45^ Fornander Collcctio)i of Haivaiian Folk-lore. 



have the stakes." He said this because they all felt sure that no rat would be seen in 

 the crowd of people. 



When Pikoiakaalala let fly his arrow, it hit the old woman whose eyes were dim 

 and had grown small because of her great age.' At seeing this Maiuele and the people 

 refused to give up the stakes as the old woman w-as not a rat, but a human being. 

 Pikoiakaalala answered that the object hit by his arrow was a rat, saying: "When a 

 bab}' is born it is called a child ; when it grows bigger it is called a youth ; when it 

 stops growing it is called a full-grown man; when he walks with a cane he is called an 

 old man ; and when his e3'es grow small he is likened to a rat 'haumaka-iole,' " a rat. 

 Is not that a rat? It is a rat." Mainele was therefore beaten. 



After the bet was settled the}' went into the house and sat down; Pikoiakaalala 

 then looked up at the rafters and said: "Look at that big rat sitting there! Look at 

 that big rat sitting there!!" At this Mainele remarked: "You are a deceiving man. 

 Where is the rat to come from that you could see there? You are the greatest liar I 

 have ever seen. You have no equal." Pikoikaalala said: "There is a rat. If I should 

 shoot and hit a rat, what would you do?" "All right, we will make a bet, if you shoot 

 and hit a rat I lose and if you don't hit one you lose," said Mainele. The bets were 

 then made, the king and queen doing the betting, consisting of articles of value and 

 land. After the bets were made, Pikoiakaalala let fly his arrow which flew and hit the 

 top-most batten Kuaiole.' At this Mainele looked on and said: "That is not a rat, that 

 is a batten, you have not beaten me." Pikoiakaalala replied : "That is a rat, for the 

 common expression is this: 'Put on and bind down the rat-backed batten.' Is not that 

 expression connection with the word rat? I say it is; therefore, I have won." At this 

 everybody present decided that Mainele was beaten. When Mainele was beaten this 

 time, his skill and fame began to wane, while the skill and fame of Pikoiakaalala as a 

 shooter of rats was established. 



We will now introduce our readers to Keawenuiaumi the king of Hawaii. While 

 Keawenuiaumi was on his way with his canoe makers to the forest of Hilo one day, for 

 the purpose of cutting down a large koa tree for a canoe, two birds flew on to the very 

 top of the tree and called out in a loud voice: "Say, Keawenuiaumi, you cannot make 

 a canoe [out of this tree], it is hollow. It is a worthless canoe; a hollow canoe. A canoe 

 that will never reach the ocean." 



When Keawenuiaumi heard this call from the birds the tree-felling was aban- 

 doned. As the birds kept up this calling continually Keawenuiaumi became vexed and 

 thereupon made up his mind to go in search of a skillfiil archer to come and kill the 

 birds. About this time the fame of Mainele as an archer reached Hawaii, so Keawe- 

 nuiaumi made a vow, "That if Mainele would kill the birds he should receive the king's 

 daughter in marriage^ together with a portion of the island of Hawaii." Upon the ar- 

 rival of Keawenuiaumi's messengers in Oahu, Mainele was informed of the wish of the 

 king. As soon as Mainele heard that he was wanted on Hawaii, he immediately pre- 

 pared his double canoe and got together his men who were to accompany him. 



' Hauniakaiolc, an epithet applied to one who is blear- ^ K'liaiole, the upper ridge-pole of a house, 



eyed, from old age. i _\ stereotyped form of royal recompense. 



- Hau, frost or misty; inaka, eye; iolt\ rat. 



