On the shore, Moana grunted¹ as she angrily hurled² a coconut³ to the ground in an attempt to vent⁴ her frustrations⁵. She picked up one after another. She hit them with an oar⁶, trying to drive them into the sand, even as her mother approached.

 

"At least you didn't say it in front of everybody, standing⁷ on a boat," said Sina, trying to lighten the mood.

 

Moana whacked⁸ another coconut.

 

"I didn't say ‘fish beyond the reef' because I want to be on the ocean."

 

"But you still do," said Sina gently. She glanced down at Moana's hand tightly gripping the oar and sighed.

 

Unable to deny it, Moana turned away. It was true; she still heard the ocean's call and longed to explore it.

 

Sina continued. "He's hard on you because—"

 

"Because he doesn't get me," Moana said.

 

"Because he was you," Sina corrected her. "Drawn⁹ to the water, he took a boat, Moana. He crossed the reef and found an unforgiving sea. Waves like mountains. His best friend begged to be out on that boat. Your father couldn't save him."

 

Sina's voice trailed off; the memory was too sad to relive. She looked lovingly at Moana. "He's hoping he can save you."

 

Moana's anger turned to sadness and guilt¹⁰. In the village, she could see Tui dealing¹¹ with the panicked villagers. She knew how much her father loved the people of Motunui and how heavy the responsibility of protecting them lay upon his shoulders. She felt terrible.

 

Moana wished her father understood that she loved the people, too. That was why she wanted to go beyond the reef—to find fish. So that everyone would have plenty to eat.

 

"Sometimes, who we wish we were, what we wish we could do ... it's just not meant to be." Sina took the oar from Moana and put it on the ground.

 

"If you were me, what would you do?" asked Moana.

 

Sina brushed the hair away from Moana's face. "We must make our own choices, my little minnow," she said. "No matter how hard they may be." She left Moana alone to think about what she had said.

 

Moana focused on the horizon. In her imagination, the sea seemed endless and full of possibility. With thoughts flooding her mind, she walked up to the highest peak on Motunui. At the top, she held a stone in her hand, trying to sort out her feelings.

 

She wanted to make her parents and her village proud. She wanted to do what was right. But how could she quiet the voice inside her? She couldn't help her curiosity about the ocean. She wondered how far the sea went and what was out there. She also wondered why the voice inside her seemed so different from everybody else's. And how would she ever make peace with her father's wishes for her future?

 

The sun's reflection off the ocean sparkled in her eyes as the water called to her. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't ignore it. She couldn't pretend to be someone she wasn't. She dropped the stone and ran down to the shore.

 

Pua picked up the oar in his mouth and offered it to her before he hopped¹² on a small boat as Moana pushed it into the water. The boat wobbled a bit as Moana found her balance, and Pua seemed more than a little nervous.

 

"We're okay, Pua," said Moana, trying to find her confidence. "There's more fish beyond the reef. There's more beyond the reef."

 

She paddled out into the water, feeling a rush of excitement as a wave carried her high on its crest¹³. But then the wind changed and the boom swung toward her! It just missed her head. But as Moana breathed a sigh of relief, a massive wave rushed toward her, breaking before she could react. It slammed into the boat and knocked Pua overboard! The little pig flailed¹⁴ around, struggling to stay afloat.

 

"Pua!" Moana yelled, trying to get to him. But an even bigger wave crashed down, knocking her into the sea as well. She surfaced with Pua in her arms and shoved him onto the broken outrigger. A moment later, rough waves caused the boat to slam into her head and push her underwater.

 

Her foot was wedged into a cluster of coral on the ocean floor, trapping Moana underwater. She strained as she tried to swim upward, but she was unable to wriggle¹⁵ free.

 

Spotting a rock, she grabbed it and smashed the coral, releasing her foot. Using all her might, she pushed off the ocean floor and shot up, gasping¹⁶ for air.

 

The waves finally pushed Moana and Pua up onto Motunui's sandy shore. Completely unaffected by the ordeal¹⁷, Pua gave Moana a cheerful lick and ran off to chase birds. Moana breathed heavily, happy to fill her lungs with air as she collected herself. She looked down at her foot, scraped and bleeding from the sharp coral. The boat she had borrowed was smashed to pieces, which floated in the water and washed up onto the sand. She knew she would be in big trouble for what she had done.

 

"Whatever just happened ... blame it on the pig," said a familiar voice.

 

Moana turned to see Gramma Tala emerging from behind some flowering shrubs¹⁸.

 

"Gramma?" Moana asked, moving her foot behind her as she tried to hide it. But Gramma Tala placed her walking stick behind Moana's ankle and used it to pick up her leg, getting a closer look at the wound. "Are you gonna tell Dad?" Moana asked.

 

"If you lost a toe, maybe," Gramma Tala said.

 

More pieces of the broken boat washed up beside them. Moana shook her head. "He was right about going out there," she said. She felt a momentary¹⁹ sense of relief. "It's time. I'm putting my stone on the mountain."

 

Gramma Tala studied Moana's face for a moment. Then she looked back at the ocean and breathed in the salty air. Suddenly, a school of elegant manta rays swam up, gracefully²⁰ flapping their fins²¹.

 

Gramma Tala pushed past Moana to get closer to them as they slid through the water. Moana could see the big manta ray tattoo²² stretched across her grandmother's back as she watched the animals.

 

"Well, okay then," Gramma Tala said. "Head on back; put that stone up there."

 

Moana started to walk away. But she turned back to Gramma Tala after taking only a few steps. "Why aren't you trying to talk me out of it?" she asked.

 

"Because you said that's what you wanted," said Gramma Tala.

 

"It is," said Moana.

 

Gramma Tala nodded without saying a word.

 

Moana headed back toward the village. But just as she was about to cross the flowering shrubs that lined the beach, Gramma Tala spoke²³ up. "When I die, I'm going to come back as one of these," she said, gesturing to the manta rays as they continued to swim, swirling²⁴ in front of her in a circle. Her tattoo wiggled between her shoulders as she danced, swinging her hips²⁵ and moving her arms in time with the waves striking the shore. "Or I chose the wrong tattoo." She looked back at Moana with a smirk²⁶.

 

"Why are you acting²⁷ weird²⁸?" asked Moana.

 

"I'm the village crazy lady ... that's my job," Gramma Tala replied.

 

"If there's something you want to tell me, just tell me," said Moana. She sounded almost desperate for her grandmother's advice. It would be nice to hear someone say she should listen to the call of the ocean. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

 

Gramma Tala leaned in and whispered, "Is there something you want to hear?" Then she smiled mysteriously and hobbled off, using her walking stick to help her over the rough terrain²⁹. Moana followed right behind, and she couldn't help but smile, too. She didn't know where Gramma Tala was going, but wherever it was, it would be an adventure. And it would involve a story.

 

海岸边，莫阿娜嘟哝着，气愤地将一个椰子砸到地上，发泄着心中的不快。她捡起一个个椰子往地上砸，又用船桨猛拍它们，想把它们打进沙地里，连母亲来到身旁也没停下。

 

“至少你不能当着大家的面说那样的话呀，还是站在船上。”母亲说道，试图缓和气氛。

 

莫阿娜继续敲打着另一个椰子。

 

“我说‘到礁石外捕鱼’这样的话，并不是因为我想出海。”

 

“可你仍想去啊。”母亲温和地说。她低头瞥见莫阿娜正紧握着船桨，不由得叹了口气。

 

莫阿娜无法反驳母亲的话，只好转过脸去。母亲说得没错，她仍然能听到大海的召唤，依旧渴望去探索它。

 

母亲继续道：“你父亲对你这么严厉，那是因为——”

 

“因为他根本就不理解我。”莫阿娜说道。

 

“那是因为你父亲过去和你一样，”母亲纠正道，“莫阿娜，他曾经也痴迷大海，还乘船越过礁石，却发现大海变得冷血无情，巨浪排山倒海地席卷而来。那时他最好的朋友请求和他一起出海，你父亲却没能把他救回来。”

 

西拉的声音逐渐变小。痛苦的往事总是太过悲伤，让人难以释怀。她慈爱地看着莫阿娜，继续说道：“你父亲是想保护你。”

 

莫阿娜听完后怒气一下就全消了，取而代之的是满满的悲伤与自责。她望向村子，看见父亲还在安抚受惊的岛民们。她深知父亲热爱莫图鲁尼岛上的人们，也明白父亲为保护他们而肩负着重大的责任。她觉得自己太不像话了。

 

莫阿娜希望父亲明白自己和他一样热爱这里的人们。正因为这样，她才想去礁石外——找鱼，这样大家就会有充足的食物了。

 

“有时候，我们会希望自己成为什么样的人，能做什么样的事……可总是事与愿违。”西娜说完，便拿走莫阿娜手中的船桨，放到了地上。

 

“如果您是我，您会怎么做呢？”莫阿娜问道。

 

西娜温柔地拨开女儿脸上的发丝，说道：“我的小宝贝，无论选择有多难，自己的事情只有自己才能做主。”说完便留下莫阿娜独自一人，让她思索自己刚才说的那番话。

 

莫阿娜注视着地平线。在她的想象中，大海浩瀚无边，充满无限可能。她一时思绪万千，往莫图鲁尼岛的最高峰爬去。到达峰顶后，她拿着一块石头，试图厘清自己的感受。

 

她一方面想成为父母与岛民们的骄傲，做他们认为正确的事情，可另一方面她又该如何平息自己内心的声音？她实在难以抑制自己对大海的好奇心，想知道它有多宽广，想知道礁石外究竟是怎样一番天地。她还想知道，为什么自己内心的声音会如此与众不同？她要怎么做才能不违背父亲对她的未来的期许？

 

阳光照射海面，粼粼波光在她眼里闪烁，如同大海在召唤她。无论莫阿娜多么努力克制自己，她都做不到无动于衷。她无法违背自己的本心。随即，她扔掉石头，飞速跑到岸边。

 

莫阿娜将一艘小船推入水中时，胖胖用嘴衔起船桨递给她后，快速跳上了船。小船晃来晃去，莫阿娜尽量保持平衡，胖胖则看起来非常紧张。

 

“没事的，胖胖，”莫阿娜努力给自己打气，“礁石外会有更多的鱼，很多很多。”

 

她划桨前行，一股波浪涌来将她往浪头颠去，使她兴奋不已。忽然海上风向突变，吊杆左摇右摆着朝她砸去，差点击中她的头！莫阿娜刚松了一口气，一排巨浪又翻滚而来，她还没反应过来，浪就猛拍在船上，把胖胖冲下了船。这只可怜的小猪在水里胡乱拍打，挣扎着想浮在水面上。

 

“胖胖！”莫阿娜大叫道，想把他救回来。然而，一股更凶猛的波浪朝下猛撞，把她也卷入海里。莫阿娜抱着胖胖浮出水面，将他猛塞到一个破损的船支架上。过了会儿，汹涌的波涛让莫阿娜的头撞到了船上，把她卷入了海底。

 

她的一只脚卡在海底的一簇珊瑚中，使她被困在水下动弹不得。她用力扯着拼命往上游，却怎么也挣脱不了。

 

危急之中，她发现了一块岩石，赶紧用它敲碎了缠在脚上的珊瑚，然后使出浑身力气，往海面游去，不一会儿，她倏地钻出水面，大口喘着气。

 

海浪终于把莫阿娜和胖胖送回了莫图鲁尼岛的沙滩上。一上岸，胖胖开心地舔了舔莫阿娜，然后一股脑儿跑去追小鸟玩，完全把刚才可怕的经历抛到了脑后。莫阿娜喘着粗气，幸福地呼吸着新鲜空气，同时让自己镇静下来。她低头发现脚被锋利的珊瑚刮伤了，血流不止。她还看见借来的小船被撞得粉碎，一些船体碎片漂在海上，又被海浪冲到了沙滩上。莫阿娜知道她会因为自己的所作所为而惹上大麻烦。

 

“无论刚才发生了什么……都怪在这只猪身上。”这时，一个熟悉的声音响起。

 

莫阿娜转身看见塔拉祖母从开着花的灌木丛后走了出来。

 

“祖母？”莫阿娜问道，随即将受伤的脚藏在身后。可塔拉祖母把拐杖放到她的脚踝后后，抬起她的腿，仔细察看了一下伤口。“您会告诉我父亲吗？”莫阿娜问道。

 

“要是你缺了根脚趾的话，可能会。”塔拉祖母说。

 

越来越多的船板碎片被冲到她们附近的海岸上。莫阿娜摇了摇头说道：“父亲是对的，外面真的很危险。”她瞬间感到如释重负。“是时候了。是时候把我的石头放到那座山上去了。”

 

塔拉祖母仔细端详了莫阿娜一会儿，又重新看向大海，呼吸着微咸的空气。突然，一群姿态优雅的蝠鲼从海里游了上来，轻巧地拍打着鳍。

 

当它们滑过水面时，塔拉祖母经过莫阿娜往前走，离它们更近些。莫阿娜注意到，当祖母看着它们时，一条大蝠鲼的文身图案在她背部慢慢延展开。

 

“嗯，那就这样吧，”塔拉祖母说，“你回去吧。把那块石头放上去。”

 

莫阿娜听完便打算离开。可她才走了几步，又回头看向塔拉祖母，问道：“您为什么不劝一下我呢？”

 

“因为你说过，你想那样做啊。”塔拉祖母答道。

 

“确实是。”莫阿娜说。

 

听完后，塔拉祖母一言不发地点了点头。

 

莫阿娜朝村里走去。可就在她打算穿过沙滩上那排开着花的灌木丛时，塔拉祖母开口了。“我死后要变成一条蝠鲼回到这儿。”她边说边指着它们，这时蝠鲼们继续游着，在她面前排成了一个圆圈。祖母扭臀挥动着手臂，与拍打到岸边的波浪一起跳舞，她的文身图案在肩上来回跳动。“或者说我选错文身啦。”她转头看了眼莫阿娜，笑道。

 

“为什么您总是不按常理出牌？”莫阿娜问道。

 

“我是村里的疯婆子……就该这样啊。”塔拉祖母答道。

 

“如果您有什么要对我说的，请直接说吧。”莫阿娜说。她听起来十分渴望得到祖母的建议。如果能听到有人对她说“你应该听从大海的召唤”这类话，那该多好啊。“您有什么想对我说的吗？”

 

塔拉祖母凑近她，低声说道：“你想听到什么？”然后，她神秘地笑了笑，步履蹒跚，拄着拐杖穿过崎岖的道路。莫阿娜紧跟其后，也忍不住笑了起来。她不知道塔拉祖母要去哪儿，可无论是哪儿，这将是一场冒险，也会是一段传奇。

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