Brownie

View large

My trip down memory lane began with a detour that led me to this beauty.

He was gentle and friendly as he trotted to the fence to see if I had something to offer him. I offered to take his picture and he obliged me with dignity.

Sigh. When I was six years old, I begged my parents for a Christmas pony. They fulfilled my wish in a manner of speaking by giving me a 1958 edition of "The Three Little Horses" by Piet Worm.

I read the story repeatedly and pretended that I was Peter. Then I'd pretend that I was Blackie. Or Brownie. Or Whitey. I love the book still, and sometimes when I'm particularly nostalgic, I'll pull it out from beneath the bed and begin:

"Once upon a time three little horses, Blackie, Brownie, and Whitey, grazed together in a meadow full of lovely thick grass. Wherever one went, the other two followed. One day they met an artist named Peter who was so happy to have met them. "We shall have good times together, you'll see." he told the three little horses."

Indeed we shall...

see Whitey here