The Sun and Wind

Once upon a time, the Sun and the Wind got into an argument about who was the greater force of nature. The Wind was very proud of his unstoppable strength, so he challenged the Sun to a test.

Looking down at the world, they saw an old man walking down a village road wearing a coat. So, they decided that whoever can get the coat off the man would win, and be declared the strongest.

The wind tried first. He became a great storm, howling and pushing the man around. The sound was deafening, and the wind was freezing cold. But the old man had survived many storms in his years, so he just wrapped his coat around himself even tighter and continued walking against the force of the wind. Eventually, tired from all that effort, the wind gave up. He told the Sun it was impossible, for that man was surely a powerful wizard for having stood against his great powers.

The Sun listened patiently. It was now his turn to try, so he smiled his warm smile down on the old man. Feeling warm in the sunlight, the man took off his coat himself, without a struggle.

It’s usually easier to get someone to do somthing with kindness and warm smile than it is by force and shouting. And so the wind learnt his lesson.