At the Back of the North Wind Illustrated - online book

A Complete Illustrated children's fantasy book by George MacDonald.

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26 At the Back of the North Wind
like vulgar emperors, or ill-natured cooks; for all em­perors are not gentlemen, and all cooks are not ladies— nor all queens and princesses for that matter, either.
But it can't be denied that a little gentle crying does one good. It did Diamond good; for as soon as it was over he was a brave boy again.
"She shan't say it was my fault anyhow!" said Diamond. "I daresay she is hiding somewhere to see what I will do. I will look for her."
So he went round the end of the stable towards the kitchen-garden. But the moment he was clear of the shelter of the stable, sharp as a knife came the wind against his little chest and his bare legs. Still he would look into the kitchen-garden, and went on. But when he got round the weeping-ash that stood in the corner, the wind blew much stronger, and it grew stronger and stronger till he could hardly fight against it. And it was so cold! All the flashy spikes of the stars seemed to have got somehow into the wind. Then he thought of what the lady had said about people being cold because they were not with the North Wind. How it was that he should have guessed what she meant at that very moment I cannot tell, but I have observed that the most wonderful thing in the world is how people come to understand any­thing. He turned his back to the wind, and trotted again towards the yard; whereupon, strange to say, it blew so much more gently against his calves than it had blown against his shins, that he began to feel almost warm by contrast.
You must not think it was cowardly of Diamond to
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