A1 Reading Plan · Week 1 · Day 7 of 30

The North Wind and the Sun

From Aesop's Fables·~200 words·~2 min read

Wind and Sun argue over which is stronger. The answer surprises both of them.

0:00 / 0:00Speed

BetaAudio read-along is new — we’re still fine-tuning the word-by-word timing, so a word may drift now and then.

A dispute arose between the North Wind and the Sun, each claiming that he was stronger than the other. At last they agreed to try their powers upon a traveller, to see which could soonest strip him of his cloak. The North Wind had the first try; and, gathering up all his force for the attack, he came whirling furiously down upon the man, and caught up his cloak as though he would wrest it from him by one single effort: but the harder he blew, the more closely the man wrapped it round himself. Then came the turn of the Sun. At first he beamed gently upon the traveller, who soon unclasped his cloak and walked on with it hanging loosely about his shoulders: then he shone forth in his full strength, and the man, before he had gone many steps, was glad to throw his cloak right off and complete his journey more lightly clad.

Persuasion is better than force

Words light up as they are read aloud. Tap any word in the story to add it to your vocabulary.

Finished? Do the quick check.A few short questions on the story. A minute now is what makes the words and ideas actually stick.Take the quiz ↓
Quick check

Pass it to add Day 7 to your shelf

5 questions · pass 4 of 5. Scroll up to re-read the story any time.

Question 1 of 5vocabulary
What is a 'cloak' in the story?
Question 2 of 5vocabulary
What does 'dispute' mean in the story?
Question 3 of 5vocabulary
What does 'traveller' mean in the story?
Question 4 of 5comprehension
What did the man do when the North Wind blew harder?
Question 5 of 5comprehension
What is the moral of the story?
0 of 5 answered
Next story →
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
Enjoying the stories?

Get the next shelf of stories

Leave your email and we will let you know the moment we add a new shelf. You will also save your progress and vocabulary across devices.

Source: V. S. Vernon Jones translation, public domain. Provided by Project Gutenberg.