2 Maori myths re written by year 6/7 students. Pick your path for the story.

1. Illustrated by Alice Larcombe
Kira Lees and Emma Quin.
Written by Alice Croucher and
Kira Lees
Fair
ies

2. Pick your Story
Would you like to follow Or would you like to
Kahukura and the Sea follow Ruru and the
Fairies?(page 1) Green Fairies?(page 9)

3. 1a
1

4. Kahukura
Kahukura was a young Maori Chief
who had big dreams for tribe(family
and friends that live together).
Should Kahukura follow (page 3) the
dreams or ignore (page 6) them?
2

5. Follow
Kahukura decided to follow his dreams. He said to
his tribe that he would be away for a long
time, and he would bring something special back
for them. He told them to watch, and wait for his
return. Kahukura set out on his journey to the
north.
He walked all day and night. Finally he heard
singing and saw little yellow lights on the beach.
He found Sea Fairies hauling massive nets of fish
onto the beach. Instantly he knew that he had to
bring a net home for his tribe.
Does he ask the fairies (page 5) for a net, or try to
trick them (page 4)?
3

6. Trick
Kahukura saw the fairies weaving flax with fish on.
He stepped in and started helping, but he didn’t
tie the knots at the end. A fairy came over to help.
He kept not tying the knot. Another fairy came
over to help him again. This happened again and
again. Finally the sun came up. The fairies
screamed in terror and jumped back into their
canoe, because they didn’t want to vanish in the
morning sun. In their rush they left their nets.
Kahukura took them back to his tribe. His tribe
now could eat many, many fish and were very
happy.
Well Done! You have followed the real legend!
4

7. Ask
Kahukura walked over to the fairies. He
asked the fairies if he could take a net
back to his tribe. The sea fairies did not
speak his language, they were frightened
and knew he was a traitor. They screamed
in their own strange language, gathered
their nets and fish and ran back into their
canoe. They paddled away and Kahukura
never had the dreams again.
5

8. Ignore
Kahukura decided to ignore his dreams
and carry on running his tribe. He still
had the dreams, but he knew he had to
run his tribe, and make sure that
everyone was alright.
Do you want a very sad (page 8)
ending or a just plain sad
(page7)ending?
6

9. Very Sad
The tribe could only catch one fish
at a time so the tribe slowly
starved. After a few years the tribe
died out. Kahukura never realised
that if he followed his dream he
would of found a solution, that not
only would help his tribe, but with
fishing in future.
8

10. Just plain sad
Kahukura still had the dreams. He thought if
he talked about it with his wife it might go
away. His wife got worried about him. She
listened to his thoughts and decided to ask
him to step down from chief. He
agreed, but the dreams didn’t go away.
The dreams drove him crazy and he ran
away. No one ever saw him again.
7

11. 9

12. Ruru
Once a long time ago, there was a man
named Ruru. He was married to the prettiest
woman in the tribe. The chief said that if
Ruru wanted to keep his wife he had to do
something for the tribe. Ruru decided the
best thing to do was to catch some food.
Should he go hunting(page 14), or fishing
(page 11)?
10

13. Fishing
Ruru decided to fish for tuna. He travelled far from
the tribe. Here was a big river, perfect for catching
tuna. Ruru set his traps there. After he set his traps
he heard a giggle. He looked up and he saw
green fairies all above him. They took him away
and locked him up and covered him in green
moss.
Do you want a happy (page 12) or a sad (page
13) ending?
11

14. Happy
Ruru’s wife was very unhappy. The chief asked Ruru’s
wife to marry him. She refused, so the chief decided
to use his magic to get Ruru back. He went into the
forest, did his magic and sang songs. He fell asleep
in the middle of the forest. When he woke up he saw
a man covered in moss standing above him. The
chief was alarmed and went to run away, but then
the man assured him that he was Ruru. The chief took
Ruru back to the tribe, and washed the moss off.
Well Done! You have followed the real legend!
12

15. Sad
Ruru waited and waited for years.
He got cloaked in moss and all his
hair fell out. Finally the moss grew
all over his face and he suffocated
and died. Ruru’s wife married the
chief and was very happy. No one
ever missed, worried or thought
about Ruru ever again.
13

16. Hunting
Ruru decided that the best thing
was to go hunting. He got his spear
and set out into the bush.
Do you want a happy (page
15) or a sad (page 16)
ending?
14

17. Happy
Ruru found a boar, stuck in a trap.
He walked over to it and threw his
spear in between its ribs. He undid
the trap, pulled the boar over his
shoulders, and took it back to the
tribe. The tribe was very happy and
so was Ruru. He also
got to keep his beautiful wife.
15

18. Sad
Ruru found a perfect spot in the forest.
He kept walking, to find a boar. Ruru
heard a noise behind him. A boar was
charging at him and there was no way
out!
16