"Never mind. A horse is better than a stone any day. Well, you see,
I know all about you and your mother."

"Yes. I will go with you."

"Now for the next question: you're not to call me ma'am. You must
call me just my own name--respectfully, you know--just North Wind."

"Well, please, North Wind, you are so beautiful, I am quite ready
to go with you."

"You must not be ready to go with everything beautiful all
at once, Diamond."

"But what's beautiful can't be bad. You're not bad, North Wind?"

"No; I'm not bad. But sometimes beautiful things grow bad by doing bad,
and it takes some time for their badness to spoil their beauty.
So little boys may be mistaken if they go after things because they
are beautiful."

"Well, I will go with you because you are beautiful and good, too."

"Ah, but there's another thing, Diamond:--What if I should look
ugly without being bad--look ugly myself because I am making ugly
things beautiful?--What then?"

"I don't quite understand you, North Wind. You tell me what then."

"Well, I will tell you. If you see me with my face all black,