The Pearl (Background Info)

 Author: John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was born in Salinas, California the son of poor parents. Although he was educated at Stanford University and became a celebrated writer, he never forgot his origins. Growing up in working class towns, he became an excellent observer of human nature and later wrote about the people he lived around–– workers including Mexican-American and migrant workers. He discovered the harsh reality that these people were often treated poorly and without respect and had little means of defending themselves. As a result, many of the characters he wrote about were down and out, isolated and oppressed. 

The Pearl was published in 1947.

Themes: In The Pearl, Steinbeck's many themes deal with struggle. These themes of  “struggle” include: the struggle between 

the poor and the wealthy 

the weak and the strong

good and evil 

cultures or civilizations 

Setting: The events of The Pearl take place sometime around the early 1900s on an estuary (mouth of the river) somewhere on the coast of Mexico in the town of La Paz. On a map the long peninsula which descends from California is called BAJA CALIFORNIA. A peninsula is a piece of land that sticks out into the water but is still connected to the land. It's not quite an island because an island is totally surrounded by water. Baja California is part of Mexico. It is separated from the rest of Mexico by the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez. 

Historical Background and Social Culture: At the time the story takes place, the Indians of Mexico had already been under the domination of people of Spanish descent for 300 years. The governing class was primarily made up of those of Spanish descent and they kept the Mexican Indians at the bottom of the social hierarchy or social ladder. In most cases, the Indians were not allowed to attend school or own land. Keeping people uneducated and dependent keeps them oppressed. The Indians of Mexico fiercely held onto many of their spiritual beliefs, cultures, and customs of their various tribes.

Style: The Pearl is a short novel or novella which is told in the form of an allegory or PARABLE––a short, simple work with little dialogue illustrating a lesson or a larger truth often on the subject of good and evil. In a PARABLE, good and evil are clearly defined––everything is black and white, there are no shades of gray. The characters and action symbolize certain universal ideas or concepts and the readers attach their own meaning to these symbols.

1 Where did John Steinbeck go to college?

2 What is an estuary?

3 What is the other name for the Gulf of California?

4 What is the long peninsula which descends from California called?

5 At the time that this story takes place, where were the Mexican Indians in the social hierarchy?

6 What is another name for an allegory?

7 Does keeping people dependent assure that they are lifted up or oppressed?

8 Is the town of La Paz on the coast or in the center of the country?

9 In what country does this story take place?

10 Who is the author of The Pearl?

11 What year was the book published?

12 What is a parable?

13 Were Steinbeck's parents poor or wealthy?

14 Is La Paz on the coast or the interior of Mexico?

15 What is a peninsula?

20 Step Road to Great Confidence

Self-belief can be like a shadow in the midday sun. Just as we think we have caught it, it can recede surprisingly quickly. Our self-confidence is having to deflect blows on an hourly basis. With social media, for example, it is impossible to escape negative comparisons. Most people do not strive to up with the Joneses anymore. . . it is more like they are trying to crush the Joneses underfoot at every given opportunity.  Self-belief (AKA: confidence) should have no connection with crushing the Joneses.

Here is a road map, a step by step plan, to improve your self-confidence, designed by the coaches, trainers and psychologists who nurture self-esteem for a living.

POWER UP
Practice good posture. The act of literally pulling oneself up, has a positive psychological effect that is powerful. Lengthen your spine and neck, lift your chin and eye line, support your lower back with strong abdominals, and press any sagging shoulders up and back. 

According to Mr David Waters, therapist and coach, a wonderful private exercise is to  "practice a power pose, with arms raised, chin up and chest out. Emulating the posture of winners triggers a positive hormonal shift, reduces anxiety-producing cortisol, and boosts confidence-enhancing hormones."  Think Rocky Balboa and the Philadelphia Art Museum steps!

TAKE A BREATH

Serenity encourages confidence. Confidence is connected to breathing. Breathing "out" or  exhalation promotes composure. The heart tends to speed up slightly upon inhalation, and slow down a bit with exhalation. The action is subtle enough that none of us know it is even happening. 

EXHALATION is a way to activate a powerful calming tool: the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic system quiets us down. 

INHALATION is connected to the fight or flight response. 

One way you can turn on the restful response is simply by making your exhalation longer. Use a  4-4-6-2 rhythm of breathing. Inhale for a silent count of 4, pause for a count of 4, exhale for 6 beats, then stop for 2 beats, before starting over again.

Lengthening your out-breath relative to your in-breath counteracts the fight-or-flight response.  This promotes calmness, quickly soothes racing thoughts and instills confidence.

FIGURE OUT WHO YOU ARE
One of the challenges that a lot of people face is that they intertwine their identity with "what they do,” says Mr Simon Sinek, author of Find Your Why. People tend to introduce themselves by their school or major or by their activities or job title because they attach such status to these things. When they move away, change schools, or activities, it can send confidence crashing. “I define myself by who I am – an optimist – not by other things,” Sinek says.

LIFT OTHERS
We boost our own confidence as we build confidence in others. Giving others an uplift with a compliment will give you and them a physiological and psychological boost, and they will perceive you as more confident and treat you as such, so you get a further boost. It becomes a positive-feedback loop.

ASK OPEN QUESTIONS
Maintaining a fluid conversation, confidently, and in a way that helps others is all about asking open-ended questions that encourage more than a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response.  Queries that start with who, what, where or how can lead to more interesting discussions and show that you’re genuinely interested in the other person’s thoughts and feelings. This can significantly enhance your confidence and ease in small-talk situations.

CONNECTING--  NOT COPYING OR BOASTING

We often get the idea that confidence is about being the center of attention or being the best at something. That is wrong. It is more about putting people at ease. It helps to focus on connecting with people rather than focusing on our performance. You should direct your energy towards establishing a connection with people instead of merely aiming to impress them.

DON'T WORRY
"Recognise that chronic worry, although a defence mechanism against feeling helpless and out of control, leads to excessive anxiety and stress that lower your self-confidence,” says Dr Nick Wignall, a clinical psychologist. “Learn to tolerate the discomfort of feeling helpless and accept that there are things you can’t control. This will free your mind and allow self-confidence to grow."

STOP SCROLLING
"If we are doing better than others, we’re happy,” Wood says, talking about social media and self-esteem. “But if the comparisons are less fortunate, we’re not happy. Confidence needs to start with feeling comfortable in our own skin. This must come from inner attitudes. It will never come from outer social pressures."

LEARN TO SAY,  "ENOUGH!"
"Curb negative internal dialogues using a powerful trigger word, such as ‘stop’ or ‘enough’,” Waters says. This cognitive behavioural therapy tip can immediately interrupt self-defeating thoughts and refocus the mind. “Saying these words out loud intensifies the effect, opens up new, more optimistic thought patterns and consequently enhances confidence."

MISTAKES ARE NOT ALWAYS BAD - DO NOT DWELL

Instead, learn to accept feelings of guilt, regret and disappointment and stop using rumination as an escape. By building a healthier relationship with these difficult emotions, you can stop them from undermining your self-confidence. Understand that many mistakes lead us to better choices in the future. Of course we should make atonement for mistakes that hurt others. So, ask forgiveness, atone, and learn the lesson. Do those things rather than giving mistakes power over you.

REFRAME SETBACKS

When you experience a setback, take a moment to review and reframe,” says Major Sam McGrath, a neuro-linguistic programming coach and author of Be Para Fit. “This helps shift focus on results to a more positive perspective. For instance, if on your first attempt in an assessment you score two out of 10, the reframe encourages focus on the two correct answers and how to build on this success, not the eight incorrect ones.

WRITE IT DOWN

Write down your wants and needs. Try to discern one from the other. Many of us ignore our deep needs due to various negative experiences, which leads to low self-confidence. Retrain your brain to define your wants and needs. This practice enhances self-confidence by demonstrating that you can accomplish difficult tasks, even when you’re uncertain.

TAKE ACTION (BABY STEPS OR EAT THE FROG)

BABY STEPS - Even the smallest acts can empower you to push through and keep moving forward. Make your bed, make your breakfast, have a workout routine and create tangible projects that build towards your desired goal.

EAT THE FROG - Do the thing you dread the most . . . first. Get it out of the way.

No matter which course(s) of action you choose . . . take action . . . everyday.

TRY ANCHORING
Anchoring connects positive emotions to trigger points, so you can import a mental state from a past event when you need it the most. This information shared by neuro-linguistic programming coach, Major Sam McGrath.  It works by reminding your brain of a time when you felt confident. The process of re-immersing yourself in a positive memory changes your state of mind. At the height of re-experiencing the feeling, you use a trigger point, for example squeezing the knuckle on your little finger hard, to anchor the desired feeling to a part of your body. You then use that physical trigger to create the feeling when you need it in the future.  This is a powerful neuro-linguistic programming trick! It is also classic Skinner!

CELEBRATE SMALL WINS

Building unshakeable self-confidence comes not from external validation but from celebrating those small, daily wins that no one else sees. You should absolutely set a long-term goal, but break it down into smaller monthly, weekly and even daily targets so that winning each day, and believing in yourself, becomes second nature.

ACTIVE LEARNING = HIGHER CONFIDENCE
Active learning keeps us sharp, so fall in love with learning.  Learn a new language, master a style of cooking, join the taekwondo club, or audition for a play.  Do not be afraid of failing at first. Confidence is not based on your ability to succeed at a task, but your ability to persist and quite possibly even succeed. Challenge in the form of learning new things boosts your confidence. 

MENTALLY REHEARSE

Sports psychologists use visualisation as a highly effective tool for building confidence among athletes suffering a drop in form. The guided imagery process is simple.  When you visualize, you prepare yourself to experience your goal, developing self-confidence and conviction as you go. Rehearsing your golf swing or imagining yourself giving that speech activate your neural circuitry. Research suggests that visualization stimulates the brain in many of the same ways as actual experience.

WORK OUT
Exercise can be a huge boost to your self-confidence. It has been shown to reduce depression, anxiety, and negative moods. In direct opposition to those negative emotions, exercise boosts self-esteem and cognitive function. The American Psychological Association has noted through studies that working out regularly, which requires a commitment, is a huge confidence building accomplishment. Sticking to a new habit increases confidence. 

KEEP IT REAL
All confidence is based on relaxation, not on the phoney reality-TV-showlike displays of dominating the space and holding court. To improve confidence, create an everyday routine of doing things that relax you, so it becomes a habit and part of your physiological baseline. Make time for breathing exercises, walks in nature, listening to music, reading and hobbies. When we are stressed out, these are the first things we give up, but they are the very things that keep us grounded.

MAKE THESE CHANGES HABIT
Everyone experiences a confidence-crushing moment at one time or another. But once you have these tools and you make them a habit, then stressful moments are no longer a problem. The body’s chemistry starts to change to our advantage. Cortisol, the anxiety-inducing hormone, ebbs away and we get confidence-boosting hits of testosterone, which helps us feel more capable and in control.

sources

Rob Kemp

Soutenus

Dr Gary Wood

David Walters

Mr Simon Sinek, author of Find Your Why

Major Sam McGrath, a neuro-linguistic programming coach and author of Be Para Fit

The American Psychological Association

Gary Genard speech coach

Hans Christian Andersen

SOURCE # 1

SOURCE #2 

Hans Christian Andersen was born in the town of Odense, Denmark on April 2, 1805. This man is the beloved author of some of the world's most popular and famous fairy tales. On April 2 of each year, Andersen's birthday is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.

King Frederick VI of Denmark took an interest in Andersen as a child and paid for part of his education. After his father died, however, Andersen was forced to find a job to support himself. After working as both a weaver's apprentice and a tailor, Andersen moved to Copenhagen when he was just 14 years old.

He had an excellent singing voice and soon found work as an actor with the Royal Danish Theatre. Eventually, his voice changed, and he turned to writing.

Between 1835 and 1872, Andersen published many children's stories. He is probably best known for Fairy Tales and Stories.

Most children have heard many of his most popular stories, including The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Clothes, and The Ugly Duckling. 

Famous for these and many other stories, Andersen became known as the "father of the modern fairy tale." Some believe Andersen's stories became so popular because they were not meant just for children, but for adults, too. Even though his stories are simple and charming, most of them also feature important moral lessons.

While many fairy tales are based on old folk tales, only a dozen or so of Andersen's 156 fairy tales were inspired by well-known stories. All the rest were original works.

Over the past hundred years, Andersen's fairy tales have been translated into more than 150 different languages. They've inspired plays, ballets and many movies. They've also been immortalized in many ways around the world.

For example, in the Copenhagen harbor, there is a statue of The Little Mermaid. Visitors to New York City's Central Park can see a statue of Hans Christian Andersen with the Ugly Duckling. Shanghai residents can even visit a $13 million theme park based on Andersen's fairy tales!

Cincinnatus Rules Rome (Lesson 8)

6 Things to do --->  PAGES,   KWO,   ESSAY,   CHECKLIST,   VOCABULARY,   PORTFOLIO

1)  Complete PAGES 74, 75, 76, 77, and 78 in your book.

2)  KWO the text (handwritten) 

3)  Your ESSAY is a re-write of the narrative's plot. 

YOU are to change the setting and characters! 

4)  Remember your CHECKLIST  

   See side bar of this website. Click on the picture of the checklist to get the template.  -->

All formatting rules apply.

STYLISTIC REQUIREMENTS:

Indicate 1 of each DRESS UP 

Indicate OPENERs S, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 

5)  Highlight VOCABULARY words in cyan blue if you want the extra credit!  ;-)

NO banned words, NO contractions, NO dialogue 

Be cognizant of paragraphs. Use the source text as a guide if you are not sure when to start a new paragraph.

5)  Keep up with the VOCABULARY.  Test of all words to date on November 8.

6)  Reminder: Working PORTFOLIO due November 8.

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LAGNIAPPE just for fun!

Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus  519 - 439BC

https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=resources&s=char-dir&f=cincinnatus

The story retold by James Baldwin:

https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=read&author=baldwin&book=fifty&story=cincinnatus

Invention Spotlight: The Flat-bottomed Paper Bag

   

      It’s natural to think about the processes that produced the food in your daily sack lunch, but have you ever stopped to consider the manufacturing techniques behind the sack itself? The flat-bottomed brown paper bags we encounter constantly—in the lunch context, at grocery stores, in gift shops—are as unassuming as they are ubiquitous, but the story underlying them deserves recognition. At the center of it is a precocious young woman, born in Maine on the heels of the Industrial Revolution and raised in New Hampshire. Her name is Margaret Knight.

From her earliest years, Knight was a tireless tinkerer. In a scholarly article titled “The Evolution of the Grocery Bag,” engineering historian Henry Petroski mentions a few of her childhood projects, which tended to demand a certain facility for woodwork. She was “famous for her kites,” Petroski writes, and “her sleds were the envy of the town’s boys.”    

    With only rudimentary schooling under her belt, a 12-year-old Knight joined the ranks of a riverside cotton mill in Manchester to support her widowed mother. In an unregulated, dangerous factory setting, the preteen toiled for paltry wages from before dawn until after dusk.

    One of the leading causes of grievous injury at the mill, she soon observed, was the propensity of steel-tipped flying shuttles (manipulated by workers to unite the perpendicular weft and warp threads in their weaves) to come free of their looms, shooting off at high velocity with the slightest employee error.

    The mechanically minded Knight set out to fix this, and before her thirteenth birthday devised an original shuttle restraint system that would soon sweep the cotton industry. At the time, she had no notion of patenting her idea, but as the years went by and she generated more and more such concepts, Knight came to see the moneymaking potential in her creativity.

    As Petroski explains, Knight departed the brutal mill in her late teens, cycling through a number of technical jobs to keep her pockets and her mind well-fed. In time, she became adept in a formidable range of trades, equally comfortable with daguerreotypes as she was with upholstery. What cemented—or should have cemented—her place in the history books was her tenure at the Columbia Paper Bag company, based in Springfield, Massachusetts.

    At the bag company, as with most places she spent appreciable time, Knight saw opportunities for improvement. Instead of folding every paper bag by hand—the inefficient and error-prone task she was charged with—Knight wondered if she might instead be able to make them cleanly and rapidly via an automated mechanism.

“After a while,” Petroski writes, “she began to experiment with a machine that could feed, cut, and fold the paper automatically and, most important, form the squared bottom of the bag.” Prior to Knight’s experiments, flat-bottomed bags were considered artisanal items, and were not at all easy to come by in common life. Knight’s idea promised to democratize the user-friendly bags, ushering out the cumbersome paper cones in which groceries were formerly carried and ushering in a new era of shopping and transport convenience.

    By the time she had built a working model of her elegant paper-folding apparatus, Knight knew she wanted to go the extra step and secure a patent on her creation. Not only did Knight file for a patent, she rigorously defended her ownership of the bag machine idea in a legal battle with a fraud who had copied her. Having gotten a glimpse of Knight’s machine in its development phase, a man named Charles Annan decided he would try to pull the rug out from under her and claim the creation as his own.

    This turned out to be extremely ill-advised, as Knight, who spent a large chunk of her hard-earned money on quality legal counsel, handed Annan a humiliating courtroom drubbing. In response to his bigoted argument that no woman could be capable of designing such a machine, Knight presented her copious, meticulously detailed hand-drawn blueprints. Annan, who had no such evidence to offer himself, was quickly found to be a moneygrubbing charlatan. After the dispute was resolved, Knight received her rightful patent, in 1871.

    Today, a scaled-down but fully functional patent model of Knight’s groundbreaking machine is housed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. An impressive assembly of gold-colored metal gears, springs and other parts mounted on a deep brown hardwood frame, the efficient bag-folding device, whose full-scale cousins soared into international use in the years following Knight’s efforts, offers silent, majestic testimony to the power of women to achieve in mechanics and engineering.

    Over her prolific intellectual career, Knight would successfully file for more than 20 patents in total, running the technological gamut from combustion engines to skirt protectors. Though she managed to live more comfortably in middle and old age than in childhood, Knight was never rich by any means. Unmarried and without children, Knight—as Nate DiMeo, host of the historical podcast “The Memory Palace,” movingly explains—died alone with her achievements and a mere $300 to her name.

The implications of Knight’s eventful life were addressed in widely read ink as early as 1913 (one year before her death), when the New York Times, in what was then a refreshingly progressive move, ran a lengthy feature on “Women Who Are Inventors,” with Knight as the headliner.

No doubt many female inventors of the early 1900s—and later—were spurred on by Knight’s courageous example. Warner sees in the story of the talented and tenacious Knight an enduring source of inspiration for anyone with original ideas looking to better the world around them. “Someone tried to steal her design, and she sued him and won,” Warner stresses, “and she made money out of her invention too. She was a tough lady!”  

    Humble paper bags, which to this day are manufactured using updated versions of Knight’s  remind us just how much one resolute woman was able to achieve, even when the cards were stacked against her. 

edited - original source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/meet-female-inventor-behind-mass-market-paper-bags-180968469/

Trojan Horse

KWO     READ      WRITE      PAGES     QUESTIONS  

KWO the IEW Trojan Horse story.

READ the longer version in this post.

WRITE your own version using your KWO (you may add information earned from the longer version)

              15 extra credit points possible! VOCABULARY!

Stylistic Requirements:

Indicate 1 of each DRESS UP

Indicate 5 of the OPENERs

Indicate vocab with cyan blue highlight

NO banned words, contractions, of dialogue

CHECKLIST required

SUBMISSION ORDER remains the same (Staple: top/final draft . . . checklist . . . bottom/KWO)

Be sure to complete the PAGES associated with this chapter in your IEW Book

Answer all of the QUESTIONS below the longer version of the Trojan Horse story. Answer with complete sentences. Be sure to use the bolded vocabulary words in each answer. When you  find a question that does NOT have a bolded vocab word in it, find the appropriate vocabulary word in the text  that can be used in the answer. BOLD the vocabulary words in your answers.

BONUS! YOU MAY ADD THESE WORDS TO YOUR ONGOING VOCABULARY LIST & USE THEM FOR EXTRA CREDIT IN THIS ESSAY AND IN FUTURE ESSAYS.

Please note: You may add what you have learned from this longer version of the story to your essay. Be very careful not to plagiarize.  If you need to KWO sentences from the longer text in order to remember the info, you may. 

Otherwise, you may simply add what you have learned from the longer version or already know. Make sure the information meshes. In other words, if you add facts, they must make sense in the context of YOUR essay.

Future Writing Prompts

1. Since you’ve become a teenager, what is the greatest challenge you’ve faced?
2. What is the most important thing anyone has ever said to you? How did it make you feel?
3. What career are you best suited for? Write about one or two professions where you would excel.
4. Write about a historical figure who you believe truly changed the world. Why was this person so significant?
5. Is it important for students to learn in a physical classroom today or is an online classroom just as good?
6. Write about an object that you always have with you. Why is this object important?
7. Write about an experience or event that you always carry with you. Why does this instance stick in your mind?
8. What is the difference between a privilege and a right? Give examples of each.
9. What is the greatest compliment you could give someone else? Do many people in your life deserve this type of compliment?
10. What type of weather best represents your personality? Why?

 

The Sword of Damocles (Lesson 6)

1) Read pages 54 through 58

2) Complete pages 56, 57, & 58

     On a separate piece of paper OR in the book

3) KWO the story as described on pg 55 -> new format!

4) Use your KWO to write/type your essay.

Indicate 1 of each DRESS UP

• Remember that DRESS UPs are never the first word of a sentence.

Indicate 1 of each OPENER that you understand and feel confident using. For one person that might be every OPENER, for another, it might be 2 OPENERs. Take this at your own pace. 

NO BANNED WORDS or CONTRACTIONS!  

Dialogue is acceptable in this essay, but punctuate properly. 

Properly used & indicated vocabulary words = extra credit (up to 15 points)

IMPORTANT! Please strive to use stylistic techniques as often as appropriate. 

DRESS UPs and OPENERs enhance your writing.  

Indicate only 1 of each required stylistic technique.

Staple together: Essay (top), Checklist (middle), KWO (bottom)

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Here is an interesting video on the terms: 
"sword of Damocles"   or   "Damocles' sword"

“Many of us here in the low lying areas of New Orleans live in the shadow of Damocles’ sword, for we know that the next hurricane could easily wash our homes away.

“Dennis had a health scare when he was young. The diagnosis may have been wrong, but for many weeks it became a sword of Damocles.”

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JUST FOR FUN
Another telling of the tale from the history.com website:

The Sword of Damocles

    The famed “sword of Damocles” dates back to an ancient moral parable popularized by the Roman philosopher Cicero in his 45 B.C. book “Tusculan Disputations.” Cicero’s version of the tale centers on Dionysius II, a tyrannical king who once ruled over the Sicilian city of Syracuse during the fourth and fifth centuries B.C.

    Though rich and powerful, Dionysius was supremely unhappy. His iron-fisted rule had made him many enemies, and he was tormented by fears of assassination—so much so that he slept in a bedchamber surrounded by a moat and only trusted his daughters to shave his beard with a razor.

    As Cicero tells it, the king’s dissatisfaction came to a head one day after a court flatterer named Damocles showered him with compliments and remarked how blissful his life must be. “Since this life delights you,” an annoyed Dionysius replied, “do you wish to taste it yourself and make a trial of my good fortune?” When Damocles agreed, Dionysius seated him on a golden couch and ordered a host of servants to wait on him. He was treated to succulent cuts of meat and lavished with scented perfumes and ointments.

    Damocles couldn’t believe his luck, but just as he was starting to enjoy the life of a king, he noticed that Dionysius had also hung a razor-sharp sword from the ceiling. It was positioned over Damocles’ head, suspended only by a single strand of horsehair. From then on, the courtier’s fear for his life made it impossible for him to savor the opulence of the feast or enjoy the servants. After casting several nervous glances at the blade dangling above him, he asked to be excused, saying he no longer wished to be so fortunate.

    For Cicero, the tale of Dionysius and Damocles represented the idea that those in power always labor under the specter of anxiety and death, and that “there can be no happiness for one who is under constant apprehensions.” The parable later became a common motif in medieval literature, and the phrase “sword of Damocles” is now commonly used as a catchall term to describe a looming danger. Likewise, the saying “hanging by a thread” has become shorthand for a fraught or precarious situation.

    One of its more famous uses came in 1961 during the Cold War, when President John F. Kennedy gave a speech before the United Nations in which he said, “Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness.”

https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-sword-of-damocles

The Wind and the Sun

Story of the North Wind and The Sun

    by

A. Student

    Two very good friends, North Wind and Sun, were walking together one fine day. Gradually a dispute arose between them about who was stronger. They each claimed themselves as the strongest and started arguing with each other. The Sun thought he was more powerful because he could warm the world. The Wind glared at the Sun as they both boasted. Wind made it clear that he thought he was the stronger because he could blow the mighty ships across the seas. He had torn down massive buildings as if they were mere decks of cards.

    Continuing their arguments, both of them tried to display their powers and claim themselves to be more powerful than the other. The North Wind started blustering, and the Sun produced as much heat as he could.

    While they were arguing with each other, a traveller wrapped in a cloak walked along the road below them. They stared at each other, then at the man, and an idea was hatched. They mutually decided that the title of "Mightiest" would be based on who could strip the traveller's cloak.

    The North Wind was first to showcase his power by expelling a great gust of cold air. The traveller shivered and almost lost his control of his cloak. This made the North Wind, who was quite proud of himself, quite happy. Wind continued his relentless blustering. But soon, Wind's smile faded away as the traveller wrapped the cloak tightly around his body.

    Next the North Wind tried with all his might and blew harshly. But, as the North Wind tried to attack the traveller as hard as he could, the man wrapped his cloak more tightly around his body. Bewildered, North Wind eventually fatigued and haughtily told the Sun to prove his power.

    The Sun lifted his head a little and with a wry smile, winked at North Wind. Now, the Sun started shining brightly. It made the traveller happy. Loosening his hold on the fabric of his cloak, the man sighed with contentment. The Sun's kind and gentle warmth soon coaxed the traveller into taking off his cloak. Because the wind had quite exhausted the man, he found the sun rays a blessing. So he relaxed under a palm tree.

    Upon observing this, the Sun was very happy. He told the North Wind that the powerful are not the ones who trouble others, but the ones who show mercy. The North Wind apologised to the Sun and hugged him lovingly.

Moral of the Story

Kindness and gentle persuasion alway wins over force and bluster. This story teaches the most valuable lessons of being calm and gentle.