Young Ones

Te Ao Hou, March 1969, Page 50

Young Ones ‘One, two, three and away we go …’ comes the shout from the top of the tree then splash! Papa hits the water. Like a cauldron the water bubbles and boils, then up comes Papa's face, bright with excitement. Then there's a ‘whirlpool’ as Julie jumps in, quite sure that if a boy can do it, so can she. Well, it takes all kinds. Dawn screams as Jamie pushes her into the creek. But it's all in fun, just like everything else we do here. I may be wrong, but I think the aim of any Maori is to be happy. And why not? Being happy makes the harder tasks in life so much easier. Teresa is the showgirl of us all. She is

quite content to stand on the bank and pretend she is on stage either acting, or dancing and singing. Like the rest of her family, she has natural talent for such things. Eugene rides up on his horse and all at once everyone is around him. ‘Can I have a ride please Eugene?’ ‘Go on, eh, Eugene, let me and Julie have the first ride’. ‘No!’ says Eugene firmly, ‘Just shut up you girls. Papa and I are having the first ride’. Never mind. We'll wait here for Tony and Mark to bring us some apples from the tree yonder. About fifteen minutes have passed and we're still waiting for those boys. Well they can have the horse then. We're going in for another swim. Afterwards we'll go for a walk and may-be steal some fruit. Indeed it's a good life. Isn't it always when you're a Maori?