His attire consisted of a grey coat and a pointed hat, and he carried a staff.
Silently the figure approached the thinking, dreaming Countess, on whose form the soft moonlight fell, and then twitched gently her garment with his tiny hand.
Alarmed, the Countess turned round, but lost all fear so soon as she beheld the form of the grey man.
She had recognised the Burggeist, who appeared seldom, but always brought happiness with him, and inquired in a gentle voice:
"What wilt them from me, thou good spirit?"
"I saw thee at such a late hour sitting in troubled thought," replied the patron spirit, in a melodious voice, "and came to ask the cause of thy sorrow. What trouble lies so heavily at thy heart?"
"No sorrow troubles me," said the Countess, smiling. "Only a wish moved my soul."
"And what might that be?" inquired the spirit, with strained attention.
"My husband," replied the Countess, "would wish this fortress on that spacious mountain opposite. He declares that we cannot live longer here; and I must say, after due reflection, he is perfectly right."
"Does it no longer please thee here?" asked the dwarf, with a quick-clouding face. "Ye men are right difficult to please! Thy ancestors have dwelt here for ages, happy and contented, and now ye would forsake the tower that has sheltered thy race so long. Ye are very ungrateful. If I had known that that was all that troubled thee, I should not have left my hiding-place. But it is already late; seek thy couch and rest well!"