I'regear. — Poltjnesian Folk-lore. 487 



catching plenty of fish. So he thought to himself, ' Well, how 

 is this ? How does that fellow catch so many whilst I cannot 

 catch one ?' Just as he thought this, Irawaru had another bite, 

 and up he pulls his line in haste, but it had got entangled with 

 that of Maui, and Maui thinking he felt a fish pulling at his 

 own line, drew it in quite delighted ; but when he had hauled 

 up a good deal of it, there were himself and his brother-in-law 

 pulling in their lines in different directions, one drawing the 

 line towards the bow of the canoe, the other towards the stern. 

 Maui, who was already provoked at his own ill-luck, and the 

 good luck of his brother-in-law, now called out quite angrily, 

 ' Come, let go my line, the fish is on my hook.' But Irawaru 

 answered, ' No, it is not, it is on mine.' Maui again called out 

 very angrily, ' Come, let go, I tell you it is on mine,' Irawaru 

 then slacked out his line, and let Maui pull in the fish ; and as 

 soon as he had hauled it into the canoe, Maui found that 

 Irawaru was right, and that the fish was on his hook ; when 

 Irawaru saw this too, he called out, ' Come now, let go my line 

 and hook.' Maui answered him, ' Cannot you wait a minute, 

 until I get the hook out of the fish.' 



"As soon as he got the hook out of the fish's mouth, he 

 looked at it, and saw that it was barbed ; Maui, who was already 

 exceedingly wrath with his brother-in-law, on observing this, 

 thought he had no chance with his barbless hook of catching as 

 many fish as his brother-in-law, so he said, ' Don't you think we 

 had better go on shore now ?' Irawaru answered, ' Very well, let 

 us return to the land again.' 



" So they paddled back towards the land, and when they 

 reached it, and were going to haul the canoe on the beach, Maui 

 said to his brother-in-law, ' Do you get under the outrigger of 

 the canoe, and lift it up with your back.' So he got under it, 

 and as soon as he had done so Maui jumped on it, and pressed 

 the whole weight of the canoe down upon him, and almost 

 killed Irawaru. When he was on the point of death, Maui 

 trampled on his body, and lengthened his backbone, and by his 

 enchantments drew it out into the form of a tail, and he trans- 

 formed Irawaru into a dog. As soon as he had done this, Maui 

 went back to his place of abode, just as if nothing unusual had 

 taken place ; and his young sister, who was watching for the 

 return of her husband, as soon as she saw Maui coming, ran to 

 him and asked him, saying, ' Maui, where is your brother-in- 

 law ? ' Maui answered, 'I left him at the canoe.' But his 

 young sister said, ' Why did not you both come home together ? ' 

 and Maui answered, ' He desired me to tell you that he wanted 

 you to go down to the beach to help him carry up the fish : you 

 had better go, therefore ; and if you do not see him, just call 

 out ; and if he does not answer you, why then call out in this 

 way : Mo-i, mo-i, mo-i.' Upon learning this, Hinauri hurried 



