70 JOHN FEASER. 



it is extremely rare to get a night in which there is absolutely no 

 motion, or what is called twinkle in the stars, or in other words, 

 when the Earth's atmosphere is not disturbed by currents of air of 

 unequal temperature. Now until we get such a night and a suit- 

 able Moon, it will be impossible to get a perfect photograph of the 

 Moon, for any motion in the air, such as that referred to above, 

 has the effect of enlarging every point of light. A star image for 

 instance may in this way be made two or three times its normal 

 size, and if the stars are close together they are run into one blotch. 

 So on the Moon, all the little details are enlarged and mixed up, 

 so that they cannot be seen ; but these photographs are very good 

 and show some features of the Moon's surface which I have never 

 seen in any others, for instance the undulations on the surface 

 of the lunar plains, the equivalent of what on the earth we should 

 call hills and valleys, as opposed to mountains. 



SOME FOLK-SONGS and MYTHS from SAMOA. 

 Translated by the Rev. G. Pratt. 



With Introductions and Notes by John Fraser, ll.d. 



[Read before the Royal Society of N.8. Wales, July 1, 1891.'] 



V. — Sa'u-mani and Le Fe'e — A ' Tala.' 



Sow their friendship was broken. 



Introduction. — On the road that leads from Tau 1 to Falea-sao, in the 

 Samoan islands of Manu'a, there is now a large menhir or "standing 

 stone/ and thereon hangs this tale. There is nothing remarkable or 

 even interesting in the tale ; it only shows that the same causes and 

 modes of story-making have operated in Samoa as in the rest of the 

 world ; some uncommon appearance or object in nature excites attention 

 and wonder; imagination comes in and invents a simple but supernatural 



