The count's estate was so rich that even the welfare of the groom of this farm could be envied by a middle-class nobleman from a neighboring dungeon or folvarka. He owned a large stone house, several sturdy outbuildings, and even his own stable with a dozen well-groomed horses. They were mostly workhorses, a couple of outriders, a young filly, and several foals. But the groom had a favorite horse-a monitor lizard on high legs, with a firm step and swift in running. He rode it on horseback trips around the neighborhood. But the horse was irreplaceable in the main thing-in hunting. Over time, the animal began to obey any orders of the owner so obediently and skillfully that he could not imagine another such quick-witted and loyal friend next to him.
The disaster happened in the blink of an eye. In late autumn, while hunting, jumping over a pile of dead wood, the horse pierced the front leg with a fragment of an old sword sticking out of the ground. It became clear that shtrikhov was no longer suitable for hunting, and he was also not suitable for simple traction work.
The groom tried to treat the wound, but all his efforts were in vain. One day, someone advised him, upset, to turn to a famous healer. She lived about twenty versts from the count's estate, on the shore of a forest lake.
He immediately flew off in a chaise to her house and explained the reason for his sudden visit. The healer turned out to be a young healer with a five-year-old girl in her arms. Her mother died a few years ago, having passed on all her secrets to her daughter. Seeking help, the groom assured the woman that if she cured the injured horse, she could ask him for any payment within his capabilities.
The doctor took with her a bundle of medicinal herbs and infusions and the child, saying that the treatment could take several days, and she could not leave her daughter alone. They immediately set off on their journey.
It is not known how long the animal's treatment lasted, but one day the healer led a healthy, not lame horse out of the stall by the bridle.
There was no limit to everyone's surprise, the groom was as happy as a child. He ran around his pet, touched his leg and endlessly praised the healer.
"I remember my promise," he said, "and I want to hear how I can thank you."
The doctor turned to the groom: "I have only one request for you. Take my little child into your care, dear man. I know that people live here, and I feel that there will be no peace here. I want to go wherever my feet take me. As far away from here as possible. I'll walk as long as I can. If I die, I'm on the road, free. But my dear child will not be able to overcome such a difficult path. My heart is torn apart with longing that she will not be with me. But her life is the most precious thing to me. So I'm begging you: take her in to keep her. Maybe not in the house, but at least in the stable. The main thing is to keep warm and under the roof. And she doesn't need much: a crust of bread and a bowl of stew. When she grows up, she'll become your assistant in gratitude. I noticed that her soul was drawn to horses..."
The groom agreed without hesitation, "I'll assign her to the house for workers. There are enough children there, she won't be bored""
That's what we decided. And the healer left the yard in tears, often looking back towards the cold autumn, feeling that she would never see her only child again.
The girl grew up in the stable boy's family quietly and unnoticeably. Even the groom himself eventually forgot about the child, although the doctor fervently promised to look after her and take care of her.
Perhaps it would have continued like this if a rather unpleasant story hadn't happened at the stable two years later.
One day at dawn, everyone was startled by the frantic scream of a young worker in the farmyard. He stood at the door of one of the stables and simultaneously screamed, cried, and muttered something amiss, holding the bloody villas in his hands. The people who escaped decided that he had injured one of the count's horses. But it turned out to be something else entirely.
While picking out old hay from the feeders, an employee inadvertently poked a child sleeping there with a pitchfork. They took out the wounded daughter of a whisperer, and it was her, and carried her out into the courtyard. Thank God she was alive, with only a few minor wounds. Both the head of the estate and the head groom came running to the noise. The groom had the decency to admit that this was the girl he had taken into the care of the healer who had cured the horse. He calmed people down, took the poor child to his house. The doctor who was called after examining the baby convinced everyone that the wounds would heal quickly thanks to his medicine, and the girl would recover. After the doctor's words, the commotion subsided, and everyone in the estate went about their daily business.
But the groom's wife was unhappy. She began to whisper to him that rumors might reach the count and he would hotly deprive him of his job and expel him from his official home. She also said that she did not like the presence of some kind of starving woman with no family or tribe next to her children. She began to demand that her husband return the girl back to the workers' home. Which he soon did.
The girl immediately ran to the stable. They brought her back, threatened to punish her, but she ran to the horses again and again. Over time, everyone got used to it, and even somehow imperceptibly the nickname foaly stuck to her.
A few more years have passed. The foal, having matured, began to take part in all the affairs that took place in the stable without coercion, with great eagerness. And everyone was even glad that there was another hardworking assistant.
But the employees of the farmyard were surprised that the girl had imperceptibly acquired skills in handling animals. The horses obeyed her, obeyed her every order, and even reacted to her gestures. This skill of hers was used to train and train animals.
After some time, the foal could even give instructions on how to take care of the horses in a smart and masterly way. The work at the stable was so successful that the head groom began to notice that his prolonged absence did not harm the business. And it was good for him, he had a lot more time, which he used for hunting.
The groom might casually tell his friends that, they say, if the foal is in the stable, his heart can be calm for business. But unfortunately, these words were overheard by his wife. There was no limit to her indignation. And this time she demanded from her husband that he get rid of the girl...
Not a day went by that she didn't take care of her husband. She convinced the groom that the foal was the cause of all the troubles that could befall their family, if not today, then tomorrow. and then several events happened that at first glance did not announce anything bad. But the angry woman used them to her advantage to once again convince her husband that she was right in her guesses.
The count, returning from a trip to Central Asia, brought an extraordinarily beautiful white stallion, which was so cool that it was impossible to take your eyes off. But this animal has never been under a saddle. The owner of the estate set a task for the servants: to break the stallion as soon as possible. But only the injuries and fractures were the result of the futile efforts of the stable staff. The head groom himself was injured. However, a few weeks later, the yard workers were surprised to see a young foal riding a naughty stallion. No one knows when or how she tamed the horse.
The count happily presented the girl with several silver coins. "Here," the groom's wife hissed, "you're lying here with broken ribs, and this brat is walking around with silver in his pockets."
And there was another incident... On the eve of the local holiday, the count decided to organize horse races, and then reward the winners. The count himself did not dare to mount a horse. But at the celebration, everyone present was surprised to see a foal on a young white horse in a number of participants of the competition. As it turned out later, the girl turned to the owner with a request to allow her to take part in jumping on this particular horse. As a result, she won the race.
And this victory of hers was the last argument in the chain of slander of the groom's wife. She nevertheless convinced her husband that it was necessary to get rid of the foal by any means. He listened to his wife and committed a crime: he set fire to the stable.
The workers ran away, saved the horses, and prevented the fire from causing much damage. The count also came to the fire. The groom and his wife, on their knees, swore that they saw with their own eyes how the foal set fire to the stable.
The poor girl tried to justify herself, saying that she would never hurt the horses. But the owner of the estate believed the groom, and his wife and girlfriend were locked up before the police arrived.
...Maybe the foal escaped by herself, maybe someone helped her, but the girl was not found the next day. Not only that, it turned out that she jumped on a white horse.
The count was furious, ordered to catch the fugitive. But then he was informed that there were witnesses that the stable was set on fire by the head groom. Under threat of torture, the groom and his wife confessed to the lie. They were kicked out of the estate. The count relented and ordered them to find the girl and tell her that she was safe.
But, as the legend says, she was not found. "The foal rushed off," the stable workers whispered, "to look for her mother. If, of course, she is alive. We pray to God that they will meet. And he is merciful, he will hear us."