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32 - At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald · At the Back of the North Wind

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Diamond and Ruby. It was Friday night, and Diamond, like
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: the rest of the household, had had very little to
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: eat that day. The mother would always pay the week's
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: rent before she laid out anything, even on food. His
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: father had been very gloomy, so gloomy that he had
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: actually been cross to his wife. It is a strange
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  Speaker 1: thing how the pain of seeing the suffering of those
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  Speaker 1: we love will sometimes make us add to their suffering
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  Speaker 1: by being cross with them. This comes of not having
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: faith enough in God, and shows how necessary this faith is,
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  Speaker 1: for when we lose it, we lose even the kindness
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: which alone can soothe the suffering. Diamond, in consequence, had
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: gone to bed very quiet and thoughtful, a little troubled. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: it had been a very stormy winter, and even now
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  Speaker 1: that the spring had come, the north wind often blew.
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  Speaker 1: When Diamond went to his bed, which was in a
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: tiny room in the roof, he heard it like the
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  Speaker 1: sea moaning, And when he fell asleep he still heard
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: the moaning. All at once. He said to himself, am
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  Speaker 1: I awake or am I asleep? But he had no
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  Speaker 1: time to answer the question, for there was north wind
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  Speaker 1: calling him. His heart beat very fast, it was such
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  Speaker 1: a long time since he had heard that voice. He
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  Speaker 1: jumped out of bed and looked everywhere, but could not
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  Speaker 1: see her. Diamond, come here, she said again and again.
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  Speaker 1: But where the here was he could not tell. To
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  Speaker 1: be sure. The room was all but quite dark, and
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  Speaker 1: she might be close beside him. Dear north wind, said Diamond,
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  Speaker 1: I want so much to go to you, but I
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  Speaker 1: can't tell where. Come here, Diamond was all her answer.
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  Speaker 1: Diamond opened the door and went out of the room
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  Speaker 1: and down the stair and into the yard. His little
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  Speaker 1: heart was in a flutter, for he had long given
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: up all thought of seeing her again. Neither now was
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  Speaker 1: he to see her. When he got out, a great
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: puff of wind came against him, and in obedience to it,
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  Speaker 1: he turned his back and went as it blew. It
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  Speaker 1: blew him right up to the stable door, and went
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  Speaker 1: on blowing. She wants me to go into the stable,
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  Speaker 1: said Diamond to himself. But the door is locked. He
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  Speaker 1: knew where the key was, in a certain hole in
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  Speaker 1: the wall, far too high for him to get at.
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  Speaker 1: He ran to the place. However, just as he reached it,
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  Speaker 1: there came a wild blast, and down fell the key,
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  Speaker 1: clanging on the stones at his feet. He picked it
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  Speaker 1: up and ran back and opened the stable door and
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  Speaker 1: went in. And what do you think he saw? A
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: little light came through the dusty window from a gas lamp,
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  Speaker 1: sufficient to show him Diamond and Ruby with their two
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  Speaker 1: heads up, looking at each other across the partition of
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  Speaker 1: their stalls. The light showed the white mark on Diamond's forehead,
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: but Ruby's eye shone so bright that he thought more
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  Speaker 1: light came out of it than went in. This is
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  Speaker 1: what he saw. But what do you think he heard?
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: He heard the two horses talking to each other in
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  Speaker 1: a strange language, which yet somehow or other he could
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  Speaker 1: understand and turn over in his mind in English. The
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  Speaker 1: first words he heard were from Diamond, who apparently had
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  Speaker 1: been already quarreling with Ruby. Look how fat you are,
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  Speaker 1: Ruby said, old Diamond, You are so plump when your
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  Speaker 1: skin shines, so you ought to be ashamed of yourself.
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  Speaker 1: There's no harm in being fat, said Ruby, in a
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  Speaker 1: deprecating tone. No nor in being sleek. I may as
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  Speaker 1: well shine as not no harm, retorted Diamond. Is it
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  Speaker 1: no harm to go eating up all poor master's oats
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  Speaker 1: and taking up so much of his time grooming you
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  Speaker 1: when you only work six hours, no, not six hours
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  Speaker 1: a day, And as I hear, get along no faster
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  Speaker 1: than a big dray horse with two tons behind him.
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  Speaker 1: So they tell me, your master's not mine, said Ruby,
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  Speaker 1: I must attend to my own master's interests, and eat
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  Speaker 1: all that is given me, and be sleek and fat
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  Speaker 1: as I can, and go no faster than I need. Now. Really,
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  Speaker 1: if the rest of the horses weren't all asleep, poor things,
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  Speaker 1: they work till they're tired, I do believe they would
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  Speaker 1: get up and kick you out of the stable. You
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  Speaker 1: make me ashamed of being a horse. You dare to say,
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  Speaker 1: my master ain't your master. That's your gratitude for the
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  Speaker 1: way he feeds you and spares you. Pray, where would
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  Speaker 1: your carcass be if it weren't for him. He doesn't
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  Speaker 1: do it for my sake. If I were his own horse,
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  Speaker 1: he would work me as hard as he does you.
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  Speaker 1: And I'm proud to be so worked. I wouldn't be
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  Speaker 1: as fat as you, not for all you're worth. You're
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  Speaker 1: a disgrace to the stable. Look at the horse next you.
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  Speaker 1: He's something like a horse, all skin and bone, and
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  Speaker 1: his master ain't over kind to him either. He put
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  Speaker 1: a stinging lash on his whip last week. But that
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  Speaker 1: old horse knows he's got the wife and children to keep,
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  Speaker 1: as well as his drunken master, and he works like
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  Speaker 1: a horse. I dare say he grudges his master the
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  Speaker 1: beer he drinks, but I don't believe he grudges anything else. Well,
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  Speaker 1: I don't grudge yours. What he gets by me, said
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  Speaker 1: ruby gets, retorted diamond. What he gets isn't worth grudging.
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  Speaker 1: It comes next to nothing, what with your fat and shine. Well,
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  Speaker 1: at least you ought to be thankful. You're the better
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  Speaker 1: for it. You get a two hours rest to day
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: out of it. I thank my master for that. Not you,
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  Speaker 1: you lazy fellow. You go along like a buttock of
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  Speaker 1: beef upon casters you do. Ain't you afraid? I'll kick
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  Speaker 1: if you go on like that Diamond kick You couldn't kick.
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  Speaker 1: If you tried, you might heave your rump up half
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  Speaker 1: a foot. But for lashing out, Oh, if you did,
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  Speaker 1: you'd be down on your belly before you could get
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  Speaker 1: your legs under you. Again, it's my belief, once out,
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  Speaker 1: they'd stick out forever. Talk of kicking, why don't you
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  Speaker 1: put one foot before the other. Now and then when
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: you're in the cab. The abuse master gets for your
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  Speaker 1: sake is quite shameful. No decent horse would bring it
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  Speaker 1: on him, depend upon it, Ruby, No cabman likes to
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: be abused any more than his fare. But his fares,
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: at least when you are between the shafts, are very
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  Speaker 1: much to be excused. Indeed they are, well, you see, Diamond.
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  Speaker 1: I don't want to go lame again. I don't believe
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  Speaker 1: you are so very lame after all there. Oh, but
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  Speaker 1: I was then. I believe it was all your own fault.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not lame. I never was lame in all my life.
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  Speaker 1: You don't take care of your legs. You never lay
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  Speaker 1: them down at night. There you are with your huge
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  Speaker 1: carcass crushing down your poor legs all night long. You
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  Speaker 1: don't even care for your own legs, so long as
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  Speaker 1: you can eat, eat, and sleep sleep. You a horse, indeed.
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  Speaker 1: But I tell you I was lame. I'm not denying.
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  Speaker 1: There was a puffy look about your off pastern. But
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: my belief is it wasn't even grease. It was fat.
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  Speaker 1: I tell you, I put my foot on one of
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  Speaker 1: those horrid stones they make the roads with and it
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  Speaker 1: gave my ankle such a twist ankle. Indeed, why should
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: you ape your betters. Horses ain't got any ankles, they're
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  Speaker 1: only pasterns. And so long as you don't lift your
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  Speaker 1: feet better but fall asleep between every step, you'll run
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  Speaker 1: a good chance of flaming all your ankles as you
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  Speaker 1: call them one after another. It's not your lively horse
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  Speaker 1: that comes to grief in that way. I tell you,
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  Speaker 1: I believe it wasn't much, and if it was, it
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  Speaker 1: was your own fault. There I've done. I'm going to sleep.
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  Speaker 1: I'll try to think as well of you as I can,
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  Speaker 1: if you would, but step out a bit and run
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  Speaker 1: off a little of your fat. Here Diamond began to
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  Speaker 1: double up his knees. But Ruby spoke again, and as
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  Speaker 1: young Diamond thought in a rather different tone, I say, Diamond,
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  Speaker 1: I can't bear to have an honest old horse like
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  Speaker 1: you think of me like that. I will tell you
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  Speaker 1: the truth. It was my own fault that I fell lame.
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  Speaker 1: I told you so, returned the other, tumbling against the
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  Speaker 1: partition as he rolled over on his side to give
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  Speaker 1: his legs every possible privilege in the narrow circumstances. I
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  Speaker 1: meant to do it, Diamond. At the words, the old
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  Speaker 1: horse arose with a scramble like thunder, shot his angry
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  Speaker 1: head and glaring eye over into Ruby's stall and said,
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  Speaker 1: keep out of my way, you unworthy wretch, or I'll
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  Speaker 1: bite you. You a horse, Why did you do that?
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  Speaker 1: Because I wanted to grow fat? You grease tub oh
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  Speaker 1: my teeth and tail. I thought you were a humbug.
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  Speaker 1: Why did you want to get fat? There's no truth
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  Speaker 1: to be got out of you, but by cross questioning
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  Speaker 1: you ain't fit to be a horse. Because once I
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  Speaker 1: am fat, my nature is to keep fat for a
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  Speaker 1: long time. And I didn't know when Master might come
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  Speaker 1: home and want to see me. You conceited good for nothing, brute,
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  Speaker 1: You're only fit for the knacker's yard. You wanted to
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  Speaker 1: look handsome? Did you hold your tongue or I'll break
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  Speaker 1: my halter and be at you with your handsome fat.
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  Speaker 1: Never mind, Diamond, you're a good horse. You can't hurt me.
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  Speaker 1: Can't hurt you? Just let me once try? No, you can't.
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  Speaker 1: Why then, because I'm an angel? What's that? Of course
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  Speaker 1: you don't know. Indeed, I don't I know you don't
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  Speaker 1: an ignorant, rude, old human horse like you couldn't know it.
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  Speaker 1: But there's young Diamond listening to all we're saying, and
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  Speaker 1: he knows well enough. There are horses in heaven for
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  Speaker 1: angels to ride upon, as well as other animals lions
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  Speaker 1: and eagles and bulls in more important situations. The horses
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  Speaker 1: the angels ride must be angel horses, else the angels
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  Speaker 1: couldn't ride upon them. Well, I'm one of them. You ain't.
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  Speaker 1: Did you ever know a horse tell a lie? Never before?
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  Speaker 1: But you've confessed shamming, lame, nothing of the sort. It
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  Speaker 1: was necessary. I should grow fat, and necessary that good Joseph,
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  Speaker 1: your master, should grow lean. I could have pretended to
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  Speaker 1: be lame, but that no horse, least of all an
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  Speaker 1: angel horse would do. So I must be lame, And
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: so I sprained my ankle, For the angel horses have ankles.
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  Speaker 1: They don't talk. Horse lang up there, and it hurt
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  Speaker 1: me very much, I assure you, Diamond, though you mayn't
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: be good enough to be able to believe it. Old
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  Speaker 1: Diamond made no reply. He had Lain down again, and
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: a sleepy snort very like a snore, revealed that if
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: he was not already asleep. He was past understanding a
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  Speaker 1: word that Ruby was saying. When young Diamond found this,
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  Speaker 1: he thought he might venture to take up the dropped
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  Speaker 1: shuttlecock of the conversation. I'm good enough to believe it, Ruby,
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  Speaker 1: he said. But Ruby never turned his head or took
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  Speaker 1: any notice of him. I suppose he did not understand
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  Speaker 1: more of English than just what the coachman and stableman
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  Speaker 1: were in the habit of addressing him with. Finding, however,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: that his companion made no reply, he shot his head
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  Speaker 1: over the partition, and, looking down at him, said, you
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: just wait till tomorrow, and you'll see whether I'm speaking
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  Speaker 1: the truth or not. I declare the old horse is
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: fast asleep. Diamond, no, I won't. Ruby turned away and
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: began pulling at his hayrack. In silence. Diamond gave a shiver, and,
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: looking round, saw that the door of the stable was open.
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  Speaker 1: He began to feel as if he had been dreaming,
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  Speaker 1: and after a glance about the stable to see if
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: north Wind was anywhere visible, he thought he had better
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  Speaker 1: go back to bed. End of chapter thirty two. Recording
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: by maricel Quey