Our Little Hawaiian CousinWade, Mary Hazelton Blanchard
General
Our Little Hawaiian Cousin
Wade, Mary Hazelton Blanchard
Children -- Hawaii --Juvenile literature; Hawaii -- Social life and customs -- Juvenile literature
On they go till they are directly over the coral reef. The sea is a
beautiful green, and as clear as glass. Now they let the boat float
along, and all eyes are bent down upon the groves of coral below the
water. All at once Hiko rises suddenly to his feet, and springs upon the
edge of the canoe; but first he seizes in one hand a small fish-net, and
in the other a palm leaf.
Ah! down he dives, straight over the side of the boat! Down! down! Will
he ever come back? Do not fear. This is mere sport for him,--surprising
a shoal of fish at play among the coral spires. To the waiting children
it seems as though he were gone a long time, but in reality it is no
more than a minute.
As he appears again out of the water they shout in excitement, "What
luck, Hiko? What luck?" But they do not need to ask, for they see that
his net is half-full. He has actually brushed the fish into it with his
palm leaf, as your mother brushes crumbs from the table into the tray.
How beautiful are these fish! They are of many colours: red, green,
blue, and yellow. Among them is one of a delicate pink tint, shaped much
like a trout. Still another is a queer-looking fish with a purple body,
a blue spotted tail, and a dark head that shines brightly in the
sunlight.
But the greatest treasure in the old man's collection is the sea-cock,
or ki-hi ki-hi, as he calls it. Its back is covered with stripes of
black and yellow; it is perfectly round in shape, while a long,
transparent ribbon is fastened to its nose.
Hiko lifts the sea-cock from the net with great pride. To show the
children how beautiful it is while floating in the water, he fastens a
cord through the creature's head, and drops it below the surface. It
looks now like a gorgeous butterfly as it trails after the boat.
But Hiko is not satisfied yet. He says he will dive once more, as he
wishes to give Upa's mother a goodly mess of fish for her supper. At the
next dive he is gone for a longer time than before. Auwae grows fearful
just as his old face appears once more. He is puffing hard for breath,
and his eyes are red and blood-shot. He has been even more successful
this time, but is quite tired. He tells the children they can allow the
boat to float for awhile. They may rest for a luncheon on some of the
dainties he has just secured. Each may choose the fish liked best.
It seems queer to see the pleasure with which Auwae's pearly teeth meet
in the tail of the sea-cock. But such is the habit of her people, and
raw fish seems no stranger food to her than fresh-picked strawberries or
pineapples.
[Illustration: "IT IS LIKE A LONG, GRAND TOBOGGAN SLIDE"]
The party now paddle their way homewards. But, listen! A sound of music
comes from the direction of the shore. See! there are at least four
canoes filled with people. They are coming out for a race, and, as they
move along, are merrily singing in rhythm with the motion of their
paddles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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