The North Wind And The Sun

by Aesop

　　The North Wind and the Sun had a quarrel about which of them wasthe stronger. While they were disputing with much heat andbluster, a Traveler passed along the road wrapped in a cloak.

　　"Let us agree," said the Sun, "that he is the stronger who canstrip that Traveler of his cloak."

　　"Very well," growled the North Wind, and at once sent a cold,howling blast against the Traveler.

　　With the first gust of wind the ends of the cloak whipped aboutthe Traveler's body. But he immediately wrapped it closely aroundhim, and the harder the Wind blew, the tighter he held it to him.The North Wind tore angrily at the cloak, but all his effortswere in vain.

　　Then the Sun began to shine. At first his beams were gentle, andin the pleasant warmth after the bitter cold of the North Wind,the Traveler unfastened his cloak and let it hang loosely fromhis shoulders. The Sun's rays grew warmer and warmer. The mantook off his cap and mopped his brow. At last he became so heatedthat he pulled off his cloak, and, to escape the blazingsunshine, threw himself down in the welcome shade of a tree bythe roadside.

　　Gentleness and kind persuasion win where force and blusterfail.