Whispers From The Tent — King of the Wind
In 1948 the book, "King of the Wind,” by Marguerite Henry and illustrated by Wesley Dennis, introduced a new way of writing about horses – romantic, thrilling, and exotic. There was heartbreak, too. The illustrations are as magical as the writing. The book’s splendid beauty made a generation of horse lovers dream about the Arabian horse. This short excerpt is for you. Maybe it’s time to read it again...
Agba leapt to his feet. He wanted to climb the tower of the mosque. He wanted to blow on the trumpet. He wanted to cry to the four winds of heaven: “A foal is born. And he will be swift as the wind of the desert, for on his hind heel is a white spot. A white spot. A white…“
Just then a shaft of early sunlight pierced the window of the stable and found the colt. It flamed his coat into red gold. It made a sun halo around his head.
Agba was full of fear. He opened his mouth but no sound escaped. Maybe this was all a dream. Maybe this foal was not real. The golden coat. The crown of sun rays. Maybe he was a golden horse belonging to the chariot of the Sun!
“I’ll capture him with a name,“ the boy thought quickly. And he named the young thing Sham, which is the Arabic word for sun.
