30 Transaction. — Miscdla nco\i.^. 



to the place, was entitled to such a consideration. One evening, when Iline, 

 with some other women, was sitting by the fire, one of them said to her, 

 "Your husband seems to take it very easy; he never goes to work to get food 

 for you." At this casual remark Hinc felt sorely offended. She went away, 

 and was afterwards found by her husband, sitting alone and crying. He asked 

 her what the matter was; and she told him that she had been so much hurt by 

 having heard the people grumbling about him that he never worked to get 

 food for her. " 0," said he, " do not take it so seriously ; we will satisfy 

 them." 



That evening Tinirau said to Hine, '• To-morrow you tell your people to go 

 to the forest and cut down trees, and carry the timber home, and build 

 storehouses and stages for food." Hinc did so; and the people obcN'ed her. 

 The work went on; day after day timber was cut and brought home, and 

 stores and stages were built. The people began to grumble, saying, "Where 

 is the food that is to be stored." Still Hine, at the instigation of her 

 husband, kept them at work, till the grumbling became very bad, when they 

 were told tliey might leave off and rest. 



In the evening Tinirau went to the sea beach, wdth a new kauali (pieces 

 of wood by the friction of which fire is produced), and performed his enchant- 

 ments till late at night. When the charm was well laid on he went home, and 

 and the sea began to throw out fishes. The first fish fell in the yard of the 

 private hou.se, where the child and its parents lived, but the rest fell on the 

 new stages. That night the people in the common house were still talking 

 .about the useless work they had performed in erecting those stages when 

 there was no food to be stored, when they were startled by a strange noise, 

 a continuous bumping on the now built stores, with sounds like live fish 

 kicking with their tails on dry ground. The night was so dark, and the noise 

 so awful, that no one ventured to go out. By and by there was a crash of a 

 store breaking down under the weight of the fish; still the bumping and 

 kicking went on, even close before their door, and then there was another 

 crash and break down of a vjJiata or store. So a fearful night was passed. 

 With the breaking of the day the sounds had ceased ; and when the people 

 opened the door, there was a siglit ! Fish and broken down stores were 

 mi.\ed into a huge heap. There was no road for the people, they had to climb 

 over the heap of a confusion of fish and broken timber. 



But the yard of the child's house was clear. There was only one fish, the 

 first one. Ivin^' before the door of the liouse. 



