Parrot to the Rescue in Maori by Mia Bowen Copyright © 2014. All Rights Reserved
	Jack and Lisa were on school holidays, but it hadn't been a fun holidays yet. It had been raining every day!
"Look!" cried Jack, pointing out the window. "Finally the sun is out!" "Why don't you go on a picnic? You can spend all day outside," suggested Mum.
	First they went down to the shed to find Pita. "Kia ora! E haere ana tātou ki hea i tēnei rā?" squawked Pita.
"E haere ana tātou ki te roto mō tētahi pikiniki," replied Jack.
	"Me haere tātou ki te roto!" squawked Pita. And with a big flap of the wings, he was off leading the way up the path.
"Te wera hoki," said Lisa, wiping her face with her hand. "E hiainu ana ahau." "Me ahau hoki," said Jack. "Ke hea te remuneiti?"
Suddenly, something large swooped down from the sky towards Lisa. Lisa screamed, "Aie!! Āwhina! Āwhina mai i au!"
It was a ferocious magpie and she was on the attack. She thought they were too close to her nest.
"Kei te aha kē?" cried Jack in alarm. "Haere atu!" shouted Jack, flapping his arms around his head as the magpie targeted him. "Māku kōrua a āwhina!" squawked Pita. He chased the magpie high up into the tree, while Jack and Lisa disappeared down the path.
	They ran and ran and ran until they were out of breath ... "Slow down!" cried Lisa. "I think we're lost! I can't see the way to the lake any more."
Lisa looked up into the sky and saw Pita flying above. "E tū, e Pita!" called Lisa. "Kua ngaro māua! Kei hea te huarahi? Kāore i kitea e māua."
	"Māku e rapu mā kōrua!" squawked Pita as he zoomed down through the trees and along the path. "Whai mai i au!" he screeched.
"Āta haere!" puffed Jack. "Kāore e taea e māua te rere pērā i a koe! Me haere kē māua mā te ngāhere," he called.
"Arā te roto! Kātahi anō!" cried Lisa.
"Kia ora mō tō āwhina, e Pita!" said Jack. "Kei te pai e kare mā," replied Pita, preening his feathers in embarrassment.
	They sat down beside the lake and started to set up their picnic.
First, they started with some fruit. Pita called out as his favourite food appeared out of the backpack ...
"... he pītiti, he whereki, he pirikōti, he panana, he ārani ..."
"... he tiere, he pea, he wāina ..."
Pita eyed all the food with interest as it was placed on the picnic blanket. "E tino matekai ana ahau. Pai noa iho taku kai i tēnei?" he asked, bobbing his head towards a slice of fruit cake.
...............	"Kaua e kai i tēnā!" said Lisa, grabbing the cake. "Kei te muia e te pōpokorua." She tried to brush all the ants off. It was difficult. "Kei te matekai ngā pōpokorua ..." said Jack. "Ā, he rawe ki a rātou te keke." "Kaua e āwangawanga!" squawked Pita. "He pai ki au te keke, me ngā pōpokorua!" Lisa raised her eyebrows at Jack. "Ugghhhh!" laughed Jack and Lisa together.
"Te parāoa!" squawked Pita. "I haria mai e koe te parāoa?" "Āe," replied Lisa. "Kāore i wareware i au." Pita happily grabbed a chunk of bread in his beak.
"He tīhi tāu?" asked Jack. "Āna! Anei," replied Lisa as she pulled it out of the backpack. "Hōmai koa te naihi," he added. "Kia ora rā," mumbled Jack through a mouthful of cheese and bread. They all ate for a while, chatting and laughing together.
"Kua nui tēnā?" asked Lisa. "He mea anō mā kōrua?" "Kāo ... Kua mate taku puku. He nui rawa pea," said Jack. "Kāore!" squawked Pita. They all laughed.
They spent the rest of the afternoon climbing trees, exploring and running around.
The sun was starting to get very low in the sky. "Kua reiti rawa," squawked Pita. "Āe, me hoki tātou ki te kāinga," said Jack.
They packed up their things and headed home down the path away from the lake .... tired, happy and not the slightest bit hungry. Soon they could see the roof of their house through the trees. It was good to be home.
...............	Magpie was happy to be alone again. She was even happier when she discovered some bread they had left behind.