on
of aku which were sent up from Honolulu to the different dwellings;
but while others were given a whole fish, they got but a portion from
some neighbor. For this reason the woman was angry, and told Aiai to
go to the brook and get some oopus fit to eat, as well as opae. Aiai
listened to the voice of his wife. He dug a ditch and constructed a
dam so as to lead the water of the brook into some pits, and thus be
able to catch the oopu and opae. He labored some days at this work,
and the fish and shrimps were hung up to dry.

On a certain day following, Aiai and his wife went with their child
to the brook. She left her son upon the bank of the stream while she
engaged herself in catching opae and oopu from the pits. But it was
not long before the child began to cry; and as he cried, Aiai told
his wife to leave her fishing, but she talked saucily to him. So Aiai
called upon the names of his ancestors. Immediately a dark and lowering
cloud drew near and poured out a flood of water upon the stream, and
in a short time the dam was broken by the freshet and all the oopu
and opae, together with the child, were swept toward the sea. But
the woman was not taken by the flood. Aiai then rose up and departed,
without thought of his wife.

He went down from the valley to Kaumakapili, and as he was standing
there he saw some women fishing for oopu on the banks of the stream,
the daughter of the chief Kikihale being with them. At that time,
behold, there was caught by the female guardian of the daughter of
Kikihale a very large oopu. This oopu she showed to her _protegee_,
who told her to put it into a large calabash with water and feed it
with limu, so that it might become a pet fish. This was done and the
oopu was tended very carefully night and day.

Aiai stood by and saw the fish lifted out of the brook, and recognized
it at the same time as his own child, changed from a human being into
an oopu.

(At this point the story of Aiai gives place to that of his child.)

When the oopu was placed in a large calabash with water, it was
carefully tended and fed with sea-moss for some time, but one day
in seeing to this duty the guardian of the chieftainess, on reaching
the calabash, was startled to behold therein a human child, looking
with its eyes. And the water in the calabash had disappeared. She was
greatly surprised and seized with a dark foreboding, and a trembling
fear possessed her as she looked upon this miraculous child.