If ever there was a gift horse, it’s me. I’m waiting in a castle for Ferdinand, who has just passed his fourteenth birthday. Imagine his surprise when he sees a white horse standing in a castle, a castle to which he alone has the keys. Imagine his surprise when he discovers that I speak! Oh I have many surprises in store for Faithful Ferdinand. He will have no better friend than me.

The Gift Horse in Faithful Ferdinand and Unfaithful Ferdinand, Grimms. Illustration by Lennart Helje.