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Sandman's Goodnight Stories

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<h3> OLD NORTH WIND </h3> <center> <ANTIMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-144.jpg" ALT="Old North Wind" BORDER="2" width-obs="351" height-obs="174"> <H3 STYLE="width: 351px"> Old North Wind </h3> </center> Old North Wind lived away up in the North Pole Land in the winter, and there her children, the Icebergs, grew. Old North Wind was very proud of her huge children, and when the long, cold winter was at an end she said: "My big, strong children, come with me. We will float away from this land where there is no one to see your beauty and go to the seas where the ships are sailing. "Of course, you all cannot go, but I will take the three big brothers because they are the strongest, and show the old South Wind and the Sun we are stronger and mightier than they." So the three largest of the icebergs broke away from their brothers and sailed away with old North Wind, who blew her chilling breath on them as they went along. "Ah, my beauties," she said, "I will make you so strong that no breath of harm can come to you, and you shall crush the big ships and make all who see you tremble with fear." The Icebergs believed old North Wind, for they had never been away from North Pole Land and did not know anything about the warm South Wind, or how warm and melting Mr. Sun could be. So they sailed and sailed until they came to the big ocean where the ships had to cross as they went from one land to another. Old North Wind kept close to her big children, but one day old South Wind saw them. "Oh, ho!" he said, "there is old North Wind with three of her sons. She is up to some mischief, I'll be bound; so I will ask Mr. Sun to keep his eye on them." "I have been watching them for many days," said Mr. Sun, "and with all of old North Wind's cold breath I have warmed her sons more than she knows." At last one morning bright and early old North Wind espied a ship sailing right in their path. "Now, my beauties," she said, with a shrill laugh, "show your strength and crush the ship that dares to sail in your path. We are the rulers of the sea by right of might and we must show our strength." Blowing and shrieking, old North Wind hastened her sons toward the ship, and she was so intent on working destruction that she did not feel the warm breath of old South Wind or the rays of old Mr. Sun. Suddenly she saw her huge sons shiver, and before she could blow a chilling blast upon them they swayed, and with a plunge sank from sight, and the water closed over them. Old North Wind howled and blew, but the Sun and old South Wind drove her back toward her North Pole Land until the ship was safe from her wrath. "You wait," she shrieked as she ran away from Mr. Sun and old South Wind. "I'll come again next year with bigger and stronger children and you shall learn who rules the seas." "Remember, North Wind," said old South Wind in soft, gentle tones, "might is not always right, and while you can make much more noise than I can or old man Sun, we can always melt your children; so keep to your North Pole Land if you wish to keep them." Old North Wind bustled away with angry shrieks, but she knew full well the power of South Wind and Mr. Sun, but, like many people, she wanted to believe in her own strength and power; and so she roared louder and louder as she blew back to her cold homeland in order to convince herself of her might. <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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