The North Wind and the Sun

A sudden gust rushed down an empty dirt road and tugged hard at the cloak of a traveler walking briskly along it. He quickly grabbed the edges of his cloak with both hands, pulled them tight against his chest, and walked on with his head bent low. The wind kept swirling around his legs, scattering a few dry leaves to both sides of the road.

That gust did not come by chance. High in the sky above that dirt road, the North Wind was putting all its strength into every blast. The Sun watched quietly, waiting patiently for its turn.

The ancient Greeks told this story as a short fable. It has been told and retold, season after season, right up to the present day.

It all began with an argument between the two, somewhere far up above the clouds, where the North Wind and the Sun passed each other every day. The North Wind insisted it was much stronger. Nothing in the world, it said, could stand firm against a truly strong wind. The Sun only gave a gentle smile. It did not bother to argue at length. Instead, it proposed a way to find out who was really stronger. Just below them, a traveler in a cloak was walking along the road. Whoever made him take off his cloak first would win.

The North Wind was delighted to hear this, certain that victory was already in its grasp. Such a small matter hardly needed discussing, it said, full of confidence. Then it set to work at once with a great swagger, without waiting for another word from the Sun.

The North Wind took a deep breath, puffed out its chest, and blew a gust down onto the road. A thin layer of dust flew up, and a few dry leaves spun round and round in the air. The traveler gave a slight start. He pulled the collar of his cloak a little closer around his neck and calmly walked on, as if nothing worth worrying about had happened. The North Wind chuckled with glee. Just a little more, it muttered.

Not content with that, the North Wind blew harder still. This time the wind whistled out loud, lashing again and again at the edges of the cloak and sweeping a whole cloud of leaves wildly around the traveler. He staggered half a step and leaned his whole body with the wind, but he kept his footing. Then he hugged his cloak even tighter, arms crossed over his chest, head bowed low, and hurried on faster.

The North Wind frowned a little. It had not expected the traveler to be so stubborn. Very well, let us see how much more you can take, the North Wind huffed. Then it gathered all the strength it had left for one final blast.

The North Wind puffed out its cheeks and blew harder than ever before. Dust swirled up thickly along a whole stretch of road. The cloak flapped like a flag in a gale, and the whistling wind was shrill in the ears. This must surely be the deciding blast, the North Wind thought. But the traveler only stooped lower, wrapped his cloak one more time around himself, and pulled the tie at his chest tight. Then he trudged on, with no intention at all of taking anything off.

The North Wind blew until it ran out of breath and its cheeks sagged, and it had to stop. It circled once more around the empty stretch of road, puffing and panting. Then it fell silent and gave up, with no strength left for even one more blast.

Now it was the Sun's turn. The Sun did not hurry, and it did not roar like the North Wind. It quietly sent out its first rays, warm and gentle, settling softly on the traveler's shoulders. The sky suddenly cleared, and the wind fell completely still. Only the sunlight remained, pouring down onto the road, smooth as rippling honey.

The sunshine kept growing warmer and warmer, spreading over the road, over the treetops, over the thick cloak the traveler wore. He felt sweat beginning to bead on his forehead, so he loosened the tie of his cloak to be a little more comfortable. But the sun only grew warmer, until the thick cloak on his shoulders felt heavy and cumbersome.

At last, with no one forcing him, the traveler took off his cloak with his own hands. He folded it neatly over his arm and walked on down the road. He felt much lighter, and his face relaxed, at ease in the warm sunshine.

The dirt road still stretched far ahead, and the traveler walked farther and farther away. The cloak hung loosely over his arm, and he walked with an easy step. Up above, the North Wind had long since gone quiet, now and then barely stirring a single leaf somewhere far away. The Sun stayed right where it had been in the sky, shining steadily over the whole road, over the treetops, and over the figure of the traveler. He grew smaller and smaller, until he disappeared around a distant bend.