‘For the Love of Three Horses’

Churbin, a tall jet-black stallion stood by the fence and whinnied. He had gotten his name from a little girl called Sally. She thought he looked like a cherub.

Her dad said, “ ‘Churbin’ sounds masculine. That’s what we’ll name him!”

But now, Churbin was alone. He circled the corral, whinnied, listened and waited. He had not eaten in days and he felt like crying.

During that last week, every night after dinner, Sally sat on the corral fence talking to Churbin and feeding him carrots. “Mom says we can’t take you. Cindy’s parents won’t let her have you either, because they almost lost their farm, too.”

Churbin whinnied softly.

On the last night she spoke these words to him, “We’re all going to find a way to survive Churbi,” rubbing his forehead, “someone will come along and see you here. I put out flyers all over town.” She hugged his long neck.

Tears rolled down Churbin’s face.

But now, Churbin was hungry. He had been hungry for days. So hungry that the outline of his ribs showed through his once lustrous coat.

One star-lit night a “Hello” spilled into the silence. And a beautiful white horse appeared in the corral.

“Who are you?” Churbin asked.

The pretty white horse lifted her head. A long gleaming horn protruded from her forehead and glittered in the darkness. She was that magical of all magical creatures - a unicorn.

“You look hungry,” she said. There was a portion of oats lying in the food trough. “This is for you, Churbi.”

Churbin blushed. No one but Sally had ever called him “Churbi.”

“Only a little for you now. You will have more soon. Lie back down so that I may curl my horn in your mane- this will make you strong again.”

Churbin softly whinnied and lay beside the magical unicorn. She curled her horn in his mane. They gazed at the stars and fell into a profound and peaceful sleep.

Deep into the night a voice said, “You are not done Churbin, wake up and look at me!”

Churbin lifted his head to see Pegasus, the winged horse, flying above him in the star-filled, velvet night.

“You have a little food in your tummy. But you are thirsty and need more strength.”

Shining Pegasus landed in the corral and dug his hooves into the ground, causing a fountain of water to spring forth. “Now drink, so that you are ready for my final gift.”

The drink strengthened Churbin and filled him with gratitude. He smiled and closed his eyes. Across the skies, clouds were forming billowing shapes, and there was thunder in the distance. A lightning bolt appeared, suspended in the air. It was Pegasus’ last gift.

Fascinated, Churbin lightly tapped the lightning bolt with his hoof. Just as he did so, Churbin sprang to life. He leapt over the corral into the woods beyond.

“That’s got to be Churbin, ‘as dark as the night and a long mane’ as it was described in the flyer!” proclaimed a teenage girl named Marcy.

Churbin whinnied.

“How did he find us? I don’t see a corral,” said her father. “Poor guy looks hungry.”

“He’s leaving,” Marcy exclaimed, running after him.

“He’s showing us the way,” her father said, “Look, there’s the corral. How the heck did he get out?”

The corral was locked and empty.

“It’s OK, Churbin,” her father took out a carrot from his bag. “You’ll like your new home. We even have a white horse for you to play with there.”

Churbin ate the carrot. Then he rose up on his hind legs. His hooves kicked the air in joy and gratitude.

“I guess he likes carrots,” said her father, putting a shiny red bridle on Churbin. “He could have starved, some people just don’t know enough to call animal services. Thank God for the flyers.”

“Thank god, for you, Dad,” Marcy beamed at her father. “You never gave up looking for him.”

Churbin kicked up his heels again, looked upward and whinnied.

Special thanks to Erin O’Shea for her illustration. To see more of her work, visit erinoshea.com.

For more Kids’ Reading Room, visit latimes.com/kids.

Father’s Day is Sunday, June 19.