The Wreck of the Delaware

Many years ago, on the 4th of September, 1863, Huria Matenga woke up from the wind and the rain batting against the roof. Then she woke Hemi her husband and they went down to the beach. They saw that a boat was in trouble. People on the boat were trying to throw a rope to them but they never reached them so Hemi. Huria and Hohapata ran to the water, waded and swam out to the boat. Huria tied a rope the boat and she swam back and tied the rope to the rock. Meanwhile Henry Squirrel was swimming out to try and tie a rope to a rock but he was knocked unconscious so they pulled him back in and put him down on a bunk.
The first sailor started to go hand over hand and when the boat tipped towards the shore it plunged the sailor under the water, nearly drowning him. Huria, risking her life, went out and helped him. She helped all of them. The last to leave the boat was the captain. Once there was about five metres to go Huria had to drag the captain.
About fifteen minutes later Henry Squirrel was back on the deck but they couldn’t rescue him because the rope had snapped so Henry drowned. The ship sank with all its cargo plus Henry Squirrel.
The rescuers got a silver or gold watch. Now in Nelson they are famous. After Huria died they painted her portrait and it is still hanging in the Suter Art Gallery. That was a story of one of New Zealand’s early heroes.

How the Kiwi lost its wings

Long ago kiwi was walking in the bushes All the other birds were very sad that Kiwi couldn’t fly. Tui told him, “I’m sorry you can’t fly.” Kiwi said, “There was a time when us kiwi could fly and we lived up in the trees. We had coloured wings.” “Could you tell us about it?”Tui said.
“O.K,” said Kiwi.
Once upon a time Kiwi had bright coloured wings and lived up in the trees. Tana Mahuta, the God of the forest loved the birds almost as much as he loved himself. One day heaps of bugs found Tane Mahuta’s secret land and started eating the forest. The birds didn’t have anything to eat so Tane Mahuta called a meeting. He said, “Someone has to go and live on the floor of the forest and eat all of the bugs.”
So first Tane said to Pipiwharauroa the cuckoo, “Will you go and live on the forest floor?”
Cuckoo said, “Sorry I’m building a nest and I can’t leave it.”
So he said, “Ruru, my dear friend the morepork, will you go and live on the forest floor?”
“But I love the light and I can’t leave it. The forest floor is too dark,” said Morepork.
“Tui,” said Tane, “will you do it?”
“I might die if I go down there. I’m too afraid and I don’t know my enemies.”
“Pukeko, will you do it?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t want to get my feet dirty”
Finally Tane said to Kiwi, “Will you?”
“Yes I will do it. I love the forest.”
“You have saved the forest!” said Tane.
He waled over to Pipiwharauroa and said, “You are building a nest. From this day onwards you will never build a nest again. You will have to lay eggs in other birds’ nests.”
“Now Ruru, you love the light. From this day onwards you have to live in the deepest, darkest part of the woods.”
“Tui, you are sacred and you don’t know what your predators are. You will always wear the mark f the coward under your neck.”
“But Bellbird, oh how you touch my heart. You are still allowed to sing, but only in the morning when the sun just touches the trees.”
“Oh. And Kiwi, I am so pleased with you.”
So that’s how the Kiwi lost his wings and all of the other birds have stayed the same.

My weekend

On Saturday Eva came over for a play and we played in the tree hut.But then she had to go home.So we went to Grandmas house and Rosa my baby cousin was there.After lunch we went down to the river to build a dam so I asked mum and Stu to help me and Lucy. On Sunday I did the weet-bixs tryathlon, well really a the weet-bix douathlon . The eight year old were second to last people to go.Next year Ill be the last people to go. At the end I raced the weetbix man.