The iwa flies heavy to nest in the brush, Its haunt on windy Ke-ula. The watch-bird, that fends off the rain from Le-hu-a— [Page 77] Bird sacred to Ku-hai, the shark-god— 5 Shrieks, “Light not on terrace of Lei-no-ai, Lest Unu-lau fiercely assail you.” Storm sweeps the cliffs of the islet; A covert they seek neath the hills, In the sheltered lee of the gale, 10 The cove at the base of Le-hu-a. The shady groves there enchant them, The scarlet plumes of lehua. Love-dalliance now by the water-reeds, Till cooled and appeased by the rain-mist. 15 Pour on, thou rain, the two heads press the pillow: Lo, prince and princess stir in their sleep! The scene of this mele is laid on one of the little bird-islands that lie to the northwest of Kauai. The _iwa_ bird, flying heavily to his nesting place in the wiry grass (_kala-pahee_), symbolizes the flight of a man in his deep-laden pirogue, abducting the woman of his love. The screaming sea-birds that warn him off the island, represented as watch-guards of the shark-god Kuhai-moana (whose reef is still pointed out), figure the outcries of the parents and friends of the abducted woman. After the first passionate outburst (_Puni’a iluna o ka Halau-a-ola_) things go more smoothly (ola, ...). The flight to covert from the storm, the cove at the base of Le-hu-a, the shady groves, the scarlet pompons of the lehua—the tree and the island have the same name—all these things are to be interpreted figuratively as emblems of woman’s physical charms and the delights of love-dalliance. _Mele_ PALE III (Ai-ha’a) Ku aku la Kea-aú, lele ka makani mawaho, Ulu-mano, ma ke kaha o Wai-o-lono. Ua moani lehua a’e la mauka; Kani lehua iluna o Kupa-koili, 5 I ka o ia i ka lau o ka hala, Ke poo o ka hala o ke aku’i. E ku’i e, e ka uwalo. Loli ka mu’o o ka hala, A helelei ka pua, a pili ke alanui: 10 Pu ia Pana-ewa, ona-ona i ke ala, I ka nahele makai o Ka-unu-loa la. Nani ke kaunu, ke kaunu a ke alii, He puni ina’i poi na maua. Ua hala ke Kau a me ka Hoilo, 15 Mailaila mai no ka hana ino. Ino mai oe, noho malie aku no hoi au; Hopo o’ ka inaina, ka wai, e-e; Wiwo au, hopohopo iho nei, e-e! [Page 78] [Translation.]