Princess Edwina and the Wild Horses
How a Brave Princess Rescued a Kingdom
by
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The school day began as usual, but it did not end as usual. Portentia ate little of her now despised scrambled egg sandwich and milk and oatmeal cookies. It was not the season for ripe apples.
After lunch, the children were surprised to see Portentia's mother sweeping regally into the room wearing her best dress, the blue one with the long sleeves trimmed with dainty ruffles and buttons and the pretty collar trimmed with handmade lace and the tiny waist and long gathered skirt. Her shoes were shiny and clean and she wore a black shawl around her shoulders and her usual sunny smile.
The children looked at her with interest and smiled back at her.
“Children,” said the teacher. “We have a surprise today. Portentia’s mother came to tell us a story.”
Portentia’s mother settled into a chair and this is the story she told the children:
Long ago and far away a father, a mother, and their son lived in a shack out in the country. This father was really a good and handsome king, this mother was really a good and beautiful queen, and their son was really a good and handsome prince, but no one knew that.
Years before, this good king had befriended a cousin. Gradually, this cousin had turned the people's hearts against the good king. One night the good king, his good queen, and their handsome prince had to flee for their lives to this shack out in the country where no one knew them.
Before they left, a good prophet told him, “You will return when wild horses restore the kingdom to the king who wears the sacred crown.” What a strange prophecy! And how could it ever come to pass?
The good king now pretended to be a poor farmer, and he and his wife and son lived a very humble life. But they had food to eat and clothes to wear and they loved each other, so they were happy.
One morning after they had milked their two cows and led them out to the pasture, they heard a loud noise. It sounded like the hooves of many horses running at full speed. They looked and saw dust rising in the distance. The noise and the dust quickly grew louder and denser and closer.
"The cows!" the good king shouted, "We must get the cows!"
But before he could move to protect the cows, a herd of wild horses thundered through the pasture and past their house while they stared in wonder.
Incredibly, the cows were safe. The stampeding herd of wild horses had flowed around them and not one was hurt.
"This is most peculiar," said the good king to himself. Then he thought of the prophecy. "If only those wild horses could seize my kingdom from my wicked cousin," he thought.
As the horses disappeared from view, a lone rider on a magnificent black stallion approached at full speed. She appeared to be chasing the wild herd.
Seeing the good king, whom she mistook for a poor farmer, she reined her magnificent black stallion to a halt. The stallion continued to prance around and paw the ground and snort with impatience.
"Ho, good man, can you tell me which direction the wild horses went?"
"Why, yes, they went that way," the good king pointed to the now tiny speck of dust in the distance.
At that, the beautiful princess—for that is who she was—left quickly, again chasing the wild herd.
That night the handsome prince could hardly sleep for thinking about the beautiful rider on the magnificent black stallion.
Some time passed. The good king and the good queen and the handsome prince could almost believe they had imagined the stampeding herd of wild horses chased by a beautiful woman riding a magnificent black stallion which pranced and pawed the ground and snorted with impatience to be off again.
One evening as they were about to sit down to their evening meal of vegetables they had grown in their garden, bread the queen had baked with her own hands, and milk the prince had milked from one of their cows, they saw a lone rider approaching. As she got closer, they realized she was the same beautiful woman riding the same magnificent black stallion. The rider stopped at their door.
"Will you please allow me to stay the night with you?” She asked the good king who she thought was a poor farmer.
"Indeed you may, and have some supper with us, too. It is humble country food, but it is good and nourishing," the good king replied.
He said, "Now, my lady, tell us who you are and what happened to the herd of wild horses you were chasing."
The beautiful princess said, "I am Princess Edwina, heir to the throne of the neighboring country to the East. My father the king sent me on a quest for a herd of wild horses after a good prophet of our country told us of their existence. He said that the one who could tame them could lead them to seize the kingdom of the West from a cruel tyrant who has driven away the good king and the good queen and the handsome prince and oppressed their people.
“No one knows where they are or even if they are still alive, but if they are alive and if I can find them and restore their kingdom to them, I plan to ask the handsome prince to come to my country with me and rule with me in my country. I have heard many stories of his bravery and kindness."
The good king, the good queen, and the handsome prince looked at each other in wonder.
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About the Book
In this fairy tale for children of all ages, the impossible becomes possible. Portentia and her family live as poor farmers. Portentia is usually a happy little girl, but lately she has been sad. The children at school don’t want to play with her because she is poor. When her mother questions her, Portentia explains that the other children say it’s how many of everything you have that determines if you are poor. Portentia doesn’t have as many dresses as the other girls, and her scrambled egg sandwiches are not as fancy as their ham and cakes. The other children reject her.
Portentia is surprised when her mother comes to her school to tell the children a story of a brave princess who saves a kingdom with the help of a herd of wild horses. Long ago, a prophet had foretold that one day, wild horses would restore the kingdom to the king who wears the sacred crown. What a strange prophecy! And how could it ever come to pass? And yet, like all true prophecies, it did.
As Portentia’s mother ends her story, the children look at Portentia in wonder. Is she merely a poor farmer’s daughter? Might she and her family be more than they seem? Why does Portentia’s mother seem secretive about answering the children’s questions?
This adventure set in the long ago and far away is modern in lessons of kindness and acceptance and the certainty that when God says a thing, it will come to pass.
About the Author
Margaret V. Delashmit is an English professor in a small college in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She lives in a cottage built by a carpenter for his family. Her hobbies include gardening, reading, writing, and restoring this old house. Her book Thief! published in 2012 is a mystery set in Holly Springs with a thirteen-year-old heroine.