It is said that long, long ago, people from the islands of Tahiti traveled across the oceans to Hawaii. They traveled in ordinary canoes.

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The loaded the canoes with food, water, animals and even some plants. They traveled for many, many days and finally reached an island on which there were tick forests and streams. They discovered that many bushes had berries which they could eat. These people settled happily on the islands.

Many, many centauries ago, nobody lived on the islands of New Zealand. Then the Maori people came from Polynesia and made their homes on North Island.

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They traveled hundreds of miles across the wide Pacific Ocean in canoes. Whole families went in the canoes.

When the Maoris first reached North Island, they were very hungry. So they all went hunting. One of them found a kiwi bird. It was such a strange creature, the Mori was not sure he could eat it.

“Are you a bird?’’ he asked it. “If you are, where are your wings? I don’t think I can eat a bird that hasn’t any wings.’’

Now it so happens that kiwis do have wings, even if they can’t fly with them because their wings are only two inches long. The kiwis stick their heads under their wings when they go to sleep. When they are walking about, their wings don’t show.

But this kiwi was no fool. It did not want to be eaten, so it said: “Wings? Of course I heave not got any wings. So you cannot eat me, can you? But if you like, I will show you some food.’’ It toddled off on its short, little legs, and the man followed it.

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Soon they came to some bushes loaded with berries. The man began to pick them. While he was busy, the kiwi scuttled off, and did not stop till it was hidden far away in the deep forest. It did not want the Maoris to discover it had wings after all!

Today, everyone loves the funny kiwi birds, and no one hunts them. But the kiwi takes no chances of being caught. They still hide in the deep forests for fear.