The wind was sleeping all night long
In his hammock; in the moon
Breathing softly his dewy breath
Down upon the earth
Then just before the gray of dawn
Came the soft voice of the sun,
“Wake, my friend, wake now my brother!”
Warm came the voice from far away
“Wake my brother, quickly go,
And tell the forest of my coming
Wake the trees and wake the grass
Wake the flowers and the birds
Tell the sylvan folk I’m coming
Hurry, quickly now, my brother”

Up sprang the wind and down he slid
Down the moon beams to the earth
And leaping across the dewy meadows,
Dewy with his own soft breath,
Tripped toward the darkling wood.

First came he upon the trees,
“Wake, my friends, wake now my brothers!”
He called, and danced among their drooping boughs,
“Wake, my brothers, wake and look
For the sun is surly coming
Over dell and over hill
Coming now to warm your trunks
To brighten all your leaves with gold”
Then creaked the trees and shook their hair
And clapped their hands for joy
And reached into the graying sky
To catch the first rays of the morn.

Then the wind went tumbling down
Into the grass, among the ferns,
“Wake, my little friends” he called
“The earth is warming under you”
Up stretched the grass and off it shook
It’s blanket of bright dew
And rustled about to ready itself
For the day that would come soon.

Then down knelt the wind
Beneath the trees
Between the ferns
Among the grass
And lifted up a flowers face
And whispered secret words of love.
The flower nodded her slender neck
And opened up her petals bright;
All velvety soft, all smooth as silk.
Upon her petals the wind laid a kiss;
Sparkling, glittering kiss.
And ‘though loath to go he finally rose
And hopped down to the little brook
Who gurgled happily to him;
New child of the forest that it was.
And the wind stirred the water
And the rippling brook laughed
And sped along its merry way
The wind laughed too
And up there sprang
A roe buck on the further bank
“Hoy, my brother” called the wind
“Run quickly now and wake your friends
The sun is coming round the bend”
On spindly legs the buck did fly
Through the forest low and high
And all the sylvan folk did hear
The bucks deep call “The sun is near”

But the wind he climbed into the trees
To the highest branches of the trees
And he whistled merrily as he climbed
Climbed to the topmost leaf
And there he sang a song
So that all the birds awoke;
“Come, my sisters. Come, my brothers
Before the morning comes I’ll sing
Sing to tell the sun that she is welcome
Sing of all her beauty and her splendor
Sing of her glorious golden locks
Sing so that she will be kind
And look on us with love and care.”
Then came all the birds together
And joined the wind in his singing

Then went the wind into the bluing sky
And took down his hammock; the moon
And rolled it up into a ball
And put it away
Behind the blue sheet; the sky
And went and lay in the meadow
And played among the grass
As the sun climbed over the edge off the hills
And stretched up her arms
As if to touch the roof; the sky
And the trees clapped their hands
And the grass bowed many bows
And the water laughed and the birds sang
And the light glistened on the flower,
Glistened on the kiss of the wind,
And the sylvan folk raised their heads
And thanked the sun with loving look
And the sun was pleased
And she smiled kindly
And looked on them with love and care.