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“Was the mountain as high as the church steeple?” asked Marmaduke.

“Oh, higher than that–as high as a lot of church steeples, stuck one on top of another,” the Toyman explained.

“Sometimes the King of the Winds took a little snooze in his cave, and then everything was quiet. But when he woke up he would go out of his cave, raisin’ ructions all over the world.

“There was a lot of work for him to do, east and west, south and north. He tossed the branches of the trees and made ’em crack, and he made the waves in the ocean turn somersaults, and blew the wooden ships across the sea, and chased the cloud-ships across the sky.

“And he had a lot of little chores too, like drying the clothes on Mondays, and waving the flags on Fourth of July, and sailing little boy’s kites high in the air.

“When the King of the Winds was a young fellow, it was all great fun. But after a while the trees grew bigger and bigger, and the ships taller and taller, and there were so many clouds that he got very tired. He was getting pretty old and he ached in all of his bones.

“So he said to himself, said he:

“‘I’ll let the kiddies do the work, and rest for a spell in my cave on the mountains.’

“There were four of ’em–two boys and two girls–and each had a name, of course. Southwind and Westwind were the girls, Eastwind and Northwind the boys, two strapping big fellows.

“So he called his children together and sat in the door of his cave.

“First he took a big pinch o’ snuff. That was a very bad habit folks had in those days.

“Kerchoo! he sneezed, and blew two big clouds out of the sky.

“Kerchoo!!! he sneezed again, and turned upside down a whole fleet of ships in the ocean.

“Kerchoooooo!!!! he sneezed a third time, and blew off the roofs from all the houses in the city, a hundred miles away.

“When he was all through his sneezing he said to his children:

“‘Get ye out to the four corners of the earth and take up my business.’

“Now for a cane the old King used a tree with the branches pulled off. He picked it up and pointed to the south.

“‘Southwind, you go there.’

“She was a pretty little thing, with blue eyes and roses in her hair. And she answered him sweet as you please, ‘All right, Daddy,’ and out she danced.

“Then with the big tree cane, the old King pointed to the west.

“‘Westwind, there is your place,’ he said.

“A very pretty girl too was Westwind, with kind eyes and a soft smile. Her voice was soft and low, and she answered in a whisper:

“‘Good-bye, Daddy dear.’

“She kissed him on the forehead, and floated away to her new home in the west.

“Then the two boys came before the old King. The big tree cane pointed east.

“‘Get to work over there, Eastwind,’ commanded the old King.

“Now Eastwind was a strong fellow, but he was surly and cross and he didn’t obey very quickly. So his father the King picked up his tree cane in a rage and whacked him across the shins, and out Eastwind ran, crying and yelling till the trees of the forests sobbed too. And he cried so hard that rivers of tears ran from his eyes and over the earth.

“Once more the old King picked up his big tree cane, and said to the eldest of his sons:

“‘Northwind, your home is right here in the North.’

“Bigger even than his brother was Northwind. Strong were his muscles, and his whiskers and hair were covered with icicles. When he breathed, millions of snowflakes danced from his mouth.

“Brrrrrrr!! how one shivered when he was around.

“Then the old King’s hand trembled and the big cane dropped to the floor. He laid him down in the cavern and breathed his last. He had been a great King but he was deader than a doornail now.