She went out surf-riding, sported awhile, and then her grandfather came and took her home. After a time came the signs of the birth of a chief. Her son was born and named Ke-au-nini. This was in the land Kuai-he-lani. Kahuli almost turned over. The land was shaken and tossed. This was one of the divine lands from which the ancestors of the Hawaiians came. Pii-moi, a god of the sun, asked Akoa-koa, the coral, "What is the matter with the land?" Akoa-koa replied, "There is a kupua—a being with divine powers—being born, with the gifts of Ku-aha-ilo." Pii-moi was said to be below Papaku-lolo, taking care of the foundation of the earth. The brothers were in their temple. Ke-au-kai heard the signs in the leaves and knew that his sister had a child, and proposed to his brother to go over and get the child. The mother had left it on a pile of sugar-cane leaves. They met their sister and asked for the child. Then they took it, wrapped it in a soft kapa and went back to the temple. The temple drum sounded as they came in, beaten by invisible hands.
The boy grew up. The mother after a time wanted to see the child, and went to the temple. She had to wait a little, then the boy came out and said he would soon come to her. She rejoiced to see such a beautiful boy as her Ke-au-nini-ula-o-ka-lani. They talked and rejoiced in their mutual affection. An uncle came and sent her away for a time. The boy returned to the temple, and his uncle told him he could soon go to be with his mother. Then came an evil night and the beating of the spirit drum. A mist covered the land. There was wailing among the menehunes (fairy folk). Ke-au-nini went away covered by the mist, and no one saw him go.
He came to his grandfather's house, saw an old man sleeping and a war-club by the door. He took this club and lifted it to strike the old man, but the old man caught the club. The boy dropped it and tried to catch the old man. The old man held him and asked who he was and to what family he belonged. The boy said: "I belong to Kahuli and Kakela, to Nakula-uka and Nakula-kai. I am the son of Ku-aha-ilo and Hiilei. I have been brought up by Ke-au-miki and Ke-au-kai. I seek my mother."
The old man arose, took his drum and beat it. Hiilei and her mother came out to meet the boy. They put sacrifices in their temple for him and chanted to their ancestor-gods:
"O Keke-hoa-lani, dwell here;
Here are wind and rain."
By and by Ke-au-nini asked his mother, "Where is my father?" She told him: "You have no father in the lands of the earth. He belongs to the atmosphere above. You cannot go to find him. He never told me the pathway to his home. You had better stay with me." He replied: "No I cannot stay here. I must go to find my father." He was very earnest in his purpose.
His mother said: "If you make a mistake, your father will kill you and then eat you and take all your lands. He will destroy the forests and the food plants, and all will be devoured by your father. His kingdom is tabu. If you go, take great care of the gifts, for with these things you succeed, but without them you die." She showed him the war-club and the rainbow-girdle, and gave them into his care. The boy took the gifts, kissed his mother, went outside and looked up into the sky.
He saw wonderful things. A long object passed before him, part of which was on the earth, but the top was lost in the clouds. This was Niu-loa-hiki, one of the ancestor-gods of the night. This was a very tall cocoanut-tree, from which the bark of cocoanuts fell in the shape of boats. He took one of these boats in his hands, saying, "How can I ride in this small canoe?"
He went down to the sea, put the bark boat in the water, got in and sailed away until the land of Nuu-mea-lani was lost. His uncle, Ke-au-kai, saw him going away, and prayed to the aumakuas (ancestral ghost-gods) to guard the boy. The boy heard the soft voice of the far-off surf, and as he listened he saw a girl floating in the surf. He turned his boat and joined her. She told him to go back, or he would be killed. She was Moho-nana, the first-born child of Ku-aha-ilo.
When she learned that this was her half-brother, she told him that her father was sleeping. If he awoke, the boy would be killed.