Several of Colum's stories are romantic myths or legends that feature the hero's successful quest for a spouse or consort.

The hero usually employs magic or trickery to obtain the object of his affections, a device that suggests the mystical and the deceptive nature of love. In "The Story of Ha-le-ma-no and the Princess Kama," the protagonist's sister uses her magical powers to help him win the princess. In "The Woman from Lalohana, the Country under the Sea," Hina, the goddess of the moon, is lured from her undersea dwelling to live with King Koni-Konia. The ocean carries Hina's brothers, in the form of fish, in a great flood over all the land in search of Hina.

But she, the king, and all his people escape by climbing into treetops on the highest mountains. In "The Arrow and the Swing," a commoner, Hi-ku, and...