I noho a Aroha ki Rotorua. He wahine pai ia. He roa hoki tana noho ki konei. I roa ia e kimi ana i tētahi taonga huna. He kōrero nā tana kuia mō te taonga nei. He mea huna te taonga i te ngahere tawhito.

I te ata, ka maranga a Aroha. Ka kai ia i tana parakuihi. Muri iho ka haere ia ki te ngahere. He ngahere nui rawa. He manu maha ki reira. Ka rongo ia i te tangi o ngā manu. He ātaahua te tangi nei. Ka whakarongo a Aroha.

Ka kite ia i tētahi rākau tawhito. He rākau nui rawa tēnei. He roa hoki tōna tipu i konei. Ka titiro ia ki te rākau. He aha tēnei i konei? He mea rerekē te āhua o te rākau nei. He mata kanapa.

Ka kitea e ia he rua i te rākau. He rua nui. Ka titiro ia ki roto. He wehi iti tōna. Engari ka uru ia ki roto. He ātaahua te rua nei. He mea ātaahua hoki. He mārama te roto o te rua.

Ki roto ka kite ia i ētahi kōhatu. He kōhatu ātaahua katoa. He mata kanapa o ngā kōhatu nei. Engari kāore he taonga kei reira. Kāore he moni, kāore he mea. I pōuri a Aroha. He roa hoki ia i kimi.

Ka hoki ia ki te kāinga. He roa te ara kopikopiko. I te ahiahi ka noho rāua ko tana kuia. Ka kōrero tana kuia ki a ia. "Aroha, he aha i pēnei ai tō kanohi? He pōuri koe i tēnei pō."

Ka kōrero a Aroha mō te rākau me ngā kōhatu. Ka whakaatu ia i ngā kōhatu ki tana kuia. Ka kata te kuia. "Aroha e, ko ngā kōhatu rā te taonga! Kaua e pōuri!"

Ko ngā kōhatu he taonga tawhito nā ngā tīpuna. He mea nui rawa ki tōna iwi. I mōhio te kuia ki ēnei kōrero, engari kāore a Aroha i mōhio. Ā muri ake ka ako a Aroha mō ngā tikanga o ngā taonga tawhito.

Ngā Kupu Hou (Vocabulary)

• noho: live or stay

• wahine: woman

• pai: good

• roa: long (in time or length)

• kimi: search

• taonga: treasure or valuable thing

• huna: hidden

• kōrero: story or talk

• kuia: grandmother or elderly woman

• ngahere: forest

• tawhito: old

• ata: morning

• maranga: get up or rise

• kai: eat or food

• parakuihi: breakfast

• muri iho: after that

• haere: go

• nui: big

• rawa: very

• manu: bird

• rongo: hear

• tangi: sound or cry

• ātaahua: beautiful

• whakarongo: listen

• kite: see

• rākau: tree

• titiro: look

• mea: thing

• rerekē: strange or different

• āhua: appearance or shape

• mata: face or surface

• kitea: found or seen

• rua: hole

• roto: inside

• wehi: fear

• iti: small

• uru: enter

• mārama: light or clear

• kōhatu: stone

• kanapa: shiny

• moni: money

• pōuri: sad

• hoki: return

• kāinga: home

• ara: path

• kopikopiko: winding

• ahiahi: evening

• kanohi: face

• pō: night

• whakaatu: show

• kata: laugh

• tīpuna: ancestors

• iwi: people or tribe

• mōhio: know

• tikanga: custom or tradition

• ako: learn

Ngā Pātai Māramatanga (Comprehension Questions)

Ko wai te ingoa o te wahine e kimi ana i te taonga?

He aha te taonga i kitea e Aroha i roto i te rākau?

He aha i kata ai te kuia ki a Aroha?

English Translation

The Hidden Treasure

Aroha lived in Rotorua. She was a kind woman. She lived there for many years. She looked for a hidden treasure. Her grandmother told her about this treasure. It was in an old forest.

One morning, Aroha woke up early. She ate her breakfast. Then she went to the forest. The forest was very big. Many birds lived there. She heard the birds sing. Their songs were beautiful. Aroha stopped to listen.

She saw a big old tree. It looked special. Its bark was shiny. She looked at it closely.

She found a big hole in the tree. She looked inside. She was a little scared, but she went in. The hole was beautiful. It was bright inside.

Inside, she saw some stones. The stones were shiny and beautiful. But there was no treasure there. There was no money, nothing at all. Aroha felt sad. She looked for the treasure for a long time.

She walked home on a long path. That evening, she sat with her grandmother. Her grandmother saw her sad face. "Aroha, why are you sad?" she asked.

Aroha told her about the tree and the stones. She showed the stones to her grandmother. Her grandmother laughed. "Aroha, these stones are the treasure! Don’t be sad!"

The stones were special. They came from their ancestors. They were important to their people. Her grandmother knew this, but Aroha did not. Later, Aroha learned about these old treasures.