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“For the felling of the Tree:

“For the felling of the Tree:

“King of the forest-birds, chief of the parakeets that guard Tane's mighty woods, Tane's sacred resting place (listen to my prayer)! Tane (the Tree) stood erect, stood erect, amidst the page 132 forest shades; but now he's fallen. The trunk of Tane has been severed from the butt; the stump of the tree felled to build this house stands yonder in the sacred resting place. The branehy tree-top, the leafy head, has been cut off; it lies yonder in the Vast-Forest-of-Tane. I have performed my ceremonies of propitiation; I have appealed to the spirits of our priestly ancestors, and to the sacred ones. I have struck these timbers with mallet and chisel; I have struck them with the axe of the Sounding-Seas. I have mounted upon the great foaming girdle of the sea-god Tangaroa, the waves beaten down and divided by the canoe Nuku-tai-maroro. I am seeking, searching for the descendants of the children of Rata, to carve these timbers for me. I found them not; they were slain at the river Pikopiko-i-Whiti. O ancient ones, return and aid me on this our sacred day.”