What is the moral of The North Wind and the Sun?

Gentleness and warmth often work better than force. The harder the North Wind blew, the tighter the man held his coat. When the Sun shone softly, the man took his coat off on his own.

Who wins in The North Wind and the Sun?

The Sun wins. The North Wind blows until he is too tired to go on, but the man only pulls his coat tighter. Then the Sun shines, the day gets warmer and warmer, and the man takes off his coat and sits down under a tree to rest.

Why do linguists use The North Wind and the Sun?

The International Phonetic Association often uses this fable as a sample text. Speakers of many languages read it aloud and are recorded, so the sounds of different languages can be written down and compared.

Is there a Chinese version of The North Wind and the Sun?

Yes. In Chinese it is 北风和太阳 (běi fēng hé tài yáng). This page has our Chinese retelling with Mandarin narration next to the English one.

The North Wind and the Sun

Ages 3–7
English audio 2 min
Mandarin audio 3 min

The North Wind and the Sun is a classic story from Aesop's Fables for Kids, for children aged 3–7. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 2 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 3 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

The North Wind and the Sun compete to get a traveler’s coat off. The wind blows hard and fails; the gentle sun wins. Aesop’s fable in simple English and in Chinese, both with narration.

0:001:28

Tap any sentence in the story to start reading from there. It stops at the end.

Record about a minute of your voice, and every story here can be read to your child in it. Credits come back automatically if it fails.

Read The North Wind and the Sun

Long ago, the North Wind and the Sun lived in the same big sky. One day, they had an argument. Who was stronger?

"I am!" said the North Wind. "When I blow, trees bend and the sea grows wild." The Sun just smiled. "Let's have a contest," said the Sun.

Just then, a man came walking down the road. He was wearing a warm coat. "Do you see that man?" said the Sun. "If you can make him take off his coat, you win."

"Easy!" said the North Wind. He took a deep breath and blew. Whoosh! The leaves shook and the dust flew. The man felt cold, so he pulled his coat tight.

The North Wind blew harder. Whoosh! Whoosh! But the harder he blew, the tighter the man held his coat. At last the North Wind was too tired to blow any more. He stopped.

"Now it's my turn," said the Sun. The Sun came out from behind a cloud and began to shine softly on the road. The man looked up and smiled. He opened his coat.

The Sun kept shining, and the day got warmer and warmer. "Oh, it's so hot today!" said the man. He took off his coat and sat down under a tree to rest.

The North Wind did not say a word. The Sun just smiled and kept on shining.

The Chinese version: 北风和太阳

很久以前，北风和太阳住在同一片天空里。有一天，它们吵了起来，吵的是：谁的本领更大？

北风鼓起腮帮子说：“当然是我！我一吹，大树弯腰，海浪翻滚，连屋顶上的瓦片都会飞起来。”太阳只是笑了笑：“光说可不算数，我们来比一比吧。”

正好，山路上走来一个赶路的人，身上穿着一件厚厚的外套。太阳说：“看见他了吗？谁能让他把外套脱下来，就算谁赢。”北风说：“这还不容易！看我的！”

北风深深地吸了一口气，“呼——”地吹了过去。路边的树叶哗啦啦地响，尘土打着旋儿飞起来。那个人打了个哆嗦，赶紧把外套裹紧了。

北风一看，吹得更用力了。“呼——呼——”风越刮越猛，吹得那个人都快站不稳了。可是风越大，他就把外套裹得越紧，最后连扣子都扣得严严实实，还用两只手紧紧按住衣领。北风吹呀吹，吹得自己都没力气了，只好停了下来。

“该我了。”太阳说。它从云朵后面走出来，把暖暖的阳光轻轻地洒在山路上。那个人抬起头，松了一口气，把扣子一颗一颗地解开了。

太阳一直照着，天越来越暖和。那个人走得满头是汗，擦擦额头说：“今天怎么这么热呀！”他干脆把外套脱了下来，搭在胳膊上，走到路边的大树底下乘凉去了。

北风看着那件外套，半天没说出话来。太阳还是笑眯眯的，暖暖地照着大地。

The North Wind and the Sun: the moral of the story

Kindness and gentleness often work better than force. If you want someone to do something, warmth and a friendly word go further than pushing harder.

Chinese words in The North Wind and the Sun

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

北风běi fēng
north wind
太阳tài yáng
sun
本领běn lǐng
skill, power
外套wài tào
coat
吹chuī
blow
扣子kòu zi
button
暖和nuǎn huo
warm
乘凉chéng liáng
cool off in the shade

Bedtime storytelling tips

When the North Wind blows “Whoosh!”, really blow a long breath, and let your child puff out their cheeks and blow too.
Read the North Wind’s part loud and quick and the Sun’s part soft and slow, so your child hears two kinds of strength.
Afterward, try a small game: tug gently at your child’s blanket and they will hold on tighter; then pat it and ask nicely, and see whether they let go.

Things to talk about afterwards

The North Wind blew so hard. Why did the man hold his coat even tighter?
How did the Sun get the man to take off his coat by himself?
If you wanted a friend to share a toy, would you be like the North Wind or like the Sun?

Read this story to your child in your own voice

Record your voice and confirm it's really you
Pick any story, in English or Chinese
A few minutes later, hear it in your voice; you can also download the MP3

From about $1.05 a story, or $1.99 for a first-order taster. Reading and listening are always free, and failed generations are refunded.

Read it in my voice See pricing

The North Wind and the Sun: common questions

What is the moral of The North Wind and the Sun?: Gentleness and warmth often work better than force. The harder the North Wind blew, the tighter the man held his coat. When the Sun shone softly, the man took his coat off on his own.
Who wins in The North Wind and the Sun?: The Sun wins. The North Wind blows until he is too tired to go on, but the man only pulls his coat tighter. Then the Sun shines, the day gets warmer and warmer, and the man takes off his coat and sits down under a tree to rest.
Where does The North Wind and the Sun come from?: It is one of Aesop’s fables, number 46 in the Perry Index, said to come from a storyteller in ancient Greece around the 6th century BC. In the original the traveler wears a cloak; our version gives him a coat.
Why do linguists use The North Wind and the Sun?: The International Phonetic Association often uses this fable as a sample text. Speakers of many languages read it aloud and are recorded, so the sounds of different languages can be written down and compared.
Is there a Chinese version of The North Wind and the Sun?: Yes. In Chinese it is 北风和太阳 (běi fēng hé tài yáng). This page has our Chinese retelling with Mandarin narration next to the English one.

Source and how we retold it

Aesop’s fables, number 46 in the Perry Index. Aesop is said to have been a storyteller in ancient Greece around the 6th century BC. His fables were first passed on by word of mouth and collected by later writers, and they have long been in the public domain. Our retelling follows the original plot with two changes. The traveler wears a coat instead of the cloak in the original, since children know coats better. And where the original traveler gets so hot that he takes off all his clothes and jumps into a river to bathe, ours takes off his coat and rests in the shade of a tree.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by 英伦绅士 and the Chinese by 温柔妈妈. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked The North Wind and the Sun, there are more stories in Aesop's Fables for Kids. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.