Mainele looked the shrubs all over carefully, but could not see the least sign of a rat. The [[162]]people went near and thrust arrows among the leaves, but could see nothing.
Then Mainele said: “There is no rat in that place. I have looked where you said. You are a lying child when you say that you see the whiskers of a rat.”
Pikoi insisted that the rat was there. Mainele was vexed, and said: “Behold all the treasure I have won from the chiefess and the treasure which we are now betting. You shall have it all if you shoot and strike the whiskers of any rat in that small tree. If you do not strike a rat I will simply claim the present bet.”
Then Pikoi took out of the bundle held by his father a bow and an arrow. He carefully strung his bow and fixed the arrow, pointing the eye of that arrow toward the place pointed out before.
The queen said, “That is a splendid bow.” Her caretaker, however, was watching the beautiful eyes of the boy, and his general appearance.
Pikoi was softly chanting to himself. This was his incantation or prayer to his sister-gods:
“There he is, there he is, O Pikoi!
Alala is the father,
Koukou is the mother.
The divine sisters were born.