by Lord Dunsany
The Hurricane
One night I sat alone on the great down, looking over the edge of itat a murky, sullen city. All day long with its smoke it had troubledthe holy sky, and now it sat there roaring in the distance andglared at me with its furnaces and lighted factory windows. SuddenlyI became aware that I was not the only enemy of that city, for Iperceived the colossal form of the Hurricane walking over the downtowards me, playing idly with the flowers as he passed, and near mehe stopped and spake to the Earthquake, who had come up mole-like butvast out of a cleft in the earth.
'Old friend,' said the Hurricane, 'rememberest when we wrecked thenations and drave the herds of the sea into new pasturage?'
'Yes,' said the Earthquake, drowsily; 'Yes, yes.'
'Old friend,' said the Hurricane, 'there are cities everywhere. Overthy head while thou didst sleep they have built them constantly. Myfour children the Winds suffocate with the fumes of them, thevalleys are desolate of flowers, and the lovely forests are cut downsince last we went abroad together.'
The Earthquake lay there, with his snout towards the city, blinkingat the lights, while the tall Hurricane stood beside him pointingfiercely at it.
'Come,' said the Hurricane, 'let us fare forth again and destroythem, that all the lovely forests may come back and the furrycreeping things. Thou shalt whelm these cities utterly and drive thepeople forth, and I will smite them in the shelterless places andsweep their desecrations from the sea. Wilt thou come forth with meand do this thing for the glory of it? Wilt thou wreck the worldagain as we did, thou and I, or ever Man had come? Wilt thou comeforth to this place at this hour tomorrow night?'
'Yes,' said the Earthquake, 'Yes,' and he crept to his cleft again,and head foremost waddled down into the abysses.
When the Hurricane strode away, I got up quietly and departed, butat that hour of the next night I came up cautiously to the samespot. There I found the huge grey form of the Hurricane alone, withhis head bowed in his hands, weeping; for the Earthquake sleeps longand heavily in the abysses, and he would not wake.