Note 1 — Introductory material

Alala was the father and Koukou was the mother of Pikoiakaalala; Iole and Opeapea were the sisters of Pikoiakaalala, born before him. The parents as well as the children were rats who sometimes changed into human beings, as this story will clearly show. Wailua in Kauai was the birthplace of Pikoiakaalala.1 The first child of Koukou was Iole, a daughter; then followed Opeapea, another daughter. These two were brought up by their parents until they were of age, when they moved to Oahu and married husbands who were connected to certain high chiefs and who were large land owners, during the reign of Kaulamawaho2 and Kekakapuomaluihi. As Iole and Opeapea had left Kauai for Oahu before the birth of Pikoiakaalala, therefore, they were not present3 at the birth of their young brother. After they had left, Koukou, their mother, conceived and gave birth to Pikoiakaalala, a son, to whom great care was exercised in his bringing up. In the course of time the child grew to be fine looking but with hair that resembled rat’s hair.