Gramma Tala grunted and said one word: “Maui.” She pointed to the horizon, and Moana pictured it coming to life in her mind, seeing images to match Gramma Tala’s tale. “When he stole from the mother island, darkness fell, Te Kā awoke, monsters lurked, and boats stopped coming back. To protect our people, the ancient chiefs forbade voyaging and we forgot who we were.” She looked up at the island. “And the darkness has continued to spread, chasing out fish, draining the life from island after island.”
Snapping out of the story, Gramma Tala motioned to the bluff. It was turning black! Moana touched a darkened vine, and it crumbled in her hand, leaving nothing but a pile of dust.
“Our island!” Moana said, concerned.
“But one day, someone will journey beyond our reef, find Maui, deliver him across the great ocean to restore the heart of Te Fiti…” said Gramma Tala.
Gramma Tala placed a special stone in Moana’s hand. Moana gazed at its spiral and suddenly remembered finding it all those years ago after the conch shell. “…and save us all,” Moana said, mesmerized.
Gramma Tala smiled. “I was there,” she said. “The ocean chose you.”
“I—I thought it was a dream,” said Moana, tracing the stone’s deep-ridged spiral. It was the heart of Te Fiti.
As she continued to drag her finger, the water whirled faster and faster around them, forming a circle in the shallows, with Moana at its center. The majestic whirlpool rose around them, exhibiting its strength and power.
“Nope,” Gramma Tala said, assuring Moana it had not been a dream. Then she pointed her walking stick at the sky, showing Moana a hook constellation. “Our ancestors believed Maui lies at the bottom of his hook. Follow it; you will find him.”
Moana stared at the heart in her hand. “But…why would it choose me?” she asked. “I don’t even know how to get past the reef.” She thought for a moment and suddenly said, “But I know who does!”
Moana got up and ran toward the village as fast as she could.
Gramma Tala watched Moana go and sat back down, exhaling.
While Tui led the village council, people complained about the poor harvest and the lack of fish. A worried chatter filled the fale. “More crops are turning black,” said one villager.
“We won’t have enough food,” said another.
“It’s happening all over the island,” said another.
The troubled sounds of the villagers began to build as the comments intensified and people all started talking at once.
Trying his best to calm them and regain order, Tui said, “Then we will dig new fields; we will—”
Suddenly, Moana burst in. “We can stop the darkness and save our island!” she shouted. “The heart of Te Fiti is real.”
Everyone stopped talking, and an awkward silence fell. They all stared at Moana as if she were crazy.
“There’s a cavern of boats, huge canoes….We can take them, find Maui, make him restore the heart,” Moana continued, exhilarated. She held the heart up to Tui. “We were voyagers; we can voyage again.”
The villagers looked to Tui, confused and anxiously waiting for his response. Without a word, he pulled Moana out of the fale.
“You told me to help our people. This is how we help our people!” Moana said.
Tui walked past her, grabbing a torch. “I should’ve burned those boats a long time ago.”
“What? No!” Moana said, pulling on Tui’s arm. “We have to find Maui. We have to restore the heart!”
Tui grabbed the heart out of her hand. “There is no heart! This is just a rock!” he shouted, throwing it into the bushes.
“No!” Moana scrambled around, searching for the heart. She found it in the tall grass and clutched it in her hand, but then something else on the ground caught her eye: Gramma Tala’s walking stick. Moana picked it up, concerned. “Gramma…”
The blare of a conch shell wailed in the distance as a warrior raced up wearing a grave expression. “Chief,” he said. “Your mother!”
Moana ran toward Gramma Tala’s fale as fast as she could. She made her way through a group of villagers who circled the outside of the hut. Inside, Moana found Gramma Tala on her back, almost lifeless. Sina sat by her side. Tui rushed in, and he and Moana shared a worried look.
“We found her at the edge of the water,” said the warrior.
“What can be done?” asked Tui.
Moana watched him talk to the warrior, slowly moving closer to listen in on their conversation, when she felt a hand gently touch hers. She turned to see Gramma Tala reaching out to her and trying to whisper something.
Moana bent down close, putting her ear next to Gramma Tala’s lips.
“Go,” Gramma Tala whispered.
“Not now, I can’t,” said Moana.
“You must.” Gramma Tala’s voice sounded weak and raspy. “The ocean chose you. Follow the fishhook—”
“Gramma—”
“And when you find Maui, you grab him by the ear, and you say, ‘I am Moana of Motunui….You will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te Fiti.’”
“I can’t leave you,” said Moana with tears in her eyes.
“There is nowhere you could go that I won’t be with you. You will find a way, Moana,” Gramma Tala said, giving her a hongi. “You will find your way….”
As the healer hurried in, Gramma Tala pressed her shell necklace into Moana’s hand and whispered, “Go.”
Moana glanced down at the necklace. She remembered seeing the first ancestor with the same sunrise shell necklace in the wayfinders’ cavern. He had placed it around the neck of the young wayfinder, someone who used the sun, wind, moon, stars, and currents to navigate with, who sailed off in search of new islands.
She wrapped her hand tightly around it and backed out of the fale. Outside, she looked up at the stars twinkling against the dark night sky and scanned them, searching for the constellation of Maui’s hook. She found it, and without another thought, Moana placed Te Fiti’s heart securely inside Gramma Tala’s necklace and fastened it around her neck. She had made up her mind. She was going to go.
Moana hurried to her fale and collected supplies. Sina appeared and surprised Moana by handing her a rope, along with a few more things for her journey. They stared at each other, trying to read each other’s thoughts. Then Sina moved aside, allowing Moana to walk by.
Moana hurried out of the village, passing a black banyan tree, its dead leaves crunching beneath her feet. She went to the secret cavern and climbed into one of the canoes.
Pushing off, she launched the boat and paddled through the great waterfall into the lagoon.
As she sailed out, she turned back toward her village and saw the light in Gramma Tala’s fale go out. Moana knew that meant Gramma had passed away, and she felt a great sadness. Suddenly, a glow appeared on the shore, catching her eye. It streaked through the water toward her. As it rocketed under the boat, she could see that it was a spectral manta ray. It continued toward the open ocean, breaching over the reef, illuminating a safe passage for Moana to follow.
With the light of the moon above and the manta ray below, Moana felt certain she was doing the right thing.
Determined, she paddled toward the reef, and as a wave swelled toward her, she opened her sail, ready to face it. She guided the canoe over the massive swell, riding the wave, and as it crashed, Moana blasted over the reef!
She looked back once more at the island of Motunui and watched as her home disappeared in the distance. Turning her eyes to the open ocean, Moana felt a rush of excitement.
She gazed up at the stars and focused on the constellation of Maui’s hook. With her fingers curled around the necklace, she set out to find the demigod.
Moana paddled through the night and into the next day. With the bright sun shining down, she repeated and rehearsed what Gramma Tala had told her to say to Maui, like a mantra. “I am Moana of Motunui, you will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te
Fiti. I am Moana of—” A strange clucking noise stopped her, and she peered into the cargo hold of the boat.
A coconut rose up, and the sound was loud and clear: Bagock!
“Heihei?” Moana said, removing the coconut to reveal the silly rooster. Heihei took one look at the ocean and his crooked eyes went wide. He screeched and screamed as if attempting to seek help from every corner of the ocean! Moana quickly placed the coconut back over his head to silence him. She removed it, and he screeched again. She placed it back on, and he was quiet. She pulled it off once more, and he did not react at all.
“It’s okay, see?” said Moana. “You’re all right. There we go, yeah, nice water. The ocean’s a friend of mine.” Heihei looked at the water and walked right off the boat! His scrawny clawed feet stuck straight up as he bobbed up and down in the sea.
Moana jumped in to save him, and the boat started moving away from her. Holding on to Heihei, she swam for the boat, grabbing it before it drifted too far. Once they were back on board, Heihei tried to walk off again, so Moana put him in the cargo hold and told him to stay there.
“Okay, next stop: Maui,” Moana said, grabbing the oar. Then she returned to practicing her speech, figuring out exactly how to say it and which words to emphasize. “I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te Fiti.”
Later that night, Moana struggled, trying to keep the boat on course through strong winds. “I am Moana of Motunui,” she chanted. “You will board my boat, sail across the sea, and restore the heart of Te Fiti.”
It wasn’t long before she became very tired, but she continued repeating her speech. “I…am Moana…of…Motu…” she said, slurring her words. The ocean splashed her awake. “Board my boat!” she shouted, but when she looked up for the constellation, she couldn’t find it. She spun around and there it was, behind her! As she tried to change directions, the wind pushed her off balance and the boat started to tip. She tried to right it, but the boat capsized, sending her into the ocean. She rose to the surface to see her food floating away—along with her oar. She decided to splash the water, trying to get its attention. “Uh, ocean…can I get a little help?” she asked.
While she waited for the ocean to respond, she tried to collect her things. Then a deep rumbling noise thundered from the sky. A storm was brewing. Giving up on her supplies, she reached for her oar and tried to right the boat.
“Come on….Help! Come on!” she begged the ocean. “Help me! PLEASE!”
But the waves grew bigger and became more violent. Moana helplessly clung to the canoe as it was tossed around the rough sea like a tiny toy boat. A mountainous wave came toward her and crashed down hard. Then everything went black.
When Moana opened her eyes, she found herself washed up on an island. She spit the sand from her mouth and shook herself off. Her canoe was on its side, and Heihei was standing on the mast, with a basket on his head. He stepped off, falling to the ground, his head buried in the sand and his clawed feet sticking straight up. Moana immediately felt her necklace. She was relieved to find the heart of Te Fiti still safe inside.
Moana studied her boat and then walked angrily to the water’s edge. “Um…what? I said ‘help me,’ and tidal-waving my boat? NOT HELPING!” she shouted, kicking her foot toward the ocean. The water retreated, causing her to fall on her rear. She took another look at her boat and then turned back to the ocean.
“Fish pee in you! All day! So…” Moana said, pointing to the ocean. It made her feel just a tiny bit better.
Heihei, with his head still stuck in the basket, pecked at a big rock. But this wasn’t a regular rock. It was covered in thousands of check marks that together formed the shape of a giant fishhook! She scanned the ground and spotted oversized footprints that led to a makeshift camp.
“Maui…?” Moana said.
An ocean wave gestured toward her, giving what looked like a very human nod.
She lowered her eyes sheepishly, realizing the ocean had helped get her there. But before she could apologize, she heard a noise and a giant shadow approached. Moana gasped.
“Maui,” she said nervously.
Moana clutched her oar in one hand and Heihei in the other as she ducked behind the boat, trying to prepare herself. “Maui, demigod of the wind and sea? I am Moana of Motunui. You will board my boat—no—you will board my boat—you will board my boat, yeah.”
“Boat!” a deep voice rumbled all around her. “A BOAT!”
A man suddenly appeared, but he was more like a mountain! His dark, muscular body was covered in a tapestry of tattoos, and a wild, curly mop of black hair fell around his broad shoulders. A necklace of whale teeth hung around his neck, and he wore a skirt made of big green banana leaves. The man smiled from ear to ear, revealing a slight gap in his two front teeth, as he joyfully lifted the boat. “THE GODS HAVE GIVEN ME A B—AGH!” He was so shocked to see Moana that he almost dropped the boat on her head. He lifted it again but only saw Heihei, buried in the sand up to his neck. Confused, he looked around.
Moana popped up behind him. “Maui?”
As he turned to face Moana, the boat he was still holding almost knocked her down.
Moana recovered, and as Maui loomed over her, she forced the words to come out of her mouth. “Shape-shifter? Demigod of the wind and sea?” Moana tried her best to sound confident. She took a deep breath. “I am Moan—”
“Hero of men,” Maui said, interrupting her.
“What?”
“Maui, shape-shifter, demigod of the wind and sea, hero of men. I interrupted. From the top—hero of men. Go,” Maui instructed her.
“Uh—I am Mo—” Moana started.
“Sorry, sorry, and women. Men and women—both, all—not a guy/girl thing—hero to all,” Maui said. “You’re doing great,” he added in a whisper.
Confused, Moana pushed her oar toward him. “What—no, I’m here to—” Moana started.
“Of course, yes, Maui always has time for his fans,” said Maui, assuming she was just too taken with his charm and beauty to speak coherently. He grabbed the oar from her and picked up Heihei, gripping him like a pen. Then he used Heihei’s beak to scratch the symbol of a hook onto the oar, signing his autograph. He added a heart. He winked at her as he finished signing with a dramatic flair. “Eh? I know, not every day you meet your hero—”
Moana looked down at the autograph and then jabbed Maui in the gut with the oar. He doubled over, and she grabbed his ear.
“You are not my hero! You are the dirt basket who stole the heart of Te Fiti!” she yelled, showing him the heart. “And you will board my boat, sail across the sea, and put it back!” She tried to pull Maui toward the boat, but it was like trying to move a brick wall. He wouldn’t budge. Maui placed his giant hand on top of Moana’s head and pulled her off the ground with ease. He set her down on the sand and looked at her, a bit confused.
“Um, yeah…almost sounded like you don’t like me, which is impossible, ’cause everyone knows I only got stuck here trying to get the heart for you mortals….But what I believe you were trying to say…is thank you,” said Maui.
“Thank you?” Moana was stunned.
“You’re welcome,” replied Maui.
“What? No, that’s not—I wasn’t—” said Moana, sputtering to try to explain.
Once again, Maui interrupted her and started talking more specifically about how great he was.
Maui pointed out one of his tattoos, showing it to Moana. It was a small image of himself—a Mini Maui. The tattoo came to life and gave Maui a high five. Then Mini Maui hopped across Maui’s body, from tattoo to tattoo, as Maui told Moana about all the wonderful things he had done for the world.
Moana watched, amazed, as the animated tattoos played out the stories of Maui’s great accomplishments. One tattoo showed how Maui stole fire from the fierce earthquake god to bring it to the humans. Another showed him lassoing the sun to stretch out the daylight hours. With Mini Maui acting as gui
de, the tattoos continued to illustrate how Maui had helped humankind with just about everything: the sky, the tides, the breeze, the grass—even the coconut trees!
Once he had finished describing his glorious past, Maui smiled and said one final “You’re welcome.” Then he swiftly shoved Moana into a cave, rolled a boulder over the entrance, and trapped her inside! “Thank you,” he added. Moana yelled, but Maui simply skipped down to the beach, excited to get into Moana’s canoe and finally leave the island.
Mini Maui pulled at Maui’s arm angrily. “What?” said Maui, looking at the tattoo. “No, I’m not going to Te Fiti with some kid; I’m gonna go get my hook. You have yours; I need mine.” Maui put a finger on the tattoo. “Talk to the back,” he said, flicking it over his shoulder and onto his back.
Bagock! clucked Heihei.
Maui grabbed Heihei by the neck and smiled as he eyed the rooster. “Boat snack!” he said. Then he hauled the canoe into the water and climbed on board.
Inside Maui’s cave, Moana threw her body against the boulder, but it was far too big and heavy for her to move. She looked around, searching for another way out, and sprinted into a narrow canyon. It dead-ended at a platform where Maui had been sculpting a life-sized statue of himself. Moana scanned the area, looking for options. It seemed as though the only way out was up through the steep funnel cliff. But how could she get to it?
She climbed the statue of Maui, which was so tall it reached the top of the cave. Then she pressed her feet against the side of the cave, using all her strength to push the statue over on its side. She jumped on top of it and rode it as it tumbled toward the opening. Once she was directly underneath the funnel, she leapt up and wedged her body into the opening. With her hands and feet flat against the narrow walls, she climbed toward the blue sky.
Meanwhile, Maui danced on the deck of the boat. “Goodbye, island!” he sang. Mini Maui nudged him. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s a beautiful cave; she’s gonna love it,” he said. Then he looked at Heihei. “And I’m gonna love you. In my belly. Let’s fatten you up, Drumstick,” he said, sprinkling food for the rooster.
Moana Junior Novel Page 3