CHAPTER V PELE MAKES A PROPOSITION TO HER SISTERS

 That same day Pele and the other sisters returned to Kilauea, while Hiiaka went back to resume her visit with Hopoe, each party reaching its destination at about the same time. Early the next morning Pele called to her sister Hiiaka-i-ka-ale-i (Hiiaka-of-the-choppy-sea) and said, “I want you to go on an errand for me.” [13]

 

“No doubt I shall agree to go when you have told me what it is,” was the answer of the young woman.

 

“You are to journey to Kaua’i and escort hither our lover—yours and mine. While on the way you are not to lie with him; you are not to touch noses with him; you are not to fondle him or snuggle close to him. If you do any such thing I will kill both of you. After your return, for five days and five nights, I will have him to myself, and after that he shall be your lover.”

 

On hearing this, the young woman hung her head and wept.

 

Pele then made the same proposal to each of the other sisters in turn. Not one of them would consent to undertake the mission. They knew full well the perils¹ of the undertaking²: the way was beset³ with swarms⁴ of demons⁵ and dragons, with beings possessed⁶ with powers of enchantment⁷; and Pele did not offer to endow them with the power that would safeguard them on their journey.

 

Pele, finding herself foiled on this tack⁸, as a diversion, said, “Let us refresh ourselves and have some luau.” The sisters immediately set to work, and, when they had made up the bundles of delicate taro⁹ leaves and were about to lay them upon the fire, Pele called to Paú-o-pala’e and bade her go straightway to Haena and fetch Hiiaka, “And you are to be back here by the time the luau is cooked.”

 

Now the girl, whose full name was Hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele, was the youngest of the sisters, and, by reason of her loveliness and accommodating disposition¹⁰, she was Pele’s favorite. She was, moreover, gifted with a quick intuition and a clairvoyant¹¹ perception of distant happenings and coming events. At the time of the conversation between Pele and the seven sisters, Hiiaka was sporting in the ocean with her surf-board in the company of Hopoe. While thus engaged, the whole matter of the proposed journey to Haena came to her as in a vision. In the midst of her surfing she turned to Hopoe and said, “I perceive that I am about to undertake a long journey; and during my absence you will remain here in Puna waiting my return.”

 

“No! What puts such a notion into your head?” said Hopoe.

 

“Yes, I must go,” insisted Hiiaka. Then they mounted a roller, and, as their boards touched the beach, there stood the messenger of Pele; and this was the message: “Gird on your paú and come with me to Kilauea. Your sister commands it.”

 

As the two jogged on their uphill way, an impulse seized Hiiaka, and she gave voice to a premonition, a shadow of coming [14]trouble, as it were, and, standing¹² in the road at Mokau-lele, she sang:

 

He u? kui lehua ko Pana-ewa;

He u? ma kai kui hala ko Puna, e!

Aloha e, aloha wale Koloa, e-e!

Na mau’u i moe o Malei.

TRANSLATION

 

Pana-ewa’s rain beats down the lehuas,

A rain by the sea smites¹³ the halas of Puna.

My love, my pity go out to Koloa;—

Her fare, wilted¹⁴ herbs at Malei.

Hiiaka—true poet that she was, and alive to every colorable aspect of nature—as she trudged¹⁵ on her way, came upon a sight that touched her imagination; two birds were sipping¹⁶ together in loving content of the water that had collected in the crotch of a tree, in which also was growing an awa plant.—Such nature-planted awa was famed as being the most toxic¹⁷ of any produced in Puna.—Her poetic¹⁸ mind found in the incident something that was in harmony with her own mood, and she wove it into a song:

 

O ka manu múkimukí,

Ale lehua a ka manu,

O ka awa ili lena

I ka uka o Ka-li’u;

O ka manu ha’iha’i lau awa o Puna:—

Aia i ka laau ka awa ona o Puna,

O Puna, ho’i, e-e!

TRANSLATION

 

O bird that sips¹⁹ with delight

the nectar-bloom of lehua,

Tasting the yellow-barked awa

That climbs in Ka-liu’s uplands;

O bird that brews²⁰ from this leafage

Puna’s bitter-sweet awa draught;—

Puna’s potentest awa grows

Aloft in the crotch of a tree;—

Most potent²¹ this awa of Puna!

1 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

2 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

3 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

4 swarms   

蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They came to town in swarms. 他们蜂拥来到城里。
• On June the first there were swarms of children playing in the park. 6月1日那一天，这个公园里有一群群的孩子玩耍。

5 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

7 enchantment   

n.迷惑，妖术，魅力

参考例句：

• The beauty of the scene filled us with enchantment.风景的秀丽令我们陶醉。
• The countryside lay as under some dread enchantment.乡村好像躺在某种可怖的魔法之下。

8 tack   

n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝

参考例句：

• He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture.他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
• We are going to tack the map on the wall.我们打算把这张地图钉在墙上。

9 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

10 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

11 clairvoyant   

adj.有预见的；n.有预见的人

参考例句：

• Love is blind,but friendship is clairvoyant.爱是盲目的，友谊则能洞察一切。
• Those whom are clairvoyant have often come to understand past lives.那些能透视的人们已能经常理解死去的生命。

12 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。

13 smites   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The sound smites upon the ear. 声音震耳。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My conscience smites me. 我良心上过意不去。 来自互联网

14 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。

15 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

17 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

18 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

19 sips   

n.小口喝，一小口的量( sip的名词复数 )v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You must administer them slowly, allowing the child to swallow between sips. 你应慢慢给药，使小儿在吸吮之间有充分的时间吞咽。 来自辞典例句
• Emission standards applicable to preexisting stationary sources appear in state implementation plans (SIPs). 在《州实施计划》中出现了固定污染的排放标准。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

20 brews   

n.（尤指某地酿造的）啤酒( brew的名词复数 )；酿造物的种类；（茶）一次的冲泡量；（不同思想、环境、事件的）交融v.调制( brew的第三人称单数 )；酝酿；沏（茶）；煮（咖啡）

参考例句：

• He brews beer at home. 他在家里酿造啤酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They produce the country's best brews of beer. 他们生产该国的佳酿啤酒。 来自辞典例句

21 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。