Huia Short Stories 11 Page B

there.’
    â€˜What do you mean?’
    â€˜It’s his mind.’
    â€˜Huh?’ said No’o, confused.
    â€˜Taiki’s a powerful warrior and leader because he has a powerful body and a powerful mind. The body is visible but the mind is his invisible weapon.’
    â€˜Huh? That’s not a weapon. That’s his head and it’s not invisible. What can you do with a head?’
    â€˜You know some things that it does already.’
    â€˜Like what?’
    â€˜It sees. It has eyes, and because you can turn your head, it can see everywhere. You can also use your eyes to talk. That’s good, huh?’
    She leant her head to the side, turned the corners of her mouth downward, and performed a pÅ«kana, rolling her bulging eyeballs from side to side. No’o cringed, unsure if he liked that or not.
    â€˜That’s ugly!’
    â€˜Shut your eyes for a second,’ she said. ‘I’ll show you something else.’
    No’o shut his eyes. She reached out and flicked his ears.
    â€˜Ow!’ he yelled, catching the attention of the group nearby. ‘What did you do that for?’
    â€˜Now you know what I mean. You have two eyes in your head, so use them.’
    â€˜That’s stupid,’ he said.
    She continued.
    â€˜Not only can the head see, but it can breathe. Without breathing, you’re dead.’
    â€˜Huh?’
    â€˜Go on! Do it!’
    No’o took a deep breath and then puffed up his chest and his cheeks and squeezed his lips together. Haani couldn’t believe how easy this was.
    â€˜That’s a good boy. Now you keep that up, and I’ll keep talking.’
    On she went, his face slowly getting redder and redder. By now everyone could see something strange was going on. No’o noticed and tried even harder. He let out a breath and quietly sucked in another. Almost immediately several people began to laugh at his puffed up chest and tiny red face. Unamused, he stood up and reached for his stick. Suddenly his head began to spin and he fell forward, his head landing heavily in the sand. The group burst into laughter at the sight of his bare bum in the air. He was so angry he leapt to his feet and pulled his loin cloth back down. He then reached out for his stick again, and his whole world spun out of control. He fell back into Haani’s arms. She held him close so he couldn’t see her smile. He was already sulking.
    â€˜Your head will stop spinning soon. Just stay still, calm down. You’ve just learnt your first and most important lesson as a warrior. All life’s important lessons you learn from a grandmother.’
    â€˜What lesson?’ he asked, still wounded.
    â€˜Where the head goes, the body will follow! Now, don’t ever forget what a grandmother told you! So, do you know what else the head can do, No’o?’
    â€˜What?’ he asked, still sulking.
    â€˜It can eat and drink. This is how you make the body strong and healthy. Don’t put anything in your mouth that makes you cough or throw up. It’s bad for you.’
    â€˜You said Taiki has an invisible weapon, but now you’re just making things up.’
    â€˜He has. Let me finish. He has ears too. You should try and use them instead of having them there just to get clipped.’
    She clipped his ears again to make a point.
    â€˜Ow!’ he squealed, covering his ears with his hands for the second time.
    â€˜So use your ears, and I’ll tell you the invisible part of his secret weapon. You want to hear it?’
    â€˜Only if it’s something real.’
    â€˜It’s real and it’s invisible. It’s his mind.’
    â€˜Huh?’
    â€˜Yeah! It’s his mind.You know the head is tapu, don’t you?’
    â€˜I thought it was only the chief’s head that’s tapu.’
    â€˜That’s what most people believe, but everyone’s head is tapu, not just his. Don’t be scared of touching