The Goblin Pony

“Don’t move from the fireplace tonight,” said old Peggy, “because the wind is blowing so hard that the house is shaking. Besides, it’s Halloween, when witches are out and about, and their servants, the goblins, wander around in all sorts of disguises, causing harm to human children.”

“Why should I stay here?” said the eldest of the young people. “No, I must go and see what the daughter of old Jacob, the rope-maker, is doing. She wouldn’t close her blue eyes all night if I didn’t visit her father before the moon goes down.”

“I must go catch lobsters and crabs,” said the second, “and no witches or goblins in the world will stop me.”

So they all decided to go about their business or pleasure, and they ignored old Peggy’s wise advice. Only the youngest child hesitated a moment when she said to him, “You stay here, my little Richard, and I will tell you beautiful stories.”

But he wanted to pick a bunch of wild thyme and some blackberries by moonlight, and he ran out after the others. When they got outside, they said, “The old woman talks of wind and storm, but the weather has never been finer or the sky clearer. See how majestically the moon moves through the transparent clouds!”

Then suddenly they noticed a little black pony close beside them.

“Oh, ho!” they said. “That’s old Valentine’s pony. It must have escaped from its stable and is going down to drink at the horse pond.”

“My pretty little pony,” said the eldest, patting the creature with his hand, “you mustn’t run too far. I’ll take you to the pond myself.”

With these words he jumped onto the pony’s back and was quickly followed by his second brother, then the third, and so on, until they were all astride the little beast, even little Richard, who didn’t want to be left behind.

On the way to the pond they met several of their friends, and they invited them all to mount the pony. They did, and the little creature didn’t seem to mind the extra weight but trotted merrily along.

The quicker it trotted, the more the young people enjoyed themselves. They dug their heels into the pony’s sides and called out, “Gallop, little horse! You’ve never had such brave riders on your back before!”

Meanwhile the wind had risen again, and the waves began to roar. But the pony didn’t seem to notice the noise, and instead of going to the pond, it cantered gaily toward the seashore.

Richard began to regret his thyme and blackberries, and the eldest brother seized the pony by the mane and tried to make it turn around, for he remembered the blue eyes of Jacob the rope-maker’s daughter.

But he tugged and pulled in vain, because the pony galloped straight on into the sea, until the waves met its front feet. As soon as it felt the water, it neighed loudly and capered about with joy, advancing quickly into the foaming waves.

When the water covered the children’s legs, they repented their careless behavior and cried out, “The cursed little black pony is bewitched! If only we had listened to old Peggy’s advice, we wouldn’t be lost.”

The further the pony went, the higher the sea rose. At last the waves covered the children’s heads, and they were all drowned.

Toward morning, old Peggy went out, for she was worried about her grandchildren. She looked for them everywhere but couldn’t find them anywhere. She asked all the neighbors if they had seen the children, but no one knew anything about them, except that the eldest had not been with the blue-eyed daughter of Jacob the rope-maker.

As she was going home, bowed with grief, she saw a little black pony coming toward her, springing and leaping in every direction. When it got quite near her, it neighed loudly and galloped past her so quickly that in a moment it was out of sight.