[Translation.]

Song

We twain were lodged in Wai-pi’o,

Beheld Hi’i-lawe, the grand.

We brought and cut for our love-wreath

The rich hala drupe from Naue’s strand,

Tufted lehua that waves on the cliff;

Then sat and gave ear to song of o-ó,

Or harked the chirp of the tree-shell.

Wai-pi’o, the scene of this idyl, is a valley deep and broad which the elements have scooped out in the windward exposure of Hawaii, and scarce needs mention to Hawaiian tourists. Hi’i-lawe is one of several high waterfalls that leap from the world of clouds into the valley-basin.

Kahuli is a fanciful name applied to the beautiful and unique genus of tree-shells (Achatinella), plate XII, that inhabit the Hawaiian woods. The natives are persuaded that these shells have the power of chirping a song of their own, and the writer has often heard the note which they ascribe to them; but to his ear it was indistinguishable from the piping of the cricket. This is the song that the natives credit to the tree-shells:

Mele

Kahuli aku,

Kahuli mai,

Kahuli lei ula,

Lei akolea. [²⁵⁵]

Kolea, kolea, [²⁵⁶]

Ki’i ka wai,

Wai akolea.