Far from here in an Indian land there lived a little girl. She had long raven-black hair which was always braided in two very long braids. She wore a colorful headband around her head with feathers stuck in it. Her name was Inchuchuna. Her mother and father were Indians too and they lived in tall tents.
Inchuchuna really liked the Indian way of life. She knew how to start a fire without matches or how to paint on rocks. Also, as a proper Indian girl, she understood animals. When Inchuchuna was older, a test awaited her. Every Indian girl had her horse. They didn’t ride any other animals. To them, horses were the best helpers and friends. But Indians didn’t buy horses. They had to find a wild horse, tame it, and get to know it. And that wasn’t so easy. And this was exactly the test that awaited the Indian girl Inchuchuna. She had to find a horse for herself.
For a few months, she’d been going to the meadow behind the forest where wild horses could be seen from time to time. She really liked one of them. It was as black as her hair. Its shiny mane glistened in the sun. It was a beautiful horse and Inchuchuna really wanted to tame it. But that would require time and a lot of patience.
For some time, she observed the horse. One day, the Indian girl sat down in the meadow. She sat there calmly, waiting. After some time, she could hear the stomping of hooves. She placed her hand on the ground, closed her eyes, and felt the ground shake as the horses approached. The entire herd trotted into the meadow. Some of them started grazing on the juicy grass, others just ran back and forth, but the blackest one of them kept glancing over at Inchuchuna. Carefully, it approached her and tried to sniff at her.
“Stay calm. I must stay calm. Come take a look at me, pretty boy, come on,” the Indian girl was saying quietly, not moving an inch. She didn’t want to spook the horse. When the horse was almost next to her, it snorted and ran off. But Inchuchuna didn’t give up. She knew that she had to be patient. She went to the meadow every day, sitting there and waiting for the horses to come running in. Then she would let the black horse observe her and sometimes touch her. The entire time the horse tried to shyly approach the Indian girl, she would sit patiently and quietly.
One day, while Inchuchuna sat in the meadow waiting for the horses, a wolf ran out of the forest all of a sudden. The young Indian girl froze in place. If she started to run, the wolf would catch her. So she stayed on the ground, hoping that the wolf would go away or that she would be able to defend herself. The wolf sniffed around Inchuchuna, looking at her with its teeth bare. Just then, the Indian girl felt the ground shake. The horses were coming this way.
When they appeared in the meadow and the black horse saw Inchuchuna sitting in its midst and the wolf so close to her, it didn’t hesitate for a second; it came galloping toward her. It reared up in front of her and started neighing. It kicked out its legs hard, protecting the Indian girl with its body. The wolf saw that the horse was defending Inchuchuna. It lay back its ears and left.
Then the black horse turned to the young girl who was still sitting on the ground and rubbed its big head against her hands. Inchuchuna caressed him, tears of joy running down her cheeks. The black horse risked its life for her.
She’d waited for so long for the horse to approach her. For so long she’d hoped that it would let her do this. And now it had come to her. The horse had wanted to be with her, and even defended her. Her patience had paid off.
Today if you walk across the Indian land, you will see a young and very pretty girl with long black hair as she rides around on her beautiful black horse. She doesn’t have a saddle or a bridle. She just sits on the horse’s back and holds on to its mane. They trust each other, understand each other, and protect each other.
