multitude of foemen.
Swiftly rose and fell their paddles,
Flashing in the brilliant sunshine,
Trailing scarfs of foam behind them,
As they raced toward the harbor.

Tana searched the far horizon,
Saw the signal fires blazing
On the mountain tops and headlands,
Heard the war drums in the village
Roll in constant wild alarum.

Yana held the Yellow Iris
With the Magic in its petals,
Held and gazed with adoration
On the velvet mystic markings.
Then she plucked a magic petal,
Held it high, and ere it fluttered
To the breeze this prayer was uttered:

'Spirit of our Native Country,
Goddess guarding home and harbor,
Roll the fog-banks o'er the headlands,
Hide the narrows from the foemen;
Bring the west-wind from the ocean,
Drive their boats to crash and shatter
On the rocky surf-bound islands.
Bring the west-wind! Bring the fogbanks!'

From the ocean came the west-wind,
Blowing stronger, growing cooler,
Bringing in protecting fog-banks,
Sweeping landward o'er gray waters,
Flooding through the Golden Gateway,
Rolling over shore and headlands.

Through the fog the boats were racing
For the entrance to the harbor,
When they plunged into the smother
Of the breakers round the islands--
Crashed upon the rocks and splintered.
From the surf the foemen struggled
To the rocks and scrambled on them.

Then the Maiden plucked another
Petal from the Magic Iris,
And she prayed again, 'Oh, Spirit
Of our Native Country, hear us,
Change the foemen to Sea-creatures,
That they never more attack us.'

As the magic petal fluttered
To the ground the foe was changing.
Arms and paddles changed to flippers;
Legs were bound as in a bandage,
And their brown and hairy bodies
Wriggled on the rocks, and crowded,
Barking, fighting one another.

When the danger was averted,
When the enemy was helpless,
Sisters wept, embraced each other,
Thanked the Gods for their deliverance.

Still remained another petal
Of the Magic Yellow Iris.
'One more wish we have, one only.'
Said one sister to the other,
'Would we might remain forever,
As the guardians of the harbor,
To protect it from all foemen,
To invoke the fog and west-wind.'