As soon as the cry was heard Prince Mai-ne-le shot at them. His arrow did not go anywhere near the birds, so high was the tree-top, so far above were they. Then the King’s men built a platform that was half the height of the tree. From the platform Mai-ne-le shot at the birds again, and again his arrow failed to reach them. Then Pi-ko-i from the basket whispered to Kaua. “Ask Mai-ne-le and ask the King why the birds still cry out and why they have not been hit. Is it because Mai-ne-le is not really shooting at them?” Kaua said all this to the King. Prince Mai-ne-le, when he heard what was said, replied, “Why do you not shoot at the birds yourself?” And then he said: “There are the birds, [[78]]and here is the weapon. Now see if you can hit them.” “Well,” said Kaua, “I will ask my idol.” He opened the basket then, and Pi-ko-i appeared. He had changed so much since he had eaten the feast in his sisters’ house that no one there knew him for the stranger boy who had beaten Mai-ne-le in the shooting-match before.
And what he said made all of them amazed. He asked the King to have a basin of water brought to the tree. It was brought. Pi-ko-i then stood looking into the water. He saw the reflection of the birds that were on the tree-top far, far above. He held his arms above his head; his arrow was aimed at the birds whose reflection he saw in the water. He brought the arrow into line with them; he let it fly. It struck both of them; they fell; they came tumbling down. Into the basin of water they fell, and the people, on seeing the great skill shown by Pi-ko-i, raised a great shout.
Then the canoe-makers got to work, and after many days’ labor they hewed down the great tree. The canoe was built for the King and the Queen, and they went in it and sailed on the ocean. Pi-ko-i was with them when they made the voyage. But before that, they had given him their daughter in marriage, and together with the girl they had given him a portion of the land of Hawaii. Out of the portion that was given him Pi-ko-i gave land to Kaua, and the good servant became a rich man. And as [[79]]for Mai-ne-le, he was made so ashamed by his second defeat by young Pi-ko-i that he went straight back to his own land and never afterwards did he shoot an arrow. [[81]]
Paka: The Boy Who Was Reared in the Land that the Gods Have Since Hidden.
Paka was reared in Pali-uli, the land that the gods have since hidden from men. That land he did not leave until he went forth to wed the fair woman whom one of his foster-fathers had found for him—the Princess Mako-lea.
But first I have to tell you about Pali-uli and the two men who found it in the old days and brought the child Paka there.
These two men were the brothers of Paka’s mother; they were both named Ki-i, and one was called Ki-i the Stayer and the other was called Ki-i the Goer. One night Ki-i the Stayer had a dream: in that dream a spirit told him: “You must go to Pali-uli and live there, you and your brother; it is a land in which you can live without labor and without discontent.” He dreamed this dream for three nights, and, each morning after, he told his dream to Ki-i the Goer. But Ki-i the Goer paid no attention to the dream that was told him. And then the dream came to Ki-i the Goer, and the same words were said to him by the spirit in the dream: “You must go to Pali-uli and live there, you and your brother, Ki-i the Stayer; it is a land in which you can live without labor and without discontent.” [[82]]
Then Ki-i the Goer was all for going to the land of Pali-uli. Soon the two brothers made preparations for going there. One night they went to bed early; they woke up at the second crowing of the cock; then, in the early dawn while it was still dark, they started off to seek Pali-uli, the restful land.
Guided by a spirit, they found Pali-uli. (No one will ever find it again; it has since been hidden from men by the gods.) It was a level land; it was filled with all things that men might desire: the mountain apple there grew to be as large as the bread-fruit; the sugar-cane grew until it doubled over, and then it shot up again; the bananas fell scattering on the ground, ripe always; the pigs grew until their tusks were as long as a pig is with us; the chickens grew until their spurs were as big as eggs; the dogs grew until their backs could be made into seats and cushions; there were fish ponds there, and they were stocked with all the fish of the ocean except whales and sharks. Such was Pali-uli when Ki-i the Stayer and Ki-i the Goer came into it.