a e eli nei?
Owau no, o Pele,
Nana i eli aku ka lua i Hu'ehu'e a a.

He lua i Hu'ehu'e, ua ena e Pele.
Ke haoloolo e la ke ao,
60 Ke lele la i-luna, i-lalo;
Kawewe ka o-o i-lalo, i akea.
Eli-eli, kau mai!

[Translation]

_Song_

(In turgid style)

A pit lies (far) to the East,
Pit het by the Fire-queen Pele.
Heaven's dawn is lifted askew,
One edge tilts up, one down, in the sky;
5 The thud of the pick is heard in the ground.
The question is asked by Wakea,
What god's this a-digging?
It is I, it is Pele,
Who dug Mihau deep down till it burned,
10 Dug fire-pit red-heated by Pele.

Night's curtains are drawn to one side,
One lifts, one hangs in the tide.
Crunch of spade resounds in the earth.
Wakea 'gain urges the query,
15 What god plies the spade in the ground?
Quoth Pele, 'tis I:
[Page 87] I mined to the fire neath Kauai,
On Kauai I dug deep a pit,
A fire-well flame-fed by Pele.

20 The heavens are lifted aslant,
One border moves up and one down;
There's a stroke of o-o 'neath the ground.
Wakea, in earnest, would know,
What demon's a-grubbing below?
25 I am the worker, says Pele:
Oahu I pierced to the quick,
A crater white-heated by Pele.

Now morn lights one edge of the sky;
The light streams up, the shadows fall down;
30 There's a clatter of tools deep down.
Wakea, in passion, demands,
What god this who digs 'neath the ground?
It is dame Pele who answers;
Hers the toil to dig down to fire,
35 To dig Molokai and reach fire.

Now morning peeps from the sky
With one eye open, one shut.
Hark, ring of the drill 'neath the plain!
Wakea asks you to explain,
40 What imp is a-drilling below?
It is I, mutt