The Legend of Kamapua'a

Once upon a time, there was a family that lived on the island of O'ahu. They had a son and the;y named him Kamapua'a. Their son was born with a pig like nose and a body of a boy. He grew to be eight feet tall. Kamapua'a was a demigod who could change his form from a man to a pig.

Kamapua'a's father didn't want people to stare and jeer at his son so he took Kamapua'a to his grandmother's house on the island of Hawai'i. Kamapua'a lived there with his grandma for many years.

Sometimes, Kamapaua'a was very good. Other times, he was very naughty. One day, Kamapua'a started stealing chickens from the neighbors. People started wondering where their chickens had gone.

Then, Kamapua'a started stealing from the ali'i. The ali'i had prize winning chickens, and Kamapua'a wanted them. When the ali'i found out that someone was taking chickens from him, he suspected Kamapua'a. The ali'i sent out his guards to capture him.

Kamapua'a found out they were after him, so he ran away into the forest. As he was running, he saw his grandmother. She told him to hide behind the bushes, so he did. Then, as he watched through the bushes, Kamapua'a could see his grandmother telling the king's guards that he was behind the bushes. He started running again.

After a while, Kamapua'a saw his grandmother up ahead.

"Why did you tell them where I was?" he asked her, but before she could answer, he saw the guards coming around the bend.

"Quick, hide in the taro patch," Kamapua'a's grandmother told him. He did as she told him.

Again, as Kamapua'a watched through the taro leaves, his grandmother told the guards where he was. When he saw this, he started running again.

Finally, Kamapua'a got to the base of the mountain. There, he saw his grandmother again.

"Grandmother, why do you keep telling the guards where I am?" he asked.

Kamapua'a couldn't see her face because his grandmother was facing the base of the mountain. When he finished his question she turned around. He saw that it wasn't his grandmother at all! It was Pele, the Fire Goddess!

Pele didn't want to share her island with Kamapua'a, and wanted to destroy him. Kamapua'a ran from her. He could hear her laughing behind him.

"Kamapua'a, you will run forever!" she said.

Kamapua'a ran back to the island of O'ahu. Still, they chased him. He climbed up the steep mountain side looking for a place to hide. He found a cave. Kamapua'a walked farther and farther into the cave until he found some light. He went to the hole where the light was coming from. Kamapua'a found a space big enough for his hand for fit.

When Kamapua'a put his hand in, he could feel the warmth of the sun. He knew he that was the way to freedom, but something large was in the way. A huge boulder was in front of the passage way. Kamapua'a pulled the boulder out of the way, leaving a large gash in the cliff wall, which remains today.

Kamapua'a looked around and saw that he was at the top of Sacred Falls. He ran on . . .