maui-waho shouted.
“Then I’ll take that plot over there,” Maui-pae couldn’t resist.
The brothers jumped out of the boat and ran in different directions. They pounded the ground with war clubs, and each tried to capture a larger area.
The Maui fish trembled from the trampling of their feet, from the blows of their clubs. She was dozing on the surface of the sea, but her brothers woke her up. The fish rushed about in the water, and deep furrows and folds appeared on its smooth sides. That's why the Big Fish of Maui is cut by mountain ranges and valleys, that's why it has inaccessible rocky shores. If the brothers had not touched the fish, it would have remained as it was.
This happened many, many years ago. But since then, the northern island of New Zealand has been called Te-Ika-a-Maui - Big Fish Maui. Even the Maui hook has been preserved. Its edge forms the curved coastline of Hawk Bay, which ends at the headland of Te Matua a Maui - Maui Fish Hook.
As the years passed, Maui grew old. He was still as cheerful, but silver threads appeared in his hair, and his two sons became quite adults. The sons were very similar to their father. There was no end to their antics, and one day Maui called them to his place.
“I’m tired of hearing about your outrages.” You are disgracing me. It's time for you to leave this world. But people won’t forget you,” Maui said and placed his hands on their shoulders. - I will turn you into stars. Those who wait for the night will look at you, those who wait for the dawn will rejoice at you. Farewell, sons!
Maui waved his hand, and the appearance of his sons changed - their bodies began to emit light. Then he picked up his sons and threw them high into the sky. They circled for a long time across the vast expanses of heaven and eventually stopped. They still live there. One is called the Morning Star, the other the Evening Star.
Many knew what fate befell the young men, and Taki, Maui’s elder brother, also knew about it. Old Taki is tired of living on earth. He saw how peacefully the stars were shining in the sky and envied them.
- Throw me into the sky too! - he asked Maui. “I want to live forever in heaven for the joy of people.”
Maui looked at his brother and thought. He got fat and became too heavy.
“I can’t get you to the sky,” said Maui. “But I’ll show you how to climb up there using the magic web.”
Taki agreed and Maui helped him. When Taki reached the sky, one of his eyes shone with a bright light and is still shining joyfully. This is the star Takiara, or the North Star.
Maui was getting old. His sons lived among the stars that glowed at night. The sun slowly moved across the sky and reminded Maui of the feat he had accomplished in his youth. Maui lived on land that he raised from the bottom of the ocean. In the evenings he ate food cooked on a fire that had once been stolen from Mahuika.
His loved ones did not forget what he had done and expected new amazing deeds from him. That is why, already as an old man, Maui conceived the greatest of his feats. He decided to defeat the goddess of death herself, the terrible Hine.
One day Maui saw a goddess from afar. Her eyes glowed, her teeth sparkled, her long hair curled around her body and swayed like seaweed on the waves; when she spoke, it seemed like thunder was roaring.
Maui called his bird friends to help, and they responded to his call. From the sea, from the swamp, from the coast - birds flocked to him from everywhere, they did not leave Maui when he approached the goddess of death.
Hine was sleeping. She slept with her mouth wide open. Maui threw off his cloak and prepared to sneak through her mouth and down her throat.
“Remember,” he ordered the birds in a whisper, “I will probably look ridiculous when I get into her mouth, but none of you should laugh.” I will come out, and then you will laugh and sing, because I will only come out when I kill Hine, and from that very moment people and birds will no longer have to die.
Dead silence reigned. Maui jumped, his head disappearing into Hine's gaping mouth. Her teeth hung over him like pointed rocks. The frightened birds held their breath. Maui had crawled down Hina's throat, with only his tattooed legs sticking out now. He twisted, twisted, and his legs dangled from side to side.
The funny little wagtail kept her eyes on Maui's feet. And suddenly a piercing squeak broke the silence - the wagtail couldn’t stand it and laughed. Hine woke up. Lightning flashed in her red eyes, a deafening roar was heard, and her teeth closed.
Only the wagtail's laughter, only the little wagtail's laughter and the spell that Maui's father forgot to cast prevented Maui from overcoming death. All day and all night the saddened birds were silent and remembered their friend Maui.
And then they forgot about him, because life is too short to waste it on grief, and death, which ends life, is like a dream that falls on everyone who is tired.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru