The Horse, The Leaf, The Mountain And Sam

Once upon a time lived a poor boy named Sam. He used to sell straw dolls to the villagers for money. Every day, he would collect straws and thread and make the dolls till late evening. Then he would go out onto the streets to sell them. The villagers knew him well and some took pity on him and bought a few dolls from him.

One day, his hands started to ache because of working without rest. Because of that, he was unable to make any straw dolls to sell. Feeling stumped, he set off to find a solution to his problems.

On the way, he found a shaking leaf. He walked up to the leaf and asked it why it was shaking.

“I am cold,” it said. “But now that I have been separated from my tree, I have to live with the wind. I don’t know what to do!”

Sam thought for a moment. “Come with me,” he said. “I am going to search for the one who can cure my hands. Maybe he can cure your cold as well?”

The leaf agreed, so they both set off to find an answer. On the way, they found a whining horse. They asked it why it was whining.

“My master is nowhere to be seen and I have not had food for two days. I am very hungry. What should I do?”

The leaf spoke. “Come with us. We are going to search for the one who can cure his hands and take my cold. Maybe he can cure your hunger too?”

The horse agreed, so they set off again. They finally reached a silver mountain. The mountain boomed at them.

"Why have you come here?"

Sam stepped forward and answered the mountain.

“The horse needs to cure its hunger, the leaf is cold and I want to heal my hands. We have come from faraway villages searching for the answers to our issues.”

The mountain looked pleased. “So you have come here for answers. Alright.” The mountain hummed and chanted, “The leaf will be fine as long as it has a home, the horse should return to where he has always known, the boy will find a miracle if he rids the town of trolls.”

The leaf fluttered in joy. “I know what the answer is! I have to be part of a home, which means, I have to be weaved into a bird’s nest! Not only will that cover me, but it will also keep me warm.”

The horse neighed, “My master would often take me to fields of hay near his house. Perhaps that is the place I need to visit!”

Sam thought about the chant for a few moments. “The villagers have been troubled by trolls for many centuries now. I need to defeat them to get the cure.”

And so they thanked the silver mountain and headed back.

Sam headed directly for the troll’s lair, hidden at the very edge of the murky forest, an axe in his hurting hands. He fought each fumbling troll with a practised strike and defeated them all except for the king. The king had large claws and bared teeth. It barely staggered with each hit that Sam dealt.

The king was slowly backing Sam into a corner. It had its claws ready and poised, about to go for his arms, but suddenly it fell down. It was the horse, with the leaf on it. Sam was surprised.

“Why did you come back?” he asked.

“You helped us get our cure, so it was only right that we did the same for you,” they replied.

Sam was very happy and thanked them for having him. They then went deeper into the troll’s lair to find a pot of medicine that could cure anything.

Sam took it back to the village with him and healed his hands. He went up to the town square and announced to everyone that they were free from the threat of the trolls as he had defeated them. He was celebrated and cheered on by everyone for being a hero. After that day, he stopped making dolls for a living and started to heal the people who were previously harmed by the trolls or were ailed by any other disease. Doing so, he became a blessing and saved many people’s lives but he never forgot the leaf and the horse that had saved him.