The Story of the Wind Page #2

								

to speak of. Then there was a great deal of hewing and sawing, and
at last the three-decker was built. The builder was a man of low
origin, but possessing great pride; his eyes and forehead spoke of
large intellect, and Waldemar Daa was fond of listening to him, and so
was Waldemar's daughter Ida, the eldest, now about fifteen years
old; and while he was building the ship for the father, he was
building for himself a castle in the air, in which he and Ida were
to live when they were married. This might have happened, indeed, if
there had been a real castle, with stone walls, ramparts, and a
moat. But in spite of his clever head, the builder was still but a
poor, inferior bird; and how can a sparrow expect to be admitted
into the society of peacocks?

"I passed on in my course," said the Wind, "and he passed away
also. He was not allowed to remain, and little Ida got over it,
because she was obliged to do so. Proud, black horses, worth looking
at, were neighing in the stable. And they were locked up; for the
admiral, who had been sent by the king to inspect the new ship, and
make arrangements for its purchase, was loud in admiration of these
beautiful horses. I heard it all," said the Wind, "for I accompanied
the gentlemen through the open door of the stable, and strewed
stalks of straw, like bars of gold, at their feet. Waldemar Daa wanted
gold, and the admiral wished for the proud black horses; therefore
he praised them so much. But the hint was not taken, and
consequently the ship was not bought. It remained on the shore covered
with boards,--a Noah's ark that never got to the water--Whir-r-r-r--and
that was a pity.

"In the winter, when the fields were covered with snow, and the
water filled with large blocks of ice which I had blown up to the
coast," continued the Wind, "great flocks of crows and ravens, dark
and black as they usually are, came and alighted on the lonely,
deserted ship. Then they croaked in harsh accents of the forest that
now existed no more, of the many pretty birds' nests destroyed and the
little ones left without a home; and all for the sake of that great
bit of lumber, that proud ship, that never sailed forth. I made the
snowflakes whirl till the snow lay like a great lake round the ship,
and drifted over it. I let it hear my voice, that it might know what
the storm has to say. Certainly I did my part towards teaching it
seamanship.

"That winter passed away, and another winter and summer both
passed, as they are still passing away, even as I pass away. The
snow drifts onwards, the apple-blossoms are scattered, the leaves
fall,--everything passes away, and men are passing away too. But the
great man's daughters are still young, and little Ida is a rose as
fair to look upon as on the day when the shipbuilder first saw her.
I often tumbled her long, brown hair, while she stood in the garden by
the apple-tree, musing, and not heeding how I strewed the blossoms
on her hair, and dishevelled it; or sometimes, while she stood
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