The Legend of Hatupatu and the Bird-woman When Hatupatu was hunting one day for birds in the forest, he met a woman who was spearing birds for herself. This woman had wings on her arms, and claws instead of fingers. Her lips were long and hard and pointed, like a bird's beak, and she was using them as a spear. Now the woman speared a bird with her lips, but just at the same moment Hatupatu threw his spear at the bird, so that the spear stuck in her lips instead. When he saw this he ran away in terror. But the bird-woman soon caught him, for with her wings she could travel much faster than Hatupatu. Then the woman, whose name was Kurangaituku, took Hatupatu home to her cave, and kept him prisoner there. He found that this woman never ate anything but raw food, and she gave him only raw birds to eat. He pretended to eat these but hid them instead. At dawn each day Kurangaituku went out to spear birds, but Hatupatu stayed at home. When she had gone he roasted the meat he had hidden, and looked at all the possessions in her cave. There were pet birds and lizards, a taiaha, and piles of precious cloaks: flaxen cloaks, cloaks of dogs' fur, and cloaks of red feathers. Every day Hatupatu admired these treasures, wishing very much that he could escape and take them with him. One morning he said to Kurangaituku, ‘When you go hunting today you had better go a long way, and travel over a thousand hills. When you get there, you will find birds for us.’ Kurungaituku agreed to this, and she went. Hatupatu stayed behind as usual, roasting birds for himself and thinking, ‘I wonder how far she's got by now.’