454 



Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Folk-lore. 



the queen were betting their possessions. Mainele was the king's rat shooter, but the 

 qiieen had no one to do the shooting for her; so when Pikoiakaalala saw this he boasted 

 in the presence of Mainele in the following manner: "That is simple enough, anybody 

 can do that." When the queen heard this she called for Pikoiakaalala to come near to 

 her. As he stood in the presence of the queen she asked him: "Do j-ou know how?" 

 Pikoiakaalala answered: "Yes." "If you know how to shoot rats," said the queen, "then 

 I will stake my property on your skill and you can compete with Mainele." As soon 

 as they agreed on the conditions the bet was made. 



Mainele was a high chief ' and was an expert in the art of rat shooting; he was 

 known to win all the contests in which he took part. He could hit ten rats with one 

 arrow at one shot. In regard to the wager: the king staked his property on Mainele, 

 while the queen staked her property on Pikoiakaalala. The condition was that who- 

 ever could shoot and hit ten rats with one arrow would win, the one failing to do this 

 would lose. 



Mainele took the first shot, and when the people looked they saw that the arrow 

 had entered into ten rats, so they shouted, "Mainele has won! Mainele has won!" 

 Pikoiakaalala then sarcasticallj' remarked to Mainele: "How awkward! It is easy 

 enough to hit the rat in the bod}' because the object is large. I thought 3'ou were going 

 to shoot at the whiskers in order to prove your great skill, but I see I am mistaken." 

 Mainele answered: "You are a deceitful bo}'. From the day I first began shooting rats 

 until this day, I have never seen a man who could shoot at the rats' whiskers." Because 

 the two were arguing over the matter so long, bets were again made about hitting the 

 rats' whiskers. After the new bets were made, Pikoiakaalala took his shot. At this 

 time there were no rats to be seen, the brush in the near neighborhood was without 

 rats; so Pikoiakaalala prayed his Kalokalo' pra3'er. B}^ this we can see that his parents 

 and sisters must have had the forms of rats. 



Here is Pikoiakaalala, 

 I am the offspring of Alala, 

 Brought forth by Koukou. 

 Alala [was] the father, 

 Koukou [was] the mother, 

 The bent bow of the night. 

 I am about to shoot at you, 

 At Uluku; at Ululono. 

 Kaulamawaho the king, 

 Kekakapuomaluihi [the queen]. 

 It is you to drive them along 



There the}' are! There they are!! 

 There are the rats at the outskirts 



of the aweoweo,^ 

 At the trunk of the aweoweo, 

 At the leaf of the aweoweo, 

 Aweoweo [that is] made red by the 



sun 

 [The rats are] lying in the pili grass, 



let them be driven this way 

 They sleep, the rats are asleep 

 Thev have returned. 



Pikoiakaalala then let fly his arrow, which hit ten rats, and at the point of the 

 arrow was held a bat, making eleven; all the rats were made fast by their whiskers. 

 Mainele, Pikoiakaalala's opponent, then said, together with the people who were pres- 

 ent: "It is a draw! It is a draw, because you have hit ten rats and one bat with your 



' Kaukan alii, probably a prince, since the term ap- 

 plied to a class of chiefs below the kinj;. 



"The kdlolo prayer was a petition supplicating favors. 



^AuTO'cveo, a shrubby plant at various altitudes {Che- 

 iiopodiuni sandzi.'ichcuin ). 



