Rātā me te Rākau

(Rātā and the Tree)

By André Ngāpō

Fill in the Blanks

Rātā was searching for the perfect tree to build his _______. It needed to be tall and _______ to carry his people away from the island. Tāwhirimātea, God of the Wind, and his brother _______ were about to do battle, and Rātā knew the battle would destroy all the _______ on the island.

After a long _______, Rātā found the perfect tree, and began to cut it down. The Wētā and the Kārearea were _______. Every time Rātā would cut the tree down, the creatures of the forest would put the tree back together. When Rātā finally sees what they are doing he is _______, “Why do you cheer and make fun of me?” he screamed.

The animals explain, that he has not been ________ to the Guardian of the Trees, Tāne-mahuta. Understanding his wrong, he explains his problem to the animals. The next day, he awakes to find the perfect waka,built by the birds, and ________ of the forest. All they asked was that he show respect and _______ others to do the same.

WORD BANK

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Search

Waka

Furious

Insects

Villages

Teach

Straight

Tangaroa

Horrified

Respectful

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Questions

1. Why did Rātā need to build a waka?
2. What are the names of the two gods going

to battle?

• Who were the two animals watching Rātā?
• What did the animals do when they realised Rātā was not being respectful?
• What were the 3 things the animals asked of Rātā when they gave him his waka?

Extra Questions - Long Answers

1. Why do you think it is important for us to be respectful towards our native trees?

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• What are some ways we can help to protect our native trees?