The North Wind and the Sun were in dispute again. The Sun had won the last round, but that was a long time ago and the North Wind harboured a bitter grudge. It was now spring and the sun was beginning to assert itself. It rose earlier and stayed longer. The days grew warm. In the early evening, people came to sit outside in their back yards. The North Wind saw its opportunity.

“You may have the power to draw people out of their houses. I acknowledge that,” it began. “But I can make them go back in again. And it won’t take me long. Watch.”

“Wait,” the Sun replied before the North Wind could unleash its icy blast. “I believe you. You are right, I brought them out; you could drive them back inside. But look at them, they are happy, they are smiling, they are relaxed, that is my doing. You will only bring disappointment and discomfort. What kind of power is that?”

“A superior power,” the North Wind muttered, and then blew a cloud across the Sun’s face.

© Richard Parkin 2026

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