The sun was rising above the hills near the farm. The big brown gates opened and a bunch of children came running towards the stables. They were all shouting “Ferdinand! Ferdinand!” and surrounded the noble pony with smiles and laughter and everyone wanted to be the first to take a ride on this beautiful horse.

Ferdinand opened his eyes and yawned and stretched. “Oh, this is my favorite dream” he thought with a warm smile.
But then he sighed and lowered his head. He knew that he wasn’t the noble pony of his dreams, because when the children came to the stables no one ever wanted to ride with him.

Ferdinand didn’t have beautiful eyes (like Bonny, the Shetland pony), his big brown eyes were crossed, which made him look weird.
Ferdinand didn’t have beautiful hair (like Bonny, the Shetland pony), only a few fuzzy strands of blond hair where dangling in front of his eyes.

No, Ferdinand didn’t have what Bonny, the beautiful Shetland pony had, not one thing.
What Ferdinand did have though was a big heart. He was the kindest of ponies.
He was always the first to help, the first to comfort the other ponies and always looked out for his friends. But all that, the children never saw.

One day the gates opened and a new group of children walked in, looking happy and excited. The teacher talked to them about the different types of ponies and explained what they liked to eat. Ferdinand always enjoyed that part.
A girl with a pink scarf, who was holding a stuffed little pony in her hand, asked a lot of questions. “She seems very smart”, Ferdinand thought. “I like her.”

Then the teacher took Bonny, the Shetland pony, and showed how a saddle works and why it was important (he always took Bonny for that part). Then he said: “Right, I think we are ready to go. Who wants to start?”
He asked the girl with the pink scarf “How about you?” but the girl shook her head. “Don’t be afraid. You won’t fall off; I promise” said the teacher.

“I am not afraid” said the girl. “Well then,” the teacher said, “come on. Bonny won’t bite.”
The girl didn’t move.
Then she raised her arm “I want this one!” she said firmly and pointed in Ferdinand’s direction. Ferdinand turned around, looking left and right, but there was nobody next to him, no one behind him. “Is she pointing at me?” he thought surprised.

The girl with the pink scarf came to Ferdinand. “Hi, my name is Freja” she said while holding her hand out to greet him. “I like you” she said. The teacher grabbed Ferdinand’s saddle and said to the girl: “All right young lady, Ferdinand is happy to ride with you. Aren’t you, Ferdinand?” he asked him while mounting the saddle on his back.

Five happy children, with five happy ponies trotted along the stable hall, but one of them was the happiest of all.

And in the corner of the stables, on an old wooden chair, sat a stuffed little cross eyed pony with fuzzy blond hair.

Story by Arusha de Rheydt
Image by Arusha de Rheydt
Source photo by Lucie Hošová on Unsplash