CHAPTER IV PELE AWAKES FROM HER SLEEP

 While the scene we have described was being enacted¹ on Kaua’i, the spirit of Pele, returning from its long flight, hovered² over the sleeping body at Lau-pahoehoe. Above it waved the kahilis, about it were gathered the sisters and other relatives, quietly sobbing³. Though it was many days since Pele had lain down to sleep, and though they feared the consequences if she continued thus, they dared not disturb her. When that was proposed, the sister in charge objected. “If it must be done, we shall have to send for Hiiaka the beloved.”

 

Some of them suggested that Pele must be dead, she had remained so long without motion. But Hiiaka-of-the-lightning-flash scouted⁴ the idea: “How can that be? The body shows no signs of decay.” [10]

 

The girl Hiiaka saw the messenger that had been despatched to fetch her, while as yet she was in the dim distance,—it was her nurse, Paú-o-pala’e,—and there came to her a premonition of what it all meant, a vision, a picture, of the trouble that was to come; yet, overmastering her, was a feeling of affection and loyalty⁵ for her elder sister. Standing⁶ outside the house, that she might better watch the approach of Paú-o-pala’e and be on hand to greet her, she voiced her vision in song:

 

A ka lae ohi’a i Papa-lau-ahi,

I ka imu lei lehua o Kua-o-ka-la—

Lehua maka-nou i ke ahi—

A wela e-e, wela la!

Wela i ke ahi au,

A ka Wahine mai ka Lua, e-e!

TRANSLATION

 

From the forest-tongue at Papa-lau-ahi

To the garlands heaped at Back-o’-the-sun,

The beauteous lehuas are wilted⁷,

Scorched⁸, burnt up, aye burnt,

Consumed by the fire of the Woman—

The fire that flows from the Pit.

As the messenger, in the vibrating sunlight, thridded her way among the tree clumps⁹ and lava-knobs, which now concealed¹⁰ her and now brought her into full view, Hiiaka, with gaze intent to gain such snap-shots of her as these obstructions¹¹ did not forbid, continued her song:

 

No ka Lua paha ia makani, o ka Pu’u-lena,

Ke halihali i ke ala laau,

Honi u ai ke kini i kai o Haena—

Haena aloha!

Ke kau nei ka haili moe;

Kau ka haili moe i ke ahiahi:

He hele ko kakahiaka:

Mana’o hele paha au e-e.

Homai ka ihu a hele a’e au;

Aloha oe a noho iho, e-e!

[11]

 

TRANSLATION

 

From the Pit, doubtless, breathes Pu’u-lena,

With its waft¹² of woodland perfume—

A perfume drunk in with rapture¹³

On the beach of belovéd Haena.

There wafts¹⁴ to me this premonition,

This vision and dream of the night:

I must be gone in the morning:

I foresee I must travel to-morrow.

A farewell kiss ere I journey;

Farewell, alas¹⁵, to thee who remainest!

Her hostess, Hopoe, would not take the song or the farewell of Hiiaka seriously. “You are simply joking,” she said, “letting your gloomy imagination run away with you. Who in the world is driving you away, as if you had worn out your welcome?”

 

The messenger, Paú-o-pala’e, when she had saluted¹⁶ Hiiaka, said, “I come from your sisters. They want to see you.”

 

Arrived at Lau-pahoehoe,1 Hiiaka found her sisters in great consternation¹⁷, fearing for the life of Pele if she were allowed to continue her long sleep. Her spirit, it is true, had come back to her body; but it was merely hovering¹⁸ about and had not entered and taken possession, so that there were no signs of animation¹⁹ or life. It seemed to be waiting for the voice of Hiiaka, the belovéd, to summon it back and to make it resume consciousness.

 

Hiiaka demanded to know the cause of the wailing²⁰.

 

“We are lamenting²¹ our sister, the head of the family. You can see for yourself; she is dead.”

 

After carefully examining the body of Pele, Hiiaka stoutly²² declared, “She is not dead. That is evident from the absence of corruption²³.” Then, sitting close to Pele’s feet, she sang:

 

O hookó ia aku oe

O ka hana ana a ke akua:

I kai o Maka-wai

Ke kiké la ka pohaku:

Wáhi kai a ke ’kua—

He akua, he kanáka;

He kanáka no, e-e!

[12]

 

TRANSLATION

 

Content you now with your god-work:

Down by the sea at Maka-wai

The rocks have smitten²⁴ together;

The sea has opened a channel.

Goddess you were, now human,

Return to your human clay!

Pele slept on and gave no sign of waking. Hiiaka then chanted this serenade:

 

E ala, e ala, e ala!

E ala, e Hi-ka-po-kuakini!

E ala, e Hi-ka-po-kuamáno!

E ala, e ke Akua, e ke Alo!

E ala, e ka Uwila nui,

Maka ehá i ka lani, la!

E ala, e, e ala!

TRANSLATION

 

Awake now, awake, awake!

Wake, Goddess of multiple god-power!

Wake, Goddess of essence most godlike!

Wake, Queen of the lightning shaft²⁵,

The piercing fourth eye of heaven!

Awake; I pray thee awake!

The effect was magical: Pele’s bosom²⁶ heaved; breath entered her lungs; a fresh color came to her face, and spread to the tips of her ears. She sighed, stretched herself and sat up: she was herself again.

 

1 This Laupahoehoe is to be distinguished²⁷ from that in Hilo. 

1 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

3 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

4 scouted   

寻找，侦察( scout的过去式和过去分词 )； 物色（优秀运动员、演员、音乐家等）

参考例句：

• They scouted around for a shop that was open late. 他们四处寻找，看看还有没有夜间营业的商店。
• They scouted around for a beauty parlour. 他们四处寻找美容院。

5 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 wilted   

（使）凋谢，枯萎( wilt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The flowers wilted in the hot sun. 花在烈日下枯萎了。
• The romance blossomed for six or seven months, and then wilted. 那罗曼史持续六七个月之后就告吹了。

8 scorched   

烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦

参考例句：

• I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。
• The hot iron scorched the tablecloth. 热熨斗把桌布烫焦了。

9 clumps   

n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声

参考例句：

• These plants quickly form dense clumps. 这些植物很快形成了浓密的树丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bulbs were over. All that remained of them were clumps of brown leaves. 这些鳞茎死了，剩下的只是一丛丛的黃叶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

11 obstructions   

n.障碍物( obstruction的名词复数 )；阻碍物；阻碍；阻挠

参考例句：

• The absence of obstructions is of course an idealization. 没有障碍物的情况当然是一种理想化的情况。 来自辞典例句
• These obstructions could take some weeks to clear from these canals. 这些障碍物可能要花几周时间才能从运河中清除掉。 来自辞典例句

12 waft   

v.飘浮，飘荡；n.一股；一阵微风；飘荡

参考例句：

• The bubble maker is like a sword that you waft in the air.吹出泡泡的东西就像你在空中挥舞的一把剑。
• When she just about fall over,a waft of fragrance makes her stop.在她差点跌倒时，一股幽香让她停下脚步。

13 rapture   

n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜

参考例句：

• His speech was received with rapture by his supporters.他的演说受到支持者们的热烈欢迎。
• In the midst of his rapture,he was interrupted by his father.他正欢天喜地，被他父亲打断了。

14 wafts   

n.空中飘来的气味，一阵气味( waft的名词复数 )；摇转风扇v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A breeze wafts the sweet smell of roses. 微风吹来了玫瑰花的芬芳（香味）。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A breeze wafts the smell of roses. 微风吹送玫瑰花香气。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

16 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

18 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

19 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

20 wailing   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱

参考例句：

• A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

21 lamenting   

adj.悲伤的，悲哀的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Katydids were lamenting fall's approach. 蝈蝈儿正为秋天临近而哀鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lamenting because the papers hadn't been destroyed and the money kept. 她正在吃后悔药呢，后悔自己没有毁了那张字条，把钱昧下来！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

22 stoutly   

adv.牢固地，粗壮的

参考例句：

• He stoutly denied his guilt.他断然否认自己有罪。
• Burgess was taxed with this and stoutly denied it.伯杰斯为此受到了责难，但是他自己坚决否认有这回事。

23 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

24 smitten   

猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• From the moment they met, he was completely smitten by her. 从一见面的那一刻起，他就完全被她迷住了。
• It was easy to see why she was smitten with him. 她很容易看出为何她为他倾倒。

25 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

26 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

27 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。