Tane and the possum

Some day, he was just sitting on the biggest tree of the forest called Waipoua Kauri Forest, Tane had a look at his wonderful realm. He was pleased. He, Tane, the god of the forest, the separator of heaven and earth, once had created this stunning, unique landscape. Since then, his children, the trees and the birds, had developed to his complete satisfaction.

In the same moment, a little animal had just crossed the street near the forest. Suddenly, Tane realized the animal which he had never seen before. He frowned, and then decided that he wanted to get to know this alien creature. He was interested in the cute, google-eyed beast with its thick soft coat, climbed down the tree, and stopped right in front of it.

“Kia ora”, Tane greeted the animal. “Welcome to my forest. Who are you?” The little animal replied: “G’day, I am the possum. And who are you?” Tane answered: I am Tane-mahuta, the god of the forest, trees and birds. How come that I’ve never seen you before?”, he asked. And the possum returned: “I come from Australia, I’ve just arrived here in - what is the country called? I have no idea where I am…” Tane answered: You are in New Zealand. This is the Waipoua Kauri Forest. I once created it and these plants and the birds are my children. Do you like it?” And the possum said: “It pleases me! I really like your forest! And since I don’t have any accommodation yet, I would like to ask you whether I may stay here to live?” Tane replied: “Well, of course you can stay here if you would like to. However, first you have to do me a little favour which at the same time is a test that will prove to me how reliable you are and that you are worth it to live in my forest. Are you okay with that?” And the possum returned: “Yes, of course, I am definitely okay with that! It is so wonderful over here, and there is so much to eat [Tane did not notice this first indication of the possum’s worst habit], I would do anything to stay here!” “Alright”, Tane said, “then I will tell you now what you have to do.” And Tane told the little marsupial that he had to go on a business trip through his forest and that the possum had to watch the place where they had met. The possum agreed; and so Tane was about to go. Before he disappeared into the forest, he turned and sad to the possum: “However, listen, little animal! Until you did not prove to me that you are reliable, you are not allowed to eat anything. You have to wait until I come back. Only then I will decide whether you are worth it to live in my forest. Otherwise, I will punish you for not being honest to me. Do you understand?” “Yes, I do”, the possum agreed. And so Tane vanished into the deep forest.

Now that the possum was alone, it had a look around. The landscape was so fascinating, it was unbelievable! There were soft, green hills and valleys, and mighty Kauri trees as far as the eye can see. The calm and peace were only “disturbed” by the chipper of the birds. And what a lush, voluptuous vegetation, what an endemic nature, what... a delicate food! There were rata and totara plants, and kowhai trees nearly everywhere! A place to die for. ‘What a beautiful forest, what a magnificent country! What a luck that I stranded just here! I will manage to prove to Tane that I am reliable and worth to live in his forest’, the possum thought.

Time went by, and Tane did not return. And the possum got really hungry. ‘Only one little bite…’ However, unfortunately it was not allowed to eat something from Tane’s forest and it had promised him not to touch anything. The few words Tane had ignored when the possum had mentioned that there is “so much to eat” had already indicated that the possum’s greatest vice was food. This little innocent-looking animal was that greedy that nothing was safe from it, no plant, no tree, simply nothing. And just in the moment when the possum was most excited about all the delicious food around it - one single fruit fell down from the mightiest tree the possum had ever seen (the tree Tane was sitting on when they met) and rolled over and over. Intuitively, the gutsy possum ran after it, not realizing that the fruit headed for the street. Finally, the fruit stopped exactly in the middle of the street. The possum sat down, grasped the fruit… and ate it. ‘Mh, tasted this good!’ Only after it had finished its meal, it got a little scared: ‘What when Tane would detect my misbehaviour? However… how should he find out?’, it steadied its pulsing heartbeat.

And whilst sitting on the street, in the distance a car appeared and came further and further and the possum still sat on the street, not realizing the imminent danger. The car came closer and… eventually, it run over the little greedy possum that died immediately, squished on the asphalt.

Tane, standing at the edge of the street, shook his head and said: “This is what you deserve for your impatience. From now on every possum will be in imminence of being overrun by a car and dying on the street. Humankind will seek to exterminate you because of your voracity and gluttony. And you will never be allowed to enter my forest again.”

Since then, every day many possums have died and still die on the street, running over by mankind. Tane split off one part of his soul and incorporated it into the mightiest tree which from then on had been called ‘Tane Mahuta’, destined for guarding the Waipoua Forest so that no possum would enter it again.