his shoulder.

"Come along, Diamond," she said in his ear, in the smallest and highest
of treble voices; "it is time we were setting out for Sandwich."

Diamond could just see her, by turning his head towards his shoulder as
far as he could, but only with one eye, for his nose came between her
and the other.

"Won't you take me in your arms and carry me?" he said in a whisper, for
he knew she did not like a loud voice when she was small.

"Ah! you ungrateful boy," returned North Wind, smiling "how dare you
make game of me? Yes, I will carry you, but you shall walk a bit for
your impertinence first. Come along."

She jumped from his shoulder, but when Diamond looked for her upon the
ground, he could see nothing but a little spider with long legs that
made its way over the ice towards the south. It ran very fast indeed for
a spider, but Diamond ran a long way before it, and then waited for
it. It was up with him sooner than he had expected, however, and it
had grown a good deal. And the spider grew and grew and went faster and
faster, till all at once Diamond discovered that it was not a spider,
but a weasel; and away glided the weasel, and away went Diamond after
it, and it took all the run there was in him to keep up with the weasel.
And the weasel grew, and grew, and grew, till all at once Diamond saw
that the weasel was not a weasel but a cat. And away went the cat, and
Diamond after it. And when he had run half a mile, he found the cat
waiting for him, sitting up and washing her face not to lose time. And
away went the cat again, and Diamond after it. But the next time he came
up with the cat, the cat was not a cat, but a hunting-leopard. And the
hunting-leopard grew to a jaguar, all covered with spots like eyes.
And the jaguar grew to a Bengal tiger. And at none of them was Diamond
afraid, for he had been at North Wind's back, and he could be afraid of
her no longer whatever she did or grew. And the tiger flew over the snow
in a straight line for the south, growing less and less to Diamond's
eyes till it was only a black speck upon the whiteness; and then it
vanished altogether. And now Diamond felt that he would rather not run
any farther, and that the ice had got very rough. Besides, he was near
the precipices that bounded the sea, so he slackened his pace to a walk,
saying aloud to himself:

"When North Wind has punished me enough for making game of her, she will
come back to me; I know she will, for I can