Mary Kawena Pukui
"Why is that crowd down the valley Brother! What are all those people doing” Pikoi's brother was preparing food for the imu and did not hear the boy's question. Pikoi and his father had come from Kauai the day before. They had come to Manoa Valley on Oahu to visit a married sister. A crowd the very first day! Pikoi must find out what was going on. At first he went slowly down the trail, watching the people eagerly. He saw someone with a bow and arrows. Rat shooting! That was a sport the boy loved and in a moment he was running. Pikoi reached the crowd and pushed his way among them. He bumped a tall woman who turned to him angrily. "What are you doing here" she asked. "Why do you push in beside your chiefess” Pikoi did not quite understand that this woman was the chiefess—the high chiefess of Oahu. "It is rat shooting, isn't it" he asked eagerly. "I love rat shooting. “ The chiefess must have liked the boy's love of her favorite sport, for she spoke good-naturedly now. "Can you shoot rats” "A little. “ "That man with a red lei and with a bow in his hand is Mainele," the chiefess said. "He is the best rat shooter on Oahu. I am looking for a champion to shoot against him. Do you want to be my champion” The chiefess was joking. A boy could not shoot against Mainele! But Pikoi did not know she was joking. "Oh yes," he said. "May I use your arrows”
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