Pipi and Pou and the River Monster by Tim Tipene

Author:Tim Tipene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: OneTree House Publishers
Published: 2022-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Tunanui Paroro was beyond the mānawa, slithering near the trees. The closest place for her to hide was behind the large tōtara that had shielded the whānau earlier.

Pou te Taniwha was underwater collecting junk and hadn’t heard his grandmother or his cousin. He broke through the surface and tossed an exercycle onto the bank. It bounced along the ground with bangs and rattles.

‘Man, what’s wrong with people?’ he barked. ‘They’ve been using this place as a rubbish tip!’

Luckily the approaching trampers had to peer around Nana to see what the noise was. The tohunga coughed.

‘E hika, excuse me,’ she puffed, patting her chest. ‘It was just me clearing my throat. I’ve been out here working all day. Out of breath now.’

The brow of the female tramper lowered.

‘That’s a real raspy croak you’ve got there,’ she said with concern. ‘It sounded like something crashing to the ground. Do you have enough water? You don’t want to get dehydrated.’

Hearing the voices, Pou te Taniwha looked up at his cousin hovering above him. ‘What’s going on?’

‘Shhh, hoihoi!’ she hushed. ‘Some people are here. We have to hide.’

Quickly and quietly, Pou te Taniwha and Pipi Pouākai joined Tunanui Paroro behind Tōtara.

‘We can’t stay here,’ whispered Pou te Taniwha. ‘We’re too big. They’ll spot us.’

‘They won’t see us beneath the water,’ Tunanui Paroro suggested.

‘It’s too late for that,’ Pipi Pouākai muttered. ‘E te rangatira, you’re bright gold. You would have to get from this tree to the river. They’d notice you a mile away.’

‘I could make the storm come back,’ snarled Tunanui Paroro. ‘Make those people run in fear.’

Just then they heard the male tramper’s voice.

‘So you said that you’ve been working?’ he enquired. ‘What exactly have you been doing?’

‘Picking up rubbish,’ said Nana, pointing at the pile of refuse on the riverbank.

With the hikers looking in their direction, the giant eagle, the taniwha and the enormous eel squeezed in tight together behind Tōtara.

‘Ha,’ wriggled Tunanui Paroro.

Pipi Pouākai and Pou te Taniwha both looked at her.

‘Did you just laugh?’ the eagle asked.

‘I can’t help it,’ murmured Tunanui Paroro. ‘My skin is very sensitive and your feathers are tickling me. Ha ha.’

‘Shhh, shhh,’ Pou te Taniwha urged.

The trampers eyed the tōtara.

‘Did you hear that?’ the man questioned.

‘Hear what?’ replied Nana, looking around as though she was unaware of anything.

The woman stepped closer to the ancient tree. ‘It sounded like laughter.’

‘I didn’t hear anything,’ Nana waved. ‘Might have been the wind. It was quite stormy earlier. There was even lightning, thunder, rain. The trees creak sometimes. Where have you folks come from?’

The couple turned away from Tōtara to continue the conversaton. Nana was good at changing the subject.

Tunanui Paroro curled up, wrapping a part of her long body around her jaws to stop herself from laughing out loud.

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