Folk Tales from Papamoa These folk tales were gathered by the Papamoa Maori School from a number of Maori schools throughout the country. The folk tales published in two previous issues (17 and 18) have not gone unchallenged: several people sent us other versions which they thought were correct. The legend of Torere particularly came under fire. These contributions have been warmly received and they will be printed next issue. If anyone has improvements to suggest to the stories printed here, please let us have them either in Maori or English. Patangata I nga wa o mua, a Patangata, ko te kainga o tetahi taniwha ko Karitake te ingoa. Tenei taniwha he wahine, a i roto i tetahi puna i te taha o te moana e noho ana. Ko tana mahi he kaitiaki mo nga pa tuna a ona uri. Te wahine nei he urukehu a kua roa e noho ana i reira. No tetahi rangi ka mea a ia ki te haere ki Waikarepu, he awa i muri o Opoho, a ko tenei tana kainga tuarua mo nga wa hoha ai a ia ki Patangata. I ona baerenga whakarere ai a ia i tetahi ara ano he awakeri, a nga hokinga mai ka pera ano hei whakanui i nga awakeri nei. E kitea ana enei mea i enei ra. I tana haerenga tuatahi, i whakatuwheratia te Patangata (Patuna) Years ago Patangata was the home of a taniwha, Karitake by name, and of female sex. She lived in a spring off the lake around which was a thick covering of rusty quicksand, like mud. Her occupation there was caretaker of the tuna pas which were owned by a larger number of her “uris” or relations. Her hair was long and reddish, this being known in Maori as “Urukehu”. Here Karitake lived for some time, until one day she decided to visit the river Waikarepu. This river was at the back of Opoho, and the taniwha made it her second place of dwelling whenever she became tired of Patangata. On her way up she was fond of leaving a track, this being wedged apart in the soil in the shape of a drain or trench all the way, and on her return trip this process was repeated, thus making the drains wider. We see them there today. At the same time of her first visit, the sand bar was opened at Patangata in order to let the lake out to sea. As soon as the lake mouth was nearly empty, it made first a low droning sound, followed immediately by a heavy downpour of rain or the show of the rainbow. This as the elder folk said and believed, was the old lake mourning the loss of her waters and of the food most of which was sent out to waste in the sea. Another of Karitake's jobs was to appear by signs to any of her relations who quarrelled about their pas—the sign was the showing of her red eyes in the water—consequences that follow are that she misdirects the tunas' paths from going into the hinakis of her relatives to that of an alien pa-owner. Whenever any one of her descendants was due for death, Karitake's hair was seen strewn all over the water, and it is said today that instead of hair being seen, there are only feathers. At the beach there is a windmill beside which is the spring or pool of water wherein the taniwha lived. The older Maoris believe she is still there today because the water turns a rusty colour, and flows continuously. When this place dries up they say that Karitake has gone back to her other home in Opoho. During that time everyone knew her as being a destructive person—she burrowed through fields and ruined many lands, but today it is said that