The Bad Ogres of Kauai

A long time ago there were ogres on Niihau. The ogres ate people and they scared off the fishes so the men couldn't catch them. One day one of the men named Umi said, "I have an idea."

His idea was to get 4 lehua logs and carve them into 4 men and use pearls from the clams as their eyes. He then set sail for Niihau .

The ogres saw him and they were so happy that they would soon have someone to eat. Umi went into a place where he could hide and set up the 4 statues so they would be seen by the 2 ogres.

The ogres said, "We're going to have a feast. But first we have to wait until the men all fall asleep. A little while later they came back and the 4 (fake) men were still awake so the ogres left again. Umi waited until they left before leaning the statues on each other. When the ogres came back, they thought the men were asleep. They tried to eat them but the wood was too hard and their teeth fell out.

Umi came out of his hiding place and said, "We are tough."

Then he killed them with a magic club.

After that some people from Kauai moved to Niihau. Today people are living on Niihau and can catch fish.


by Genoa

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Ehlers,Sabine. Hawaiian Stories For Boys and Girls. Honolulu, Hawaii:Mid Pacific Press Inc., 1965.

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