he then drew from his sack a curiously - wrought antique pipe , and having filled it with tobacco , rendered mild by an admixture of certain dried leaves , he handed it to his guest . when this ceremony was attended to , they began to speak . " i blow my breath , " said the old man , " and the streams stand still . the water becomes stiff and hard as clear stone . " " i breathe , " said the young man , " and flowers spring up all over the plains . " " i shake my locks , " retorted the old man , " and snow covers the land . the leaves fall from the trees at my command , and my breath blows them away . the birds rise from the water and fly to a distant land . the animals hide themselves from the glance of my eye , and the very ground where i walk becomes as hard as flint . " " i shake my ringlets , " rejoined the young man , " and warm showers of soft rain fall upon the earth . the plants lift up their heads out of the ground like the eyes of children glistening with delight . my voice recalls the birds . the warmth of my breath unlocks the streams . music fills the groves wherever i walk , and all nature welcomes my approach . " at length the sun begun to rise . a gentle warmth came over the place . the tongue of the old man became silent . the robin and the blue - bird began to sing on the top of the lodge . the stream began to murmur by the door , and the fragrance of growing herbs and flowers came softly on the vernal breeze . daylight fully revealed to the young man the character of his entertainer . when he looked upon him he had the visage of peboan , the icy old winter - spirit . streams began to flow from his eyes . as the sun increased he grew less and less in stature , and presently he had melted completely away . nothing remained on the place of his lodge - fire but the mis - kodeed , a small white flower with a pink border , which the young visitor , seegwun , the spirit of spring , placed in the wreath upon his brow , as his first trophy in the north . 
the sun began to rise .
why did the tongue of the old man become silent ?
why did the tongue of the old man become silent ?