Storytelling "The Sun and the Wind"

There once was a very happy traveler who had just gone to visit his parents in a far-off province.  He had spent about a week there, a happy time, and was cheerfully returning to his wife and children who were awaiting him at home.  To further bolster his spirits, the weather looked absolutely beautiful.  The sun was shining, but not too harsh, and with the slightly chilly air he felt completely comfortable with his jacket wrapped around his shoulders.

While he walked, he marveled at the beautiful scenery around him and listened to the humming of the insects and the sweet singing of the birds.  Before he had departed, his dear mother had given him a heavy travelling coat that she said would be sure to protect him from the rain, cold, and anything else he encountered.  He thanked her at the time but now it looked like her gift would not be required.  He carried on walking, whistling as he went.

The harder the wind blew, the tighter the man wrapped his cloak. (Source)

The clouds in the distance seemed to be gathering together and the wind picked up quickly.  But the cheerful traveler paid no mind and simply gathered his coat around him a little more.  As he continued forward, the wind truly began to howl.  Dust whipped up around him and the cold wind buffeted him around.  He simply wrapped his heavy coat around him more and continued on his merry way.  It seemed that as soon as he grabbed his lapels to tighten the coat, the wind picked up even more speed and rain began to fall from the dark clouds above him.

In the harsh wind, the rain was blowing in every direction, and the poor man was forced to pull his coat up around his shoulders and grab it tight to hold it in place.  Out across the bay he was walking passed, he could see the tiny ships being tossed like toys in a bath.  He struggled now to walk into the gale as it blew and blustered.  But the man continued onward, holding on ever tighter to his thick coat and silently thanking his sweet mother for her surprisingly insightful gift.

Suddenly, as quickly as it had come, the wind stopped.  The rain slowed to a gentle patter, and then died entirely.  The rosy sun began again to peek out through the once angry clouds and the birds started up their tune as if nothing had ever happened.  Out on the sea, the waves again were mellow, and the ships set out for the dock.  The man thought that must have been the strangest little storm he had ever witnessed, but walked on, untroubled and whistling once again.

The sun had now chased away the last of the clouds and a perfectly blue sky surrounded the solitary traveler as he walked.  It began to become really quite warm as the afternoon sun evaporated the remaining puddles and quickly dried out the man’s coat.  The golden rays beat down onto the traveler, and he loosened his coat so that it hung open on his chest.  Although the sun had already passed midday, it seemed to grow hotter with every passing minute, so at last the man took off the thick wool jacket and threw it across his shoulders.

Almost as soon as he did this, the sun seemed to lose its growing heat, and the weather turned again just slightly chilly.

“How strange,” the man remarked to himself.  “It’s almost as if the sun and the wind are playing games with me.”

Author’s note: This story is a simple retelling of the famous story by Aesop of the Sun and the Wind.  In La Fontaine’s poetic rendition, the Sun (Phoebus) and the Wind (Boreas) compete to see who can make a traveler take off his cloak.  Boreas goes first and although he blows with all his might, the traveler simply tightens his coat around him more.  At last he gives up, and the sun, with just a gentle bit of heat, forces the traveler to remove his heavy coat.  The moral is that simplicity and mildness are often more effective than anger and force.  I just wanted to rewrite it from the perspective of the innocent and ignorant traveler who simply has to deal with the odd weather as he goes home.