and the
captain of it is a friend of mine; for he is a man of good sense, and
can sail his craft well. I've helped him many a time when he little
thought it. I've heard him grumbling at me, when I was doing the very
best I could for him. Why, I've carried him eighty miles a day, again
and again, right north."

"He must have dodged for that," said Diamond, who had been watching the
vessels, and had seen that they went other ways than the wind blew.

"Of course he must. But don't you see, it was the best I could do? I
couldn't be South Wind. And besides it gave him a share in the business.
It is not good at all--mind that, Diamond--to do everything for those
you love, and not give them a share in the doing. It's not kind. It's
making too much of yourself, my child. If I had been South Wind, he
would only have smoked his pipe all day, and made himself stupid."

"But how could he be a man of sense and grumble at you when you were
doing your best for him?"

"Oh! you must make allowances," said North Wind, "or you will never do
justice to anybody.--You do understand, then, that a captain may sail
north----"

"In spite of a north wind--yes," supplemented Diamond.

"Now, I do think you must be stupid, my dear" said North Wind. "Suppose
the north wind did not blow where would he be then?"

"Why then the south wind would carry him."

"So you think that when the north wind stops the south wind blows.
Nonsense. If I didn't blow, the captain couldn't sail his eighty miles
a day. No doubt South Wind would carry him faster, but South Wind is
sitting on her doorstep then, and if I stopped there would be a dead
calm. So you are all wrong to say he can sail north in spite of me; he
sails north by my help, and my help alone. You see that, Diamond?"

"Yes, I do, North Wind. I am stupid, but I don't want to be stupid."

"Good boy! I am going to blow you north in that little craft, one of the
finest that ever sailed the sea. Here we are, right over it. I shall
be blowing against you; you will be sailing against me; and all will be
just as we want it. The captain won't get on so fast as he would like,
but he will get on, and so shall we. I'm just going to put you on board.
Do you see in front of the tiller--that thing the man is working, now to
one side, now to the other--a round thing like the top of a drum?"

"Yes," said Diamond.

"Below that is where they keep their spare sails, and some stores of
that sort. I am going to blo