Once, long ago, before fences or roads, there was a horse who saw the world with eyes so wide he could see almost everything. He saw the wolf before it leapt, the eagle before it swooped, the storm before it broke. But because he saw so much, he was afraid. Every shadow was a danger.

And there was a girl, who was small, and had no claws or sharp teeth. But she was not afraid. She saw the horse’s dark eyes and stepped closer. “If you will not run from me,” she said, “I will not run from you.”

The horse stamped and snorted and flicked his head, but he did not run. The girl laid her hand on his neck. “You are stronger than I will ever be,” she whispered. “But I can watch for you, and you can carry me, and we will keep one another safe.”

And so it was: the first horse gave his trust, and the first girl gave her courage. The world still had cruelty in it, there were still wolves—but now, when the wolves came, the girl and the horse were not alone and could run faster than any pack.

And ever since, horses have remembered that promise in their dark eyes, and girls have remembered it in their hearts