"All right, Hans," said his mother. "A long, long time ago, when the first castle was being built, the owner decided that he wanted a tower on his castle that would be finer than that of any other castle in Denmark. He hunted the country over, but he couldn't find anyone who could build such a grand tower. Finally he heard of a man in England who could do this. So he sent for this man and told him to build a tower on Vosborg that would be the finest in the land. The Englishman solemnly promised that he would do so. "It took him three full years to build the tower, for he was determined to make it the finest in all Denmark. And it was. When it was done he went to the owner of Vosborg and asked if he were satisfied. The owner was well pleased, and he paid the builder a large sum of money. Long before this, however, he had decided that he would test the builder and the honesty of his work. So after the Englishman had left the castle and was walking down the road, a servant from Vosborg came running after him, shouting, 'The tower is leaning.' "This was to be the test of his work. If he turned around to look at the tower, the owner of the castle would know that the builder was not sure of his own work. If there were even the smallest doubt in his mind, he would be certain to look around at once. But the English builder was very sure that his work was well done. Not once did he look back. Not for a minute did he pause in his journey. But as he walked on, he said to the servant from Vosborg, 'The tower does not lean. Tell your master that I have done my work well; he did not spend his money in vain. He has the finest tower in all Denmark. But also tell him that one day Vosborg will be destroyed by a man in a blue coat.' "The servant told his master. Fear and astonishment ran through the castle like a flame. Who was the mysterious man in the blue coat who would one day destroy the castle? No one knew. No one could even guess. The owner of Vosborg was well liked by all the people. Surely no one would do him harm. The years went by and the castle remained unharmed. Gradually everyone forgot about the prophecy of the English builder. The man in the blue coat was no longer feared. "Then one year there was a dreadful storm on the ocean. Never before had the people seen such an angry sea. The waves dashed and pounded against the shore as they had never done before. The water rose like a wall and spread over the land for many miles. No one had ever seen a storm like this one. The water pounded against the outer wall of Vosborg. It crumbled and fell. Within a few hours the ocean had rushed in and washed away the rampart around the castle. There was then just one wall left as a protection against the angry sea. It wasn't enough. On the second day of the storm the waves became even more fierce and violent. Finally, that wall crumbled and the whole castle of Vosborg was knocked down by the force of the waves.