The old tapa cloth, made from the bark of trees, had a simple image of the ocean painted across it. For the audience of the story, the waves seemed to come to life in their imagination each time the storyteller told the ancient tale.

 

"In the beginning, there was only ocean," the storyteller said as the little waves rose and fell, "until an island emerged: the mother island, Te Fiti."

 

Upon the tapa, the listeners could almost see the appearance of an island goddess, rising up from the ocean and growing in size as the storyteller continued. "Her heart had the power to create life itself. And she shared that power with the world." The lovely goddess lay on her side, the curves of her body becoming mountains and valleys. It appeared to be the birth of a perfect world. A spiraling heart blazed at the very center of the island and a force radiated from it, sprouting¹ beautiful trees and plants.

 

"But in time," the storyteller continued, "some began to covet² Te Fiti's heart, believing if they could possess it, the heart's life-giving power would be theirs alone." A variety of wicked creatures appeared below the image of Te Fiti, eyeing her heart. "And one day, the most brazen³ of them all voyaged across the vast ocean to take it."

 

A small boat appeared upon the tapa, sailing across the rippling⁴ waves with a giant man, full of muscles and carrying a fishhook, at the helm. The man jumped off the boat, leapt into the sky, and magically transformed into an enormous hawk⁵. Soaring through the sky, the hawk flew toward the lush island of Te Fiti with great purpose and determination.

 

Once it landed on the island, the hawk turned into a chunky green lizard⁶. It quickly and quietly scampered⁷ through the dense⁸ foliage⁹, its tail slithering behind. When it reached large rocks, it transitioned into a tiny bug¹⁰ to remain unseen and squeezed between them. The bug emerged on the other side and turned back into the man. Behind the shadows, the man anxiously eyed the spiral surrounding the pulsing heart at the island's center.

 

"He was a demigod of the wind and sea," said the storyteller. "A trickster, a shape-shifter with a magical fishhook. And his name was Maui."

 

Gripping his enormous fishhook, Maui stuck its point beneath the heart and pried¹¹ it from the spiral. He proudly flipped¹² it into the air before catching¹³ it. Then, to Maui's surprise, the ground began to shake.

 

In the listeners' minds, the trees on the tapa withered¹⁴ and died as life drained from the land, and the island began to turn to dust. Maui somersaulted off a rocky outcropping and raced to the island's edge. High above the ocean, he jumped off a cliff and, in mid-air, transformed back into a hawk. With a few mighty¹⁵ flaps, he reached his boat.

 

"Maui tried to escape, but he was confronted by another who sought the heart: Te Kā, a demon¹⁶ of earth and fire!" said the storyteller. Her voice grew deeper and more dramatic. She took a moment to savor¹⁷ making her audience wait.

 

Te Kā, a massive lava¹⁸ monster, rose up out of ash clouds with great fury, screaming and screeching¹⁹ in anger. Bright volcanic²⁰ lightning flashed all around, and bits of hot lava spewed from its top as it started toward Maui. Maui brandished²¹ his hook and leapt at Te Kā. The two collided, causing a blinding explosion.

 

"Maui was struck from the sky, never to be seen again. His magical fishhook and the heart of Te Fiti were lost to the sea ... ," the storyteller said.

 

The drawing on the tapa showed Maui's hook and Te Fiti's heart as they fell into the rippling ocean waves and disappeared.

 

Gramma Tala, the storyteller, stood, holding the tapa cloth up for her audience of children to see. Her eyes peeked²² mysteriously over the tapa, and as she continued with the tale, her voice got louder and louder, building to the finish.

 

"... where, even now, a thousand years later, Te Kā and the demons²³ of the deep still lurk²⁴, hiding in a darkness that will continue to spread, chasing away our fish, draining the life from island after island, until every one of us is devoured²⁵ by the bloodthirsty jaws²⁶ of inescapable death!"

 

Silence fell as most of Gramma Tala's toddler audiences looked up at her with tears in their eyes, terrified. A small boy in the front row sighed and fainted, collapsing²⁷ to the floor! But one of the girls leaned forward, thrilled by the story. She clapped her hands and smiled excitedly, as if begging for more. The little girl's name was Moana.

 

"But one day, the heart will be found," continued Gramma Tala, "by someone who will journey beyond our reef, find Maui, deliver him across the great ocean to restore Te Fiti's heart ... and save us all."

 

Just as Gramma Tala prepared to launch into another story, Chief Tui hurried in. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Mother, that's enough." He scooped²⁸ up Moana and gave her a hongi, lovingly pressing his nose and forehead against hers.

 

"No one goes beyond our reef," he said, reminding the children of the island's most important rule. "We are safe here. There is no darkness; there are no monsters—" He accidentally knocked into the side of the fale, a hut with a thatched roof, causing the tapa screens with the images of monsters painted on them to unravel²⁹ and wave around. The kids shrieked³⁰ with fear and jumped on Tui, knocking him over.

 

"Monster! Monster!" they screamed.

 

"It's the darkness!" shouted one of the many frightened kids.

 

"This is how it ends!"

 

"I'm gonna throw up!"

 

They continued to scream and pile on top of Tui, kneeing him as they panicked.

 

"No, no! There is no darkness," Tui said as one of the kids kicked him in his side. "As long as we stay within our reef"—another little knee slammed into his gut—"we'll be fine!" Tui grunted³¹, catching his breath and attempting to calm the children down.

 

"The legends are true; someone will have to go!" shouted Gramma Tala, feeding the frenzy³² of fear.

 

"Mother, Motunui is paradise," said Tui, breaking free from the pileup of toddlers. He dusted himself off and finished his thought. "Who would want to go anywhere else?"

 

Off in the corner of the fale, little Moana stood in front of the tapa with her big eyes fixed³³ on the image of Te Fiti. As the cloth blew in the wind, Moana could see the vast ocean sparkling between the palm trees in the distance.

 

It seemed that the ocean was calling to her as the waves danced and waved before breaking on the shore. Moana smiled and stared, mesmerized³⁴ by the beautiful blue water. Then, without anyone noticing because of all the commotion³⁵, she quietly slipped out of the fale.

 

在一块由树皮制成的古塔帕布上，勾勒着一幅简单的海景图。每当故事叙述者诉说那古老的故事时，画中海浪似乎在听众们的想象中涌动起来。

 

“起初，世界只是一片汪洋，”故事叙述者说道，小海浪也跟着起伏，“后来，一座岛屿出现了，那便是我们的母亲岛——特菲提。”

 

随着故事叙述者的讲述，听众们几乎可以看到一位海岛女神出现在塔帕布上，只见她从海洋里徐徐升起，身形逐渐变大。“她的心拥有造物的神力，而且她还与世界共享这种力量。”这位美丽的女神侧卧着，她的身体曲线化作了山脉和溪谷。一个完美的世界应运而生。她那颗螺旋状的心在海岛中央闪闪发光，一股神力从中散发出来，滋养出美丽的树木和花草。

 

“可后来，”故事叙述者继续说道，“有人开始觊觎特菲提之心，认为只要拥有这颗心，就能独霸它的造物神力。”一群邪恶的家伙聚集在特菲提岛下方，虎视眈眈地盯着特菲提之心。“一天，他们中最无耻的那些坏蛋驶过浩瀚的海洋来抢夺它。”

 

一艘小船出现在塔帕布上，在微波粼粼的海面上航行着，掌舵的是一位肌肉健硕、手持鱼钩的巨人。他跳下船，一跃冲天，神奇地变成了一只巨鹰，在空中翱翔，然后野心勃勃地朝苍翠繁茂的特菲提岛飞去。

 

巨鹰一着陆就变成了一只粗壮的绿蜥蜴。他悄悄地快速穿过茂密的丛林，尾巴拖在身后滑行着。爬到巨岩前，他又摇身一变，成了一只毫不起眼的小臭虫，在岩石缝间穿行着。小臭虫到达另一边后就变回了人形。他躲在幽暗处，密切注视着一个漩涡，这漩涡正包围着岛中央那颗跳动的特菲提之心。

 

“他是主宰风和海的半神，”故事叙述者说道，“是魔术师，手持神奇的鱼钩法杖、精通变形。他就是毛伊。”

 

毛伊握紧巨型鱼钩，精准地刺向那颗心，将它从旋涡中撬了出来。他得意地把特菲提之心往空中一抛，还没来得及接住它，大地就开始剧烈摇晃，毛伊大吃一惊。

 

“没了特菲提之心，特菲提岛必将天崩地裂，陷入可怕的黑暗之中。”故事叙述者继续讲道。她的声音越来越大，透出一股末日之感。

 

在听众们的脑海中，塔帕布上的特菲提岛生机尽逝，草木凋敝，整座岛屿也开始分崩离析。毛伊一脚蹬在一块裸露的岩石上翻了个筋斗，朝岸边冲去。他从海洋上空高高的悬崖上一跃而下，在半空中又变回巨鹰，用力地扑棱了几下翅膀，就飞回了他的船上。

 

“毛伊正欲逃离，却碰上了另一个来抢夺特菲提之心的人——地火之魔恶卡。”故事叙述者说道。她的声音变得愈发深沉，愈发激动人心。她还细细回味了会儿，让听众们干等着。

 

恶卡这个巨大的火山恶魔从火山灰云中腾空而起，怒不可遏地嘶吼着。他朝毛伊冲去，明亮夺目的火山电光四射，滚烫的岩浆从它头顶喷溅而出。毛伊挥舞着鱼钩，纵身冲向恶卡，两强相撞，碰撞产生的光芒让人眼睛都睁不开。

 

“毛伊在半空中被撞落，之后便踪影全无。他神奇的鱼钩法杖和特菲提之心也一并落入海里……”故事叙述者讲道。

 

塔帕布上，毛伊的鱼钩和特菲提之心一起沉入波浪起伏的大海中，然后消失不见了。

 

塔拉祖母——这个讲故事的人——起身举起塔帕布给孩子们看。她神秘地瞥了一眼那块布，然后继续讲道，她的声音越来越大，给故事结尾营造气氛。

 

“……然而，直到现在，一千年过去了，恶卡和海洋深处的恶魔仍然潜伏着。他们躲在持续蔓延的黑暗之中，驱赶着我们的鱼类，让一座座岛屿生机尽逝，直到我们所有人都被死亡之神的血盆大口吞噬才算结束！”

 

顿时屋内一片寂静，大多数蹒跚学步的小听众们都被吓坏了，他们抬起头盯着塔拉祖母，眼里噙着泪水。坐在前排的一个小男孩叹了口气便昏了过去，竟一头栽倒在地上！但其中一个小女孩却身子前倾，听得津津有味，还拍着小手兴奋地笑着，看上去意犹未尽。这个小女孩就是莫阿娜。

 

“总有一天，特菲提之心会被找回，”塔拉祖母说道，“会有人离开我们的礁石，找到毛伊，和他一起穿越广阔的海洋，将特菲提之心归位……拯救我们所有人。”

 

塔拉祖母正准备讲另一个故事时，图伊酋长冲了进来，说道：“哇哦，哇哦，哇哦！母亲，您说得够多了。”他一把抱起莫阿娜，慈爱地将自己的鼻子与前额同莫阿娜的贴在一起，来了个碰鼻礼。

 

“谁都不得离开我们的礁石，”他提醒孩子们记住岛上最重要的铁律，“我们这儿很安全，不会有黑暗，也不会有怪物——”这时，他不小心撞到部落茅屋的墙壁，使得塔帕布摇晃起来，布上的怪兽开始四处逃窜。孩子们吓得惊声尖叫，都跳到图伊酋长身上，把他撞倒在地。

 

“有怪兽！有怪兽！”他们尖叫道。

 

“这就是黑暗！”其中一个吓坏的孩子大声喊道。

 

“结局就是这样！”

 

“我吓得要吐了！”

 

他们压在图伊酋长身上你一言我一语地嚷着，都惊慌失措地用膝盖顶他。

 

“不，不是！这里不会有黑暗，”图伊酋长说，这时一个孩子踢了他的肋骨一脚，“只要我们不出礁石”——另一个孩子的膝盖又猛地撞到他的肚子——“我们就绝对安全！”他喘了口气，然后咕哝道，试图让孩子们冷静下来。

 

“传说都是真的！必须有人去！”塔拉祖母吼道。这让孩子们更害怕了。

 

“母亲，莫图鲁尼岛就是天堂。”图伊酋长边说边从小家伙堆里挣脱出来。他掸了掸身上的尘土，决定就此打住。“谁想去其他地方？”

 

在部落茅屋的一角，小莫阿娜站在塔帕布前，睁大眼睛一动不动地注视着特菲提岛。塔帕布在风中飘动，莫阿娜透过棕榈树间的空隙可以看见浩瀚的海洋在远处闪闪发光。

 

海浪跳跃起伏，然后拍打在海岸上，大海似乎正在召唤她。莫阿娜面带微笑，出神地望着它，完全被这梦幻般的蓝色海水迷住了。接着，她悄悄溜了出去，由于屋里一片混乱，没有人注意到了她。

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