Year: 1870




'Now am going to tell story"
said the wind.


"No; with your permission" said
the rain, ait is my turn now. You
have been standing at the corner of
the street, howling with all your
might and main quite long enough. "


'Is that all the thanks l get" said
the wind, "after having turned SO
many umbrellas inside out in your
honor yes, snapped them in two
when people wanted te keep you at
a distance {"


81 will tell a story" said the sun
shine, suddenly beaming: "Silencew
And it was said with so much majes-
ty, that the wind laid himself down
at his full length but the rain driz-
zled in the wind, and said /;


"And we must endure it She is
always breaking in, this Madame
Sunshine. But we don't listen. 1t
is Lot worth our while to listen"


And the sunshine began as fol,
lows


"There was once swan who few
over the rolling sea every feather
on his body shone like gold. One
feather fell down upon a great mer-
chant-ship that was gliding along
beneath in full sail the feather fell
upon the curly hair Of the young
man who had to look after the
freight-the supper-cargo, they cal
led him. This feather of the Bird
of Good Fortune touched his fore
head, and turned to a pen in his
hand and he soon became rich
merchant, able to buy him spurs Of
gold, and transform his golden plat
ters to nobleman's scutchoon. I
have shone full upon it," said the
sunshine.


"On flew the swan over a green
meadow, where the little shepherd
boy, a child Of seven years, had laid
himself down under the shade of the
solitary old tree out there. And
the swan in his fight kissed one Of
the leaves of the tree, and it fell
down in the boys hand and the
one leaf grew to three, then to ten,
then to a whole book and he read
in it all about the wonders of nature
about his mother-tongue, about faith
and knowledge.


"At bedtime he laid the book un-
der his pillow that he might not for
get what he had read, and the book
bore him on to the school bench, on.
and on to the Professors chair. 1
have read his name among those of
the learned" said the sunshine.


"Away flies the swan into the dead
forest solitudes, and rested himself
there upon the still dark lakes,
where the water-lily grows, where
the wild wood-apples grow, where
the cuckoo and .he wood-dove have
their homes.


"a poor woman was gathering
fuel-fallen branches; she bore them
upon her back, and carried her little
child at her breast, and was now on
her way home. She saw the golden
swan, the Swan of Good Fortune,
spring up from the rushy banks.
What was that cleaning there I? A
golden egg it was still warm. She
laid it in her bosom, and the warmth
remained there was certainly life
in the egg. Yes, there was a peck
ing inside the shell she heard it,
and thought it was her own heart
that was beating.


"At home in her poor chamber
she took out the golden egg. Tick,
tick it said, as if it was costly
gold watch ; but it was an egg with
quick life within. The egg split, a
little cygnet covered with feathers
like pure gold put out its head it
had round its neck four sparkling
rings, and as the poor woman had
just four boys, three at home, and
the fourth one she had carried. with
her into the forest solitudes, she un-
derstood at once that there was a
ring for each Of the children and as
soon as she understood it, the little
golden bird few away.


"She kissed all the rings in turn,
and let every child kiss one of the
rings then she laid the ring he had
kissed upon each child's heart, and
at last placed it upon his finger. l
saw it." said the sunshine "and l
saw what followed.


"The first boy set himself down
in the clay-pit, took lump Of clay
in his hand, turned it about with
his fingers, and it grew into a figure
of Jason, who had fetched the gol-
den fleece.


"The second of the boys ran
straight out into the meadow, where
the flowers were growing of all i'm
aginable colors. He plucked a hand
fA, grasped them so tight that the
fower-juices spurted into his eyes,
and wetted his ring; there was a
yearning in his throat, and yearn-
ing in his hand; and after many days
all the great town was talking about
the great painter.


"The third Of the boys held the
ring so fastin his mouth that sounds
issued from it, echoes from the bot
tom of his heart; feelings and
thoughts rose up in musical tones,
soaring on high like singing swans,
and diving down, like swans, ints
the deep, deep sea of thought, He
| nrnrr to he q nnastnr of musical