Page:Papuan Fairy Tales.djvu/148

106 Then all the birds of the air came down and tried to peck at his flesh. First came the pigeon, then the black cockatoo, next a hawk, a crow, a bird of paradise, and many others. But they pecked in vain. Tauribolena's flesh was too tough for their beaks to pierce. At last came the turn of the "tia," which is the smallest of birds. The tia flew high up in the air until it reached the moon. Then it rushed swiftly down, and with its little beak pecked at the body of Tauribolena until the sea water had all escaped.

In a small space the Man Who Could Not Be Killed rose up, and shook himself, and then went to look for his wives, singing as he went,

"Kaipokina kivi! Kautauvaona kivi!"

Ere long he found them, and the women hoped that he saw not what hatred they bore him. But this time they made a plan themselves, and they determined it should rid them of their tyrant.

They both went to Tauribolena and said, "Come, lord, and let us eat fruit. Is not the kumika ripe?"

Then they all went to eat fruit. Tauribolena ate every kumika his wives gathered, and then he asked for more. But there were none left upon the tree. So he said, "I will nurse the child while ye look for more."

This did the women, and they came back with many kumika, which they roasted on hot stones. When the kumika were cooked, the women said,