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A Message From Little Horse

Hello Girls and Boys,

I am so happy you are here to read my story. You see, when Sarah chose me from the toy shelf one year I was sad and very confused. All the toys knew what they were to do except me. But I did find out! So, jump in my sleigh and ride with me while I tell you how I discovered my own special magic.

Chapter One - My New Family

“That one!” a smiling child said pointing into my face. My ears perked up. My prance quickened.

“Sarah, are you sure?” a woman said, looking into the sparkling eyes of the cherry cheeked little girl. “Remember what we talked about, only one this year.”

“Yes, oh yes, mother, the one with the flying mane,” Sarah replied, pushing her bright smile so close to my face she made my insides flutter.

Most of my toy friends had been sold earlier. Little doll with a big red bow and freckles on her nose had been swept off the shelf that very morning. “Off to make some little girl happy,” she shouted as she disappeared into a huge shopping bag.

And Acrobat Man, just three days before, as he swung from his perch and jumped into a Christmas sack, declared “I’m destined to spark adventure in some little boy or girl.”

Now, finally, someone had chosen me, Little Horse, but what was I to do? Every toy in the World Toy store quizzed me. This very morning Jack in the Box had popped up and teasingly said, “So, Little Horse, I make boys and girls giggle and laugh—make them happy when they are blue, but you, what can you do?” He didn’t make me laugh. Unlike all the other toys, I didn’t have a clear picture of what I was to do. Though very few noticed, my whinny sounded both confused and very sad.

Now with the nod of the little girl whose blue eyes danced, I was snatched off the shelf, wrapped in crinkling white paper along with my sleigh, and placed in a bright red shoe box. “I get to carry her,” I heard Sarah say.

Bump, bump, bumping along, I heard Sarah’s heels click as I imagined her whirling around chattering holiday shoppers. Suddenly a door slammed, a motor roared. I teetered and tottered as horns honked and tires skidded. Where might I be going, I began to wonder.

After a long dark ride, I heard muffled laughter and felt the tilting of the box. Suddenly light leaked in. The wrapping around my shoulders shifted. Soft fingers tickled my ribs. I wasabout to whinny when the paper was drawn from my face and, Whoa, what a sight!

Glowing candles flickered on a large window pane. Laughter warmed a sweet smelling place. With a sweep of Sarah’s hand, out of the box I came and like a shooting star, upward I flew.

“Giddy Up,” Sarah shouted. I leaped with a bound then slid to a halt. Now, I was standing on a large oak mantel. Not only that, in the center of this big room with red licking firelight dancing on the walls, were four happy faces, all staring at me!

Sarah, Jason, Mom, and Dad. I had a whole family!

Ohs and ahs filled the room and Mom sang out in such delight. “She’s a beauty. Oh, look at her flaring mane, like an angel’s wings!”

On tip toes Sarah pulled herself up into my face, “Look! Her eyes are as black as the night with twinkling stars, and her coat is as soft as snowflakes.”

Dad’s voice, so deep and smooth, sounded out. “Look, she’s prancing, and her sleigh with silver bells. . .”

“She’ll ride with the wind,” Jason interrupted, he was so excited, and he snapped his wrists as if carrying a whip!

Sarah clapped her hands and her sweet voice sang in my ears, “She’s magic. She is magic, I just know she is!”

Magic? What might this be, I wondered. Whatever it was it made my chest burst with pride. I remembered Jack in the Box teasing. Maybe my worth was some kind of magic. But what kind?

Next - Chapter Two - My First Family