1 / AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND By George Mac Donald CHAPTER I . THE HAY - LOFT I HAVE been asked to tell you about the back of the north wind . An old Greek writer mentions a people who lived there , and were so comfortable that they could not bear it any longer , and drowned themselves . My story is not the same as his . I do not think Herodotus had got the right account of the place . I am going to tell you how it fared with a boy who went there . He lived in a low room over a coach - house ; and that was not by any means at the back of the north wind , as his mother very well knew . For one side of the room was built only of boards , and the boards were so old that you might run a penknife through into the north wind . And then let them settle between them which was the sharper ! I know that when you pulled it out again the wind would be after it like a cat after a mouse , and you would know soon enough you were not at the back of the north wind . Still , this room was not very cold , except when the north wind blew stronger than usual : the room I have to do with now was always cold , except in summer , when the sun took the matter into his own hands . Indeed , I am not sure whether I ought to call it a room at all ; for it was just a loft where they kept hay and straw and oats for the horses . And when little Diamond - - but stop : I must tell you that his father , who was a coachman , had named him after a favourite horse , and his mother had had no objection : - - when little Diamond , then , lay there in bed , he could hear the horses under him munching away in the dark , or moving sleepily in their dreams . For Diamond 's father had built him a bed in the loft with boards all round it , because they had so little room in their own end over the coach - house ; and Diamond 's father put old Diamond in the stall under the bed , because he was a quiet horse , and did not go to sleep standing , but lay down like a reasonable creature . But , although he was a surprisingly reasonable creature , yet , when young Diamond woke in the middle of the night , and fe " Kilmeny had been she knew not where , The last two lines are the shepherd 's own remark , and a matter of opinion . But it is clear , I think , that Kilmeny must have described the same country as Durante saw , though , not having his experience , she could neither understand nor describe it so well . Now I must give you such fragments of recollection as Diamond was able to bring back with him . When he came to himself after he fell , he found himself at the back of the north wind . North Wind herself was nowhere to be seen . Neither was there a vestige of snow or of ice within sight . The sun too had vanished ; but that was no matter , for there was plenty of a certain still rayless light . Where it came from he never found out ; but he thought it belonged to the country itself . Sometimes he thought it came out of the flowers , which were very bright , but had no strong colour . He said the river - - for all agree that there is a river there - - flowed not only through , but over grass : its channel , instead of being rock , stones , pebbles , sand , or anything else , was of pure meadow grass , not over long . He insisted that if it did not sing tunes in people 's ears , it sung tunes in their heads , in proof of which I may mention that , in the troubles which followed , Diamond was often heard singing ; and when asked what he was singing , would answer , " One of the tunes the river at the back of the north wind sung . " And I may as well say at once that Diamond never told these things to any one but - - no , I had better not say who it was ; but whoever it was told me , and I thought it would be well to write them for my child - readers . He could not say he was very happy there , for he had neither his father nor mother with him , but he felt so still and quiet and patient and contented , that , as far as the mere feeling went , it was something better than mere happiness . Nothing went wrong at the back of the north wind . Neither was anything quite right , he thought . Only everything was going to be right some day . His account disagreed with that of Durante , and agreed with that of Kilmeny , Little Boy Blue lost his way in a wood . CHAPTER XXI . SAL ' S NANNY DIAMOND managed with many blunders to read this rhyme to his mother . " Isn 't it nice , mother ? " he said . " Yes , it 's pretty , " she answered . " I think it means something , " returned Diamond . " I 'm sure I don 't know what , " she said . " I wonder if it 's the same boy - - yes , it must be the same - - Little Boy Blue , you know . Let me see - - how does that rhyme go ? Little Boy Blue , come blow me your horn - - Yes , of course it is - - for this one went ' blowing his horn and beating his drum . ' He had a drum too . So I suppose nobody did wake him . He was a rather cross little boy , I daresay , when woke up . And when he did wake of himself , and saw the mischief the cow had done to the corn , instead of running home to his mother , he ran away into the wood and lost himself . Don 't you think that 's very likely , mother ? " " I shouldn 't wonder , " she answered . " So you see he was naughty ; for even when he lost himself he did not want to go home . Any of the creatures would have shown him the way if he had asked it - - all but the snake . He followed the snake , you know , and he took him farther away . I suppose it was a young one of the same serpent that tempted Adam and Eve . Father was telling us about it last Sunday , you remember . " " Bless the child ! " said his mother to herself ; and then added aloud , finding that Diamond did not go on , " Well , what next ? " " I don 't know , mother . I 'm sure there 's a great deal more , but what it is I can 't say . I only know that he killed the snake . I suppose that 's what he had a drumstick for . He couldn 't do it with his horn . " " But surely you 're not such a silly as to take it all for true , Diamond ? " " I think it must be . It looks true . That killing of the snake looks true . It 's what I 've got to do so often . " His mother looked uneasy . Diamond smiled full in her face , and added - - " When baby cries and won 't be happy , and when father and you talk about your troubles , I mean . " This did little to reassure his mother ; and lest my reader should have his qualms about it too , I venture to remind him once more that Diamond had been to the back of the north wind . Finding she made no reply , Diamond went on - - " In a week or so , I shall be able to go to the tall gentleman and tell him I can read . And I 'll ask him if he can help me to understand the rhyme . " But before the week was out , he had another reason for going to Mr . Raymond . For three days , on each of which , at one time or other , Diamond 's father was on the same stand near the National Gallery , the girl I have only one foot , but thousands of toes ; " Do you know what that means , Diamond ? " he asked , when he had finished . " No , indeed , I don 't , " answered Diamond . " Then you can read it for yourself , and think over it , and see if you can find out , " said Mr . Raymond , giving him the book . " And now you had better go home to your mother . When you 've found the riddle , you can come again . " If Diamond had had to find out the riddle in order to see Mr . Raymond again , I doubt if he would ever have seen him . " Oh then , " I think I hear some little reader say , " he could not have been a genius , for a genius finds out things without being told . " I answer , " Genius finds out truths , not tricks . " And if you do not understand that , I am afraid you must be content to wait till you grow older and know more . CHAPTER XXIII . THE EARLY BIRD WHEN Diamond got home he found his father at home already , sitting by the fire and looking rather miserable , for his head ached and he felt sick . He had been doing night work of late , and it had not agreed with him , so he had given it up , but not in time , for he had taken some kind of fever . The next day he was forced to keep his bed , and his wife nursed him , and Diamond attended to the baby . If he had not been ill , it would have been delightful to have him at home ; and the first day Diamond sang more songs than ever to the baby , and his father listened with some pleasure . But the next he could not bear even Diamond 's sweet voice , and was very ill indeed ; so Diamond took the baby into his own room , and had no end of quiet games with him there . If he did pull all his bedding on the floor , it did not matter , for he kept baby very quiet , and made the bed himself again , and slept in it with baby all the next night , and many nights after . But long before his father got well , his mother 's savings were all but gone . She did not say a word about it in the hearing of her husband , lest she should distress him ; and one night , when she could not help crying , she came into Diamond 's room that his father might not hear A little bird sat on the edge of her nest ; " There , mother ! " said Diamond , as he finished ; " ain 't it funny ? " " I wish you were like that little bird , Diamond , and could catch worms for yourself , " said his mother , as she rose to go and look after her husband . Diamond lay awake for a few minutes , thinking what he could do to catch worms . It was very little trouble to make up his mind , however , and still less to go to sleep after it . CHAPTER XXIV . ANOTHER EARLY BIRD HE GOT up in the morning as soon as he heard the men moving in the yard . He tucked in his little brother so that he could not tumble out of bed , and then went out , leaving the door open , so that if he should cry his mother might hear him at once . When he got into the yard he found the stable - door just opened . " I 'm the early bird , I think , " he said to himself . " I hope I shall catch the worm . " He would not ask any one to help him , fearing his project might meet with disapproval and opposition . With great difficulty , but with the help of a broken chair he brought down from his bedroom , he managed to put the harness on Diamond . If the old horse had had the least objection to the proceeding , of course he could not have done it ; but even when it came to the bridle , he opened his mouth for the bit , just as if he had been taking the apple which Diamond sometimes gave him . He fastened the cheek - strap very carefully , just in the usual hole , for fear of choking his friend , or else letting the bit get amongst his teeth . It was a job to get the saddle on ; but with the chair he managed it . If old Diamond had had an education in physics to equal that of the camel , he would have knelt down to let him put it on his back , but that was more than could be expected of him , and then Diamond had to creep quite under him to get hold of the girth . The collar was almost the worst part of the business ; but there Diamond could help Diamond . He held his head very low till his little master had got it over and turned it round , and then he lifted his head , and shook it on to his shoulders . The yokeHey , diddle , diddle ! CHAPTER XXV . DIAMOND ' S DREAM " THERE , baby ! " said Diamond ; " I 'm so happy that I can only sing nonsense . Oh , father , think if you had been a poor man , and hadn 't had a cab and old Diamond ! What should I have done ? " " I don 't know indeed what you could have done , " said his father from the bed . " We should have all starved , my precious Diamond , " said his mother , whose pride in her boy was even greater than her joy in the shillings . Both of them together made her heart ache , for pleasure can do that as well as pain . " Oh no ! we shouldn 't , " said Diamond . " I could have taken Nanny 's crossing till she came back ; and then the money , instead of going for Old Sal 's gin , would have gone for father 's beef - tea . I wonder what Nanny will do when she gets well again . Somebody else will be sure to have taken the crossing by that time . I wonder if she will fight for it , and whether I shall have to help her . I won 't bother my head about that . Time enough yet ! Hey diddle ! hey diddle ! hey diddle diddle ! I wonder whether Mr . Raymond would take me to see Nanny . Hey diddle ! hey diddle ! hey diddle diddle ! The baby and fiddle ! O , mother , I 'm such a silly ! But I can 't help it . I wish I could think of something else , but there 's nothing will come into my head but hey diddle diddle ! the cat and the fiddle ! I wonder what the angels do - - when they 're extra happy , you know - - when they 've been driving cabs all day and taking home the money to their mothers . Do you think they ever sing nonsense , mother ? " " I daresay they 've got their own sort of it , " answered his mother , " else they wouldn 't be like other people . " She was thinking more of her twenty - one shillings and sixpence , and of the nice dinner she would get for her sick husband next day , than of the angels and their nonsense , when she said it . But Diamond found her answer all right . " Yes , to be sure , " he replied . " They wouldn 't be like other people if they hadn 't their nonsense sometimes . But it must be very pretty nonsense , andWhite hands of whiteness This , however , was so near sense that he thought it could not be really what they did sing . CHAPTER XXVI . DIAMOND TAKES A FARE THE WRONG WAY RIGHT THE next morning Diamond was up almost as early as before . He had nothing to fear from his mother now , and made no secret of what he was about . By the time he reached the stable , several of the men were there . They asked him a good many questions as to his luck the day before , and he told them all they wanted to know . But when he proceeded to harness the old horse , they pushed him aside with rough kindness , called him a baby , and began to do it all for him . So Diamond ran in and had another mouthful of tea and bread and butter ; and although he had never been so tired as he was the night before , he started quite fresh this morning . It was a cloudy day , and the wind blew hard from the north - - so hard sometimes that , perched on the box with just his toes touching the ground , Diamond wished that he had some kind of strap to fasten himself down with lest he should be blown away . But he did not really mind it . His head was full of the dream he had dreamed ; but it did not make him neglect his work , for his work was not to dig stars but to drive old Diamond and pick up fares . There are not many people who can think about beautiful things and do common work at the same time . But then there are not many people who have been to the back of the north wind . There was not much business doing . And Diamond felt rather cold , notwithstanding his mother had herself put on his comforter and helped him with his greatcoat . But he was too well aware of his dignity to get inside his cab as some do . A cabman ought to be above minding the weather - - at least so Diamond thought . At length he was called to a neighbouring house , where a young woman with a heavy box had to be taken to Wapping for a coast - steamer . He did not find it at all pleasant , so far east and so near the river ; for the roughs were in great force . However , there being no block , not even in Nightingale Lane , he reached the entraWhere did you come from , baby dear ? " You never made that song , Diamond , " said his mother . " No , mother . I wish I had . No , I don 't . That would be to take it from somebody else . But it 's mine for all that . " " What makes it yours ? " " I love it so . " " Does loving a thing make it yours ? " " I think so , mother - - at least more than anything else can . If I didn 't love baby - LRB - which couldn 't be , you know - RRB - she wouldn 't be mine a bit . But I do love baby , and baby is my very own Dulcimer . " " The baby 's mine , Diamond . " " That makes her the more mine , mother . " " How do you make that out ? " " Because you 're mine , mother . " " Is that because you love me ? " " Yes , just because . Love makes the only myness , " said Diamond . When his father came home to have his dinner , and change Diamond for Ruby , they saw him look very sad , and he told them he had not had a fare worth mentioning the whole morning . " We shall all have to go to the workhouse , wife , " he said . " It would be better to go to the back of the north wind , " said Diamond , dreamily , not intending to say it aloud . " So it would , " answered his father . " But how are we to get there , Diamond ? " " We must wait till we 're taken , " returned Diamond . Before his father could speak again , a knock came to the door , and in walked Mr . Raymond with a smile on his face . Joseph got up and received him respectfully , but not very cordially . Martha set a chair for him , but he would not sit down . " You are not very glad to see me , " he said to Joseph . " You don 't want to part with the old horse . " " Indeed , sir , you are mistaken there . What with anxiety about him , and bad luck , I 've wished I were rid of him a thousand times . It was only to be for three months , and here it 's eight or nine . " " I 'm sorry to hear such a statement , " said Mr . Raymond . " Hasn 't he been of service to you ? " " Not much , not with his lameness " " Ah ! " said Mr . Raymond , hastily - - " you 've been laming him - - have you ? That accounts Little Bo Peep , she lost her sheep , I confess again to having touched up a little , but it loses far more in Diamond 's sweet voice singing it than it gains by a rhyme here and there . Some of them were out of books Mr . Raymond had given him . These he always knew , but about the others he could seldom tell . Sometimes he would say , " I made that one . " but generally he would say , " I don 't know ; I found it somewhere ; " or " I got it at the back of the north wind . " One evening I found him sitting on the grassy slope under the house , with his Dulcimer in his arms and his little brother rolling on the grass beside them . He was chanting in his usual way , more like the sound of a brook than anything else I can think of . When I went up to them he ceased his chant . " Do go on , Diamond . Don 't mind me , " I said . He began again at once . While he sang , Nanny and Jim sat a little way off , one hemming a pocket - handkerchief , and the other reading a story to her , but they never heeded Diamond . This is as near what he sang as I can recollect , or reproduce rather . As Diamond went on singing , it grew very dark , and just as he ceased there came a great flash of lightning , that blinded us all for a moment . Dulcimer crowed with pleasure ; but when the roar of thunder came after it , the little brother gave a loud cry of terror . Nanny and Jim came running up to us , pale with fear . Diamond 's face , too , was paler than usual , but with delight . Some of the glory seemed to have clung to it , and remained shining . " You 're not frightened - - are you , Diamond ? " I said . " No . Why should I be ? " he answered with his usual question , looking up in my face with calm shining eyes . " He ain 't got sense to be frightened , " said Nanny , going up to him and giving him a pitying hug . " Perhaps there 's more sense in not being frightened , Nanny , " I returned . " Do you think the lightning can do as it likes ? " " It might kill you , " said Jim . " Oh , no , it mightn 't ! " said Diamond . As he spoke there came another great flash , and a tearing crack . " There 's a tree struck ! " I said ; and when we looked round , after the blinding of the flash had left our eyes , we saw a huge bough of the beech - tree in which was Diamond 's nest hanging to the ground like the broken wing of a bird . " There ! " cried Nanny ; " I told you so . If you had been up there you see what would have happened , you little silly ! " " No , I don 't , " said Diamond , and began to sing to Dulcimer . All I could hear of the song , for the other children were going on with their chatter , was - - Then there came a blast of wind , and the rain followed in straight - pouring lines , as if out of a watering - pot . Diamond jumped up with his little Dulcimer in his arms , and Nanny caught up the little boy , and they ran for the cottage . Jim vanished with a double shuffle , and I went into the house . When I came out again to return home , the clouds were gone , and the evening sky glimmered through the trees , blue , and pale - green towards the west , I turned my steps a little aside to look at the stricken beech . I saw the bough torn from the stem , and that was all the twilight would allow me to see . While I stood gazing , down from the sky came a sound of singing , but the voice was neither of lark nor of nightingale : it was sweeter than either : it was the voice of Diamond , up in his airy nest : - - And then the voice ceased . " Good - night , Diamond , " I said . " Good - night , sir , " answered Diamond . As I walked away pondering , I saw the great black top of the beech swaying about against the sky in an upper wind , and heard the murmur as of many dim half - articulate voices filling the solitude around Diamond 's nest . CHAPTER XXXVI . DIAMOND QUESTIONS NORTH WIND MY READERS will not wonder that , after this , I did my very best to gain the friendship of Diamond . Nor did I find this at all difficult , the child was so ready to trust . Upon one subject alone was he reticent - - the story of his relations with North Wind . I fancy he could not quite make up his mind what to think of them . At all events it was some little time before he trusted me with this , only then he told me everything . If I could not regard it all in exactly the same light as he did , I was , while guiltless of the least pretence , fully sympathetic , and he was satisfied without demanding of me any theory of difficult points involved . I let him see plainly enough , that whatever might be the explanation of the marvellous experience , I would have given much for a similar one myself . On an evening soon after the thunderstorm , in a late twilight , with a half - moon high in the heavens , I came upon Diamond in the act of climbing by his little ladder into the beech - tree . " What are you always going up there for , Diamond ? " I heard Nanny ask , rather rudely , I thought . " Sometimes for one thing , sometimes for another , Nanny , " answered Diamond , looking skywards as he climbed . " You 'll break your neck some day , " she said . " I 'm going up to look at the moon to - night , " he added , without heeding her remark . " You 'll see the moon just as well down here , " she returned . " I don 't think so . " " You 'll be no nearer to her up there . " " Oh , yes ! I shall . I must be nearer her , you know . I wish I could dream as pretty dreams about her as you can , Nanny . " " You silly ! you never have done about that dream . I never dreamed but that oThe sun is gone down , The lady never lifted her eyes from her book , or her head from her hand . As soon as Diamond had finished , North Wind lifted him and carried him away . " Didn 't the lady hear me ? " asked Diamond when they were once more floating down the river . " Oh , yes , she heard you , " answered North Wind . " Was she frightened then ? " " Oh , no . " " Why didn 't she look to see who it was ? " " She didn 't know you were there . " " How could she hear me then ? " " She didn 't hear you with her ears . " " What did she hear me with ? " " With her heart . " " Where did she think the words came from ? " " She thought they came out of the book she was reading . She will search all through it to - morrow to find them , and won 't be able to understand it at all . " " Oh , what fun ! " said Diamond . " What will she do ? " " I can tell you what she won 't do : she 'll never forget the meaning of them ; and she 'll never be able to remember the words of them . " " If she sees them in Mr . Raymond 's book , it will puzzle her , won 't it ? " " Yes , that it will . She will never be able to understand it . " " Until she gets to the back of the north wind , " suggested Diamond . " Until she gets to the back of the north wind , " assented the lady . " Oh ! " cried Diamond , " I know now where we are . Oh ! do let me go into the old garden , and into mother 's room , and Diamond 's stall . I wonder if the hole is at the back of my bed still . I should like to stay there all the rest of the night . It won 't take you long to get home from here , will it , North Wind ? " " No , " she answered ; " you shall stay as long as you like . " " Oh , how jolly , " cried Diamond , as North Wind sailed over the house with him , and set him down on the lawn at the back . Diamond ran about the lawn for a little while in the moonlight . He found part of it cut up into flower - beds , and the little summer - house with the coloured glass and the great elm - tree gone . He did not like this , and ran into the stable . There were no h