- He `ano `ë no `o pete
- Ku`u këkake punahele
- He maika`i a he nuha
- He maika`i a he nuha
- He lole lua he `ano `ë
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- He maika`i nö e pete
- `Eleu mai ho`i kau
- Mea `ole nä pohaku
- Mea `ole nä pohaku
- Na `alu me nä pi`ina e
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- Ke nuha mai `o pete
- O na wawae `elua
- Pelu na wawae i hope
- Pelu na wawae i hope
- Noho iho i ke alanui e
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- Huki mai au mamua
- Pahu aku au mahope
- `A`ohe ka maliu iho
- `A`ohe ka maliu iho
- I ka pä a ka `uwepa e
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- Ha`ina mai ka puana
- No pete hana `äpiki
- Ke nuha mai oi ala
- Ke nuha mai oi ala
- Noho iho i ke alanui e
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- A strange creature is my
pet
- My favorite donkey
- He is good and he is
sulky
- He is good and he is
sulky
- Dual natured is he
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- When my pet is in a good
mood
- He is a lively creature
- Stones mean nothing to
him
- Stones mean nothing to
him
- Neither hollows nor
inclines
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- When my pet is stubborn
- He stiffens his front
legs
- Folds up his back legs
- Folds up his back legs
- And sits down in the
road
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- I tug from the front
- I push from behind
- He pays no attention
- He pays no attention
- To the flick of the
switch
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- The story is told
- Of my pet, the humbug
- Who when feeling sulky
- Who when feeling sulky
- Sits down in the road
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Source: Garza-Maguire Collection - In 1825, Richard Charlton, the first British consul to Hawai`i, imported 4 donkeys to Honolulu. Their value was immediately was realized and more were imported to provided transporation for the coffee industry in Kona. These beasts of burden were used to haul the coffee harvest from the mountains to the seaport over rugged and steep terrain. Every evening the donkeys would bray and they became known as the Kona Nightingales. After World War II, farmers purchased and used military surplus jeeps to haul their coffee. No longer useful, some donkeys were released into the wild on the slopes of Hualâlai. Today, a herd of about 35 donkeys, descended from the Kona Nightingales still roam the barren lava terrain above the coastal resorts at Ka`ûpûlehu. Many donkeys became pets and one was adopted by the uncle of Mary Pukui. She wrote this song for her uncle’s pet donkey |