- [Footnote: But Nganaoa was prepared for this possibility. He grasped his long
spear and quickly plunged it into the belly of the animal so that the creature, instead of snapping together, at once sank back to the bottom of the sea. After they had escaped from this danger they continued on their way. But after a while the voice of the always watchful Nganaoa was again to be heard. 'O Rata, once more a terrible enemy rushes upwards from the depths of the ocean.' This time it was a mighty octopus, whose gigantic tentacles already surrounded the boat, in order to destroy it. At this critical moment, Nganaoa seized his spear, and plunged it into the head of the octopus. The tentacles sank away limp and the dead monster rose to the surface of the water. Once more they continued on their journey, but a yet greater danger awaited them. One day the valiant Nganaoa called out, 'O Rata, here is a great whale!' The huge jaws were wide open, the lower jaw was already under the boat, and the upper one over it. One moment more and the whale would have devoured them. Now Nganaoa 'the dragon slayer' broke his spear into two parts, and at the moment when the whale was about to devour them, he stuck the two pieces into the jaws of the foe so that he could not close his jaws. Nganaoa quickly sprang into the jaws of the great whale (devouring of the hero) and looked into its belly, and what did he see? There sat both his parents, his father, Tairitokerau, and his mother, Vaiaroa, who had been gulped down into the depths of this monster. The oracle has come true. The voyage has come to its end. Great was the joy of the parents of Nganaoa when they saw their son. They were convinced that their freedom was at hand. And Nganaoa resolved upon revenge. He took one of the two pieces from the jaws of the animal—one was enough to make it impossible for the whale to close his jaws and so keep a passage free for Nganaoa and his parents. He broke this part of the spear in two, in order to use them as wood to produce fire by rubbing. He commanded his father to hold one firmly below, while he himself managed the upper one, until the fire began to glimmer (production of fire). Now when he blew this into flames, he hastened to heat the fatty part (heart) of the belly with the fire. The monster, writhing with pain, sought help swimming to the nearest land (journey in the sea). As soon as he reached the sand-*bank (land) father, mother and son walked onto the land through the open jaws of the dying whale (slipping out of the hero)."]
