Maori legend the seven stars of matariki.

There was an adventurous young man called Mitai,who lived with his seven brothers in the village of Maketu.

Mitai was the youngest brother.He was raised by his koroua,the great tohunga,Te Rawara,from whom he had learnt much magic.

Mitai could change form into a bird and eavesdrop on his brothers’ conversations.

He could soar as an albatross into the sky with the god of the wind,Tawhirimatea,gliding down the back of Uenuku the rainbow.

Mitai loved adventure as much as his brothers loved themselfs.

His brothers were the most handsome men in the village.They were so fine looking that they had not been married because they would not settle for anyone less beautiful than themselves.

One day,Mitai and his brothers were out hunting on Pukemaire hill when they were entranced by the most beautiful singing.Curious,they followed the sound on the top,where they found the

Loveliest wahine they had ever seen.

Each wahine had long,flowing,golden hair,with skin so white that light shone from it.

They glowed like stars.

When the women caught the eyes of Maitai's brothers, each man fell immediately in love.

All except mitai.

Mitai:”Women of such beauty can only bring harm.These wahine are not of our kind.They are patupaiarehe fairy women.”

Voiceover:His brothers took no notice of Mitai.they were spellbound by the maidens and brought them back to their village to make them their wives.

Mitai did not like his brothers wives.They did not take part in village life,choosing instead to spend their time combing their golden hair and singing.

The brothers no longer went hunting,only leaveing their houses to gather kaimoana for their wives,who refused to eat anything but seafood.

Mitaiś brothers were so bewitched that they no longer ate or looked after their gardens ,or even cared for their own  appearances.They became skinny and their good looks began to fade.

Mitai became more and more suspicious of his brothers wives.He decided to watch them closely,and so it was he noticed that the wahine never seemed to leave their houses.

One day,Rongonui,Mitaiś eldest brother,arrived home early from fishing.He called for his wife,but she was nowhere to be found.

Searching  the whare of his younger brothers,Rongo found that their wives were also missing and had not been seen by anyone in the village.When Rongoś wife returned, he asked her where had been.She flew into a terrible rage.

Rongo told Mitai how all the had vanished.Mitaiś suspicions grew.

Mitai decided to seek the advice of Te Rarawa.

After listening to his story,Mitaiś koroua agreed that the wahine must certainly be patupaiarehe.

koroha:¨The patupaiarehe used to live on Pukemaori until our people came.They had long been looking for a way to return here.¨

Voiceover:He told Mitai that he must watch to find out where they went.

The next morning,Mitai hid behind a tree outside his eldest brothers whare.