Note 2 — A-slender-one-who-was-given-away

Now, the day after a certain one in a hair-seal canoe,2 wearing a broad hat, stood there early in the morning. He had a surf-bird for a hat. After they had looked at him in his hair-seal canoe for a while, they asked him: “Why does the canoe come?” He said nothing. They did not want him. They said to him: “The woman refuses.” A round white thing was on top of his hat. This was a foamy wave. The foam was turning round and round rapidly. As soon as they had refused him the earth changed. Out of the earth water boiled up. Then, when this island was half covered, the frightened town people thought of giving the woman up. She had ten servants, they say. And they dressed up one of these just like her. And they painted her. And they put red cirrus clouds on her and two clear-sky blankets3 and sent her down to the chief. Then he absolutely refused her. He would take none but the chief’s child. They dressed up still another [slave] with dark mottled clouds which lie seaward, and they put two marten-skin blankets on her and had her go down. Her, too, he refused. He refused all ten in the same way.