True to Hiiaka's prediction, the mo'o, in abject fear, turned and fled for their lives at her first threatening move and she now called upon the people to pursue and destroy them:
Mai ka Nuku-o-ka-manu[1] a Puna-hoa, e.
Hoa ia iho la kau kanáka,
I pa'a, o pahe'e auane'i;
Hina i ka Lua-kanáka.
He kanáka! He mau akua, e!
TRANSLATION
Weighted with wreaths of lehua
From Bird-beak clean down to the feet.
Catch and bind these robbers of men;
Bind them fast, lest they slip through your hands
And escape to the robber-pit—
These mortals, who call themselves gods!
The meaning of the figure in the first two verses, though obscure, seems to be that Hilo, so rich in natural beauty, is by that very fact robbed of the energy to defend herself and cast off the incubus that oppresses her.
As the creatures fled from Hiiaka's pursuit, their human disguise fell from them and their real character as mo’o was evident.
"We've committed a great blunder," said Pili-a-mo'o to his mate. "It looks as if she meant to kill us. Let us apologize for our mistake and conciliate her with fair words."
Noho-a-mo'o agreed to this and, turning to Hiiaka, made this wheedling speech:
Ka wahine o ka Lua;
Uä ia iho la e ka ua,
A kilinahe ka maka o ka lehua ma-uka.
Ma-uka oe e hele ai,
Ma ka hoauau wai.
E waiho ke ala no maua,
No na kupuna, e.
- ↑ Nuku-o-ka-manu, literally, the beak of the bird; said to be a cape in the neighborhood of Hilo.
