Tregear. — Polynesian Folk-lore. 873 



aloud to the servants, ' I hunger, I hunger ; quick, cook some 

 food for me.' One of the servants thereupon ran as fast as he 

 could to make up the fire to cook some food, but the fire was 

 out ; and as he ran round from house to house in the village to 

 get a light, he found every fire quite out — he could nowhere get 

 a light. When Maui's mother heard this, she called out to the 

 servants and said, ' Some of you repair to my great ancestress 

 Mahu-ika : tell her that fire has been lost upon earth, and ask 

 her to give some to the world again.' But the slaves were 

 alarmed, and refused to obey the commands which their masters, 

 the sacred old people, gave them ; and they persisted in refusing 

 to go, notwithstanding the old people repeatedly ordered them to 

 do so. 



" At last Maui said to his mother : ' Well, then, I will fetch 

 down fire for the world ; but which is the path by which I must 

 go ?' And his parents, who knew the country well, said to 

 him : ' If you will go, follow that broad path that lies before 

 you there, and you will reach at last the dwelling of an ancestress 

 of yours ; and if she asks you who you are, you had better call 

 out your name to her, then she will know you are a descendant 

 of hers ; but be cautious and do not play any tricks with her, 

 because we have heard that your deeds are greater than the deeds 

 of men, and that you are fond of deceiving and injuring others, 

 and perhaps you even now intend in many ways to deceive this 

 old ancestress of yours ; but pray be cautious not to do so.' 



" But Maui said : ' No ; I only want to bring fire away for 

 men, that is all, and I will return again as soon as I can do 

 that.' Then he went, and reached the abode of the goddess of 

 fire ; and he was so filled with wonder at what he saw, that for 

 a long time he could say nothing. At last he said : ' Oh, lady! 

 would you rise up ? Where is your fire kept ? I have come to 

 beg some from you.' Then the old lady rose right up, and 

 said : ' Au-e ! who can this mortal be ?' And he answered, 

 'It's I.' 'Where do you come from?' said she; and he 

 answered, ' I belong to this country.' ' You are not from 

 this country,' said she, 'your appearance is not like that of 

 the inhabitants of this country. Do you come from the north- 

 east ?' He replied, ' No.' ' Do you come from the south- 

 east ?' He replied, 'No.' 'Are you from the south?' He 

 replied, 'No.' ' Are you from the westward?' He answered, 

 'No.' ' Come you then from the direction of the wind, which 

 blows right upon me ? ' and he said : ' I do.' ' Oh, then,' 

 cried she, ' you are my grandchild ! What do you want here ?' 

 He answered, ' I am come to beg fire from you.' She replied : 

 1 Welcome, welcome ! here, then, is fire for you.' 



" Then the aged woman pulled out her nail ; and, as she 

 pulled it out, fire flowed from it, and she gave it to him. And 

 when Maui saw she had drawn out her nail to produce fire for 



