Hello and welcome to Super Great Kids Stories.
Wise tales from storytellers around the world which will make you laugh and sometimes cry.
Recommended for ages 5 to 105.
I'm Kim and I love stories.
Hello Super Great Kids.
Today's story is called Maui and the Giant Fish Story.
It's a myth from Aotearoa, New Zealand, and it's told by Maori storyteller Eni Bidwa.
And how are you?
I hope you had a happy week.
We had a lovely time meeting some of you at our fifth birthday show.
And there's more news about our October online show at the end of this podcast.
And thank you so much to all of you who've pre-ordered our book in the US and Canada.
That is very kind of you.
It looks as if we're heading for the bestseller charts.
So if you are thinking of buying our book of 30 stories, then do consider pre-ordering it at a discount before November 4th.
I'm just back from a happy week cycling in sunny Spain.
I was in a place where two seas meet, so on the same afternoon I was able to swim in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic.
I had to cycle up a lot of very big hills and sometimes I felt a bit scared.
Once I got stuck in some mud on a mountainside and there was a big cow quite close to me who seemed rather annoyed that I was there.
I think she wanted me to move but I couldn't move because I was stuck in the mud.
Eek!
But, as in all good stories, everything worked out okay in the end and we cycled back to the sea and I ended the day with another lovely swim.
Today's story is from the sea.
It's a Maori myth from New Zealand where it's springtime.
Unlike here in the UK where autumn is beginning to show.
Just before we begin, here is a little question for you.
Which is your favourite season and why?
Do you like spring, summer, autumn or winter?
Ready?
Have a little think about that.
Off you go.
Hello, super great kids.
I'm back.
Which season did you choose?
I think every season has its beautiful moments, but I like spring best, when everything is unfurling and lime, green and new and we're all feeling refreshed after our winter rest and ready for adventure.
The story today is from Aotearoa, New Zealand, which is a country made up of a group of islands to the southeast of Australia.
It has two main islands, The North Island and the South Island.
But let's hear from Emi Bidwa and she'll tell you more about how some people say those islands were formed.
Hello Super Great Kids, this is Aunty Emi here.
I'm a Māori storyteller from New Zealand or Aotearoa.
I grew up listening to stories from my Nana, Mum and Dad, and I think that's how I came to love them myself.
Today I'm going to tell you a story about a trickster demigod named Maui.
This is the story of Maui and the Giant Fish.
Long ago, there lived a clever trickster demigod named Maui.
Maui was known for his mischievous nature and his desire to prove himself, especially to his older brothers.
Every time his brothers returned from a fishing trip, Maui would ask Can I come fishing with you next time?
But his brothers would always find a way to brush him off.
No, Maui! too small.
Look at your skinny legs and your spindly arms.
Anyways, we need room for all the fish we catch, not little Maui's.
Maui would puff up his cheeks and then scrunch up his face in frustration, thinking to himself I'll show them just how great a fisherman I can be.
I will.
I'll show them, he'd mutter.
I'll prove I'm just as good a fisherman as they are.
So, Maui hatched a secret plan.
Late one night, when everyone else was asleep, Maui took some flax and began weaving a strong fishing line.
As he worked he whispered an ancient karakia, which is a magical prayer to give his line extra strength.
Once he was finished, Maui took a magical jawbone given to him by his ancestor, Muriranga Whenua, and attached it to the line as a hook.
Early the next morning, when it was still dark and before his brothers were awake, Maui snuck into their waka, which is a canoe, and hid underneath their net.
When his brothers pushed the waka out to sea, they noticed something odd.
Why is this canoe so heavy today? one brother grumbled.
Maybe you ate too many kumara, teased another.
It's because you haven't been helping lazy bones.
Stop complaining and just row, ordered the eldest brother.
None of them realised that their little brother Maui, the trickster demigod, was hiding right there in the hull underneath their nets.
They rowed and rowed until they were far, far away from land, and then rowed and rowed and rowed some more.
When they were as far as they had ever been before, they finally dropped anchor.
Just then, hearing the anchor being tossed into the sea, Maui popped up from his hiding spot.
Surprise, he said with a cheeky grin.
The brothers jumped in shock.
Whoa, Maui, what are you doing here?
You tricked us, they cried.
Ah, now we'll never catch any fish with you around, another brother added.
I was hoping to have some time without you, said another.
But Maui...
Ever confident, stood tall in the waka.
I've come to fish, he declared.
Muriranga Whenua said I'm going to be a great fisherman.
Just let your lines down and I'll say my karakia, which is a magical prayer.
You'll catch more fish than ever before, I promise.
The brothers, grumbling all the while, lowered their lines into the water.
Maui began chanting his karakia, and to the brothers' amazement, their lines grew heavy with fish.
One by one, they pulled in their lines, each one loaded with fish, until the waka was nearly overflowing.
We're the best fishermen ever, the brothers boasted, patting each other on the back.
They were ready to go home and have a feast.
Stop, brothers!
We can't go yet.
Now it's my turn, Maui said, pulling out his own fishing line.
The brothers burst out laughing.
With that little line, you'll be lucky to catch a piece of seaweed, one teased.
Maybe a sprat, or maybe a bit of driftwood to float home on, joked another.
But Maui was used to this, and he wasn't worried about their teasing.
He asked his brothers for some bait, but they only laughed harder.
Nah, get away Maui, you're not getting any bait from us.
So Maui clenched his fist, and he gave himself a good hard punch on the nose.
Whack!
Blood dripped down, and Maui smeared it onto his hook.
Maui stood at the front of the waka, whirling his line above his head or chanting another karakia.
Whoosh!
The line flew out and sank deep splish, deep into the ocean, so deep that it reached the very realm of Tangaroa, the god of the sea.
Suddenly, Maui's line went taut.
Something massive had taken the bait.
The brothers grabbed the sides of the waka as it began to race across the water, pulled by the giant fish.
Maui!
Maui!
Cut the line!
Cut the line!
One brother cried in terror.
We're all going to drown, shouted another.
I knew we should have just gone home.
But Maui, the trickster demigod, knew not to listen to his silly brothers.
He was concentrating and held tight to his line.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he began to pull up the biggest fish anyone had ever seen.
Pull!
Pull!
Pull!
The fish was so enormous that it towered over their tiny waka, casting a huge shadow across the water.
It stretched as far as they could see.
This is the fish that our ancestor Muriranga Whenua promised us, Maui said triumphantly.
Guard it, my brothers, while I go back to bring our people to sea.
The brothers, now in awe of Maui's strength and cunning, nodded in agreement.
Okay, okay, okay.
Yes, Maui, we will guard it.
But as soon as Maui paddled away, their tummies started to rumble and grumble.
Maybe just one little slice won't matter, brothers.
Let's just take a little treat.
We did row out here, and Maui won't notice.
But these naughty brothers...
Greed got the better of them.
They began chopping and hacking at the giant fish, claiming chunks of it for themselves.
Hack!
Hack!
Hack!
Nom!
Nom!
Nom!
When Maui returned, he saw the brothers fighting over the fish, cutting deep galleys and mountains into its flesh.
Oh no!
My brothers!
Maui groaned.
Look at what you've done!
The giant fish had pieces cut out of it, all over the place.
It looked a mess.
Maui was very disappointed.
It all worked out for the best, though.
As, over time, these cuts and gashes turned into the hills, valleys and mountains of the land we now know as Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Maui's giant fish became known as Te Ika a Maui, which is where I live in the North Island.
And the canoe, or waka, that Maui and his brothers rode out to go fishing became Te Waka a Maui, the canoe of Maui, which is the South Island of New Zealand.
So, thanks again to our favourite demigod, Maui's cleverness and trickery, the islands of Aotearoa were formed.
Do you live on a fish too?
Do you think with a bit of magic, we might be able to catch our very own islands?
Thanks for listening.
Ka kite tamariki mā.
Oh, thank you very much, Emmy, for that story.
I felt very sorry for Maui when his brothers wouldn't let him go fishing with them.
I remember my older brother not letting me join him in his games, but I didn't have Maui's magic spells to teach him a lesson.
Did you notice that was both a trickster story and a how and why story?
Double the fun!
And now it's time to fly around the world with StoryOwl and say hello and thank you to all the owlets who've recently joined our storytelling club.
Let's start in New Zealand, a very good place to start, where this week's story comes from.
Let's say hello to Stella who is nine and Hank who is seven.
They live in Hamilton which is on the North Island of New Zealand.
Hank loves Weeping Willow and Tom Tit Tot and Stella loves Misera, Mama and the Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
And now let's head all the way up to Ireland to say hello to Owlets Elsa, who is three, and her baby sister Luna, who is nine months old.
Elsa's favourite story is The Two Silly Witches and A Nancy and the Hot Pepper Soup.
They also have two cheeky dogs called Pepper and Toto.
Over to England next to greet Owlet Rory, who is six, who lives in Shelley in West Yorkshire.
I was brought up in West Yorkshire too, Rory.
A very friendly place.
And Rory loves the story, well, you've guessed it, The Ghost of the Bloody Finger.
Oh, Tianan told that story on our live show last week.
Such a treat.
And staying in England, let's hop down to Litchfield in the UK to greet Owlets Padmini, who's seven, and Amvi, who is three.
Their favourite story is The Owl, Girls and the Witch.
Ah yes, I love that one too.
I'd love to be able to fly with my grandmother, wouldn't you?
That story is in our super great book.
And let's head to mainland Europe now to visit Mia, who very recently turned seven.
Mia lives in Munich in Germany and has been listening for about a year.
Her favourite story is Bonita the Tricky Sheep and she loves to sing along.
Me too, Mia, don't get me started.
It's such a catchy tune.
Mia loves stories, so naturally she was very keen to become an owlet.
Her nana in England very kindly bought the subscription for her seventh birthday.
Hurrah for nanas!
I hope your Nana listens to the stories too, Mia.
A friend of mine bought our super great book for her grandma recently, who is pretty old, who loved having the stories read aloud to her.
Now time to fly across the Atlantic to New Jersey in the US, to say hello to Lennox, who is four and listens to the stories every day.
Lennox's favourites are The Ghost of the Bloody Finger and The Cat that Ate the Palace.
Good choices, both of them funny.
And heading west towards Angelus Oaks in sunny California.
Now to greet Hudson, who is six, and Vivian, who is nine.
Their favourite stories are The Booker, Jack's Diamond and East of the Sun, West of the Moon.
All favourites of mine too.
Hudson turned seven last weekend.
I hope you had a very happy day, Hudson.
Off now to the other side of the US, to Wilmington in Delaware, where Charlotte, who's six, and Joanie, who's five, have just celebrated their birthdays on the same day.
Their favourite stories include Molly and the Leprechaun and Goanna and the Fairies.
Back to California now, where Emma lives in Menlo Park.
Emma is six this month.
Her favourites are the Velvet Ribbon, the Buried Moon and the Luck Child.
Ooh, you like scary stories, Emma.
Well, you'll probably enjoy all the stories for this month of October.
And now to Massachusetts, where Rowan, who's seven Ayla, who's four and Iona, who's two, have been listening since 2021.
Wow, that makes you super fans.
Rowan's current favourite is How the Elephant Got Its Trunk by Peter Chand, and Ayla's is A White Bear for the King and Iona Loves Misera Mama.
That's it for this week.
More Owlet Welcomes next week.
Thank you.
We really appreciate your support.
And our Pick of the Week pitcher is from Magnolia in Oak Park in Illinois in the US, who has drawn a delightful picture of the wide-mouthed frog.
Thank you for sending it in for us all to enjoy.
It really made me laugh.
Its mouth is so big it looks like a huge cave.
And I love its rough, knobbly skin and its big, googly eyes.
The giraffe, the kangaroo with her joey and the cat and the dog are looking on in amazement.
A great drawing of a great story.
Well done, Magnolia.
You really captured the story well.
Do send us any pictures inspired by Maui and the giant fish or by any of the other stories on our podcast.
You can send them to our website supergreatkidsstoriescom or to our Facebook page facebookcom.
Forward slash super great kids stories and Story Owl will reply to you.
And thanks to all of you who are subscribing to our podcast.
We really appreciate those of you who feel you can support us on Apple or Patreon.
It helps us to pay our storytellers and gives you access to all the super great scary stories and, depending on your level of subscription, to nearly 60 bonus stories.
Plus, you get access to our Super Great Kids Stories Express, which cuts straight to the story.
Great for listening to stories back to back in the car.
Visit our website for more details, supergreatkidsstories.com.
Well, that's nearly it for now.
Remember, we're doing a regular online show now.
Our October show is on Saturday the 18th of October.
The theme is Harvest Stories.
None of these stories are particularly scary and amy douglas, jason buck and masako carey who told you inch boy and the mitten will be there.
So if you want to hear them telling fun, interactive stories live, then do book a ticket.
It costs 12 pound 50 for the entire family to watch, which is about 18 us dollars or 23 canadian dollars, and there are discount tickets for owlets.
Look in your Patreon channel or on the Owletts Facebook page for your discount code.
To get a ticket, go to our website and look under news.
If you live in the UK and you like to hear me telling super great kids stories for free, then I'll be appearing at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on Saturday, the 18th and the 19th of October.
I'll be telling stories in the Story Tent and signing books in Waterstones afterwards.
Keep telling your stories and singing your songs and do have a happy week.
See you next week.
Bye for now, or as they say in Spain, hasta luego.
This podcast was produced by Kim Normanton and David Smith at Wardour Studios in fabulous Fitzrovia in London.
