“I passed on in my course，” said the Wind， “and he passed away also. He was not allowedto remain， and little Ida got over it， because she was obliged to do so. Proud， blackhorses， worth looking at， were neighing in the stable. And they were locked up; for theadmiral， who had been sent by the king to inspect the new ship， and make arrangements forits purchase， was loud in admiration of these beautiful horses. I heard it all，” said theWind， “for I accompanied the gentlemen through the open door of the stable， and strewedstalks of straw， like bars of gold， at their feet. Waldemar Daa wanted gold， and the admiralwished for the proud black horses; therefore he praised them so much. But the hint was nottaken， and consequently the ship was not bought. It remained on the shore covered withboards，—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 largeblocks of ice which I had blown up to the coast，” continued the Wind， “GREat flocks of crowsand ravens， dark and black as they usually are， came and alighted on the lonely， desertedship. Then they croaked in harsh accents of the forest that now existed no more， of the manypretty birds' nests destroyed and the little ones left without a home; and all for the sake ofthat great bit of lumber， that proud ship， that never sailed forth. I made the snowflakeswhirl till the snow lay like a great lake round the ship， and drifted over it. I let it hear myvoice， that it might know what the storm has to say. Certainly I did my part towards teachingit seamanship.
“That winter passed away， and another winterand summer both passed， as they are still passingaway， even as I pass away. The snow driftsonwards， the apple-blossoms are scattered， theleaves fall，—everything passes away， and men arepassing away too. But the GREat man's daughtersare still young， and little Ida is a rose as fair to lookupon as on the day when the shipbuilder first sawher. I often tumbled her long， brown hair， whileshe stood in the garden by the apple-tree，musing， and not heeding how I strewed theblossoms on her hair， and dishevelled it; or sometimes， while she stood gazing at the redsun and the golden sky through the opening branches of the dark， thick foliage of the gardentrees. Her sister Joanna was bright and slender as a lily; she had a tall and lofty carriage andfigure， though， like her mother， rather stiff in back. She was very fond of walking throughthe great hall， where hung the portraits of her ancestors. The women were represented indresses of velvet and silk， with tiny little hats， embroidered with pearls， on their braidedhair. They were all handsome women. The gentlemen appeared clad in steel， or in rich cloakslined with squirrel's fur; they wore little ruffs， and swords at their sides. Where wouldJoanna's place be on that wall some day? and how would he look，—her noble lord andhusband? This is what she thought of， and often spoke of in a low voice to herself. I heard itas I swept into the long hall， and turned round to come out again. Anna Dorothea， the palehyacinth， a child of fourteen， was quiet and thoughtful; her large， deep， blue eyes had adreamy look， but a childlike smile still played round her mouth. I was not able to blow it away，neither did I wish to do so. We have met in the garden， in the hollow lane， in the field andmeadow， where she gathered herbs and flowers which she knew would be useful to her fatherin preparing the drugs and mixtures he was always concocting. Waldemar Daa was arrogantand proud， but he was also a learned man， and knew a great deal. It was no secret， andmany opinions were expressed on what he did. In his fireplace there was a fire， even insummer time. He would lock himself in his room， and for days the fire would be kept burning;but he did not talk much of what he was doing. The secret powers of nature are generallydiscovered in solitude， and did he not soon expect to find out the art of making the greatestof all good things—the art of making gold? So he fondly hoped; therefore the chimneysmoked and the fire crackled so constantly. Yes， I was there too，” said the Wind. “'Leave italone，' I sang down the chimney; 'leave it alone， it will all end in smoke， air， coals， andashes， and you will burn your fingers.' But Waldemar Daa did not leave it alone， and all hepossessed vanished like smoke blown by me. The splendid black horses， where are they?What became of the cows in the field， the old gold and silver vessels in cupboards andchests， and even the house and home itself? It was easy to melt all these away in the gold-making crucible， and yet obtain no gold. And so it was. Empty are the barns and store-rooms， the cellars and cupboards; the servants decreased in number， and the micemultiplied. First one window became broken， and then another， so that I could get in at otherplaces besides the door. 'Where the chimney smokes， the meal is being cooked，' says theproverb; but here a chimney smoked that devoured all the meals for the sake of gold. I blewround the courtyard，” said the Wind， “like a watchman blowing his home， but no watchmanwas there. I twirled the weather-cock round on the summit of the tower， and it creaked likethe snoring of a warder， but no warder was there; nothing but mice and rats. Poverty laid thetable-cloth; poverty sat in the wardrobe and in the larder. The door fell off its hinges，cracks and fissures made their appearance everywhere; so that I could go in and out atpleasure， and that is how I know all about it. Amid smoke and ashes， sorrow， and sleeplessnights， the hair and beard of the master of the house turned gray， and deep furrows showedthemselves around his temples; his skin turned pale and yellow， while his eyes still lookedeagerly for gold， the longed-for gold， and the result of his labor was debt instead of gain. Iblew the smoke and ashes into his face and beard; I moaned through the broken window-panes， and the yawning clefts in the walls; I blew into the chests and drawers belonging tohis daughters， wherein lay the clothes that had become faded and threadbare， from beingworn over and over again. Such a song had not been sung， at the children's cradle as I sungnow. The lordly life had changed to a life of penury. I was the only one who rejoiced aloud inthat castle，” said the Wind. “At last I snowed them up， and they say snow keeps peoplewarm. It was good for them， for they had no wood， and the forest， from which they mighthave obtained it， had been cut down. The frost was very bitter， and I rushed through loop-holes and passages， over gables and roofs with keen and cutting swiftness. The three high-born daughters were lying in bed because of the cold， and their father crouching beneath hisleather coverlet. Nothing to eat， nothing to burn， no fire on the hearth! Here was a life forhigh-born people! 'Give it up， give it up!' But my Lord Daa would not do that. 'After winter，spring will come，' he said， 'after want， good times. We must not lose patience， we mustlearn to wait. Now my horses and lands are all mortgaged， it is indeed high time; but gold willcome at last—at Easter.'