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17 - Folk Tales Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright Mabie · Folk Tales Every Child Should Know

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  Speaker 1: Chapter sixteen of Folk Tales Every Child Should Know. This
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  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Recording by Ellen Preclo. Folk Tales Every
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  Speaker 1: Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright maybe chapter sixteen, The
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  Speaker 1: dun Horse. One many years ago, there lived in the
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  Speaker 1: Pawnee tribe an old woman and her grandson, a boy
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  Speaker 1: about sixteen years old. These people had no relations and
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  Speaker 1: were very poor. They were so poor that they were
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  Speaker 1: despised by the rest of the tribe. They had nothing
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  Speaker 1: of their own, and always, after the village started to
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  Speaker 1: move the camp from one place to another, these two
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  Speaker 1: would stay behind the rest to look over the old
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  Speaker 1: camp and pick up anything that the other Indians had
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  Speaker 1: thrown away as worn out or useless. In this way
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  Speaker 1: they would sometimes get pieces of robes, worn out moccasins
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  Speaker 1: with holes in them, and bits of meat. Now, it
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  Speaker 1: happened one day, after the tribe had moved away from
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  Speaker 1: the camp, that this old woman and her boy were
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  Speaker 1: following along the trail behind the rest, when they came
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  Speaker 1: to a miserable, old, worn out dun horse. Which they
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  Speaker 1: supposed had been abandoned by some Indians. He was thin
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  Speaker 1: and exhausted, was blind of one eye, had a bad
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  Speaker 1: sore back, and one of his fore legs was very
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  Speaker 1: much swollen. In fact, he was so worthless that none
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  Speaker 1: of the Pawnees had been willing to take the trouble
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  Speaker 1: to try to drive him along with them. But when
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  Speaker 1: the old woman and her boy came along, the boy said,
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  Speaker 1: come now, we will take this old horse, for we
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  Speaker 1: can make him carry our pack. So the old woman
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  Speaker 1: put her pack on the horse and drove him along,
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  Speaker 1: but he limped and could only go very slowly. Two
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  Speaker 1: the tribe moved up on the north Platte until they
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  Speaker 1: came to court House Rock. The two poor Indians followed
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  Speaker 1: them and camped with the others. One day, while they
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  Speaker 1: were here, the young men who had been sent out
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  Speaker 1: to look for buffalo came hurrying into camp and told
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  Speaker 1: the chiefs that a large herd of buffalo were near,
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  Speaker 1: and then among them was a spotted calf. The head
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  Speaker 1: chief of the Pawnees had a very beautiful daughter, and
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  Speaker 1: when he heard about the spotted calf, he ordered his
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  Speaker 1: old crier to go about through the village and call
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  Speaker 1: out that the man who killed the spotted calf should
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  Speaker 1: have his daughter for his wife. For a spotted robe
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  Speaker 1: is tetwar UK's tea big medicine. The buffalo were feeding
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  Speaker 1: about four miles from the village, and the chiefs decided
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  Speaker 1: that the charge should be made from there. In this way,
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  Speaker 1: the man who had the fastest horse would be the
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  Speaker 1: most likely to kill the calf. Then all the warriors
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  Speaker 1: and the young men picked out their best and fastest
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  Speaker 1: horses and made ready to start. Among those who prepared
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  Speaker 1: for the charge was the poor boy on the old
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  Speaker 1: dun horse. But when they saw him, all the rich
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  Speaker 1: young braves on their fast horses pointed at him and said,
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  Speaker 1: oh see, there is the horse that is going to
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  Speaker 1: catch the spotted calf. And they laughed at him, so
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  Speaker 1: that the poor boy was ashamed and rode off to
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  Speaker 1: one side of the crowd where he could not hear
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  Speaker 1: their jokes and laughter. When he had ridden off some
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  Speaker 1: little way, the horse stopped, turned his head round and
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  Speaker 1: spoke to the boy. He said, take me down the
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  Speaker 1: creek and plaster me all over with mud, cover my
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  Speaker 1: head and neck and body and legs. When the boy
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  Speaker 1: heard the horse speak. He was afraid, but he did
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  Speaker 1: as he was told. Then the horse said, now mount,
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  Speaker 1: but do not ride back to the warriors who laugh
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  Speaker 1: at you because you have such a poor horse. Stay
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  Speaker 1: right here until the word is given to charge. So
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  Speaker 1: the boy stayed there, And presently all the fine horses
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  Speaker 1: were drawn up in a line and pranced about, and
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  Speaker 1: were so eager to go that their riders could hardly
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  Speaker 1: hold them in. And at last the old crier gave
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  Speaker 1: the word, loo Ah go. Then the pawnees all leaned
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  Speaker 1: forward on their horses and yelled, and away they went. Suddenly,
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  Speaker 1: away off to the right, was seen the old Dun horse.
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  Speaker 1: He did not seem to run, He seemed to sail
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  Speaker 1: along like a bird. He passed all the fastest horses,
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  Speaker 1: and in a moment he was among the buffalo. First
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  Speaker 1: he picked out the spotted calf, and charging up alongside
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  Speaker 1: of it, you rah Rish, straight flew the arrow. The
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  Speaker 1: calf fell. The boy drew another arrow and killed a
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  Speaker 1: fat cow that was running. By then he dismounted and
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  Speaker 1: began to skin the calf before any of the other
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  Speaker 1: warriors had come up. But when the rider got off,
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  Speaker 1: the old Dun horse, how changed he was. He pranced
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  Speaker 1: about and would hardly stand still near the dead buffalo.
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  Speaker 1: His back was all right again, his legs were well
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  Speaker 1: and fine, and both his eyes were clear and bright.
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  Speaker 1: The boy skinned the calf and the cow that he
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  Speaker 1: had killed, and then he packed all the meat on
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  Speaker 1: the horse and put the spotted robe on top of
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  Speaker 1: the load, and started back to the camp on foot
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  Speaker 1: leaning the dun horse. But even with this heavy load,
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  Speaker 1: the horse pranced all the time and was scared at
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  Speaker 1: everything he saw. On the way to the camp, one
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  Speaker 1: of the rich young chiefs of the tribe rode up
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  Speaker 1: by the boy and offered him twelve good horses for
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  Speaker 1: the spotted robe so that he could marry the head
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  Speaker 1: chief's beautiful daughter. But the boy boy laughed at him
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  Speaker 1: and would not sell the robe. Now. While the boy
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  Speaker 1: walked to the camp leading the dun horse, most of
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  Speaker 1: the warriors rode back, and one of those that came
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  Speaker 1: first to the village went to the old woman and
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  Speaker 1: said to her, your grandson has killed the spotted calf.
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  Speaker 1: And the old woman said, why do you come to
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  Speaker 1: tell me this? You ought to be ashamed to make
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  Speaker 1: fun of my boy because he is poor. The warrior
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  Speaker 1: said what I have told you is true, and then
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  Speaker 1: he rode away. After a little while, another brave rode
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  Speaker 1: up to the old woman and said to her, your
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  Speaker 1: grandson has killed the spotted gaff. Then the old woman
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  Speaker 1: began to cry. She felt so badly because everyone made
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  Speaker 1: fun of her boy because he was poor. Pretty soon
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  Speaker 1: the boy came along, leading the horse up to the
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  Speaker 1: lodge where he and his grandmother lived. It was a
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  Speaker 1: little lodge, just big enough for two and was made
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  Speaker 1: of old pieces of skin that the woman had picked up,
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  Speaker 1: and was tied together with strings of raw hide and sinew.
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  Speaker 1: It was the meanest and worst lodge in the village.
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  Speaker 1: When the old woman saw her boy leading the dun
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  Speaker 1: horse with a load of meat and robes on it,
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  Speaker 1: she was very surprised. The boy said to her, here,
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  Speaker 1: I have brought you plenty of meat to eat, and
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  Speaker 1: here is a robe that you may have for yourself.
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  Speaker 1: Take the meat off the horse. Then the old woman laughed,
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  Speaker 1: for her heart was glad. But when she went to
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  Speaker 1: take the meat from the horse's back, he snorted and
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  Speaker 1: jumped about and acted like a wild horse. The old
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  Speaker 1: woman looked at him in wonder and could hardly believe
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  Speaker 1: that it was the same horse, So the boy had
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  Speaker 1: to take off the meat, for the horse would not
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  Speaker 1: let the old woman come near him. Three that night,
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  Speaker 1: the horse spoke again to the boy and said, wa
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  Speaker 1: ti hes chah ra rat wata. Tomorrow the Sioux are
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  Speaker 1: coming a large war party. They will attack the village
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  Speaker 1: and you will have a great battle. Now, when the
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  Speaker 1: Sioux are all drawn up in line of battle and
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  Speaker 1: are all ready to fight, you jump on me and
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  Speaker 1: ride as hard as you can right into the middle
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  Speaker 1: of the Sioux and up to their head chief, their
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  Speaker 1: greatest warrior, and count coup on him and kill him.
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  Speaker 1: And then ride back. Do this four times and count
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  Speaker 1: coup on four of the bravest Sioux and killed them.
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  Speaker 1: But don't go again. If you go the fifth time,
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  Speaker 1: maybe you will be killed, or else you will lose me.
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  Speaker 1: La coup takhi. Remember, so the boy promised. The next day,
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  Speaker 1: it happened as the horse had said, and the Sioux
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  Speaker 1: came down and formed in line of battle. Then the
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  Speaker 1: boy took his bow and arrows and jumped on the
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  Speaker 1: dun horse and charged into the midst of them. And
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  Speaker 1: when the Sioux saw that he was going to strike
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  Speaker 1: their head chief. They all shot arrows at him, and
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  Speaker 1: the arrows flew so thickly across each other that they
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  Speaker 1: darkened the sky. But none of them hit the boy,
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  Speaker 1: and he counted coup on the chief and killed him,
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  Speaker 1: and then rode back. After that, he charged again among
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  Speaker 1: the Sioux, where they were gathered thickest, and counted coup
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  Speaker 1: on their bravest warrior, and killed him, and then twice more,
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  Speaker 1: until he had gone four times, as the horse had
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  Speaker 1: told him. But the Sioux and the Pawnees kept on fighting,
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  Speaker 1: and the boy stood around and watched the battle, And
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  Speaker 1: at last he said to himself, I have been four
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  Speaker 1: times and have killed four Sioux, and I am all right.
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  Speaker 1: I am not hurt anywhere. Why may I not go again?
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  Speaker 1: So he jumped on the dun horse and charged again.
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  Speaker 1: But when he got among the Sioux, one Sioux warrior
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  Speaker 1: drew an arrow and shot. The arrow struck the dun
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  Speaker 1: horse behind the fore legs and pierced him through, and
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  Speaker 1: the horse fell down dead. But the boy jumped off
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  Speaker 1: and fought his way through the Sioux and ran away
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  Speaker 1: as fast as he could to the Pawnees. Now as
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  Speaker 1: soon as the horse was killed. The Sioux said to
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  Speaker 1: each other, this horse was like a man, he was brave.
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  Speaker 1: He was not like a horse. And they took their
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  Speaker 1: knives and hatchets and hacked the dun horse and gashed
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  Speaker 1: his flesh and cut him into small pieces. The Pawnees
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  Speaker 1: and the Sioux fought all day long, but toward night
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  Speaker 1: the Sioux broke and fled four The boy felt very
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  Speaker 1: badly that he had lost his horse, and after the
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  Speaker 1: fight was over, he went out from the village to
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  Speaker 1: where it had taken place to mourn for his horse.
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  Speaker 1: He went to the spot where the horse lay and
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  Speaker 1: gathered up all the pieces of flesh which the Sioux
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  Speaker 1: had cut off, and the legs and the hoofs, and
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  Speaker 1: put them all together in a pile. Then he went
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  Speaker 1: off to the top of a hill near by and
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  Speaker 1: sat down and drew his robe over his head, and
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  Speaker 1: began to mourn for his horse. As he sat there,
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  Speaker 1: he heard a great wind storm coming up, and it
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  Speaker 1: passed over him with a loud, rushing sound, and after
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  Speaker 1: the wind came a rain. The boy looked down from
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  Speaker 1: where he sat to the pile of flesh and bones,
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  Speaker 1: which was all that was left of his horse, and
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  Speaker 1: he could just see it through the rain. And the
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  Speaker 1: rain passed by, and his heart was very heavy, and
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  Speaker 1: he kept on mourning, and pretty soon came another rushing wind,
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  Speaker 1: and after it a rain. And as he looked through
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  Speaker 1: the driving rain towards the spot where the pieces lay,
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  Speaker 1: he thought that they seemed to come together and take shape,
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  Speaker 1: and that the pile looked like a horse lying down,
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  Speaker 1: but he could not see well for the thick rain.
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  Speaker 1: After this came a third storm like the others, and
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  Speaker 1: now when he looked toward the horse, he thought he
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  Speaker 1: saw its tail move from side to side two or
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  Speaker 1: three times, and that it lifted its head from the ground.
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  Speaker 1: The boy was afraid and wanted to run away, but
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  Speaker 1: he stayed, and as he waited there came another storm,
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  Speaker 1: and while the rain fell, looking through the the boy
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  Speaker 1: saw the horse raise himself up on his fore legs
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  Speaker 1: and look about. Then the dun horse stood up five
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  Speaker 1: The boy left the place where he had been sitting
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  Speaker 1: on the hill top and went down to him. When
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  Speaker 1: the boy had come near him, the horse spoke and said,
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  Speaker 1: you have seen how it has been this day, and
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  Speaker 1: from this you may know how it will be after
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  Speaker 1: this but Ti ra Wa has been good and has
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  Speaker 1: let me come back to you after this. Do what
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  Speaker 1: I tell you, not any more, not any less. Then
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  Speaker 1: the horse said, now lead me off far away from
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  Speaker 1: the camp behind that big hill, and leave me there
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  Speaker 1: to night, and in the morning come for me. And
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  Speaker 1: the boy did as he was told, And when he
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  Speaker 1: went for the horse in the morning, he found him
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  Speaker 1: with a beautiful white gelding, much more handsome than any
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  Speaker 1: horse in the tribe. That night, the dun horse told
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  Speaker 1: the boy to take him again to the place behind
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  Speaker 1: the big hill, and to come for him the next morning.
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  Speaker 1: And when the boy went for him again, he found
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  Speaker 1: him with a beautiful black gelding. And so for ten
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  Speaker 1: nights he left the horse among the hills, and each
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  Speaker 1: morning he found a different colored horse, a bay, a rawn,
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  Speaker 1: a gray, a blue, a spotted horse, and all of
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  Speaker 1: them finer than any horses that the Pawnees had ever
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  Speaker 1: had in their tribe before. Now the boy was rich,
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  Speaker 1: and he married the beautiful daughter of the head chief,
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  Speaker 1: and when he became older, he was made head chief himself.
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  Speaker 1: He had many children by his beautiful wife, and one day,
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  Speaker 1: when his oldest boy died, he wrapped him in the
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  Speaker 1: spotted calf robe and buried him in it. He always
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  Speaker 1: took good care of his old grandmother and kept her
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  Speaker 1: in his own lodge until she died. The dun horse
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  Speaker 1: was never ridden, except at feasts and when they were
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  Speaker 1: going to have a doctor's dance, but he was always
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  Speaker 1: led about with the chief wherever he went. The horse
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  Speaker 1: lived in the village for many years until he became
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  Speaker 1: very old, and at last he died end of chapter sixteen.