EAR the shores of the GREat Belt， which is oneof the straits that connect the Cattegat with theBaltic， stands an old mansion with thick red walls. Iknow every stone of it，“ says the Wind. ”I saw itwhen it was part of the castle of Marck Stig on thepromontory. But the castle was obliged to be pulleddown， and the stone was used again for the wallsof a new mansion on another spot—the baronialresidence of Borreby， which still stands near the coast. I knew them well， those noble lordsand ladies， the successive generations that dwelt there; and now I'm going to tell you ofWaldemar Daa and his daughters. How proud was his bearing， for he was of royal blood， andcould boast of more noble deeds than merely hunting the stag and emptying the wine-cup. Hisrule was despotic： 'It shall be，' he was accustomed to say. His wife， in garmentsembroidered with gold， stepped proudly over the polished marble floors. The tapestries weregorgeous， and the furniture of costly and artistic taste. She had brought gold and plate withher into the house. The cellars were full of wine. Black， fiery horses， neighed in the stables.There was a look of wealth about the house of Borreby at that time. They had three children，daughters， fair and delicate maidens—Ida， Joanna， and Anna Dorothea; I have neverforgotten their names. They were a rich， noble family， born in affluence and nurtured inluxury.
“Whir-r-r， whir-r-r!” roared the Wind， and went on， “I did not see in this house， as inother GREat houses， the high-born lady sitting among her women， turning the spinning-wheel. She could sweep the sounding chords of the guitar， and sing to the music， notalways Danish melodies， but the songs of a strange land. It was 'Live and let live，' here.Stranger guests came from far and near， music sounded， goblets clashed， and I，” said theWind， “was not able to drown the noise. Ostentation， pride， splendor， and displayruled， but not the fear of the Lord.
“It was on the evening of the first day of May，” the Wind continued， “I came from thewest， and had seen the ships overpowered with the waves， when all on board persisted orwere cast shipwrecked on the coast of Jutland. I had hurried across the heath and overJutland's wood-girt eastern coast， and over the island of Funen， and then I drove across theGREat belt， sighing and moaning. At length I lay down to rest on the shores of Zeeland， nearto the great house of Borreby， where the splendid forest of oaks still flourished. The youngmen of the neighborhood were collecting branches and brushwood under the oak-trees. Thelargest and dryest they could find they carried into the village， and piled them up in a heap andset them on fire. Then the men and maidens danced， and sung in a circle round the blazingpile. I lay quite quiet，” said the Wind， “but I silently touched a branch which had beenbrought by one of the handsomest of the young men， and the wood blazed up brightly，blazed brighter than all the rest. Then he was chosen as the chief， and received the name ofthe Shepherd; and might choose his lamb from among the maidens. There was greater mirthand rejoicing than I had ever heard in the halls of the rich baronial house. Then the noble ladydrove by towards the baron's mansion with her three daughters， in a gilded carriage drawn bysix horses. The daughters were young and beautiful—three charming blossoms—a rose， alily， and a white hyacinth. The mother was a proud tulip， and never acknowledged thesalutations of any of the men or maidens who paused in their sport to do her honor. Thegracious lady seemed like a flower that was rather stiff in the stalk. Rose， lily， and hyacinth—yes， I saw them all three. Whose little lambs will they one day become? thought I; theirshepherd will be a gallant knight， perhaps a prince. The carriage rolled on， and the peasantsresumed their dancing. They drove about the summer through all the villages near. But onenight， when I rose again， the high-born lady lay down to rise again no more; that thingcame to her which comes to us all， in which there is nothing new. Waldemar Daa remained fora time silent and thoughtful. 'The loftiest tree may be bowed without being broken，' said avoice within him. His daughters wept; all the people in the mansion wiped their eyes， butLady Daa had driven away， and I drove away too，” said the Wind. “Whir-r-r， whir-r-r-!
“I returned again; I often returned and passed over the island of Funen and the shores ofthe Belt. Then I rested by Borreby， near the glorious wood， where the heron made his nest，the haunt of the wood-pigeons， the blue-birds， and the black stork. It was yet spring，some were sitting on their eggs， others had already hatched their young broods; but howthey fluttered about and cried out when the axe sounded through the forest， blow uponblow! The trees of the forest were doomed. Waldemar Daa wanted to build a noble ship， aman-of-war， a three-decker， which the king would be sure to buy; and these， the trees ofthe wood， the landmark of the seamen， the refuge of the birds， must be felled. The hawkstarted up and flew away， for its nest was destroyed; the heron and all the birds of theforest became homeless， and flew about in fear and anger. I could well understand how theyfelt. Crows and ravens croaked， as if in scorn， while the trees were cracking and fallingaround them. Far in the interior of the wood， where a noisy swarm of laborers were working，stood Waldemar Daa and his three daughters， and all were laughing at the wild cries of thebirds， excepting one， the youngest， Anna Dorothea， who felt grieved to the heart; andwhen they made preparations to fell a tree that was almost dead， and on whose nakedbranches the black stork had built her nest， she saw the poor little things stretching out theirnecks， and she begged for mercy for them， with the tears in her eyes. So the tree with theblack stork's nest was left standing; the tree itself， however， was not worth much to speakof. 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 foreheadspoke of large intellect， and Waldemar Daa was fond of listening to him， and so wasWaldemar's daughter Ida， the eldest， now about fifteen years old; and while he was buildingthe ship for the father， he was building for himself a castle in the air， in which he and Idawere to live when they were married. This might have happened， indeed， if there had been areal castle， with stone walls， ramparts， and a moat. But in spite of his clever head， thebuilder was still but a poor， inferior bird; and how can a sparrow expect to be admitted intothe society of peacocks?