Wearers of fur or of feathers,
Creatures of forest and mountain,
Birds of the sea and the marshes.

I will tell you the tale of Merita,
Merita, the daughter of Yado,
Chief of the fishermen people
Who lived by the Lake of the Oak Trees,
Far to the east of the harbor.

Slender and tall was Merita,
Dark were her eyes, and her tresses
Glossy and black as the feathers
That gleam on the wings of the raven.
Gentle and kind was Merita,
Serving the young and the aged,
Nursing the sick and the wounded,
Cheering when sorrow was breaking
The heart of some one of her people.
The Gods taught Merita the language
Of birds that made nests in the oak trees,
Of water fowl thronging the tules,
Of all furry creatures that peopled
The hills and the valleys around them.
They came from afar when she called them,
Called with her song, and they hastened
To tell her their troubles and sorrows.
She bound up their wounds and caressed them,
And told them the wiles of the hunters.