On dis day, my friend Judy wen invite me to go wit her 'ohana to dis cabin dey had in Kahuku. I had go wit dem befoah foah da weekend, an we alla time had good fun. Dis weekend stay so hot. Da sun stay beating down on us, so me an Judy wen decide foah go foah one swim. So we wen do dat, den wen lie out in da sun foah awhile. By den, we had get real hot again, so we wen decide foah go back to da cabin foah sometin cold to drink.

On da way back, had dis beeg watahmelon field. Dem buggahs so beeg! An awreddy den was so ready foah pick dat we could smell da onaona scent of dem, cuz get so many. We stay so thirsty! An hungry! We still had about 15 minutes left befoah we would get home. So we wen holoholo along da dirt path next to da watahmelon field, smellin dat onaona scent, complaining about how hungry an thirsty we stay. Dat field seemed so huge! We wen walk an walk, an still yet get moah way to go.

Juss den, Judy wen look at me. An I wen look at her. "Nah", we wen say, almost togeddah. "Beddah not". So we had keep walkin. But ho da hot! No place to cool off. She wen look at me side eye. I wen look at her side eye. Den grins wen spread across both ouah makas. "We go!"

We wen tiptoe chru dat watahmelon patch. "We just lookin", we wen tell each oddah. But deep insai, we knew beddah. Ho, da onaona! Ho, da hot! Ho, da temptation!!

Juss den, right in front ouah maka, we wen spock da most nani melon of dem all! Ho, da beeg bambucha watahmelon dat wuz. Slowly, we wen turn around an around.

"I no spock nobody", I wen tell Judy.

"Me needah", she wen tell me.

An wikiwiki, we had both bend down an staht foah twist dat bambucha melon around an around on da vine, till finally, ho! It wen twist right off da vine like magic! Da watahmelon kakaroach keiki had struck!

Dat buggah was so beeg it wen take two of us foah carry um to da edge of da field, weah deah, in da shade, wuz one flume, running wit cold watah. We wen poot dat melon insai da flume foah cool off, letting da watah pour ovah it. 5, 10, 15 minnits wen go by, and finally we no could stand it no moah. We wen take dat watahmelon out, an crack it against da side of da flume.

Eef we thought da scent was onaona befoah, was ten tousand times moah beddah wen dat buggah stay opened! We wen scoop out dat watahmelon pulp wit ouah fingahs, da juice running down ouah chins. We no could get enuf! An da two of us wen grind dat entiyah watahmelon all by ouahselves. Den wen we pau, we wen chrow da shell into da bushes on da fah side of da flume weah nobody can find um. We wen wash ouah juicy makas wit watah from da flume. Den we wen holoholo back to da cabin, tinkin how akamai an no'eau we stay foah find such one awesome way foah cool off lidat.

Onee one problem. Wen we get back to da cabin, Judy's faddah wen spock da red juice on ouah shirts. Hees eyebrows wen go down. Hees maka wen get narrow. Da cohnahs of his mout wen turn down.

"Weah u girls had get dat watahmelon from?" he wen axe us.

"Uh.... well, Daddy", Judy wen tell, "we stay choke hot! Da sweat stay runnin down ouah shirts! "

"Oh yah," I wen tell him. "We still stay long ways from da hale... an.. umm.. well, deah stay dis watahmelon patch.... anden... "

"Anden...", Judy wen tell heem, "We kinda wen kakaroach one watahmelon". "Yah", I wen tell, "we kinda wen do dat".

"You wahines wen kakaroach somebody's melon? From deah field?"

"Yeah, we wen", I wen tell him. An Judy wen tell, "We sorry, Daddy. We not going do dat no moah. Promise!"

Judy's faddah no stay hau'oli. He no stop frowning. He nevah wen feel sorry foah us. Instead, he wen geev us dis lekchah on how we no sposed to kakaroach oddah peepos stuffs, an den foah punishment wen send us to ouah room wit no dinnah.

So we wen learn ouah lesson. But still yet, to dis day, deah was nevah any watahmelon dat wen taste as good, an as sweet, an as juicy, as dat kakaroached watahmelon from da field at Kahuku.

I wuz born an raised on O'ahu, up Mänoa Valley side. Now I stay in one small town called Boring, in NW Oregon, about 20 miles SE of Portland, on one 12-acre farm wit my hubby, sheep, llamas and pygmy goats. I enjoy beadwork and handspinning.