Once, in a far away land there lived a princess. This land was famous for the small wooden toys it made; animals, soldiers and houses all carved from the best wood around. The little princess was adored by everyone for her kind, soft nature and on her 13th birthday, as was custom in this land, she received a small wooden toy. A tradition bestowed on all the children, a toy given in childhood to keep forever as a reminder of their innocence and connection to the land in which they grew up.
Now because the little princess was loved by all and since she was the princess, all the most famous toy makers from across the land came together to make something special for her 13th birthday. For weeks they locked themselves away in their workshops, chopping and carving wood in secret so as not to spoil the surprise. Finally, when the day came the little princess awoke to see a beautifully crafted wooden stallion standing in the courtyard of the palace. The horse was dark and smooth, as big as a real horse the varnish on the wood glistened in the sunlight. The little princess stood in awe and thought how noble and strong the horse looked. She felt so lucky to have received such a precious gift and thanked the craftsmen and toymakers who had come to watch their present be received.
After the day's celebrations were over, the princess’s father, the king, took her to one said and told her how important it was for her to look after the gift given by the townspeople. They had worked long and hard to make it and she should respect that. The little girl nodded her head and knew that for as long as she lived she would cherish the present from the toymakers.
She was true to her word, every day she would make sure to varnish the horse so that it glinted royally in the summer sun, brush the leaves around its hooves or sweep the snow off its proud head so that everyone could see what a wonderful toy the toymakers had made.
Now this little princess had a younger brother, the prince, who looked on jealously at the present given to his sister and longed for his 13th birthday so he too could receive his toy. Sure enough, after a few years it came his turn too and as the morning sun came through his window the little prince was already bounding down the stairs of the palace into the courtyard to see what the townspeople had made for him. There, next to the dark wooden horse stood a magnificent white steed, larger and more muscular than its sister. The boy squealed with delight and promptly demanded to be lifted up onto the horse. He sat on top of his horse all day whilst his birthday celebrations went on around him and the little princess looked on thinking how pleased her brother looked with his gift and how wonderful the two wooden horses looked together in the courtyard.
Once again as the day was nearing its end and the two steeds cast long shadows across the courtyard and onto the palace walls, the king came over to his son to give the same advice he had imparted to his daughter just a few years before. But the boy was still so excited that he barely listened to his father, but still remembered to nod his head and say ‘I promise.’
The next day the young prince was back on the horse yelling as though in a mock battle and the toymakers were pleased at how much happiness their present was giving their future king. But soon the boy tired of the wooden horse, he forgot about keeping it clean and varnished or brushing the leaves off its neck. He had become more interested in the new metal makers who were bringing shiny shields and swords from their workshops for the prince to see. It wasn’t long before the young prince was using the present from his 13th birthday as target practice, shooting sharp metal arrows into its flank and legs, chipping and the bright white wood.
Every now and then an arrow would fly past the white horse and nick the princesses dark wooden stallion. But she didn’t mind and would quietly sand down and varnish where the little princes arrows had hit.
The years passed and the white horse became battered and worn, with patches of darker wood showing through whilst the dark horse next to it still stood glistening in the sunlight and once again the prince became jealous until eventually he told his sister that since he was the future king it wasn’t right for him to have a toy that was so ragged and ugly and that she must swap with him. The princess, although annoyed and disappointed with her little brother said that of course they could swap as long as he promised to take good care of her present. ‘I promise,’ came the reply from the prince.
One day, the princess who was not so little now, woke up and stretched in front of the window over looking the courtyard and as she looked down she let out a gasp. The courtyard was empty. She ran down the stairs of the palace sure there must be a reasonable explanation. Her brother, the king stood in the doorway in brand new golden armour, shinning the sun's morning light into her eyes and she knew that her 13th birthday present had been thrown away. The princess was upset beyond measure and fled from the palace into the town, blindly running through muddy streets whilst tears softly fell down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe that her brother could do such a horrible thing and knew there and then that she would never return to the palace as long as her brother was there.
Whilst walking through the town she came across the dump where all the old loose parts from the wooden toys were discarded, there on the top of the pile was the head of her brother's white horse. The princess carefully collected it and walked back into town with the white head in her hands, looking for the nearest workshop.
Over the years the princess’s brother, the king, became quick tempered and jealous, longing for the riches that other kings had. The toy making industry could not provide the gold he wanted and he ordered all the trees to be chopped down to make ships for war and trade. All the toy making workshops were turned into blacksmiths to make swords and shields for the King's army and soon there was no one to make toys and instead the children would be given small metal knights on their 13th birthdays.
And soon the townspeople, consumed with war and their new metal workshops forgot about their missing princess and wooden toys. But the princess had not forgotten. She spent the rest of her life hidden away in a small house that she had turned into a workshop. The rooms were filled with books and diagrams all about how to carve and chop wood to make little wooden toys. She spent every day pouring over these books, learning, always watched by the steely white eyes of the wooden horse's head she had put in the corner.
Years passed and the king, rich and prosperous through his wars, had found a wife and they had had their own little prince. And on his 13th birthday, as he had been told to do by his father, the little boy woke up and raced into the courtyard of the palace to be faced with a gigantic golden horse, five times bigger than any horse he had ever seen its harsh metal plates balked and flexed in the strong winter winds.
The little boy looked up in awe of the metal beast which glowered down at him, its beady golden eyes staring harshly into the boy's face. The little prince was slightly scared of this present but knew to looked pleased so that the townspeople saw that he was grateful. But then, just as he was about to join in the celebrations, something caught his eye. There, next to the huge golden hoof of the metal horse was a small white figure. The boy picked it up and it fit warmly in his hand, he realised that it was a tiny, white wooden horse. The small white horse's head seemed to look at him intently and when he brushed his thumb against it he thought how warm and delicate it was. The little boy gently put the wooden horse into his pocket and smiled to himself. This, he thought, would be his favourite present and he promised to himself he would always look after it.
