Lehua is the beautiful mermaid of Waimea, Kaua'i. On the edge of its river mouth leading into the sea is a small cove with a large flat rock known as Poliolehua. According to Hawaiian legend, the residents long ago named it after Lehua who woult rest on the rock, combing her long, silken hair. Whenever anyone came near, she quickly slipped away into the deep frech water. Once a young chief, deciding to catch her fir his wife, snuck upon her stealthily. However Lehua, being instctually wild and keenly aware , sensed someone comoing and vanished. He tried in vain to swim after her, ending up in a clean sandy cave. It is said that no one seen her since. She appears to us now, from her sanctuary in the sea, to lovingly remind us to preserve and protect our precious oceans and all its living creatures.