Pu-nia and the Shark King

Pu-nia and the Shark King

On a Hawaiian island, where the water near the shore was so clear that the sand could be seen beneath the waves, lived a boy named Pu-nia. He lived with his mother in a small home close to the sea. Long before, Pu-nia’s father had gone out fishing and never returned. Since then, mother and son had lived simply. They had sweet potatoes and fruit from the trees, but there was rarely fish or seafood for their table. Not far from the shore was an underwater cave full of large spiny lobsters. No one dared to dive there, though. Kai-ale-ale, the King of Sharks, lived near the cave with ten other sharks. They guarded it day and night. One evening, Pu-nia’s mother placed roasted sweet potatoes on the table and said quietly, “If only we had one lobster for supper.” Pu-nia did not answer, but he thought, Tomorrow we shall. In the morning, he climbed onto a rock above the cave. From there, he could see the dark backs of the sharks beneath the water. At first they lay very still. Then Pu-nia noticed one shark move its tail. They are not asleep, he realized. But he pretended he had seen nothing. In a loud voice, he said to himself, “I, Pu-nia, will dive right there by the black rock. The sharks are sleeping, so I will easily reach the cave, take two lobsters, and bring them home to my mother.” Kai-ale-ale heard him and barely moved a fin. “Everyone to the black rock,” he whispered to the sharks. “When the boy dives, surround him.” Pu-nia picked up a stone and threw it with all his strength into the water beside the black rock. Splash! Every shark rushed toward the sound. Pu-nia dived from the opposite side. One, two, and he was inside the cave. He took a lobster in each hand and hurried to the surface. “Thank you for the advice!” he called to the sharks. “Especially the one with the narrow tail!” Kai-ale-ale spun angrily. “Which one of you helped him?” he demanded. The sharks swam nervously around one another. Pu-nia laughed and went home. His mother was amazed when she saw the two large lobsters. “Where did you get these?” “Near the cave.” “The same cave guarded by the sharks?” “Yes. But I was careful.” His mother looked at him seriously. “Being clever is a good thing,” she said. “But do not let courage become carelessness.” Pu-nia nodded. A few days later, the lobsters were gone. The boy returned to the rock. This time, the sharks knew he was tricky. Still, Pu-nia called out, “Today I will dive by the pale rock. It is the shortest way to the cave.” Kai-ale-ale gave an order. “Do not take your eyes off the pale rock!” Pu-nia threw a stone there. Splash! The sharks rushed toward it. The boy dived from the other side and returned with two more lobsters. “See?” he called. “Someone has advised me again!” Kai-ale-ale grew even angrier. This happened more than once. But Pu-nia did not want the sharks to fight among themselves. Each time, he named a different clue: “the shark with the round belly,” “the shark with the small eye,” or “the shark with a mark on its back.” Soon the sharks suspected one another so much that they could no longer guard the cave peacefully. They argued, swam away to inspect one another, and forgot to watch the water. At last, nine of them said, “We are tired of listening to Kai-ale-ale. Because of him, we only quarrel.” They swam away to seek other waters. Only Kai-ale-ale remained. He was huge, stubborn, and very angry. “Now I will catch you myself, Pu-nia,” he growled. Pu-nia knew that their last meeting would be the hardest. He went into the forest and cut two strong wooden poles. He took a rope, a small bag of food, and dry twigs for a fire. Then he returned to the shore and spoke aloud again. “If Kai-ale-ale bites me, I can slip away. But if he swallows me whole, that would be truly difficult.” The Shark King heard him. Then I must swallow him whole, he thought. Pu-nia dived. Kai-ale-ale opened his mouth wide. The boy swam straight inside. As soon as he was there, he placed the two strong poles between the shark’s jaws. Kai-ale-ale could not close his mouth. He darted forward, then sideways, then down into deeper water. Pu-nia held tightly and kept thinking. He needed to make the Shark King swim toward shallow water. So he shouted, “Only do not carry me to the sandy shallows by the bushes! I could surely escape there!” Kai-ale-ale thought, Ah, that is exactly where I must take him! He swam with all his strength toward the shore. The water grew shallower and shallower. With one last powerful surge, Kai-ale-ale became stuck on the sand. Pu-nia slipped from his mouth and ran safely onto the beach. People from the village came running when they heard the commotion. “The Shark King is stranded!” they cried. Kai-ale-ale thrashed his tail, but the water around him was too shallow. Pu-nia stepped closer. “Listen, Kai-ale-ale. The ocean is wide. You do not need to guard one cave and frighten everyone around it. When the next wave comes, return to the sea and swim far away from our bay.” The Shark King looked at him with one dark eye. Soon a large wave rolled in. It lifted Kai-ale-ale and carried him back to deeper water. The Shark King circled the shore once, as if he still wanted everyone to know how large he was. Then he turned toward the open ocean and disappeared. From that day, the cave was peaceful. Fishers went out to sea again. Children gathered shells near the water. Pu-nia dived to the cave only when his family truly needed food, and he never took more than they could eat. One day, his mother said, “You did not win by strength.” “Then how?” “By listening, thinking, and not rushing.” Pu-nia smiled. He had learned that even before a very large fear, one small and well-chosen thought can sometimes show the way. And the sea kept on singing, vast and blue, holding many more stories in its waves.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨