On one such occasion Laamaomao, having received an order for a great
storm, forgot all about Maui's kite and turned loose his most powerful
wind from Ipunui. All night long it howled through the creaking trees,
driving the rain before it in lashing sheets. Stout as it was, the
olona cord with which Maui's big kite was moored could not long
withstand the strain and finally parted, leaving the kite to the mercy
of the winds. Tossed madly about in the storm, it was carried far
across the flank of Mauna Loa and dropped into the sea off the shore
of Kau.
Now Puuanuhe, the much-dreaded lizard-woman, made her home on the
shores of the Kau desert, and to her ears had come the wonderful story
of Maui's kite, fanning an already hot jealousy of the young demi-god
and his doings. Puuanuhe was the only creature of those days who had
fiery red hair, and her temper was none the less caloric.
So when she saw this strange object floating in the water near her
home on the morning after the storm she recognized it as Maui's kite.
Chuckling in vicious satisfaction at this chance opportunity to make
trouble for the handsome son of Hina, Puuanuhe hid the kite in the
rough hills back of Hilea.
Great was Maui's surprise and consternation when he found his kite
gone. He at once set out in search of it. Days passed without trace of
it, but one day news came to him that Puuanuhe had been seen with a
large kite. He knew it must be his, as there was none other so big.
Arriving at Hilea he discovered the hideous red-headed lizard-woman,
who admitted she had found his kite, but refused to enlighten him as
to its whereabouts. This same creature had lured many a poor fisherman
to death on the rocky coast of Kau, and Maui thought it high time to
put an end to such a pest, so he killed her.
Once more he took up his search for his beloved kite and soon found it
cleverly hidden in the hills. Ironically he named the spot Puuanuhe,
and returning home with his precious toy he fastened it securely to
its moorings again.
Even today you can see the immense kite, now turned to stone, just as
Maui hauled it in for the last time and left it. It is seventy-five
feet long and about forty-five feet wide, narrowing to eighteen feet
at one end. At the narrow end is a crystal-clear lake, very deep and
smooth as glass. In its center is a large, round stone projecting
above the surface with a two-inch aperture in the middle where Maui
used to make his kite string fast.
Near this lake are the two windpots, Ipunui and Ipuiki, and a little
way below are three very distinct foot-prints, each fifteen inches
long, showing where Maui stood while flying his great kite.