Explains the origin of edible things on the reef

This is about a man (being) called Pwiopwio who came over the sea on a raft of banana stalks. He came ashore, left the raft, and went up to the village, when the men were all away, and took all the fire-sticks. When the men returned they searched in vain for their fire-sticks. They made another fire (by rubbing), and when they had again left the village this being came again, and took away all the fire-sticks. An old man had remained during the day, and when they returned they accused him of taking the fire, but he said,

“It was not I.”

They said,

“It could only have been you.”

Again when they left the village he remained, and he said,

“Now they have gone away I will remain here all day and watch.”

He waited quietly till the being should come ashore, and he said,

“I am going to catch this strange thing. They have accused me, when I did not do it.”

So he took spikes of tree-fern stem and went and waited at his house. Pwiopwio then came up to take the fire-sticks. From the back of his neck hung a half-mile-long fibrous tumor. When he was at the house he coiled it up and left the end loose, and then he went down and embarked on his raft. When he was some distance away the old man took the tree-fern spikes, came out, and spiked the growth down. Pwiopwio, with the fire-sticks, now started to paddle up the coast. After he had gone out a long way he found that he was fast, so he came ashore again. He pulled the raft ashore saying,

“It’s all right, its’ all right.”

He went up the hill, and when he was near, the old man pulled out the tree-fern spikes. He came up to see what was the trouble, and he said,

“Its all right.”

Again he went down, and the old man spiked him down a second time. He went right away down to the sea, took his banana-stalk raft to go up the coast, and when he had paddled a long way out he could make no further progress. Again he came ashore, and went up to the houses just as the men were returning, and he said,

“It’s all right, its all right.”

When he was still on the road the men came back. The old man called to the,

“Come quickly, I have caught this strange creature which has taken our fire-sticks again and again.”

They seized Pwiopwio, killed him, and cut him in several pieces and case him into the sea. And there he lives still in the form of the edible things on the reef.