Once upon a time, the North Wind and the Sun had an argument.
Each thought he was stronger than the other.
‘There’s only one thing for it,’ said the North Wind.
‘We’ll have to put our strength to the test.
We’ll have a competition.’
Paragraph: He pointed to a traveller,
walking along a road far below them,
on the face of the world.
‘See that man?’
The Sun nodded.
‘See the coat he’s wearing?’
Paragraph: ‘Yes, I can see his coat.’
Paragraph: ‘Well, whichever one of us can strip the coat from his back
will have proved himself the strongest.’
Paragraph: The Sun smiled and nodded.
‘Very well, Wind.
You go first.’
Paragraph: So the North Wind began to blow.
He came whirling down out of the sky and set the man’s coat flapping –
so the traveller buttoned it up.
He blew harder, as though he could tear it from the man’s back,
but the traveller thrust his hands into his pockets and held the coat closer.
He blew with all of his strength
but the traveller bent himself against the wind and held his coat tighter still.
For all his puffing and panting,
the wind could do nothing.
Paragraph: Then it was the Sun’s turn.
The wind stopped, the clouds parted and the Sun shone.
He shone gently at first,
so the traveller relaxed his stride and unfastened his buttons.
Then he shone more fiercely;
the traveller took off his coat and slung it over his shoulder.
Then the Sun shone with all of his strength;
the traveller threw his coat onto the ground
and sat under the shade of a tree.
Paragraph: The Sun turned to the North Wind.
‘So, who’s stronger?
You or me?’