haere mai-i-i’. Ka ta te manawa o te kaihoe, ka titiro ki uta, katahi ra ano ka whakatika te kaiurungi ki runga, karanga atu ki era i uta, ‘Ko wai anake ena e noho mai na i uta?’ Ka oho mai era, ‘Ko matou katoa, ko o matua, ko o tupuna.’ Ka mea atu ano a ia, ‘Kati mai i kona, kia rongo koutou katoa i taku kupu. Ko au tenei, ko ta koutou potiki, i oraiti mai au i o tatou whanaunga i Maungawhau; na Ponga te kohuru i a au. I noho pai te huinga katoa o te tira tamariki nei i te aroaro o era o o tatou whanaunga; ko Ponga i kohuru i a au. E noho atu nei te kotiro puhi nei, te tino o te uri ariki o Maungawhau, na Ponga i kahaki (mau) mai, te kiia e ia tana ki ki a au i te wa i kohuru ai a ia i a au, kia mea atu ai au, “Kati; kaua e murua te marae o to tatou tuakana; waiho ano tana potiki ki a ia”. Nei ra, ka taka mai matou ki te nuku o te ara, ka tata mai ki Onehunga, tena rawa a Ponga kei te kahaki (mau) mai i te puhi nei i muri o matou. Te ohonga i oho ai te pa ra ka whaia (aru) mai matou, he ohorere no taku mauri, koia au i ki ai i tenei, “Whatia te turi, poua ki te ara, kopere taua”. Te tino rerenga o matou ki te waka, pa rawa mai te kaiwhai (aru) i a matou, kua puta ke mai matou ki te moana, ka to te iwi ra i ana waka, a, na te mea kua tau tini te wa i noho pai ai koutou ki a ratou, me ratou ki a tatou, kua pirau nga herehere o nga rauawa o nga waka; toia ka toia, papahoro noa nga tangata ki te whenua, koia na te take i kitea oratia mai ai au ki a koutou. Ka hoe mai nei matou, a, ka ta taku manawa, katahi au ka pouri ki taku takaniti mai i te iwi ra, te noho atu, ka tuku atu ano i te kotiro nei ki ana matua. He ao te ao i enei ra, ko tenei kua pouri kerekere, penei rawa ake, apopo, tu ana te hoariri i te one o Tipitai, a, mau ka maia e maia, mau ka ngohe ka ngaro koe i te ngaro a te moa.’ He noho ki raro te noho o te iwi e whakarongo mai ra i uta, mutu kau ano te kupu a te tamaiti ariki nei, katahi ra ano te tino tangata o te pa nei o Awhitu ka whakatika ki runga; ko ia anake i tu ki runga, ka uhi te kakahu o te mano e noho ra ki te mahunga, ka ahua taua. Ka ki mai te kaumatua ariki o Awhitu, ‘Haere mai, haere, hoea ano te kotiro na ki tana kainga. He tika to kupu na te tau aio i he ai te tuitui o nga rauawa o nga waka o to iwi na i ora ai koe. Ko tenei, e kore au e pai kia takahia a runga o te rongo taketake e te kotiro na. Haere mai, haere e hoki ki Maungawhau, a, nau ka patua i te ara, na Ponga tena, ehara i a au.’ men, old women, and children; everyone had gathered there. When the canoe was quite close to the shore and those on land could distinguish the faces of those on board, the people on the beach called in loud chorus the welcome—‘Come, Oh come!’ The rowers in the canoe stopped paddling, and as they all looked at those on shore, the young chief who steered the canoe rose and asked, ‘Who are those who are sitting on the shore?’ He was answered by the crowd on shore, ‘We, your elders and parents are all here’. He said, ‘Stay where you are, so that you may hear what I have to tell you. I, your child, have had a narrow escape from the hands of our relatives at Mount Eden, and my death or my murder, if it had taken place, would have been caused by Ponga. All the young people of our party conducted themselves in a quiet and peaceable manner towards our relatives at Mount Eden, but Ponga acted like a murderer toward me. Here with us is that young woman, sacred and of most supreme rank, the daughter of the lord of Mount Eden, who has been kidnapped by Ponga. He did not tell me at the time that he intended to commit a theft, or I would have said, ‘Do not do this; do not rob the home of our senior relative, but let his child remain with him’; but when we had travelled some distance, and had come near to Onehunga, unknown to us, Ponga was in the act of taking the young woman from her home. All the warriors rose, and with their weapons followed us. I was bewildered by the suddenness of the fright that came on me when I saw that we were pursued by an enemy, and therefore I gave the order, “Bend your knees, bow your heads, and let us flee”. ‘We fled on till we reached our canoe, and by the time our pursuers had got to the beach we were far out in the water. The enemy at once rushed to drag their canoes to the sea; but because you and they have been living so long in peace, the lashing of the top-sides of their canoes had become rotten, so that in attempting to pull their canoes to the sea the side-boards came away from the bodies of the canoes, and those who were attempting to move them fell over on the ground; otherwise, you would never again have seen me alive. When we had paddled some distance towards home, and I had time to think, I felt angry with myself for running away from those people, instead of staying and sending this young woman back to her parents. Daylight is light, but now darkness is deadly gloom, and