Then Pe-pe’e made preparations against the people who were coming against him. He sent the plover, Ko-lea, and the wandering tattler, Uli-li, [[142]]to fly around and look out for Kana and Ni-he-u. And he told them to go also to his warrior, the one who had charge of. the ocean, Ke-au-lei-na-kahi the Sword-fish, and command him to pierce the canoe that was coming and slay Ni-he-u and Kana.
So Ko-lea the Plover, and Uli-li the Tattler, flew around until they came to the place where Kana was lying. Said Ko-lea to Uli-li, “Let us fly so high that we shall be out of reach of his long arms, and then let us call out to him and tell him that he is going to be killed.” So the plover and the wandering tattler, flying high, called out to Kana. He lifted his hands to catch the birds; if he had not been lying down he would have caught them, so high did his hands stretch up. The birds went higher. But the wind that was made with the sweep of his arms sent them far over the sea. There they hovered above Ke-au-lei-na-kahi the Swordfish. “You are commanded to pierce the double canoe that is coming over the ocean, and to kill Ni-he-u and Kana,” they said.
Kana and Ni-he-u boarded the canoe. Kana folded himself into many folds, but for all his folding he took up the full length of the canoe. When they were halfway across they were met by Ke-au-lei-na-kahi the Sword-fish. He smote the canoe with the sword that was in his snout. He thought he could pierce it and then slay Ni-he-u and Kana. But Ni-he-u stood up, and with his great war-club he struck at the Sword-fish. He killed Ke-au-lei-na-kahi there [[143]]and then, and after that there was no one to guard the seas before them.
So they came before where the hill Hau-pu was standing. Hau-pu rolled a great rock towards the canoe. Kana was lying on the platform of the canoe, and the people shouted that the rock was coming. “We shall be killed, we shall all be killed,” they shouted. Then Kana stretched himself out. He put out his hand, and he stopped the rock. He held the rock with his right hand, and with his left hand he picked up a small stone from the beach and placed it under the rock; that stopped it from rolling any farther. It was stopped halfway down a steep cliff, and there that rock is to be seen to this day.
The canoe was saved and the people were saved from destruction. Then Ni-he-u started off. He wanted to go by himself to the top of Hau-pu and rescue his mother all alone. He did not know what I have already told you, that the hill was really a turtle; it was, and it had flippers on its sides; when it closed these flippers the hill would rise up; it could keep on rising until it touched the sky.
Around the house that was on the top of the hill there was a fence of thick and wide leaves—they were thick enough and wide enough to keep the wind from the Chief’s house. When Ni-he-u came up to this fence he began to beat the leaves down with his great war-club. Then the wind that was around the hill-top blew upon the house that was [[144]]called Ha-le-hu-ki. “What has caused the wind to blow on my house?” said Pe-pe’e. “There is a boy outside with a club, and he has beaten down your fence,” said his watchmen. “It is Ni-he-u, my brave son. He is without fear,” said Hina.
Then Ni-he-u came in. He took hold of Hina and started to carry her off and down the hill. And as they were going Hina said, very foolishly: “What great strength you have, my brave son! And who would have known that all that strength is in the strands of your hair?” Ko-lea and Uli-li heard what she said. They flew after them; they flew down, and they held Ni-he-u by the hair.
Then Ni-he-u had to put Hina down while he took up his club and fought with the birds. They were drawing his strength away as they pulled out of his head the strands of his hair. He struck at Ko-lea and Uli-li. But while he was striking at them, Hina, frightened, ran back to the Chief’s house.
When Ni-he-u came down to the canoe he was questioned by Kana. “Where is our mother?” “I had taken her; we were on our way when I was attacked by two birds. I had to lay her down; then she was frightened, and she ran back, and I could not go back to fetch her again, or all my strength would have been drawn from me by the birds.” “Now you stay and watch in the canoe while I go to rescue our mother,” said Kana. [[145]]
With that he stood up in the canoe and peeped over the hill Hau-pu. Then Kana rose above the hill. He stretched himself until he was up in the blue of the sky. The hill rose up too. Kana had to stretch himself and stretch himself. And as he stretched himself he became thinner and thinner. When he stood up in the blue of the sky his body was as thin as the thread of a spider’s web.