“He is here, great king!” exclaimed Kaululaau, bowing before Kalona, to the astonishment but great relief of the priest. “Favored by the gods, I slew the malignant monster your priests call by the sacred name of Pueoalii. Their skill should have instructed them differently. Will the king favor me by ordering the kapa covering to be removed from the head?”
The order was given, and the uncovered head was raised beak upward before the king.
In a moment it was observed that the head was not of a pueo, or owl; nor did it bear resemblance in form to that of any bird known. It was narrow between the eyes, which in color were those of a shark, and its long and pointed beak, both of the upper and under jaws, turned sharply upward.
“It is not a pueo!” was the general exclamation.
“Are you satisfied, priest?” inquired the prince.
“I think it is not a pueo,” responded the priest, reluctantly.
“You think it is not a pueo!” exclaimed the king, indignantly. “Do you not know it? What pueo ever had such eyes and such a beak?”
The priest hung his head in confusion, and the prince, having completely discomfited him, now came kindly to his relief by remarking:
“The mistake might well have been made, for on the wing and at a distance the bird much resembled a pueo.”
“You are kind to say so, prince,” said the king; “but the priests and kaulas have been greatly at fault. For years the bird has preyed upon the people, and no one has dared to molest it. Since you killed it, knowing that it was not sacred, perhaps you may be able to tell me something of its unnatural birth and appetites.”