The Wonder Book of Maori Legends

Popo was the fat, genial, old story teller in a Maori seaside village. He was a friend to all the children, and especially to Rata and Hine, son and daughter of the chief. Rata and Hine were affectionate, fun-loving, often mischievous. They lived out-of-doors most of the time because the sea and the forest were their playground. Sometimes they got into scrapes, and it was usually Popo who helped them out of them. Life was not all play for the son and daughter of the chief. There were many things they had to learn before they grew up; but whatever the occasion, Popo always had a story to tell which explained why people did things in a certain way, or why things happened as they did. So the children learned about the mischievous half-god Mauk; they discovered why the sun travels across the sky, how their own land was fished-up from the bottom of the sea, and what happened when Rata cut down a tree without telling the god of the forest. These and many other stories are the well-loved legends and folk tales of the Maoris of New Zealand, which should be known to every boy and girl who lives in New Zealand. Rata and Hine loved to hear Popo tell about gods and goddesses and their oven ancestors. Many thousands of pakeha children have already enjoyed the stories in this book, and as they shared the adventures of this little Maori girl and boy they learned a great deal of the life they lived long, long ago.