At the Back of the North Wind · Chapters

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Chapter companions for At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald.

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Chapter 1
The Hayloft
Little Diamond, a boy who sleeps in a hayloft above the stable, discovers a hole in the wall behind his bed through which the North Wind speaks to him. After a playful argument about the hole being a window, Diamond agrees to open it and converses with the North Wind, who introduces herself and invites him to come with her. Diamond learns that beauty can be deceptive but resolves to trust her, and he follows her out of the hayloft.
Chapter 2
II: The Lawn
Diamond, after meeting North Wind in the hayloft, descends into the stable to visit his horse, then goes out to the yard expecting to find North Wind waiting. She is gone, and he feels lonely and disappointed. He wanders onto the lawn in his nightgown, where he is found by the old nurse Mrs. Crump, who assumes he is sleepwalking. She brings him into the drawing-room, where Miss Coleman, with her long hair, briefly reminds Diamond of North Wind. After being given a sponge-cake, Mrs. Crump takes him home to his mother, who puts him to bed.
Chapter 3
Old Diamond
Diamond wakes early, climbs onto the horse Old Diamond, and is discovered by his mother. He later goes on another adventure with North Wind, who appears as a young girl, and they travel together through the night.
Chapter 4
IV: North Wind
Diamond rides with North Wind as she sweeps the sky, but when he sees a lonely little girl struggling in the wind, he asks to help her. North Wind sets him down, and Diamond runs after the girl, eventually catching her. They take shelter in a barrel under an arch, and Diamond tells her about North Wind. The girl is skeptical, but they wander until a gust blows Diamond into the back door of his master's garden. Diamond invites her in for breakfast, but she declines, saying she must go to her crossing.
Chapter 5
V: The Summerhouse
Diamond keeps his adventures with North Wind to himself, unsure if others would believe him. His father takes him to ride the horse Diamond to the blacksmith, and Diamond learns to guide the horse by first yielding to its movements. He gives a penny to the crossing-sweeper girl, who suspects North Wind is his father's horse. Later, Diamond spends time with Miss Coleman in the garden and, in a summerhouse, encounters North Wind in a tiny form helping a bumblebee escape a tulip. North Wind playfully chides Diamond for not recognizing her and briefly appears as a miniature figure on a river wall, waking a poet in a boat. That night, a thunderstorm terrifies Diamond, but he finds comfort in North Wind's presence.

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The Hayloft

II: The Lawn

Old Diamond

IV: North Wind

V: The Summerhouse