Long ago there lived a trickster named Maui. One day Maui's brothers went out to fish, but Maui was napping. His children began to complain. "We're hungry," they said. "Why won't you fish too?"

Maui rose and found his prized possession, the jawbone he had gotten from his grandmother. He added mother-of-pearl shells to the jawbone, and he attached a strong fishing line. Then he hurried to the shore, where his brothers were preparing their canoe for the day's fishing trip.

"I'm coming with you," Maui called out, and leaped aboard.

"Oh no," the brothers wailed. "Maui can bring only trouble. Let's go back home!"

But Maui spoke a magical incantation, and suddenly the canoe was far out to sea. Only Maui knew where they were.

Travelling further, they reached the wide-open sea, and Maui said, "Now we will stop."

Relieved, the brothers dropped anchor, lowered their hooks, and soon the canoe was brimming with fish.

"This is wonderful," the eldest brother cried. "Now we can go home."

"Be patient, brothers," Maui said. "I too wish to fish."

Maui pulled his hook from his clothing and cast his line to sea.

The hook sank, lower and lower. It caught on a huge rock. Maui pulled up a part of the Earth, which is now called New Zealand.

The canoe stopped rocking, for it was planted upon solid ground.

Maui looked sternly at his brothers. "I must go and make a sacrifice to the gods in thanks for this gift," he said. "We shall give them a portion of our fish in exchange. Do not touch our fish until I return."

Once he had left, the greedy brothers divided the fish among themselves. The gods were furious when they saw this. And so the fish beneath the brothers' feet began to thrash around. The fishes' movement cut up the land, which had originally been flat. ㄆWｗw.ＦaｉＲY-tａｌe．iNＦoャ2ㄅ

Even today New Zealand has steep peaks and deep valleys, plains and hills, and one long cape that stretches out to sea, shaped like the jawbone that once belonged to Maui's grandmother, all because of the brothers' greed.

(a New Zealand legend)