‘My pretty little pony,' said the eldest, patting the creature
with his hand, ‘you mustn't run too far; I'll take you to the
pond myself.'

With these words he jumped on the pony's back and was quickly
followed by his second brother, then by the third, and so on,
till at last they were all astride the little beast, down to the
small Richard, who didn't like to be left behind.

On the way to the pond they met several of their companions, and
they invited them all to mount the pony, which they did, and the
little creature did not seem to mind the extra weight, but
trotted merrily along.

The quicker it trotted the more the young people enjoyed the fun;
they dug their heels into the pony's sides and called out,
‘Gallop, little horse, you have never had such brave riders on
your back before!'

In the meantime the wind had risen again, and the waves began to
howl; but the pony did not seem to mind the noise, and instead of
going to the pond, cantered gaily towards the sea-shore.

Richard began to regret his thyme and blackberries, and the
eldest brother seized the pony by the mane and tried to make it
turn round, for he remembered the blue eyes of Jacob the rope-
maker's daughter. But he tugged and pulled in vain, for the pony
galloped straight on into the sea, till the waves met its
forefeet. As soon as it felt the water it neighed lustily and
capered about with glee, advancing quickly into the foaming