Matariki

A Matariki Story

Once long, long ago lived seven little tui. They were playing outside and their mother said to stay near the tree so when it was dark they wouldn't get lost.

 One day, they weren't as close to the house as they normally were and, when the sun fell, the moon started to rise. The moon wasn't shining as bright as the sun normally did, but it shone like the glistening sea's edge on a great winter's night. Owls hooting filled the night then the seven little tui showed goosebumps as they became more frightened through the night.

It got darker and darker and colder and colder then soon all the tui drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, they weren't in the forest anymore. All they saw was the moon and the stars because the moon had taken them up into the sky during their sleep. The moon used its special powers to take kids who didn't listen to their parents and turn them into stars.

That is how Matariki came to be.