Mini+Mee



Rata and the Totara tree When Rata was young he went looking for a suitable tree in the forest. He chopped down a tree that was strong and trustworthy. He wanted to make a canoe with noble stories in it about his ancestors and a canoe that men could catch fish in.

Before dawn he found a big mighty totara tree so he cut it down but without permission to do it. He started building.

He continued day by day. Then one day he asked if this was a dream because the canoe wasn’t there. He saw something so he hid behind the bush to see what it was and it was little creatures that were putting the tree back together again. Then Rata jumped out of the bush

and shouted “what are you doing with my canoe”?. They said you should have asked tane! “Why didn’t you”? So Rata prayed and apoligised to Tane and Tane said that he could make the canoe and off he went to go look for his father.

Re-told by Mini Mee