The pony looked over his shoulder and saw that Little Wolf had fallen. In a split second, the pony whirled around. The
little pony ran as fast as he could back toward Little Wolf - and the
cougar!
“No!” Little Wolf cried out. “Go back! Go back!”
Little Wolf leaped to his feet. The brave pony circled around the boy, putting himself between his friend and the cougar. Without thinking, Little Wolf grabbed the pony’s mane and jumped onto its back. The swift pony ran like the wind with the boy holding on for dear life and the cougar hot on its heels!
The pony ran for all he was worth to escape the cougar. Trees went by in a green blur as the pony raced the big cat. The rushing of the wind as the pony ran drowned out all sounds except the beat of Little Wolf’s heart and the sound of the pony’s hooves hitting the earth. With a sudden burst of speed, the pony pulled away from the cougar. Little Wolf could almost swear, that at that moment, the pony was not flesh and blood at all, but a spirit of the wind!
When the pony and the boy were safe from the cougar, the little pony went back to the secret place with Little Wolf still on his back.
The pony was
exhausted and out of breath. The pony’s coat was covered in lather. The boy jumped off the pony and gathered some moss. Little Wolf rubbed the pony down with the moss.
“You saved my life!” Little Wolf cried,
throwing his arms around the pony. “From this day on, we are brothers!’ The
grateful boy buried his face in the pony’s neck and whispered softly to the pony, “Dinadanvtli. (Brother.)”
The next day the boy came to see the little pony in the secret place. When Little Wolf reached the top of the ridge, he put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. The pony heard the special signal and came running to greet his friend. No longer afraid to let a human ride on his back, the pony nudged Little Wolf.
Not
understanding, the boy playfully pushed the pony away and laughed. The pony again nudged the boy.
“What?” Little Wolf asked, laughing at the pony’s antics.
The pony bent his front legs and knelt down in front of Little Wolf. Finally, the boy
understood. The pony wanted him to climb up on his back! Little Wolf leaped onto the pony’s back. Together the boy and pony rode up into the mountains.
Each day Little Wolf would come to the secret place and whistle for the pony. No matter where the little pony was, he could always hear Little Wolf’s whistle. The pony’s sensitive ears would always prick up when he heard the sound of the familiar whistle. Then he would gallop gleefully to meet the boy. And always, the pony and Little Wolf would ride through the mountains.
For many months, the two friends explored their mountain home.
The little pony never seemed to tire. He and Little Wolf would ride for hours. It was a sight to see! The boy rode bareback on the beautiful pony. He sat straight and tall, holding onto the little pony’s silky mane. The boy’s dark hair blew in the cool, fresh breeze as the pony raced through the great mountains. Each day the little pony would go a little farther.
The pony took Little Wolf into places that no human eyes had ever seen before.
Each day, the pony’s strong, swift legs carried them higher and higher into the mountains toward the great peaks shrouded in smoky mist. Sometimes, the boy and the pony felt as if they could ride straight up into the sky!
Little Wolf’s mother noticed that he stayed longer and longer in the mountains. Many times she had decided to talk to Little Wolf about it, but then she would see the smile on his face as he went out the door and she kept silent.
With each passing day, the pony’s love for the boy and the mountains grew. Eventually, the pony no longer missed his old home. The mountains had become his home and the little boy had become his family.
The little pony was content.
One day, Little Wolf went up to the mountains as he had done many times before. But something seemed different about this day.
The sun seemed a little
brighter. The sky seemed bluer.
As they rode through the mountains that day, Little Wolf and the pony had never felt so free! It was as though the mountains had cast a spell on them. The time they spent together was the happiest time
in their lives.
Little did they know that great sadness was awaiting them!
Next Time: The Removal
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