The Taniwha of the Wanganui River One day when Tu-ariki was fishing in his canoe, he caught a young shark. Tu-ariki decided to keep this shark as a pet, and he took him back to his village and placed him in a pool in a river near his home. He called him Tutae-poroporo, and every day he would visit him and bring him food. Tutae-poroporo grew very quickly, and soon he was as large as a whale. At the same time he began to change his appearance. He had been grey and silver, but now he became black. His skin became hard and spiky, wings like those of a bat sprouted from his back, and his tail changed to resemble that of a lizard. His fins grew longer and stiffened into legs, with feet that were webbed and had claws like those of a hawk. He still had the teeth of a shark, but his head was now like a bird's head, except that it was featherless and bare. Tu-ariki saw that his pet was no longer a shark, but a taniwha, a dragon. Tutae-poroporo remained friendly towards his master, and he and Tuariki lived together for some time. Then one day some warriors from Whanganui attacked the village and killed Tu-ariki, carrying his body home with them for food. For several days Tutae-poroporo waited, but Tu-ariki no longer came in his accustomed way to visit him. So the taniwha left his pool and travelled through the forest, seeking everywhere for his master. But when he did not find him, he knew that Tu-ariki was dead. Then Tutae-poroporo wept for Tu-ariki, and after this he set out to avenge him. He swam down the river until he came to the sea, and there he smelled the wind. He smelled the wind from the east and the wind from the west and the wind from the south and found no sign of his master. But when he turned to the north, Tutae-poroporo smelled the smell of human flesh being cooked in an oven, and he knew that the north wind came from the home of the men who had killed Tu-ariki. Then Tutae-poroporo uttered a great roar, and swam north to take his revenge. When he came to the mouth of the Whanganui River the scent of his master became stronger, and he entered the river. Under a high cliff there is a cave in which he made his home, and there he lay in wait for his enemies. He had not been there long when he saw some canoes being paddled down the river. As they passed him he charged out of his cave, raising great waves like the sea and spouting like a whale. The people fled in terror, but they could not escape; Tutae-poroporo swallowed them all, and their canoes as well.