High Tide in Hawaii

Jack. “Come on, let’s go.”
    Annie jumped up.
    â€œDon’t forget your lei,” she said.
    They put on their flower wreaths. Jack lifted the cloth over the doorway, and they stepped out into the warm sunlight.
    Boka, Kama, and their parents smiled at Jack and Annie. They were all working. But no one was building a ship.
    Boka was pounding a wide strip of bark with a wooden club. Kama was using a stone to pound something that looked like a fat sweet potato. Their parents were weaving grass mats.
    â€œWhat are you making?” Jack asked.
    â€œI’m making
tapa,
” said Boka. “First I beat the bark of the mulberry tree into thin sheets. Then my father pastes the sheets together to make cloth for us.”
    â€œThis is the root of a
taro
plant,” said Kama. She pointed at the squashed white vegetable. “When you add fruit to it, you get poi.”

    â€œGreat,” said Jack. “By the way, do you ever build ships?”
    â€œShips?” asked Boka. “What for?”
    Jack shrugged. “To sail away?” he said.
    â€œWhy would we do that?” asked Kama.
    â€œGood question,” said Jack, smiling.
    â€œCan I help?” Annie asked Kama.
    â€œSure,” said Kama. While she showed Annie how to pound the taro root, Jack slipped back into the hut. He pulled out his notebook and quickly added to his Hawaii list:

    Jack heard Kama ask her parents if they could play now.
    â€œWe’ve finished our chores,” said Kama. “May we take Jack and Annie to the ocean?”
    â€œFor wave riding,” said Boka.
    Jack held his breath. He half hoped their parents would say no.
    â€œYes, go have a good time with your friends,” said their father.
    â€œCome on, Jack!” Annie called.
    Jack put his notebook away. He pulled on his pack and joined the others outside.
    â€œWe’ll be back in a little while,” said Kama.
    â€œDon’t forget to eat breakfast!” said her mother.
    â€œWe won’t,” said Kama.
    Where will we get breakfast?
wondered Jack.
    He and Annie followed Kama and Boka. They passed villagers hard at work. Some carried firewood or water. Others were cutting grass or stripping bark from trees. Everyone smiled and waved.
    â€œHungry?” Kama asked Jack and Annie.
    â€œSure,” they said.
    Kama and Boka went into the grove of palms near the huts. They climbed up two slanting tree trunks, using their hands and feet to push themselves up. At the top, they shook the palm leaves.
    â€œWatch out!” Kama shouted.
    Jack and Annie jumped back as big, round coconuts fell to the ground.
    Kama and Boka slid down the trees. They each picked up a coconut. Then they found rocks and began to whack the hard shells. They whacked and whacked until their coconuts cracked into halves.
    Kama shared hers with Annie. Boka shared his with Jack.
    Jack drank the fresh, sweet milk inside the coconut. “Mmm!” he said.
    â€œInteresting?” asked Boka.
    â€œNo.
Mmm
means
good!
” said Jack.
    Everyone laughed.
    Then Kama picked bananas off a banana tree and gave them to Jack and Annie. Jack peeled his and took a bite. It was the best banana he’d ever eaten.
    When breakfast was over, they all headed into the flowery meadow. The sky was the bluest blue Jack had ever seen. The grass was the greenest green. The flowers and birds sparkled like jewels.
    Hawaii is like a garden paradise,
Jack thought.
    He wanted to look up Hawaiian birds and flowers in the research book. As the others kept walking, he stopped and pulled out the book.
    â€œJack! Come look!” Annie shouted. She was standing at the edge of a cliff with Boka and Kama.
    Jack put away the book and hurried to join the others. He looked down at a beach fifty feet below.
    There were no people. Only seashells and seaweed lay on the glistening white sand. Big, foamy waves crashed against the shore.
    â€œWow!” said Annie.
    Uh-oh,
thought Jack.

 

    Boka looked at Jack and grinned.
    â€œReady?” he asked.
    â€œI’m ready!” said Annie. “Where do we get our surfboards?”
    â€œDown there,” said Kama. She pointed to a rocky path that led to the beach.
    â€œLet’s go,” said Annie.
    Annie, Boka, and Kama started down the path. Jack followed, moving slowly and carefully.

    When he stepped onto the beach, Jack slipped off his shoes. He dug his toes into the dry, warm sand. It felt as soft