“And in the midst of the wood, looking on at the crowd of labourers,
stood Waldemar Daae and his three daughters, and they all laughed together
at the wild cries of the birds; but his youngest daughter, Anna Dorthea, was
sorry for them in her heart; and when the men were about to cut down a
partially decayed tree, amidst whose naked branches the black storks had
built their nests, and from which the tiny little ones peeped out their heads,
she begged it might be spared. She begged-begged with tears in her eyes;
and the tree was permitted to remain with the nest of black storks. It was not
a great boon after all.
“The fine trees were cut down, the wood was sawn, and a large ship with
three decks was built. The master shipbuilder himself was of low birth, but
of noble appearance. His eyes and his forehead evinced how clever he was,
and Waldemar Daae liked to listen to his conversation; so also did little Idé,
his eldest daughter, who was fifteen years of age. And while he was
building the ship for the father, he was also building castles in the air for
himself, wherein he and Idé sat as man and wife; and that might have
happened had the castles been of stone walls, with ramparts and moats,
woods and gardens. But, with all his talents, the master shipbuilder was but
a humble bird. What should a sparrow do in an eagle's nest?
“Wheugh-wheugh! I flew away, and he flew away, for he dared not
remain longer; and little Idé got over his departure, for she was obliged to
get over it.
“Splendid dark chargers neighed in the stables, worth being looked at;
and they were looked at and admired. An admiral was sent by the king
himself to examine the new man-of-war, and to make arrangements for its
purchase. He praised the spirited horses loudly. I heard him myself,” said
the wind. “I followed the gentlemen through the open door, and strewed
straw before their feet. Waldemar Daae wanted gold, the admiral wanted the
horses-he admired them so much; but the bargain was not concluded, nor
was the ship bought-the ship that was lying near the strand, with its white
planks-a Noah's ark that was never to be launched upon the deep.
“Wheugh! It was a sad pity.
