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FOLK-SONGS AND MYTHS FROM SAMOA, 369 
A sneaking fellow of Tutuifla, a neighbouring island, next desired to 
have it; for the fame of the bird’s beauty had spread far and wide. So 
he came to King Ta‘e pretending disinterested friendship, and brought 
him a present; for, in Samoa if you give a present, etiquette requires 
that you get a present in return, especially from a king. But the stingi- 
ness of the visitor was such that he thought to gain his end by present- 
ing a superannuated hen, now quite unable to hatch. Tangaloa saw 
through his craftiness and gave him like for like—some roots of kava so 
stale as to be unfit for growth, when planted. Finding that the kava 
roots did not grow, he came back to Tangaloa, and, on the confession of 
his fault, he got the Senga and took it away to Tutuila. 
Upélu, another island of the group, now wished to have the wondrous 
bird, and a man whose name was End-of-the-Sugar-cane-leaf thought to 
get it, but he stole a canoe—‘ the Rainbow,’ its name—to be the purchase 
money for it. The beauty of this ‘ Rainbow’ canoe was too much for the 
possessor of the Senga; so he gave the bird forit. But ill-gutten gains 
do not carry a blessing with them; for the Upolu man had scarcely gut 
home rejoicing in his success, when an aitu—‘a spirit-god’—struck him 
dead because he had stolen the canoe. These old Samoans evidently 
had some sense of the equity of divine justice. He died and was buried, 
and they buried the Senga with him as part of his property. But the 
Senga’s heavenly origin enabled it to live still in the grave, and soon it 
was up among the trees again and flying about from island to island. 
One day it visited the island of Savai‘i and king Malietoa saw it; the 
usual effects followed ; he must have it; so he sent for the whole priestly 
power of his island to charm the Senga to come down and be his bird ; 
but they could not. Like the imperious Nebuchadnezzar in dealing with 
his magicians when they failed to interpret his dream, Malietoa ordered 
all these priests to be bound, ready to be slain and feasted on at the 
bidding of the man who could prove himseif able to charm the Senga, 
me one suggested that such a man could be found only in Manu‘a. So 
an ambassador was sent to fetch Tangaloa who was the Tui-Manu‘a; he 
readily came, and by his divine power soon brought the bird down and 
Save itto Malietoa. ‘The Savai‘ian magicians were spared, but they were 
Converted into courtly barbers and family-priests. And so ends this tala, 
XXXV.—Tue ‘Sunca’—A ‘ Tala.’ 
1. The ‘Senga’ was the child of O and Ua. © was the son of 
Tangaloa-pu‘u of the first heavens, and Ua was the daughter of 
Tangaloa-lua-lua of the second heavens. Ua conceived, and 
X—Oct. 2, 1895, 
