It is night time and Moko can’t sleep. Looking out to the horizon, he notices a shot of colour at the water’s surface. He wakes Mei-Li to ask her what he is seeing. Together they take a barge and set off. Under them, a rainbow of colours is dancing in the waves. Moko and Mei-Li think that the fish must be organizing a party and decide to dive in. Bit by bit the sun is rising and day is breaking. The two friends return to the village, overjoyed at the wonders of the ocean.

Day after day, Moko has been going to the shore and contemplating the rising sun. On one particular morning, he is accompanied by his friend, the village’s “wise man”. He asks his friend what he might find at the end of the world, he would very much like to go there. The old man tells him that he must leave everything behind and find out; he doesn’t know what lies at the end of the world but that he would very much like to. Moko promises to return and share his discoveries and takes off on a raft. Suddenly he is caught up in a terrible storm and he pleads with the Sea Beast to let him through. The tornado swirls around his raft and lifts him high in the sky then drops him back atop the waves, safe and sound. As the storm fades into the distance, Moko thanks the Sea Beast for keeping him safe and is now convinced that he will finally know what lies on the other side of the ocean.

Moko pense qu’il existe quelque part une créature qui souffle si fort qu’elle parvient à faire bouger les branches des arbres et soulever les dunes du désert. Il se dit que les nuages s’enfuient avant l’arrivée du vent car ils ont peur de la créature. Il décide de partir à sa recherche. Fatigué par la marche et le soleil, ce sera une brise fraîche et légère qui adoucira son repos. Il se dit alors que la créature, sans doute invisible, est en fait bienveillante.

Moko is woken by the sound of singing coming from the other end of the beach. It is Mei-Li, who wears a hat the shape of a sand dune and whose eyes are the shape of a moon crescent. As they are walking towards Mei-Li’s village, they feel a terrible rumble and see black smoke coming from the mountain. Moko thinks this is his fault, that he has trespassed in the forbidden forest, and wants to apologize. They arrive at the edge of an enormous chasm, a veritable fire pit. To calm the mountain, Moko offers it a beautiful seashell, as Mei-Li’s ancestors did. The mountain’s rumbling stops and Moko is proud to have learned it’s language.

As the first rays of dawn appear, Moko and Mei-Li head off to the forest to pick some plants that can’t be found anywhere else. Moko is following Mei-Li’s lead as she knows what to do. She picks a leaf and lets it float away, and Moko picks it up. All of a sudden, both his feet sink into the sand and he can’t get free. He calls out for help. Some fishermen come to his rescue and one of them throws him a line and they pull him to safety. Moko and Mei-Li head back towards the village thinking that the forest is jealous and possessive, since it clearly wanted to keep every leaf and every plant for itself.

Le soir, Moko médite en regardant l’horizon, Meï-Li s’approche pour lui tenir compagnie. Tout d’un coup, un bruit sourd et continu derrière la plage, se fait entendre. Meï-Li a peur, mais Moko veut en savoir davantage. En s’approchant des collines, le bruit est de plus en plus fort et Meï-Li a de plus en plus peur. Moko décide donc de faire le tour de la dune seul. C’est alors que ce grondement s’atténue et se transforme en chant. Moko revient et explique à Meï-Li que c’est le sable et la terre qui chantent ensemble. Elle décide de chanter elle aussi. Moko se dit que la dune enchantée appelle au voyage et que c’est sans doute son dernier jour au village…

Moko sees the ocean for the first time. He thinks it is a huge river or lake, but when he tastes the water, he notices that it is salty. He wonders what sorcerer would have played such a trick. Back in his village, he asks an old wise man to cast a spell on the village’s river so that the drinking water never becomes salty. The wise man reassures him that this is not necessary, the water will never be salty and Moko is grateful that someone has already thought of protecting the village’s river.

Ce jour-là, le soleil est si fort que les gens ne quittent pas leur maison. Moko et Meï-Li se reposent à l’ombre d’un grand arbre. Meï-Li se demande si Moko va repartir, elle pleure et s’en va. Moko tente de la retrouver dans la forêt. Des gouttes d’eau ruissèlent des arbres comme des perles de pluie. La nuit tombe et Moko ne voit plus rien, il s’arrête pour attendre que le jour se lève. Au matin, Meï-Li est là, elle a dans ses mains une pierre transparente. Elle sourit car elle se dit que Moko tient à elle puisqu’il a fait tout ce chemin pour la retrouver. Elle lui offre la pierre pour qu’il ne l’oublie jamais. Moko s’aperçoit que la pluie des grands arbres s’est arrêtée. Il pense alors que la forêt a arrêté de pleurer car Meï-Li est consolée. Ils rentrent au village et se promettent que tout ce qu’ils découvriront dans ce monde, ils reviendront se le dire un jour.