These little people work at night. They work together and in great numbers. In one night they can accomplish mighty deeds such as building a road, a heiau or walling in a fish pond. At dawn all work must stop for that is the menehune law, and a job must be finished in a single night. (Men still point to certain walls left unfinished when morning came too quickly).
The Hawaiians learned that if you are unkind to a menehune, you will be punished by them. However if you are a friend you might be rewarded by the work of many, many hands.
The menehune play a sport where they jump from a cliff to the sea. The little men bring stones from the mountains until they have a large pile on the cliff. Then a good swimmer throws a stone into the water and leaps after it, trying to catch it as it sinks.
Once, as they played this game, a shark attacked them. 'A'aka, one of the men, was almost caught. The menehune gathered in an excited group, and soon agreed that they were going to kill the shark.
They put delicious meat in a trap basket and set it into the sea. Soon the shark smelled the food and went after it. He soon found himself caught in a trap basket of beach morning glory vines. The shark was killed, but the menehune never again swam in that bay.