te wahine nei i te raina i tika tonu ki te rua o Te Ngarara-huarau. Rokohanga atu e taua wahine, e noho mai ana taua nanakia. Katahi ka haoa ki te hiku; kahore taua wahine i kite i te hiku; ko te kitenga o taua wahine i te upoko, katahi ka oma; no te omanga, katahi ka haoa mai e te hiku; tu ana te wahine nei i waenganui o te nanakia nei. Katahi ka arahina ki te ana o te ngarara; ka noho raua i te ana; te kai he paua. Ka haere raua ki te mahi, ka pae, ka kawe ki te wai kia reka ai, ka kai. No tetehi rangi, katahi ka haere raua ki te harakeke, ka hoki mai i te ata, katahi te wahine ka ki atu:—‘E kore koe e pai kia haere noa atu au ki te wai, ki te mahi i aku kai?’ Katahi ka ki mai te ngarara:—‘Akuanei au ka mahuetia koe!’ Ka ki mai te wahine:—‘Kahore, no te mea, kua pai tonu au ki a koe, hei tane maku.’ Ka ki atu te ngarara:—‘Ko wai hua ai?’ Katahi ka ki atu te wahine:—‘Tenei ano he tohu maku ki a koe.’ Ka ki atu te ngarara:—‘He aha te tohu?’ Ka ki atu te wahine:—‘Me putikitiki ki te harakeke hei taura, kia tae ki te wai.’ Katahi te ngarara ka ki atu:—‘Tena, mahia!’ Katahi ka mahia, ka oti, ka tae ki te wai, ka hoki mai te wahine. Katahi ka ako atu te wahine:—‘Ka haere au ki te wai, me here ki a au te taura, e tae au ki te wai, mau e kukume, ka hoki mai au. Tena, iana, whakamatauria!’ Ka haere te wahine ra, ka tae ki te awa; katahi te wahine ka karanga:—‘Kumeal’ ka kumea, ka tae atu. Katahi ka ki atu:—‘E pai ana, haere ki atu:—‘E kore au e hohoro mai ko te horoi ki te mahi i o paua.’ Katahi te wahine ra ka au i aku paua, ka ma, ka noho au ki te tuitui, ka oti, ka whakairiiri kia maroke, kia pai ai, kei pirau aku kai. Otira, mau e kumekume; e maro—ei te here tonu i a au; e kaha te maro—kaua e kukume, kei motu. E kore au e hoki wawe mai, ma te mutu ano o aku kai te mahi, katahi au ka hoki mai.’ Ka ki atu te nanakia nei:—‘Ae’. Katahi ka haere te wahine ra, ka tae ki te wai, katahi ka herea te taura ki te rakau, ka mau. Katahi ka haere, ka tae ki te kainga o ona whanaunga, ka tangi; kaore i roa e tangi ana, ka ki atu te wahine ra; ‘Kati te tangi, e hoki ana ano ahau; ko taku tane he ngarara nui, e waru nga peke! I haere mai au ki a koutou kia hanga tetehi whare nui, kia tekau whanganga te roa o te whare; ko te whare me hanga ki te motu; ko nga rakau tu tonu o te motu nga pou o te whare, ka tia ai nga pakitara ki te rarauhe, me manuka a roto. Ka hanga ai hoki i tetahi ara moku, hei rerenga atu moku a te takiwa e tahuna ai te whare. Ko etahi ki te whare, ko etahi ki te tarai ko, hei wero, ko etahi ki te tarai tokotoko, kia oti, ka haere ake tetehi ki te tiki ake i a maua.’ not therefore be back soon, for,’ added she, ‘I must first wash the fish. When that is done, I must sit down and string them together; then I must hang them up to dry so that my food may not get spoilt. You can, however, pull the rope whenever you choose to do so. When you have pulled, and the rope is fully stretched out, you will know that it is still tied to me; but you must not strain too much on the rope lest you break it. I will not be back until I have seen to my food.’ To all this the reptile replied, ‘Yes, go!’ As soon as the woman reached the water, she tied the end of the rope to a tree, and then set out for the home of her people. Her relatives received her with tears and lamentation; but while yet they wept, she said: ‘Let your weeping cease. I must at once return to my husband who is a monster reptile with eight peke (? legs). Do this, however, Let a big house be built; let its length be ten spans (of the arms). This house you must build in among the trees, making use of the trees themselves as pillars and posts for it. The walls of this house you must cover with fern and the inside with manuka. You must also prepare an exit for me by which I may escape when the house is set on fire. Do you therefore set to work. Let some of you see to the building of the house, others to the making of spears, and the rest to the preparation of long poles or sticks. When you have done all these, let one of you come for us.’ It was not long before everything was ready, and a messenger set out for the cave. Meanwhile the woman had gone back, and on reaching her home, coiled up the rope as she approached. When she reached her husband, she addressed him thus: ‘I have seen your father-in-law, he invites us to his home, so that your brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, father-in-law, and mother-in-law may greet you.’ The reptile asked, ‘When does he want us to come?’ ‘I told them,’ she replied, ‘to build a house so that they might receive their son-in-law and brother-in-law in a fitting manner. Of course, although I have told them to do this, everything depends entirely upon yourself, especially if you do not care to accept the invitation which your new connections have extended to you.’ ‘It is well,’ said the reptile, ‘I am willing to go; therefore let us await the messenger.’ Soon the messenger appeared, then the woman said, ‘Oh, Sir! your brothers-in-law have come to invite us.’ ‘Where are they?’ the husband asked. ‘Lo! yonder stands your brother-in-law,’ but the man was not a brother-in-law—he was a slave brought from Kahuhunu. The man would not approach near when he saw the reptile, but kept off at a distance. He was very