378 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



at the pigeon, intending to devour it. Fortunately, however, for 

 the borrower, they only succeeded in getting possession of the 

 tail, whilst the pigeon, minus its beautiful tail, pursued its flight 

 to the shades. Maui was grieved at the mishap which had 

 overtaken tbe pet bird of his friend Tane. 



" Arrived at nether-land, Maui sought for the home of his 

 mother. It was the first house he saw : he was guided to it by 

 the sound of her cloth-flail. The red pigeon alighted on an oven- 

 house, opposite to the open shed where Buataranga was beating 

 out cloth. She stopped her work to gaze at the red pigeon, 

 which she guessed to be a visitor from the upper world, as none 

 of the pigeons in the shades were red. Buataranga said to the 

 bird, ' Are you not come from " daylight ?" The pigeon nodded 

 assent. ' Are you not my son Maui ?' inquired the old woman. 

 Again the pigeon nodded. At this, Buataranga entered her 

 dwelling, and the bird flew to a bread-fruit tree. Maui resumed 

 his proper human form, and went to embrace his mother, who 

 inquired how he had descended to nether- world, and the object 

 of bis visit. Maui avowed that he had come to learn the secret 

 of fire. Buataranga said, ' This secret rests with the fire-god 

 Mauike. When I wish to cook an oven, I ask your father Ru to 

 beg a lighted stick from Mauike.' Maui inquired where the 

 fire-god lived. His mother pointed out the direction, and said 

 it was called Are-aoa = house of banyan-sticks. She entreated 

 Maui to be careful ' for the fire-god is a terrible fellow, of a very 

 uncertain temper.' Maui now walked up boldly towards the house 

 of the fire-god, guided by the curling column of smoke. Mauike, 

 who happened at the moment to be cooking an oven of food, 

 stopped his work, and demanded what the stranger wanted. 

 Maui replied, ' A fire-brand.' The fire-brand was given. Maui 

 carried it to a stream running past the bread-fruit tree, and there 

 extinguished it. He now returned to Mauike, and obtained a 

 second fire-brand, which he also extinguished in the stream. The 

 third time a lighted stick was demanded of the fire-god ; he was 

 beside himself with rage. Raking the ashes of his oven, he 

 gave the daring Maui some of them on a piece of dry wood. 

 These live coals were thrown into the stream, as the former 

 lighted sticks had been. 



" Maui correctly thought that a fire-brand would be of little 

 use unless he could obtain the secret of fire. The brand would 

 eventually go out ; but how to reproduce the fire ? His object, 

 therefore, was to pick a quarrel with the fire-god, and compel 

 him by sheer violence to yield up the invaluable secret, as yet 

 known to none but himself. On the other hand, the fire-god, 

 confident in his own prodigious strength, resolved to destroy 

 this insolent intruder into his secret. Maui, for the fourth time, 

 demanded fire of the enraged fire-god. Mauike ordered him 

 away under pain of being tossed into the air, for Maui was small 



