Here
are two fables (kōrero tara)
collected by Charles Davis in the 1830s.
Tatarakihi:
Hohoro mai e te hoa!
Kauaka e whakaroa, oi,
Arara! Ka tūrua tā te popokorua,
Rawe noa ta nga taki whakahau.
Popokorua:
Ūmai ki tē keri,
I te rua mo te ua o te rangi.
No te makariri, wero te po nei, e.
Me te kohi mai ano i te kakano, e.
Hei o ake mā tama roto
Kia ora ai, e, i.
Tatarakihi:
He pai aha koia taku he noho noa,
Piri ake ki te peha o te rakau, e!
Inaina noa ake ki te ra e whiti nei
Me te whakatangi kau i aku paihau, e. |
Locust:
Hurry up oh my friend!
Don't be long, eh?
There you are! The tunnel-digging ant;
with your
leaders directing you
diligently.
Ant:
Come to the digging,
of the
tunnel against the rain from the sky, against
the cold that bites at night here
and for storing up more seeds
eh.
so the
youngsters down inside
can then stay alive there.
Locust:
So what good is my just sitting
clinging to the bark of the tree,
just warming up in this shining sun
and rustling my wings, eh? |
Kakariki. --E Kio e.
Kiore. O!
Kakariki. --Piki ake taua ki runga.
Kiore. --Ko te aha taua i runga?
Kakariki. --Ko te kohi pua rakau.
Kiore. --Heaha te pua rakau?
Kakariki. --He Miro, he Kahikatea.
Kiore. --No raro nei hoki taua, e tama e! No te
whakaruarua i a taua e tama ra e!
No raro ngatatatahi enei tangata tokorua te
Kiore me te Kakariki.
Na, he hē tera, ki te piki rakau kia kainga nga
mea o te manu; no reira tera korero. |
Lizard. --O Rat, O.
Rat. --What!
Lizard. --Come
up here to me.
Rat. --What
are we to do up there?
Lizard. --To
gather the fruit of the trees.
Rat. --The
fruit of what trees?
Lizard. --The
Miro and the Kahikatea.
Rat.
--Our place is here below, laddie!
Our place in
life is making burrows, eh boy?
These two folk, the Rat and the Lizard, belong
to the earth.
Now, an error that
is, to climb trees for eating the
things of the bird; hence that conversation. |
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