Maoriland Fairy Tales
VII. ON THE MOON-LAND.
"When Shining-eyes threw the Fire-that never-goes-out into the sky, it 
was only a flaming stick,"* said the Moa to Jack. " But up in the
sky it grew rounder, and bigger, and cooler, until at last it became a 
great golden
Moon-land. It was a wonderful place. Everything in it was yellow, and 
gave out a golden light. Mountains and lakes, rocks and trees and
flowers, and even the walls and roof of a beautiful Moon-palace that 
Rangi had built, gave out this golden light.

The story of Shining-eyes began on page 12 of Part II of the School 
Journal for February, 1908.

" In the palace lived Marama,* all by himself. Rangi had put him there to 
look after the Moon-land. He did his work well, but he was often very
lonely. He had no one to talk to while he
worked, and no one to play with when his work was done.
"At first he had been so pleased with his beautiful new land that he had not 
felt lonely; but after a while he began to say to himself, 'Why am I
put here, far away from everybody ? I have no one to help me or to play with 
me. There is no fun in playing star-ball by myself, and I am tired of
singing with no one to listen. The Sky-fairies can go about from star to 
star from cloud to cloud, but I must always stay here. I must really see
Rangi about it, and tell him how lonely I am.' 
" So the next time Rangi passed, Marama called to him, ' Rangi, must I stay 
on the
Moon-land always ? Must I never leave it ?'
" 'You must not leave it for long,' replied Rangi. 'A little time would not 
matter.'
" 'Oh that's better,' said Marama, brightening up. 'And may I have some one to 
play
and talk to ? It is so lonely by myself.'
" 'Why, yes,' said Rangi, 'if you can find any one, and if it is some one who 
will work as well as play. We are all very busy people up here, you know.'

Ma'-ra-ma (a as in far).

" Marama was joyful. 'Now I shall not be lonely any more,' he said.
" So he asked quite a number of Sky-fairies to come and live with him. To 
his great sorrow, no one would come.
" ' We have no time,' they said. 'We have our own work to do every day and 
night, and we cannot leave it' - for each Sky-fairy had a star to
look after, besides helping to look after the clouds.
" Marama again grew sad. He had asked all the Sky-fairies he could find, and 
none of them could come. There seemed no one else to ask ;
so he sat on the edge of the Moon-land wondering what he was to do.
" As he sat there looking down, he could see the Earth-world all lit up by 
the glow from his own Moon-land. By-and-by he saw a girl walking
down the side of a hill on a beautiful island in the South Seas. She had a 
calabash in her hand, and she was going down to the stream at the
foot of the hill for water. As she went, she raised her face several times 
to look at the moon, and each time Marama saw it he thought, 'What
a beautiful face! '
" ' I wonder if she would come up and live with me,' he said to himself. 'I am sure she would be a nice 
companion, and we should be very happy together.'
"At that moment he heard some-one calling 'Ina, Ina,' and a boy ran down 
the hill after the girl. It was her playmate - the friend she loved better 
than any one else. She waited for him, and they went down the hill together. 
Marama watched the boy fill the calabash and carry it up to her mother's
house, talking all the way about his day's hunting and the fine time he 
had had. When they came to the house he went in with her, and Marama
grew very sad again.
" ' She will never leave her playmate and her home,' he said to himself. 
' I must give up, thinking of her; and yet - what a lovely face she has! and
what sweet ways! She is just the one I want.'
" He went back to his Moon-palace, but all night long, and all next day, 
he could think of nobody but Ina. ' I will go down and ask her, at any
rate,' he thought at last, ' and - I think I shall make her come.'
" So when night came, he watched for Ina coming from the house with her 
calabash, and then he went down to the Earth-world. The playmate
had not yet come, and Ina was dawdling down the hill, expecting him every 
minute. She gave a great jump of surprise when, instead of her
playmate, she suddenly saw Marama beside her.
" He shone so much with the golden light from his Moon-land that at first Ina could not look at him 
at all; but, little by little, her eyes became used to the light, and she looked at him. Then she
saw that he was a stranger.
" ' Who are you ? I she asked.
" I am Marama, from the Moon-land,' he replied; 'and I have come down to see if you will live on the 
Moon-land with me. Do come, Ina. It is the most beautiful land there is - far, far prettier than your 
Earth-world. And we shall be playmates, and have games of star
ball every night, and sing sky-songs and dance sky-dances ; and I will be as kind to you as any one 
could be. Do come.'
" 'But I should have to stay there,' said Ina.
" 'Yes. Why not?' asked Marama.
" 'Couldn't I come back sometimes to see my mother and father ? '
" ' No; but you would soon get used to being away from them,' said Marama, ' and you would
forget all about them, and be quite happy.'
" 'But I should not be happy if I could not come to see them,' said Ina. 'And I don't want to forget 
them. So I shall not come.'
" ' Don't say that,' cried Marama. 'Think how lonely I am up there. Why, everybody else but me has 
some one 
to play with. I haven't anybody, and yet you will not come up and be my playmate.'
" 'But why couldn't I come down sometimes ? ' asked Ina. She was very sorry for Marama, and yet she 
could not bear the thought of never seeing her friends again.

MARAMA CARRYING INA TO THE MOON-LAND.

" 'Well,' said Marama, 'Rangi would not let you, I am afraid. He will let me take you up; but no mortal 
who goes up there to live may ever come back to the Earth-world. But you would not want to come 
back, Ina. You will never grow old there, for I will take you to bathe in Tane's golden lake, and you 
will remain young and beautiful for ever. Come, Ina, I have been long enough away from 
my Moonland, and I must go back. But I am not going back
without you; so come! '
" ' I will not,' screamed Ina. 'Let me alone' - for Marama had put his arm 
around her, and was lifting her from the ground. She caught hold of a
young palm-tree, and hung on to it. ' I will not leave my mother and my 
playmate,' she cried. 'I love my playmate, and he would miss me if I
went away.'
" ' I will be your playmate now,' said Marama. He can find another 
playmate, but I cannot,'
"She clung to the palm-tree with all her strength ; but Marama lifted her, 
dragging the palm-tree up by the roots, and carried her with him up to
the Moon-land.
" ' We will plant the palm-tree here,' he said, as he set her gently down, 
'and it will always remind you of your Earth-home.'
(To be continued.)

THE MONKEY AND THE LOOKING-GLASS.
Jack was a tame monkey, who had a good home and a kind master. Sometimes he 
had a collar round his neck, and was tied up by a chain,
but he often ran about the house and did what he liked.
One day he went into the parlour, and saw a looking-glass for the first 
time. It was a large glass, and was worth a great deal of money. Jack thought he saw another monkey in 
the room, looking at him. At first he ran away from it, and of course it ran away from him.
Then he would come and peep round the corner, and it would come and peep at him. So they had a 
little game of hide-and-seek.
Then he danced in front of the glass, and the other monkey danced too. It threw its arms about, and 
played with its tail, and raced about the room just as Jack did.
And when Jack held out his hand to shake hands and be friends, the strange monkey did the same. It 
laughed when he laughed, and grinned when he grinned, and opened its mouth when Jack opened his 
mouth. And when he put on an angry look it did just the same. It frowned when he frowned, and was 
not a bit afraid of him.
At last Jack lost his temper, and ran to the fireplace for the poker. The other monkey ran to another 
fireplace, and took up another poker. Jack went near the looking-glass to hit the strange monkey on the 
head, but it seemed just as willing to hit him on the head.
When the fight was about to begin, Jack's master came into the room, took the poker from him, caught 
him by the collar, and took him out to tie him fast. The monkey in the glass was caught and marched 
off in the same way.

MAORILAND FAIRY TALES.
VII. ON THE MOON-LAND.
(Continued from page I4.)
Marama planted the tree on the edge of the Moon-land, and placed the calabash beside it, while Ina 
looked on without a word. 
She was a little giddy after her quick flight through the air, and quite
dazzled with the brightness of her new home.
"' Come and see my Moon-land,' said Marama, proudly. He led her through the palace and the golden 
gardens, and she soon 
became used to the bright light, and could not help saying how lovely
everything was.
" ' That's right,' cried Marama joyfully. 'I knew you would like it. Now, come and have a game.'
" He gathered stars, and showed her how to play star-ball.  She was soon as fond of the game as he 
was, and she began to 
forget that she had been carried off from her home. Everything was so
new and so strange. It took her many days and nights to get used to all the wonderful things she saw, 
and to learn to work 
and play as they worked and played in Skyland. But Marama taught her,
gently and kindly, and they were soon the best of friends.
" She learned how to make fine curtains out of the fleecy morning clouds, and how to throw them 
across the sky so that they hung like white lacework over the blue. She helped the Sky-fairies to roll 
together the great black clouds in the storm-time, and to paint them with crimson
and purple at sunset and sunrise. And she kept the inside of the 
Moon-palace as bright and beautiful as Marama kept the outside, for she
loved the work.
" But life on the Moon-land was not all work. When the day was over, 
Marama and Ina danced and sang, played with the stars, rode on
the moonlit clouds, or paid visits to Rangi or the fairies. When Ina had 
been on the Moon-land some years, and had grown taller and more
beautiful than ever, Marama took her to Tane's golden lake, and they 
bathed in it. After that, they went every month to bathe in it, so that they should never grow old, but 
should always remain young and gay and beautiful as they were then.
" But, although Ina was so bright and happy, and although she had learned 
to love Marama and the Moon-land, she had never really
forgotten her old home. Deep down in her heart all the time was the 
thought of her parents, and her home on the hill, and the love of her
old playmate. Often when the Earth-world lay beneath the Moon-land, she 
would stand under the palm-tree and look down for hours, trying
to see the hill and her friends. But, until she had bathed in the golden 
lake, she could not see them well at so great a distance. After she had bathed, however, she 
found that she could see as well as Marama.
When she looked down on the Earth-world she saw her old playmate still 
travelling over the country looking for her, while her mother sat in her doorway weeping for her lost 
child.
 " Full of sorrow that her friends should be so sad for her, Ina flew to 
Marama.
" 'Marama,' she cried, ' will you bring my old playmate up here, so that he 
can see how happy I am? Come and see. He is still looking everywhere for me.'
Marama went with her and looked down.
' See: my mother is weeping, too,' Ina went on. 'If my playmate came and 
saw that I am well and happy, and living in
such a beautiful place, he would be pleased. Then he could go back and 
tell my mother not to weep for me any more,'
" ' Yes, that is true,' said Marama. 'I will go and bring him up.'
So he at once went down to the Earth-world. The playmate was standing on 
a hill when suddenly Marama appeared
before him.
" 'Would you like to see Ina ? ' asked Marama.
" 'Oh, indeed I should,' cried the playmate.
" 'Then come with me,' said Marama ; and. without another word he lifted the playmate and carried 
him up to the Moon-land. The playmate had grown tall and strong, and he was very much astonished to 
find himself lifted and carried up 
so easily to such a height. Only the hope of seeing Ina at the end
of his strange journey kept him from struggling to get free. But all his struggling would have been 
useless, for Marama had bathed in the golden lake, and no mortal
could ever hope to free himself from his hold.
"When they came to the Moon-land, Ina stood waiting for them. What a meeting the two old playmates 
had! How glad they were at seeing each other again ! They told
of all that had happened since Ina left the Earth-world, and they talked of the old times, and their 
games together on the hillside. Then Ina and Marama took the playmate
over the Moon-land, and showed him their palace and its gardens, and all the wonders and beauties of 
their Sky-home.
" ' I can never come back to the Earth-world,' said Ina, 'but you must not think I am unhappy here. 
Indeed, my life is a very happy one, and I would not return to the
Earth-world if I could. Here I can bathe in Tane's lake, and so can never grow old or die. Stay with 
us for a little, that you may see what a happy place this is.'
" So the playmate stayed with them, and they taught him all the work and play of their home. Then, 
when it was time for him to go down again, Ina said, 'Tell my mother and all my friends how happy I 
am, and what a beautiful land 
this is. Then they will not sorrow for me.'
" Ina called the Rainbow to her, and told it to carry the playmate safely to the hillside again. The 
Rainbow hung over the Earth-world, and the playmate said good-bye to
Ina, and slid down its shining bow to the hillside. He told Ina's mother and her friends all about his 
strange trip and Ina's happiness, and her mother at once dried her tears and was glad. Every night after 
that, when they saw the moon rise up in the sky, they talked of Ina and Marama, and all the wonderful 
things the playmate had
seen on the Moon-land.
" Ina was happier now; but she never lost her love for her Earth-home. She would stand for hours 
gazing down at her own hillside, watching all that went on. And even
now, when the Moon is at its brightest, you may see her standing there, the tall palm-tree above her 
head and the calabash at her feet. That is what you see if you look
hard at the Moon when it is full," finished the Moa.
" Oh, thank you!" cried Jack. "What a lovely Story-time ! I should like to go to the Moon-land and see 
Ina."
The fairy laughed. " Come out and see her from the Earth-world," he said. " We shall see her plainly to-
night as we go home."

THE PRINCE AND THE WISE MAN.
Once there lived a King who had a little
son whom he loved very much. But although
the boy was given everything he asked for,
he was always wishing for something he had
not got.
One day a certain wise man came to the
Court and said to the King, "I will make your son the happiest boy in the land."
Then the wise man took the boy aside, and
with a white substance wrote some words on a
sheet of paper. He gave the boy a candle,
and told him to hold it under the paper. The
Prince did so, and the white letters on the
paper turned quite dark. This is what he read:
"Do a kindness to some one every day."
The Prince made use of the secret, and became the happiest boy in all the kingdom.

BUNNY-BOY.
" Now, Bunny-boy," said his mother, " look after the house while I am away, and mind you do not go 
outside, for there are boys about to-day."
"What nonsense! " thought Bunny-boy to himself. "As if I could not run faster than
any boy. I have been waiting for a chance to go and see the world, so I shall go today."
As soon as Bunny-mother was out of sight, he slipped out and ran away, with his little white tail 
bobbing, and his eyes shining with delight. "Now I shall see what the great world is like," he thought.
He came to a skylark sitting on her nest.
"Good-day, Lady Skylark," he said. " I am going to see the world. Would you like to come with me?"
"O dear, no, indeed!" said the skylark. "I have to sit on my eggs. Does your mother know you are going 
? "
Bunny-boy ran off at once. He did not want to answer that.
He next came to a little hill, where other Bunny-boys and Bunny-girls lived. They came running out to 
see him, and said, "Stay and play with us.,"
" No," he said, "I am going to see the world."
" Where is that ?" they asked.
" Somewhere over that big fence," answered Bunny-boy. "You may come with me if you like."
"We do not want to come," they said. "You stay here with us." But Bunny-boy would not stay.
He went through the big fence, and found he was in a field, where men were busy cutting oats with a 
big machine. He was so frightened by the noise that he scampered
out of that field into the next. This was a field of grass, and Bunny-boy thought, "Now I can begin to 
enjoy myself."
Just then he heard a bark, and next moment a huge, fierce dog, followed by the farmer's son, rushed 
over the grass after him. Now poor Bunny-boy had to run for his life.
How he did run! But the dog could run faster. Nearer and nearer he came. His mouth, with its sharp, 
jagged teeth, was just open ready to snap, when Bunny-boy saw a
hole in front of him, jumped into it, and was saved.
At the bottom of the hole he found a Bunny-house, in which lived some kind Bunnies, who let him stay 
till the dog and his master had gone away. Then he crept out, and
went sadly home.
" I shall always do what you tell me," he said to his mother that night as she tucked him up. " It was 
dreadful out in the world. I shall stay at home and mind the house
the next time you go out."

 THE SNOW QUEEN'S GIFT.
In far, far-off days, when Greenland, Iceland, and all the cold and ice-covered lands in the great 
white North were much warmer than they are now, many animals lived
there. They roamed about, eating, drinking, sleeping, and greatly enjoying themselves.
But as the long years rolled by, the country became colder and colder, and most of the animals kept 
moving farther and farther south, to keep nearer the bright, warm sun. The few that were left behind 
shivered and moaned, and wished they had warmer coverings. They 
tried to make up their minds to go south after their friends ; but
they did not like travelling, so they stayed behind to grumble and growl.
Now, there was one big, ungainly animal whose skin was very thin. When the cold came; it pinched 
and 
bit his flesh until he howled with pain, and, though the other
animals were suffering too, they really could not help laughing at him.
They made fun of his walk, which was an untidy shuffle, and of his long nose, which they said he 
used only for poking into other people's business and they jeered  at
his big feet.
But most of all, they laughed and jeered at his way of talking, which was, I am afraid, very rough. 
Moreover, he used bad grammar, and said "Was you ? " " I be," and " I are." So his friends worried him 
and the cold pinched him until his life was quite a misery to him.
Now, after King Frost had gone to the North, it one day happened that his family, Queen Snow, Prince 
Hoar, and. the Princess Icicle, were wandering about looking for a
nice place where the Queen could fall and from which the Princess could hang.
At last they came to a gloomy, quiet gorge, sheltered from the winds, and there they saw a big 
stone. As soon as the Queen saw it she said, " Oh ! that is lovely. I
shall fall here and drift under its shelter for a rest. You, my dear Icicle, can hang in front, of me 
to keep the wind from me and Hoar can lie about anywhere outside."
Soon the beautiful white Queen lay fast asleep under the shadow of the great boulder, while her 
slender daughter hung in all her sparkling loveliness in front to protect her
from the rude wind.
So they slept for many hours. Then the Queen awoke, and said to the Princess. "Come, we must go 
now; 
the King will be waiting, and I have promised him ice-pudding
and snow-drops for breakfast.''
Then Icicle said, "I have wished to get down for some time, dear mother, but the Sky King has not 
shone down on this lonely spot, and my hands are so stiff that I
cannot let go."
" What are we to do, then asked the Queen. "Must I stay here for ever because my daughter cannot let 
me out?"
Then Princess Icicle called and called for Prince Hoar until her throat ached, but he had carelessly gone 
away and left them to their fate.
Presently that big, vulgar animal, who felt the cold so keenly, and who spoke such bad grammar, 
shuffled down the dark gorge. He was very sleepy, and wanted to find a
warm place, sheltered from the wind. So he wandered on until he came to the big boulder where 
Princess Icicle hung, keeping her mother a prisoner.
" Ha ha ! " he said, "this is just the place for me." So he lay down just against the opening where Icicle 
hung. He did not hear her frightened cries, and soon shivered
himself to sleep.
After a while, Icicle whispered, " Mother, mother, I feel so queer since this shaking, quivering, 
pink thing has come. My hands are getting softer and softer, and I believe
I shall soon be able to let go. What can it mean ? "
" Oh ! " said the Queen, cheering up,  " I think it will be all right soon. I have heard that 
all these things that move about have some of the Sky King's heat, and that
wherever they lie they make the ground warm and moist. I believe that we shall soon be free, and I 
think that we ought to reward this big thing for his kind action. "
" Oh, oh ! " cried the Princess, " I am falling, mother; falling, falling, fall - Down she came, and the 
wind, passing by just then, whisked the Queen out of her resting-place, and 
she was free.
"Now," said the Queen, "I am going to enter into the dreams of this shivering animal, and find out 
what he wants most."
She fell on him and covered him up until he was quite out of sight. Then she crept into his dreams and 
this is what she heard him say: " Oh! I am so cold, so co-co-co-
cold. I do want a warm co-co-co -coat. "
Then Queen Snow smiled to herself, and, touching the vulgar animal, said, " A warm coat you shall 
have, you poor, cold thing. So long shall it grow, and so thick, that you
will shiver and shake no more. Beautiful you shall be, but terrible ; and from this day you are king 
of all the animals that hold the Sky King's heat in these icy places.
Farewell." And away floated the Queen and Princess Icicle, wrapped up in a fleecy white cloud.
Soon the big, vulgar creature woke up. What had happened? For the first time since the cold had come 
he felt quite warm. He trotted alon to the piece of clear glass he used as a mirror, and there he saw a 
big,  handsome animal in a lovely white fur coat. "It ain't really me," he said; and then he went to see 
some of the other animals.

POLAR BEARS.

When they saw him coming they said to one another, " Whoever is this lovely creature in the beautiful 
white coat?" And they bounded to meet 
him, and made him welcome in friendly animal fashion.
"How do you do ? " said the polite walrus.
The stranger answered, " I be well; how was you ? "
Then the animals were surprised. " Surely," they murmured, " surely it can't be old 'Was-you' in that 
lovely coat! But it must be. Yes, yes; it is old "Be-are"'; and they walked round and round him
until they were quite dizzy.
Then they whispered and whispered together about him, and at last the polite walrus said, "Look here, 
we can't call the owner of a coat like that ' The Vulgar One.' He looks grand enough to be a king."
"Let's make him 'King of the North,'" squeaked the musk-rat.
Then the little polar fox, who always joked about everything, said, " Yes, let us call him king 'Be-are.' 
He will never know."
So " Be-are " he was christened. But as the years rolled by the name was shortened to "Bear," and 
when the men-folk came to the North they called him " Polar Bear," the great, fierce king of the Arctic 
regions.

THE HORRID RAIN.
"Oh, dear! " sighed little Beth, as she gloomily looked out of the window one rainy day, "there's that 
horrid old rain coming down as fast as it can. I know it won't stop, and I'll have to stay here in the 
house when I wanted so much to go to Aunt Emma's. It's too mean for anything."
"Dear, dear!" sighed the white - haired grandma from the depths of her easy chair,
"what a pity the thunder-clouds will creep inside!"
 There were so many things outside just longing for that lovely shower. First came Mr. Duck, who had 
such funny little red feet, and whenever he walked they made a curious three-toed track in the soft, 
muddy ground.
He had been so hot all day, his throat was
full of dust, and he could not eat a bite, for the bits of food he picked up tasted as if they had just come 
from the oven.
When he saw the storm-clouds gathering in
the sky, he said, " Quack, quack! how glad I am! " and quickly set to work to oil his clothes
so that he might be ready to run about and enjoy the rain. Splash! splash! he went into the puddles, 
throwing the water in tiny sprays all over him.
The pretty yellow buttercups out in the field were hanging their heads under the sun's burning rays. 
" Oh, dear! " they cried, " our roots are drying up, and the tiny baby
buds will surely wither if a shower does not come."
The frilled caps of the daisies, which should have been as white as snow, were an ugly brown colour.
 The dainty pink cups without handles that Mr. Clover took such pride in keeping full of
the richest honey were almost empty, and poor
Clover himself hung limp and weak, leaning
against a thistle for support.
Down came a big raindrop right in a buttercup's heart; eagerly it drank the cool liquid. Faster and 
faster fell the rain.
"How lovely! " cried the parched flowers, as they raised their drooping heads and felt the cool drops 
sinking into their green leaves.
" Pour, pour! wish it would pour! " croaked a fat frog, who had been hiding under the shadow of a big 
leaf all day. " My coat is so dry I'm afraid it will burst unless there is a good heavy shower."
The sparkling brook sang a happy song as it danced over the white pebbles. " How fast I grow! If the 
rain will only keep falling I shall soon be a river, and ships with white sails will 
glide over my shining breast."
Ah! the rain had put  life into everything.
I think little Beth must have seen how glad the flowers were, for the thunder-clouds had rolled away 
from her face; it was bright and smiling. "Grandma, dear," she said, "I'm so glad the pretty flowers 
have had their faces washed. The grass smells so fresh and sweet, and the birds are singing. I was sorry 
when it rained, but now I'm as happy as I can be."

THE ROCKET AND THE LIFEBOAT.
"What's that noise?" asked the rocket of the lifeboat-station.
" It's a gun, " said the lifeboat.   " There's a ship wrecked on the rocks out yonder, and the people will 
be drowned if we do not go out to help them."
 " Then I'm off," said the rocket. And away he whizzed through the air.
" And so am I," said the lifeboat. " Who's coming ?" The good sailormen on the beach got in, and 
away dived the lifeboat into the surf.
"Here I am again," cried the lifeboat as it came out at the other side and shook the surf-water off 
its head.
" Hurrah ! Hurrah for the lifeboat!" shouted the mothers on the beach.
"Boom!" went the gun from the ship on the rocks.
" Row quickly," said the lifeboat to the sailormen.

"AWAY DIVED THE LIFEBOAT INTO THE SURF."

" All right," answered they; and they rowed till they came quite near to the ship.
" Here's one man," said the lifeboat ; "pull him in." So the men pulled him in.
" Here's some one," cried the lifeboat again, quite excited ; "it's a pretty baby tied to a plank. Pull her 
in."
So they pulled the pretty baby in, and cut the ropes that tied her to the plank, and
one of the men cuddled her under his big coat to make her warm.
"Pull away," cried the lifeboat. "They are calling to us from the ship."
So the sailormen pulled away till they could see the men on the wreck.
" My, they've got a rope from the shore to the ship," said the lifeboat.
" I did that," said the rocket. "I brought them a line, and they pulled a rope over, and now it makes 
a bridge to the shore."
" Come down the rope," cried the sailors, to the people on the ship. And they all came into the 
lifeboat.
"Now, pull back," said the lifeboat; and the men pulled with their oars till the life
boat was safe on the beach.
" We're all here," said the captain of the wrecked ship to the mothers who crowded on the beach.
"Here's your dear little baby," said the sailor to the baby's mother. "She's nice and warm, and wants 
you."
" Hurrah for the rocket!" cried the sailormen.
" Hurrah for the good sailormen!" cried the mothers.
" Hurrah for the lifeboat! " cried everybody, and they all went up to the good
sailormen's  homes to get some dry clothes and supper.

MAORILAND FAIRY TALES
VIII. THE STAR-HUNT.
Next night, when Jack, the Fairy, and the Kiwi were comfortably seated in 
the Moa's cave, Jack  asked the Moa to tell another Sky-story.
"I like Sky -stories best of
all," said Jack.
"A Sky-story!" exclaimed the Moa; "well, I do know one or two. Here is one 
about Tane - you remember, he made the trees - and
Matariki, who kept his star very beautiful and bright.
"Now, Tane was living in the Sunrise-land, near the golden lake where Marama and Ina went to bathe. 
But, though he lived up
in the sky, he always kept his eye on the Earth - world, to see 
how his trees were growing ; for Tane was prouder of those trees than
of anything else, and he could not help watching and admiring them. He 
liked to see the Earth-people admiring them too, and talking with
wonder of their great height and beauty.
 
 "WHAT A GLORIOUS STAR!"

"One night, however,  Tane noticed that the Earth-people were gazing up into the sky
 instead. 'What a glorious star! ' they said to
 one another. ' How big it is ! and how it
 shines! ' They called one another out of their
 houses to look at the bright new star.
 'What does this mean?' thought Tane,
 angrily. 'Those silly Earth-people are forgetting the beauty of my trees and looking
 at a star!'
"He sent a messenger to find out whose star it was, and why the people stared at it so much. The 
messenger came back in a few minutes, and said, 'It is Matariki's star,
great Tane. All the Sky-people have been trying to see who can have the brightest star, and Matariki 
has polished his so much that he has beaten everybody else, and
has made the Earth-people look up.'
" 'Is that all!' cried Tane. 'Then I need not worry, for the brightness will soon wear off. He will 
soon get tired of all that polishing, and the Earth-people will forget all about him,
and look at my trees again.'
" But night after night went by, and still the people forgot the trees and gazed at the beautiful 
star. Matariki did not grow in the least tired of polishing, for it was the delight of
his life to keep his star brighter than any other in Sky-land.
"For a long time he had been quietly working away for the love of the work alone, till one night the 
Sky-fairies all round him began to think their stars looked dim. Then they
began to work harder than usual to brighten them. Matariki saw that they meant to beat him if they 
could ; so he polished more and more, until at last his star glowed so
brightly that the Earth-people came out of their houses to look at it and wonder.
" Night after night the star grew brighter and more beautiful, and Matariki grew fonder and fonder of 
it. But the other Sky-fairies were growing more and more jealous of him,
and Tane was becoming angry, as he saw the Earth-people gazing up at the sky.
" At last Tane could bear it no longer. He sent for two of the jealous Sky-fairies and said, ' Come and 
help me, and between us we will kill this troublesome Matariki, and
destroy his star.'
" The jealous Sky-fairies were glad to hear Tane talking like this. They said they would help him as 
much as they could ; so the three made plans for catching Matariki.
" 'Wait for a few nights, till he has forgotten that you have been to see me,' said Tane; 'then we will all 
rush out on him and kill him, and break up his star.'
" So the jealous Sky-fairies went back to their places in the sky, to wait till Tane should call on them to 
help him."
(To be continued.)

A STORY IN A PICTURE.
Saved.

THE STORY OF THE ENGINE.
The engine-cleaners had finished cleaning a beautiful engine. Its rods and brass-work were shining 
brightly.
"Let me go for a run!"
The boys looked round, and, curious as it may seem, it was the engine speaking.
" You'd better ask the engine-man," said the boys.
When the man came along in his driver's cap and blue over-alls, the engine asked him if it might not 
go for a run.
" Oh, it's too dangerous," replied the man.
" Just look at those rails," pleaded the engine. " How they glint in the light! Please let me go ! "
" Very well," said the engine-man; "but, first of all, go to the station to get a tablet, and be very, very 
careful."
A lot of people saw the beautiful engine at the station, and called out, "Let us go with
you."
So the engine linked itself to some carriages,
and bade the people " Come on." They all got
aboard in a very merry mood, and away
went the engine. But first it got a tablet from
a railway-man. This was a friendly way of saying, " The road is clear."
Once out on the road, they came to some tall signal-posts.
A signal bowed, and the engine, giving a cheery toot of a whistle, passed on. When the crossing heard 
the engine coming, it started ringing bells, and the children who
were playing by the roadside ran and climbed upon the fence, shouting " Here's the engine coming." 

Drawn by the Railway Department, N.Z.]
GETTING A TABLET - THE OLD WAY.

Then the man at the crossing came out, and waved his flags. That meant, "Along you go; it's all right."
With another toot, the engine scampered up the hill. It came to many signals, which all bowed 
politely except one. The engine was annoyed at this, and said, as it
slowed down, "I'll go no farther till you bow to me."
And then, " Hoo, hoo, hoo! " it whistled. This meant, "Why don't you be polite and bow? "
Then the signal was sorry and bowed, and the engine gave another " Hoo," which meant "Thank you, " 
and off it went again.
Its next adventure was its coming to a black hole in a big hill; but the engine was not in the least 
frightened. 

GETTING A TABLET - THE NEW WAY.

It gave a "Hoo, hoo, hoo ! " which may be an engine's way of laughing, and ran right into it. Oh, how 
black it was ! 
and how smoky! But, never heeding, the engine pushed on, and, as
a reward for its fearlessness, was soon in the sunlight again on the other side of the hill.
After this, the engine had a very merry time, puffing through a piece of beautiful bush, and now and 
again throwing a smoke ring
far up into the air. The signals and railway-stations must have been having a good time, too, for 
there they were waiting for it with friendly nods and tablets.
" What place is this ? " asked the engine of a stationmaster after it had gone quite a long way.
 " Burnside," said the stationmaster: "and here's your tablet for you."
" Thank you," replied the engine, "and here's one for you."
" Welcome to Abbotsford," called the next stationmaster, " and give my kind regards to Mosgiel."
" Hurrah ! Hurrah!" said a little boy, putting his head out of the window; " here's Mosgiel."
" I wish that little boy would keep his head in, and let me find out the secrets myself"; but, in 
exchanging toots for the nods of a host of signals, the engine soon
forgot to be angry.
" Mosgiel," shouted a man in the King's uniform.
" Oh, I know," said the engine; "a little boy told me. Besides, I've got a tablet for you, and I'm tired and 
want to go home."
" So you may," said the stationmaster; "but, before you go, have a turn on my merry-go-round." 
Glad of anything for a rest, the engine went to the turn-table, and the man gave it a ride.
After this, it steamed to the station again, and, taking into the carriages the people who had been 
having a walk on the platform, it tooted good-bye, and started for
home.
The signals and the people on the stations were just as nice as ever, and bowed and exchanged tablets 
so quickly that it wasn't long before they were through the big tunnel
on their way to the home station. When they came to the crossing, the bells were ringing, and the 
children on the fence were calling out as merrily as ever, " Here's
the engine coming back."
 With a toot that made them all jump
and shout again, the engine passed on and
ran over a regular maze of points and crossings into the big stone station. Then it
told all the people to go home and be good; and, leaving all the carriages at the station
for its little brother, the shunting-engine, to
look after,  puffed away to the engine-shed.
"O dear, dear!" said the engine-cleaners, as the engine went slowly to the cleaning-pits, " What a 
mess it's in."
"Mess, indeed!" answered the engine, blowing off some spare steam; "and so would you be in a mess, 
and be tired, too, if you were me. Why, I've been all the way to Mosgiel and back, and have had a very 
good run."

MAORILAND FAIRY TALES.
VIII. THE STAR-HUNT.
(Continued from page 127.)
 "Now, Matariki had friends as well as enemies, for he was kind and gentle, and good to everybody. 
One of these friends was 
a  little Lake-princess, the calm waters
of whose  home Matariki had used as a mirror for his  star. The Lake-princess had been proud to be of 
help to Matariki, and the 
two had become good friends.
" The Princess, lying quite still in the soft
silence of the night, heard Tane and his friends
planning to kill Matariki, and she at once
made up her mind to save him if she could.  So she called the Wind to her, and told
him what she had heard.
"'We must help Matariki,' she said. 'We
must not let Tane kill him and destroy his star. What can be done? Can you think of
some plan?'
 " ' What can we do ? ' asked the Wind. 'We are not strong enough to fight against Tane and the Sky-
fairies.'
" 'No; but we can surely warn Matariki some way,' said the Lake-princess. 'I know what we can do. We 
can wait till the Sun
shines to-morrow, and then go up to Sky-land and tell Matariki. The Sun will help us, and he will tell 
us where to find Matariki.'
" ' But I cannot go so high as that,' said the Wind.
" ' Well, come as far as you can, to help me, and I will do the rest by myself,' said the Lake-princess.
" So the next morning, when the Sun shone, the Lake-princess caught a Sunbeam and said to it, 'Go 
back to the Sun, and tell 
him that I wish to come up to Sky-land. Ask him to help me, for I am coming to save some one who is 
in danger.'
" The Sunbeam sped up to the Sun with the message, and the Sun at once sent down his strongest 
beams to help the Princess to 
rise to Sky-land. Then she rose
out of her home in the lake, and floated up through the air on the Sunbeams. If you had seen her, you 
would have thought it 
was a light morning mist rising from the
lake ; but really it was the kind-hearted little Princess on her errand of mercy.
"The Wind kept close beside her as far as he could go, and pushed her up with his strong arms. When 
he could go no farther, 
the brave little Princess went on by
herself, rising higher and higher, and nearer and nearer the Sun, until at last she could hardly live in his 
great heat.
" 'Thank you so much for helping me,' she said, as soon as she drew near enough to be heard. ' Can you 
tell me where Matariki is, and if I can speak to him without
Tane seeing me ? Tane means to kill him, and I wish to warn him.'

" SHE ROSE OUT OF HER HOME IN THE LAKE."

" 'Oh. that is the trouble, is it?' said the Sun, with a good-natured smile at the little
Princess. 'Well, you go along that sky-road to the left, and turn round the first corner to the right, and 
you will find 
Matariki. He will be polishing up his star. He is always at it. I never saw such a fellow for work. I'll go 
and 
talk to Tane, so that he won't notice you.'
" The Princess thanked the kind Sun, and then set off to find Matariki. She soon found him, polishing 
his star, just as the Sun had said.
" ' Why, little Princess, what are you doing up here ?' he called out when he saw her.
" ' Hush, Matariki! Speak softly,' she said, 'or some of your enemies may hear. I have come to tell you 
that Tane and two of the Sky-fairies are 
going to try to kill you and destroy your star.'
Poor Matariki could hardly believe it.
' But why should they do that ? ' he cried. 'I have never done them any harm.'
" ' Tane is jealous because the Earth-people
look at the beauty of your star instead of at the beauty of his trees,' said the Princess; 'and the Sky-
fairies are jealous because your star is brighter than theirs.'
" Then she told him all that she had heard, and begged him to go away and hide somewhere until his 
enemies had forgotten their anger."
(To be continued.)

MAORILAND FAIRY TALES.
VIII. THE STAR-HUNT.
(Concluded from page 144.)
" 'I cannot hide away, little Princess,' said Matariki. 'I must stay and do my work as long as I can. But 
I am 
warned now, and can be ready to fly at any moment, if they keep
to their plan. Go back to your lake now, in case Tane should see you here and do you some harm. And 
take with you the warmest thanks of Matariki for your courage
and kindness in coming so far to help your friend.'
" ' That is a small thing. I would do much more than that if I could,' said the Princess.
"Then she went down to her lake-home again. You would have thought it was a shower of rain falling 
from the clouds, if you had seen her coming down; but the Wind knew who it was, and. 
flew to help her, and to hear how she had fared in the Sky-land.
 " Three nights later Tane called upon the jealous Sky-fairies to help him, and they all  three rushed 
out together to kill Matariki.  But Matariki was ready for them. At the first
sound of their coming he seized the star in his hand, and fled with it away from them.
" How angry Tane was when he found that Matariki had been warned! With shouts and  cries of rage 
he 
and his two friends flew after Matariki, and a wild chase then began.
" Matariki had the lead. He went at headlong speed through the Sky-land, winding in and out amongst 
the stars, and trying to hide behind the moon. But Tane always
saw him, and came rushing up to his hiding-place, just in time, however, to see him again making off 
in another direction. The Sky-fairies scattered over the sky drew
back in fear of Tane as he passed, and no one was brave enough to help Matariki.
" Round and round the Sky-land the fierce chase went on. Matariki was still ahead, but he was growing 
tired.
" 'I cannot keep on much longer,' he said to himself. 'I must rest somewhere; but here there is no 
place. I will go down to my little Princess, and hide in her lake.'
" So in an instant he shot down to the lake. The Princess was watching, with her heart beating for 
Matariki; and she was filled with joy when she saw him come down
and take refuge in the lake.
" ' Hide there and rest,' she said, as he sank to the cool valleys at the bottom of the water ; and 
she floated up to a rock at the end of the lake to watch that no harm
should come to him.
" But one of the jealous Sky-fairies had seen Matariki go down to the lake. He told Tane, and they 
all came down, and found the Princess sitting on her rock.
" ' You are hiding Matariki. Give him up at once!' said Tane to the Princess.
The Princess slid off her rock into the water and out of sight. Nothing would ever make her give up 
Matariki ; but she was
too much afraid of Tane to stay and talk.
" 'Matariki, come out of the lake! ' shouted Tane, in a great rage ; but Matariki gave no answer. He lay 
quietly at the bottom, while Tane shouted and yelled above.
" ' I will drive him out,' said one of the Sky-fairies. He went to the other end of the lake, and 
sang a magic song to draw the waters of the lake to him. At once the waters all flowed to that end, and 
in a few minutes poor Matariki was 
left uncovered, and he had to rise and flee away again.
He left the Earth-world, and the chase went on in Sky-land once more. But now Matariki had rested, 
and could go faster, while his enemies were becoming more and
more wearied. ' I shall soon tire them out and be free,' he thought joyfully.
"Poor Matariki! he was too hopeful. Tane saw that the race was over, and that something must be done 
at once.
" ' We shall never catch him now, he said to the Sky-fairies. 'Give me something to throw at his star. 
We can at least break that.'
"So he seized the star belonging to one of the two Sky-fairies, and hurled it with all his strength 
at Matariki's star. There was a terrible crash, a cry from Matariki, and the
splendid star fell in seven pieces.
" Matariki fled no more. They might do what they liked with him now that his beloved star was 
destroyed, he thought in his sorrow. But Tane only laughed. He picked up
the broken pieces and threw them far into the southern sky.

"THERE WAS A TERRIBLE CRASH."

" ' Let us see how the wonderful star looks now,' he said. ' I do not think the Earth-people will admire it 
again. They will have time to look at my trees now. Come on,
friends, back to your places. Never mind Matariki. We need not trouble to kill him now that his star is 
broken.'
" So the three friends went away laughing at the mischief they had done, leaving poor
Matariki gazing with sad eyes at his broken
The seven broken pieces still shine on in the southern sky, and the Earth-people call them 'the Little 
Eyes,'* for they think they are the eyes of brave men who have died in
battle and have gone to the upper world, and are now looking down upon their old homes.
"The Lake-princess still loves to see them shining in the waters of her lake, for they belong to Matariki, 
and Matariki is her friend. And Matariki still polishes the pieces of his once glorious star; but all the 
joy has gone out of his work, and his heart aches for the lost beauty and splendour of his home."

[*NOTE FOR THE TEACHER. - The Pleiades, in the shoulder of the Bull (Taurus). They are called 
also "the Seven Sisters." There are several legends relating to this
constellation. The legend upon which our story is based is current among the Mangaians. Aldebaran 
(Aumea) and Sirius (Mere) accompanied Tane in his chase. Sirius
drained off the waters of the lake, and Tane hurled Aldebaran against Matariki, who was shattered to 
pieces. The position of the stars here referred to is shown by the star
map on page 24 of the School Journal, Part III, February, 1909.]

AN ALL-THE-YEAR-ROUND STORY.
If you had only been in the right place at the right time, and had looked the right way you would 
have seen for yourself all that I am going to tell you ; but since not one of
you was anywhere near the Palace of the Future when its great doors swung slowly open, you did not 
see the people - one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
ten, eleven, twelve of them - as they came out.
But they did come, every one of them, and looked around in a puzzled way, as if they did not know 
what to do or where to go. Before they had much time to wonder, an
old man stepped forward and welcomed them.
"Glad to see you, friends. Glad to see you. I knew you would come if I sent for you. One, two, three, 
four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. That's right,
you are all here. And now I suppose you would like to know why I sent for you."
The twelve friends said they would indeed.
" Look, then," said Father Time - for that was the old man's name - and he opened the long coat which 
he had been holding close, about him.
The twelve gathered round to see, and what they saw was well worth looking at, for it was a dear, 
sweet, tiny baby, laughing, and, cooing, and stretching out its pretty
hands.
" There ! " said, Father Time. " That's my youngest child, and his name is 1911. I do not want him to 
be all alone during his visit to the earth, and, besides, there are so
many things to be sent with him that he could not possibly carry them all."
" Oh ! I'll go with him"; "And I"; "And I," shouted the twelve in chorus.
", Softly, softly," said Father Time. "You cannot all go at once, but you shall each have your turn. 
You shall each carry something for little 1911. My storehouse is near,
and we can plan now what you shall each take, so that there will be no mistake later. Come, January, 
you must be the first."
" Then I will carry this banner," said January, as he brought a beautiful silken banner from the 
storehouse. On it was printed " Happy New Year " in flashing golden letters.
In his cap he had placed some ripe ears of wheat, and in his hand he carried a basket containing 
juicy peaches and some cooling drinks.
 "Feb-ru-ar-y," called Father Time, saying
each part- of the name very clearly, and not
forgetting to, sound the first " r." Out
stepped a tiny girl, the smallest of the twelve
children. She wore light clothing, and on
her head was a wreath of cool-looking vine-leaves. She hurried to the storehouse, and


came back carrying a basket laden with grapes, tomatoes, and apples.
" March," called out the Father. "March where ? " said little February, who thought she was spoken to. 
" Oh ! excuse me," said February, " I misunderstood you " ; and
the little girl ran off to play with January. March came forward. She was tall, strong, and sunburnt. 
She carried large bunches of grapes, and, as she strode along, a faint
cloud of dust rose up behind her.
" April," called Father Time; and a shy-looking boy moved forward, but missed his first step, so that 
he nearly fell. " That's the first of April. Be careful," said the old
gentleman, smiling. "Now, hurry on with your ploughing and sowing, for we expect a good season for 
1911."
"May," shouted the old man.  All looked, expecting to see a girl, but it was a boy with rosy cheeks 
who came along. His boots showed that he had been walking over
ploughed land.
When the old gentleman called " June," a boy came through the rain, and the leaves fell from many of 
the trees in the garden. He was holding in his right hand a banner
on which was printed " God save the King."
July was a strongly built boy, with an overcoat buttoned up to his chin. The tip of his nose looked blue, 
and his breath came from his nostrils in a faint mist. A bunch of sweet-smelling violets was pinned in 
his coat.
August came forward holding up a bunch of primroses, daffodils, and white lilies. On his dark cap 
were traces of something white, but it soon melted when the sunlight
fell on him.
" September," called Father Time, and a beautiful girl stepped forward. In her hair were clusters of 
sweet-smelling fruit-blossom, and yellow dandelions sprang up
wherever she stepped.
The bleating of lambs and the chirping of tiny birds in their nests could be heard, and in the bush 
the wild flowers began to bloom.
October was much like her lovely sister, September. When October touched the vines the young grapes 
formed, and when she looked into the flower-garden beautiful
roses opened. Round about her were the parent birds teaching their young ones to fly.
November came next. He was a boy carrying a basket filled with early strawberries and early cherries. 
Over his shoulders he wore a covering of white soft wool that had
just been shorn from the sheep.
"Now," said Father Time, turning to the last month, "December, you are the most
welcome of all, not only because you bring holidays to the school-children, but because you bring the 
happiest time of the year to both old and young."
December stepped forward, and held up a
picture of a babe being nursed by its mother in a stable. Shepherds had come to see the wonderful 
child, and lay their presents at its feet.

"NURSED BY ITS MOTHER IN A STABLE."

Father Time looked tenderly at the picture, and his voice seemed softer as he said, "December, you are 
the mouth loved by the children. Go into the storehouse, and there you will find something for all of 
them."
December went, and quickly returned. She carried a Christmas tree, on which were hung  sweets, 
wonderful toys, tiny  candles, and many other  things. As she held up the tree she called out in a clear 
voice, -
"A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL."
-Adapted from the " Child's World."

A STORY IN PICTURE. 

