Te taniwha o Whangaparāoa
Nā Roka Paora te wāhanga Māori
Nā Cathie Penetito ngā whakaahua
Tērā tētahi tamaiti i piki ki te tihi o Tihirau. Ka kite ia i tētahi waka e
rere mai ana.
He nui ake i te waka o tōna pāpā,
nui ake i te waka o te rangatira,
nui ake i ngā waka katoa kua kite ia.
Ka haere ia ki te whakaatu ki tōna pāpā. He pōnānā nōna, ka oma
ia ki te kāinga mā tētahi awaawa hōhonu, awaawa pōuri. I taua awaawa
tētahi ana hohonu, ana pōuri, Ā, i roto i taua ana e noho ana tētahi
Taniwha wehi,
Taniwha whakamataku.
I te mataku o te tamaiti nei, ka auē ia. Ka ngōki haere mā mua o te ana o te Taniwha rā.
"Auē...ē! Ai..i!"
Haruru ana te whenua i te ohonga o te Taniwha. I te putanga mai, e
rakuraku ana ia i tōna māhunga weriweri mā ōna ringa weriweri. Ka piupiu haere i tōna waero.
Kātahi ka hāparangi, "NĀ WAI AU I WHAKAOHO"
Ka hamumu te tamaiti, "Nāku koe i whakaoho. E hika, kaua au e kainga! Kei te whāwhai au ki te whakaatu ki taku iwi i kite au i tētahi waka tauhou. E hika, kaua au e kainga! Kore, kore, kore rawa au e hoki mai anō."
Ka mea mai te Taniwha, "Kāti, kāore koe e kainga i tēnei rā. Ēngari, ki te whakaoho anō koe i a au, māku koe e katikati hei hapa māku!"
Haruru ana te whenua i te hokinga o te Taniwha ki roto i tōna ana. wiriwiri ana te tamaiti i tōna omanga mā te awaawa hōhonu ki tōna kāinga. "Auē..ē! Auē..ē! Ai..i, taukuri e!"
Ka tūtaki te tamaiti nei ki tōna pāpā i te taiapa.
"Pāpā, i kite au i tētahi mea tauhou! He waka, e Pā, he
waka tauhou. He nui ake i tō waka, e Pā, nui ake i te waka
o te rangatira, nui ake i ngā waka katoa kua kite au!"
Haere tonu atu rāua ki te rangatira. Haere tonu atu te rangatira ki ngā toa. Haere tonu atu ngā toa ki te waka tino nui. Rere tonu atu ki te waka tauhou.
Kātahi te mea whakamīharo! Arā te waka tauhou. Arā ngā tāngata tauhou.
Arā ngā kākahu tauhou, Ahakoa te mataku, ka hoe tonu ki te waka tauhou; e whātero ana, e pūkana ana, me te hoe atu.
Ka kite a Kāpene Kuki e pūkana ana mai, ka mataku, ka karanga,
"Man the cannon!"
"Light the fuse!"
Ka rere te matā, PAKŪ ana!
Ko wai i rongo i te pakū? Āe, ko te Taniwha. Haruru ana te whenua i tōna ohonga ake. Ka rakuraku i tōna mahunga weriweri mā ōna ringa weriweri. Ka piupiu haere i tōna waero.
"NĀ WAI AU I WHAKAOHO ANO?"
Ka tiro iho i te waha o tōna ana. Arā te mata i PAKŪ nei, te PAKŪ i whakaoho nei i a ia. Arā te waka tauhou nō reira te matā e whio mai nei.
"Auē! Ai..i! E kī rā!"
Ka rere iho te Taniwha, ka hopu ki te matā mā ōna ringa weriweri. Haruru ana te whenua i te hāparangitanga o te Taniwha. Ka porowhuia te matā ki te waka tauhou."KAUA ANŌ AU E WHAKAOHOTIA!"
Ka kite atu a Kāpene Kuki i te matā e rere mai ana ki tōna waka,
ka karanga, "Hoist the sail!
Row!
Turn about!
RUNAWAY!"
I taua pō, ka tuhia e Kāpene Kuki a Cape Runaway ki runga i tana mapi nui.
Ka tangi te mapu o te Taniwha i a ia e moe ana i roto i tona ana.
Pērā anō te tamaiti,
tōna pāpā,
te rangatira,
ngā toa katoa,
i a rātou e moe ana i roto i tō rātou whare i Whangaparāoa.
Ko te wāhanga Pākehā nā Cathie Penetito
Once a little boy climbed to the top of Tihirau.
He saw a strange canoe sailing into the bay.
It was bigger than his father's canoe,
bigger than the chief's canoe,
bigger than any canoe he had ever seen.
He set off to tell his father. He was in such a hurry that he took a shortcut to his home.
He went down through a deep dark valley, a deep dark valley with a deep dark cave.
And in that cave there lived a terrible frightening Taniwha. The little boy was so frightened that he squealed as he crept past the Taniwha's cave. "Eiih! Eiih!"
With a roar and a scream, the Taniwha woke up and came crashing out, through the cave. He scratched at his horrible head with his horrible hands and thrashed his long tail about.
"WHO WOKE ME UP?" he shouted.
"I did," said the little boy in a little voice. "Please don't eat me up! I'm hurrying home to tell my people about the strange canoe in the bay. Please don't eat me! I'll never, never come this way again."
"Very well," said Taniwha, "I won't eat you today. But if you wake me again I'll bite you into small pieces for my tea!"
And with a mighty roar, the Taniwha crawled back into his cave. The little boy trembled and shook and ran through the deep dark valley to his home as quickly as he could. "Eiiih! Eiiih! Eii!"
He met his father at the fence. "Papa! I've seen a strange sight.
There's a strange canoe in the bay. It's bigger than your canoe, bigger than the chief's canoe,bigger than any canoe I've ever seen!"
They went straight to the chief and the chief told his strongest warriors to launch their biggest canoe. They pushed off from the shore and paddled out to meet the strange canoe.
It was a strange sight. A huge canoe with pale men abroad, wearing strange clothes. The warriors were frightened, but they paddled straight towards the ship, making fierce faces and looking as brave as they could.
Captain Cook saw their fierce faces and was frightened.
"Man the canon!" he cried.
"Light the fuse!" And the canon ball went off with an enormous BANG!
And who heard it? Ah yes, Taniwha! He woke with a roar and a scream, scratched his horrible head with his horrible hands and thrashed his long tail about.
"WHO WOKE ME UP AGAIN!" he shouted.
He looked out from the mouth of his cave and there below him in the bay he saw the large black cannonball that made the BANG that woke him up. And he saw the strange canoe that had fired the cannon that had sent the cannonball whistling through the air. "EEEII!" he yelled.
He flew down to the bay and caught the cannonball in his horrible hands. With a roar and a scream, he threw the cannonball right back at the strange canoe. "DON'T WAKE ME UP AGAIN!"
Captain Cook saw the cannonball hurtling towards his ship.
"Hoist the sail!" he called.
"Row!" he called.
"Turn about !" he yelled.
"RUNAWAY!"
That night, Captain Cook charted Cape Runaway on his big map. The horrible Taniwha smiled in his sleep in his cave.
And the little boy and his father
and the chief
and all the warriors
smiled happily and went to sleep in their house at Whangaparāoa.