Note 14 — Introductory material

After the bet was settled they went into the house and sat down; Pikoiakaalala then looked up at the rafters and said: “Look at that big rat sitting there! Look at that big rat sitting there!!” At this Mainele remarked: “You are a deceiving man. Where is the rat to come from that you could see there? You are the greatest liar I have ever seen. You have no equal.” Pikoiakaalala said: “There is a rat. If I should shoot and hit a rat, what would you do?” “All right, we will make a bet, if you shoot and hit a rat I lose and if you don’t hit one you lose,” said Mainele. The bets were then made, the king and queen doing the betting, consisting of articles of value and land. After the bets were made, Pikoiakaalala let fly his arrow which flew and hit the top-most batten Kuaiole.14 At this Mainele looked on and said: “That is not a rat, that is a batten, you have not beaten me.” Pikoiakaalala replied: “That is a rat, for the common expression is this: ‘Put on and bind down the rat-backed batten.’ Is not that expression connection with the word rat? I say it is; therefore, I have won.” At this everybody present decided that Mainele was beaten. When Mainele was beaten this time, his skill and fame began to wane, while the skill and fame of Pikoiakaalala as a shooter of rats was established.