The North Wind and the Sun

High up in the sky, above the hills and the fields and the rooftops, the North Wind and the Sun lived side by side.

The North Wind was loud and proud. He liked to roar over the mountains, rattle the windows and send people's hats flying down the street.

The Sun was quiet. Every morning he rose over the hills, warmed the fields and dried the washing, and every evening he went down again without making any fuss at all.

An argument in the sky

One day the North Wind was in a boasting mood.

"I am the strongest thing in the whole sky," he said, puffing out his cheeks. "When I blow, trees bend. Ships rock. Birds tumble. Nobody can stand against me."

"You are very strong," said the Sun kindly.

"Stronger than you," said the Wind.

The Sun smiled. "Shall we find out?"

The North Wind looked down at the world below, searching for a test. And there, on a long, winding road between two villages, he saw a traveller.

The traveller was an old man in a big brown coat. He walked slowly, with a stick in one hand and a bundle on his back.

"I know!" said the North Wind. "Whoever can make that man take off his coat is the strongest. I'll go first. This will be easy."

"Go ahead," said the Sun. And he slipped quietly behind a cloud to watch.

The North Wind blows

The North Wind took a huge breath. Then he blew.

Whoooosh!

A cold gust raced down the road. Leaves swirled up into the air. The traveller's hat flew off and went bouncing away into a field.

But the traveller did not take off his coat. He pulled it tighter around his shoulders.

"Ooh, a chilly wind today," he said.

The North Wind frowned. He took an even bigger breath, and he blew harder.

WHOOOOOSH!

The trees along the road bent nearly double. Dust flew into the traveller's eyes. The bundle on his back swung from side to side.

The traveller buttoned up his coat, right to the top. He turned up his collar. He wrapped both arms around himself and bent his head into the wind.

The North Wind blew and blew and blew, until he was quite out of breath. And the harder he blew, the more tightly the old man held on to his coat.

At last, puffing and panting, the North Wind gave up.

"Nobody could get that coat off," he grumbled. "It's impossible."

The Sun's turn

"May I try?" asked the Sun.

He came out from behind his cloud. He did not shout. He did not roar. He simply shone, gently and steadily, down on the long road.

The air grew still. The dust settled. The birds came out of the hedges and began to sing.

The traveller lifted his head. "Ah," he said. "That's better."

He undid the top button of his coat.

The Sun shone a little warmer. The road began to feel soft and summery underfoot. The old man undid another button, and then another. He wiped his forehead.

The Sun shone warmer still.

"My goodness, it's hot," said the traveller. He stopped, put down his stick and his bundle, and took off his big brown coat. He folded it over his arm, then sat down under a shady tree and fanned himself with his hand.

Who was stronger?

Up in the sky, the North Wind was very quiet.

"How did you do that?" he asked at last.

"You tried to tear his coat off," said the Sun. "So he held on to it. I only made him warm, and he took it off by himself."

The North Wind thought about that for a long time. And it is said that ever since, on the very coldest days, he sometimes blows a little more gently, just to see what happens.

About this story

This fable is credited to Aesop, the famous storyteller of ancient Greece. It reminds us that being gentle is not the same as being weak. Kindness and patience can often get things done that pushing and shouting never could. This version is a shortened, simplified retelling.