No one had ever seen such a gloomy Hawaii before. The streets were silent because everyone stayed inside with the exception of those who tried to surf. But even surfing wasn't the same. All the waves had died down but they grew much more violent as a storm came closer. It seemed to have been getting worse and these past couple of weeks had been the worst. There seemed to be no hope for the island until this spectacular day.
People stood hunched over with long faces but as this man walked by, the people stood up, smiled, and greeted those around. This man had a small stringed instrument in his hand and it made the locals laugh. The man was so large and monstrous but the ukulele seemed fragile and small. He didn't seem to notice what they were laughing at. He walked down to a small patch of grass and began to strum a song. This small device that he played created such beautiful sounds and seemed to shoot out colors bright and vibrant and after a while they made what seemed to be a rainbow. And the man sang a song of this event.
The people were amazed at this mans instrument and asked the man about the strange thing. He replied stating “It's my jumping flea. It's my ukulele.” The surfers went off to try to recreate the “ukulele” the man was playing but came back with faces showing failure. All of the others stayed to watch and hear this man. Eventually all of those who had tried to recreate his sound gathered and approached the man eager to learn.
“Excuse me sir, but where you do you get an instrument like yours? They make such beautiful sounds and are so pleasing to all the men and women of the village. Look around you and see what happy people are looking at you. This town is full of ecstasy and delectation, before you arrived it was mirthless and pensive. Please sir tell of this wonderful instrument,” one of the surfers pleaded.
“I made this instrument I like to call a ukulele. I made the strings out of twine and used the harmonics of the wind to tune it. I used the trees around me for the body and glued it together with the sap in the same tree. I carved a hole in the middle and took a strum at it. The sound was magniloquent and calming. I will help you build the town more of these and spread the joy around the entire world.”
All of the town cried out in celebration as they walked down to a nice open area with trees all around. The ukulele man taught a few of the men first so they could teach the others. It was a magnificent sight to see as the town grew closer through each creation. After almost all of the villagers had their own ukuleles the waves in the ocean came back and were the best the surfers had seen in years. The town played their ukuleles for the rest of their lives and always celebrated this day. The man slipped out of the scene without saying goodbye but the town knew that he was spreading joy after every rainbow they saw.
After a while they began to see fewer and fewer rainbows, and eventually none at all. Most of the town didn't think twice of it, but the small group who had showed such joy originally decided to go search after him. They pondered as to how they could find this man and out of frustration one man decided to surf to another island in hopes of furthering the search. As the man went out into the ocean they were still arguing and completely forgot what the ukulele man had taught them about joy and happiness. The waves seemed to crash harder and harder as they fought on. The man went out regardless and was eaten alive after passing through one wave. Sharks seemed to appear in groups as the body was taken down under the sea.
Silence had taken over long enough for them to look into the ocean for inspiration. There they saw the body and swam out as a large group. The sharks seemed to ignore them when they went out as a group.
Fearless and angry, they surfed on through all of the storms and waves. While passing islands they watched others feel the affect of the ukulele man's absence and saw people stop in the midst of their pleasant stroll and sulk there way back home. And after countless hours of searching they reached an island secluded from the rest with only one hut and a slowly decaying rainbow. They knew that this had to be the home of him.
They worked even harder to get to the hut and decided to swim when only 20 feet away. As they jumped off of their surfboards and swam. The waves gradually got smaller and smaller and the rainbow began to rebuild itself. Hope filled the eyes of these men and they seemed more hopeful the closer they got. When they had reached the hut and opened the door the man was laying on the floor panting for breath. His large belly had a gash as wide as a manhole and blood dripped from his lip. Shocked at this horrific sight, the surfers split up while some went to tell the others and some stayed to help the man. He told them that he wouldn't be able to spread the joy of the ukulele much longer and the tradition may die. By now all of the surfers were on their knees cleaning up blood from the ground and trying many different religious techniques to heal him. The ukulele man told them not to worry about it. And he sang a song, the words in his song were his dying words. He said, “Don't worry, about a thing because every little thing is going to be all right.” The surfers took his words and his magnificent ukulele and swam to the town.
The people had already known of his death but not of all the details that the men who stayed with him knew. They took his ukulele and buried it by the spot he had taught them of his instrument. The people both cheered and cried. They sang all of the songs he had taught them in memorial of his life. Waves crashed showing the same emotions the people had expressed when the man first entered the town.
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