As the years passed, Moana's parents taught her to appreciate life on the island of Motunui. She took comfort in traditions. She learned the songs. She knew what a valuable resource the coconut¹ was—from its sweet meat and water, to its fibers², from which they made nets. She even knew how to weave the different kinds of baskets the villagers used in daily life.

 

Moana knew that the island gave the people of Motunui all they needed. Yet she was still drawn³ to the sea. Moana often stared out at the crystal blue water, wondering what was beyond the island's reef. She loved watching the fishing boats as they sailed into the lagoon⁴ and returned, but her parents would constantly drag her away, back from the water's edge.

 

Only Gramma Tala understood Moana's fascination⁵. The two spent many hours walking the beach together and would often dance with the waves. Gramma Tala always encouraged Moana to follow her heart and listen to the voice inside. She told Moana that listening to that voice would help her figure out who she truly was.

 

One day, Tui led sixteen-year-old Moana up a mountain. They walked higher and higher, until they reached the tallest peak of Motunui. At the very top, Tui showed Moana an enormous pile of stones.

 

"I've wanted to bring you here from the moment you opened your eyes," said Tui. "This is a sacred place. A place of chiefs." Tui stepped toward the stones and put his hand on them. "There will come a time when you embrace what you're meant to do and who you're meant to be, and you will stand on this peak and place a stone on this mountain, like I did, like my father did, and his father, and every chief that has ever been. And on that day, by adding your stone, you will lift this whole island higher. You are the future of our people, Moana. And they are not out there." Tui gestured past the reef, to the vast ocean beyond. "They're right here." He put a hand on Moana's shoulder as the two gazed down toward the village. It was in the distance, at the foot of the mountain. "It's time to be who they need you to be."

 

Moana glanced back at the pile of stones. She reached out and placed her hand on Tui's stone. This was where her stone would go one day. "Do you think I can?" she asked.

 

Tui gave Moana a hongi. "You will be a great chief, Moana of Motunui ... if you let yourself."

 

Moana looked up at her father, thinking about his words and knowing how important it was to him that she follow in his footsteps. She was finally ready. She would take on the responsibility and be the chief her parents wanted her to be.

 

She turned her head from the ocean and stayed focused on the island, committed to finding happiness right there. Moana assured herself there was no reason to look beyond the island's reef. Everything she needed and everything she loved was right there.

 

A few days later, wearing her headband decorated with flowers, and with her pet pig, Pua, by her side, she joined her parents and headed to the council meeting. On the way, Moana spotted⁶ Gramma Tala dancing with the waves on the shore and paused only a moment before continuing to the council fale.

 

Drummers banged out a rhythm on large drums as the village council convened⁷. Tui, Sina, and Moana took their places while the drums rapidly built to a dramatic finish. Tui lowered his battle-ax, signaling everyone to sit. Before he could open his mouth to begin the meeting, a booming voice filled the fale. "PEOPLE OF MOTUNUI!" the official announcer yelled. "CHIEF TUI!"

 

"Thank y—" Chief Tui began, but the man cut him off again.

 

"OF MOTUNUI!"

 

"Thank you," said Tui as he turned toward the crowd. "One day, Moana will lead our people. I'm proud to say that out in the village today, you'll see just how far she's come." He gazed at his daughter with love and handed her the chief's battle-ax. Moana smiled, feeling his pride. Everyone turned to her, as she now had the floor.

 

Moana smiled graciously and took a deep breath, but before she could say anything, the loud voice rang out again. "MOANA OF MOTUNUI!" he screamed right into Moana's ear. She accidentally dropped the heavy battle-ax, nearly chopping off Pua's snout!

 

Throughout the day, Moana was acting⁸ Chief of Motunui to the village as her parents observed her making rounds across the island.

 

When a villager named Maivia complained about his leaky roof, Moana climbed up to the rafters to check it out. Maivia explained to Tui and Sina, "Every storm, the roof leaks on the fire, no matter how many fronds⁹ I add—"

 

From the top of the fale, Moana yelled, "Fixed¹⁰!" She smiled down at them. "It wasn't the fronds; the wind shifted the supports," she said. Then she took a bite of food that Maivia offered her. "That's good pork." She saw Pua by her feet and suddenly felt very bad for sharing that so loudly.

 

Later, Moana stood beside a large man named Tolo, holding his hand as he got a new tattoo¹¹ on his back.

 

"Ow. Ow. Ow," repeated Tolo over and over again, gripping Moana's hand tighter and tighter.

 

"You're doing great," said Moana, trying to sound normal as she attempted to withstand the pain of his strong squeezes.

 

Hours later, Moana continued to hold Tolo's hand even as she felt her hand going numb¹². "Just five more hours," she said to Tolo, wincing¹³ in pain. He squeezed her hand a bit harder. "Ow. Ow. Ow ..."

 

When Tolo's tattoo was finally complete, he stood up and gave Moana a hug, thanking her for her support. Then he hobbled off, walking stiffly toward his fale as Moana tried to shake the soreness out of her hand.

 

Tolo's friend Asoleilei walked by with a big energetic smile and congratulated him. "Manuia!" he shouted, slapping him on the rear. That caused Tolo to wince¹⁴ from the pain, and quickly move away from his friend.

 

Pua tried to keep up as Moana continued the village rounds, helping¹⁵ anyone who needed it. Two little girls and a little boy ran up to her, out of breath, and launched into a story. They spoke¹⁶ loud and fast, talking over each other, as they tried to explain.

 

"Lua hit me," said Loa.

 

"And Loa hit me back," said Lua.

 

"But Loa was like, Wawomodo?" said Loa.

 

"What would Moana do?" explained La'a.

 

"Which is just be awesome," said Lua.

 

"So she stopped punching my face," said Loa.

 

"And made you a picture," said La'a.

 

The kids held up a terrible drawing of Moana stopping a fierce, bloody¹⁷ fight. Moana stared at it, trying to decide how to react.

 

"That's blood," Lua pointed¹⁸ out.

 

Moana smiled and took the drawing, thanking each of them for the special gift.

 

Later, a village cook named Vela found Moana and approached her with a question.

 

"I was wondering about the chicken there eating the rock," Vela said. She gestured to Heihei, a wacky-looking rooster with expressionless, crooked¹⁹ eyes who was trying to swallow a stone. "He seems to lack the minimum intelligence required for self-preservation. Would it be more humane²⁰ to just cook him?"

 

Moana watched as Heihei coughed up the stone and then went back to pecking at it. "Well, sometimes our strengths lie beneath the surface," she said. "Far beneath, in some cases. But I'm sure there's more to Heihei than meets the eye."

 

As Moana continued on her rounds, she met a troubled farmer who showed her the latest crop of coconuts²¹.

 

"It's the harvest," the farmer said. "This morning, I was cleaning the coconuts, and ..."

 

Moana cracked open a seemingly healthy coconut, revealing its black, rotten insides. She leaned in to take a closer look. Tui and Sina peered over Moana to get a glimpse of the terrible sight. Everyone looked at her, waiting to see what she would say.

 

"Well, um ... we should clear the diseased trees. And move to a new grove²²." Moana pointed to an unclaimed area of land and said, "There."

 

The farmer nodded in agreement, and Tui and Sina exchanged a proud look.

 

Feeling great, Moana turned toward her loving parents and the majestic²³ mountain behind them. Then she looked out to the blue ocean, deep in thought. She loved her family, her island, and her village. And she wanted to do what was right for everyone. Finally, she glanced at her father with a sly smile.

 

"I was thinking I might skip dinner," she said.

 

"Is everything all right?" asked Tui, concerned.

 

"Mmm-hmm. I'd rather just take a walk ... up the mountain," Moana said, her smile widening.

 

It took a moment for Tui to understand what she was really saying. Finally, he grinned and stumbled over his words, too proud and happy to speak clearly. "You ... Yes, if ... So you ... ," Tui said to Sina. "She's ... Moana wants to take a walk up the mountain." He lowered his head and quietly added, "She means her stone."

 

Sina smiled, amused. "I got that."

 

As they headed to their fale, a fisherman named Lasalo hurried over to them. "Am I too late?" he asked.

 

Tui stepped up to the man. "Actually, Moana needs to—"

 

"How can I help?" asked Moana, facing the fisherman.

 

Lasalo somberly led Moana to the beach, with Tui and Sina behind them. They stood next to the fishing boat as the fisherman lifted out a net and showed it to Moana. It was completely empty.

 

"Our nets in the east lagoon are pulling up less and less," Lasalo said.

 

"Well, then we'll rotate the fishing grounds," said Moana.

 

"We'll rotate the fishing grounds," Tui repeated.

 

Anxious to get Moana up to Motunui's tallest peak, Tui tried to usher²⁴ her away. But Lasalo continued. "Uh, we have no fish," he said.

 

"Oh, then we'll fish the far side of the island," offered Moana, gesturing toward it.

 

"We tried," said Lasalo.

 

"The windward side?" she asked, her concern growing.

 

"And the leeward²⁵ side, the shallows, the channel; we've tried the whole lagoon! They're just gone," Lasalo said.

 

Moana's face fell as she stared down the beach at the other fishing boats, all returning with empty nets. It wasn't too long ago that she'd watch the boats come in hauling nets bursting with fish. She wondered, How could they all be gone?

 

"I will talk to the council," said Tui. "I'm sure we can find a solution."

 

Moana looked toward the lagoon and her eyes moved beyond the reef to the open ocean; it was new territory. The fishermen had not cast their nets there. She climbed up on a boat to get a better view and took in the vastness of the sea. It was the obvious choice.

 

"What if ... we fish beyond the reef?" Moana asked.

 

The fishermen seemed surprised. Tui and Sina were completely shocked.

 

"No one goes beyond the reef," Tui said, trying to stay calm.

 

"I know, but if we have no fish in the lagoon—"

 

"Moana—"

 

"And there's a whole ocean—"

 

Tui tried to reach for her, but Moana stepped to the front of the boat.

 

"We have one rule," Tui said, raising his voice.

 

"An old rule, when there were fish—"

 

"A rule that keeps us safe instead of endangering our people!" yelled Tui.

 

Moana stared at her father, feeling both angry and ashamed of his outburst.

 

Tui was furious. He knew in his heart that Moana would always yearn²⁶ to sail the open ocean, and he felt that she was selfishly looking for an excuse to do just that. He gritted²⁷ his teeth, watching Moana standing²⁸ steadfast²⁹ on the boat, and then he pulled her back to the sand.

 

"Every time I think you're past this ... ," Tui said. Then he walked away. "No one goes beyond the reef!" he shouted as he picked up his pace, fuming³⁰.

 

一转眼，几年过去了。莫阿娜的父母教会她感激莫图鲁尼岛上的一切。她从传统风俗中汲取了养分，不仅学会了唱歌，还了解到椰子是宝贵的资源——它甘甜可口，鲜嫩多汁，它的纤维还能制作渔网。此外，她甚至还会编织各式各样岛民们日常用的篮子。

 

莫阿娜明白莫图鲁尼的人们在岛上完全能自给自足，但她仍向往大海。她时常盯着晶莹的蔚蓝海水出神，不禁好奇岛上的礁石外究竟是怎样一番景象。她还喜欢看渔船出入环礁湖时的场景，可她父母总会把她从海边拉回来。

 

只有塔拉祖母理解莫阿娜对大海的痴迷。她们俩会花很多时间沿着沙滩并肩漫步，也常常会随着海浪翩翩起舞。塔拉祖母一直鼓励莫阿娜遵循自己的意愿，聆听内心的声音。她还教导莫阿娜，聆听这种声音有助于她了解真正的自己。

 

一天，图伊酋长领着年满16岁的莫阿娜去爬山。他们越爬越高，最后登上了莫图鲁尼岛的最高峰。图伊酋长带她来到了一座位于峰顶上的巨大石堆前。

 

“其实，从你出生的那刻起，我就想带你来这儿，”图伊酋长说道，“这是一块圣地，属于历代酋长。”他朝石堆走去，然后将手放在上面。“总有一天，你会领悟到自己的神圣使命，明白自己将要成为什么样的人。你将站在这峰顶，像我，像你的祖父、曾祖父以及之前的每位酋长那样，摆上代表自己的那块石头。在你摆上石头的那天，你将更高地托起这座海岛，让岛民们生活得更好。莫阿娜，你是大家的希望。而他们并不在礁石外。”图伊酋长伸手指向礁石外广阔无垠的大海：“他们就在这儿。”两人低头俯视山脚下的村庄时，他将手放到莫阿娜肩上：“你是时候成为大家需要的人了。”

 

莫阿娜回头看了眼石碓，把手放在代表父亲的那块石头上。这里便是日后代表她的那块石头的安放之处了。“您认为我可以做到吗？”她问道。

 

图伊酋长给了她一个碰鼻礼。“只要你有这个决心，你肯定会成为一位伟大的酋长，成为莫图鲁尼岛的莫阿娜……”

 

莫阿娜抬头看向父亲，思忖着他的一席话，知道自己跟随他的脚步对他来说有多重要。她终于做出决定，准备挑起重担，顺应父母，成为他们期望的酋长。

 

她别过头不再看大海，将目光放在小岛上，下定决心在这儿找到自己的快乐。莫阿娜告诉自己，没必要向往礁石外的世界，因为她需要的一切、热爱的一切都在这里。

 

几天后，莫阿娜戴着用鲜花装饰的头巾，身旁跟着她的宠物猪胖胖，和父母一道去参加岛民大会。途中，莫阿娜发现塔拉祖母在海岸边尽情地与浪共舞，她仅停了片刻就继续朝开会的部落茅屋走去。

 

会场上，鼓手们敲得大鼓咚咚直响，岛民代表们在鼓声中陆续来齐了。图伊酋长、西娜和莫阿娜一入座，急促的鼓点也迎来了最后的高潮。图伊酋长放下手上的战斧，示意全体人员入座。他还没来得及宣布会议开始，一个嘹亮的声音响彻部落茅屋，“莫图鲁尼岛的人们！”主持人大声喊道，“图伊酋长！”

 

“谢谢——”图伊酋长刚开口，却又被那个声音打断了。

 

“莫图鲁尼岛的图伊酋长！”

 

“谢谢大家，”图伊酋长转向岛民们说道，“总有一天，莫阿娜将领导大家。我可以骄傲地说，从今天起在村子里，你们会见证她的进步。”他慈爱地看向他的女儿，然后把酋长战斧交给她。莫阿娜笑了，感受到父亲的自豪。这时，所有人都转向她，等她发言。

 

莫阿娜优雅一笑，深吸了一口气，但是她正要开口时，那嘹亮的声音再次响起：“莫图鲁尼岛的莫阿娜！”他朝着莫阿娜的耳朵尖声喊道。莫阿娜吓得不小心松开了手，沉甸甸的战斧掉到地上，险些削到胖胖的鼻子。

 

接下来的一整天，在父母的观察下，莫阿娜有模有样地当起了“莫图鲁尼岛的酋长”，进行环岛巡视。

 

一位叫麦维亚的岛民抱怨屋顶漏水，莫阿娜便爬上他家屋椽去查看哪里出了问题。麦维亚对图伊和西娜解释道：“每次暴风雨来临，屋顶漏水漏到炉火上，不管我往上加多少棕榈叶也无济于事——”

 

莫阿娜在部落屋顶上叫道：“搞定啦！”她低头朝他们笑了笑。“不是棕榈叶出了问题，而是大风把屋顶的横梁吹歪了。”她解释道。接着，她咬了一口麦维亚递给她的食物。“这猪肉真好吃。”话一出口，她便注意到待在脚旁的胖胖，顿时觉得刚才嚷这么大声是真过意不去。

 

之后，一位叫托罗的大个子男人让人在他背上文身，莫阿娜握着他的手站在一旁陪他。

 

“哎哟，哎哟，哎哟。”托罗反复呻吟着，抓着莫阿娜的手越握越紧。

 

“你表现得很棒。”莫阿娜说道，她强忍住手上的疼痛，尽量让声音听上去自然些。

 

几个小时过去了，莫阿娜仍握着托罗的手，她感觉自己的手都发麻了。“再过5个小时就好了。”她对托罗说道，自己已疼得眉头紧蹙。托罗把她抓得更紧了，又呻吟道：“哎哟，哎哟，哎哟……”

 

终于，文身完成了，托罗起身拥抱了莫阿娜，感谢她的帮助。接着，他便一瘸一拐地僵着身子朝家走去，莫阿娜则不住地甩手以缓解疼痛。

 

托罗的朋友阿瑟磊磊正好路过，笑容满面，祝贺托罗有了新文身。“马努亚！”阿瑟磊磊边喊边拍了一下托罗的后背。这让托罗疼得龇牙咧嘴，快速从朋友身边弹开了。

 

莫阿娜继续在村里巡视，想看看还有谁需要帮忙，胖胖则努力跟上她。两个小女孩和一个小男孩气喘吁吁地朝她跑来，一个劲儿地说个不停。他们讲得又快又大声，你一言我一语地都想把话说明白。

 

“露阿打我。”洛阿说。

 

“洛安也打我了。”露阿反驳她。

 

“可是我打人一点儿都不疼啊，就像瓦沃摩多一样？”洛阿赶紧说。

 

“我当时就问，要是莫阿娜会怎么做呢？”拉阿接过话。

 

“我回答说，要是莫阿娜的话，肯定会很酷。”露阿说。

 

“所以露阿就停下不打我的脸了。”洛阿接着说。

 

“还给你画了幅画。”拉阿说。

 

说完，三人举起一幅糟糕透顶的画，画中有人在激战，莫阿娜正在劝架。莫阿娜看着画，一时不知如何是好。

 

“这里画的是血。”露阿指着画说道。

 

莫阿娜微笑着接过画，一一谢过他们为自己准备的这份特别的礼物。

 

不一会儿，村里一个叫薇拉的厨子找到莫阿娜，想请教她一个问题。

 

“我在想该拿那只正在吃石头的鸡怎么办，”薇拉说着，同时指了指憨憨——一只长相滑稽古怪、眼睛歪斜无神的公鸡。它正努力吞食一颗小石子。“它傻不拉唧的，完全不懂得自我保护。是不是干脆把它煮了吃了更好？”

 

莫阿娜看着憨憨，只见他刚咳出那颗石子，又开始啄它。“嗯，有时我们的力量会藏得很深，”莫阿娜说，“在一些情况下，藏得更深。不过我相信，憨憨比看上去要更聪明些。”

 

莫阿娜继续巡视着，遇上了一位麻烦缠身的农夫。他把新摘的椰子拿给莫阿娜看。

 

“庄稼出事啦，”这位农夫说，“今天早上，我在洗椰子，可……”

 

莫阿娜打开了一个表面正常的椰子，却发现里面又黑又烂。她又凑近细看了会儿。图伊和西娜将目光投向莫阿娜，看到了这糟糕的情形。其他人也纷纷看向她，看她会作何反应。

 

“看样子，嗯……我们应该把有问题的椰子树先砍掉，然后再重新找一片果园。”莫阿娜指着一块空地说：“就那儿好了。”

 

农夫赞同地点了点头。图伊和西娜也自豪地对视了一眼。

 

莫阿娜感觉棒极了，看向她慈爱的父母以及他们身后雄伟壮观的山峰。然后她眺望着蔚蓝的大海，陷入深思。她爱她的家人、她的岛屿以及她的岛民们，想为每个人尽一份力。最后她俏皮地笑着朝父亲瞄了一眼。

 

“我晚上不回来吃饭啦。”她说。

 

“发生什么事了吗？”图伊关切地问道。

 

“呃，没什么啦，我就想自个儿……去那座山上走走。”莫阿娜说着，露出了大大的微笑。

 

图伊过了好一会儿才明白她真正的意图，于是咧嘴笑了，心里十分高兴，自豪不已，一时连话都说不清楚了。“你……是的，那么……所以你是要……。”图伊转头对西娜说道：“她要……莫阿娜想去爬那座山。”他低下头，轻声补充道：“她要去摆属于她自己的石头。”

 

西娜忍俊不禁地说道：“我知道啦。”

 

他们正打算回家时，一位叫拉沙里的渔民匆匆赶来。“我是不是来晚了？”他问道。

 

图伊走上前说：“其实，莫阿娜要去——”

 

“发生什么事了吗？”莫阿娜问这位渔民道。

 

拉沙里一脸凝重地将莫阿娜带到海滩上，图伊和西娜也跟随而来。他们来到一艘渔船旁，拉沙里举起渔网给莫阿娜看。里面什么都没有。

 

“我们在环礁湖东边捕到的鱼越来越少了。”拉沙里说道。

 

“嗯，那我们可以换个渔场啊。”莫阿娜说。

 

“对啊，就换个渔场嘛。”图伊重复道。

 

他急切地想让莫阿娜去爬那座最高峰，设法让她快点动身。可拉沙里继续说道：“呃，我们捕不到鱼了。”

 

“噢，那不然就到离岛稍远的海域，”莫阿娜提议道，伸手指了指远处。

 

“我们试过了。”拉沙里说。

 

“岛的迎风面那边呢？”她追问道，心里渐渐不安起来。

 

“还有背风面、浅滩、海峡，整个环礁湖我们都找过了，连鱼影子都没见到。”拉沙里说。

 

莫阿娜看着沙滩上的其他渔船全都一无所获，不禁面露难色。前不久，她还看见渔船满载而归，渔网里都是鱼。她想不通，鱼儿怎么会都不见了呢？

 

“我会在岛民大会上反映这个情况，”图伊说道，“我相信我们会找到解决办法的。”

 

莫阿娜朝环礁湖看去，视线越过礁石投向开阔的大海——那是一块全新的领域啊，渔民们从没在那儿捕过鱼。她爬上一艘船，想找个好位置领略大海的广阔。显然，大海是他们唯一的选择。

 

“要不……我们去礁石外试试？”莫阿娜提议道。

 

拉沙里大吃一惊，图伊与西娜都惊呆了。

 

“谁也不允许到礁石外去。”图伊说道，尽量保持冷静。

 

“我知道，但要是环礁湖里没鱼了——”

 

“莫阿娜——”

 

“而大海里有那么多——”

 

图伊想把她拉下船，可她已跑到了船头。

 

“我们有条铁律。”图伊提高嗓音说道。

 

“只是一条旧规，而且那时到处都是鱼——”

 

“可正是这条铁律让所有人安然无恙，不至于遭受灭顶之灾。”图伊大吼道。

 

莫阿娜盯着父亲，愤愤不平的同时，也为他大发脾气感到羞愧难堪。

 

图伊火冒三丈。他心里清楚莫阿娜一直渴望在辽阔的大海航行，所以她说要去礁石外捕鱼时，他觉得她只是出于私心才找了这个借口。图伊咬牙切齿地瞪着站在船上的莫阿娜，然后一把将她拉回到沙滩上。

 

“一次次，我以为你能打消这个念头……”他说完甩头就走。“任何人都不得到礁石外去！”他加快脚步，气冲冲地喊道。

点击收听单词发音