The Rustler

Once upon a time, in a kingdom not too far from here there lived a fair maiden that had a most beautiful pony. The pony was so beautiful that she was the envy of all who saw her. The fair maiden knew her pony would draw attention from people far and near so she decided to place a price on the pony and see who, in all the kingdoms around, would be willing to pay such a fine price for such a fine animal.

Well, the pony was viewed by many in the maiden's own kingdom but none deemed themselves worthy to own such a fine animal. The maiden then decided to send the pony to a kingdom very far away where the weather is extremely cold because there are many there who would appreciate such a fine example of equine excellence. But, nay, it was not to be. The citizens of this kingdom, too, could not bring themselves to part with such a handsome amount of money to allow themselves the privilege of owning this pony.

One day, the maiden received a phone call from the fine trainer in the cold country. "Oh fine maiden, we have a knight who is traveling back toward your kingdom and has offered to transport your fine pony. Shall I enlist his service?"

"Oh yes! That would be fabulous!", quipped the maiden.

So, the man proceeded to transport the exquisite pony back to a kingdom closer to home. Enroute, however, the man called the maiden and suggested that possibly the pony could be sold for a fine price in his kingdom. Would the maiden be so kind as to consider such a proposition? She was enchanted by his seeming knowledge and by the many citizens he claimed would come to see this fabulous animal. She quickly, too quickly, agreed to the proposition and made arrangements for travel to visit his fine facility. And, what a fine facility it was. It was everything the maiden could possibly want for her pony.

Many days passed. Many weeks passed. Many months passed and there was no word from the man. The maiden became concerned and finally her closest confidants convinced her that the man was a bad man. That the pony needed to be collected immediately. Oh no! The maiden never engaged in conflict. What was she going to do?

Well, her mates agreed to travel with her to this foreign kingdom and assist her in reclaiming her fine pony and bringing the pony home.

So today, the journey begins. This maiden is very nervous and scared to interact with the bad man. This maiden is also relieved that she will no longer have to pay great quantities of money to have the pony in a far away land. This maiden will continue her documentation of this adventure tomorrow . . .