Saladin the Wonder Horse

Saladin the Wonder Horse

SMASHWORDS EDITION

Published by

Outer Banks Publishing Group

on Smashwords

Saladin the Wonder Horse

By Koos Verkaik

Copyright © 2018 by Koos Verkaik

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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SALADIN

THE WONDER HORSE

Book 1

By Koos Verkaik

Saladin The Wonder Horse. Copyright © 2018 by Koos Verkaik. All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America by Outer Banks Publishing Group – Outer Banks/Raleigh.

www.outerbankspublishing.com

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For information contact Outer Banks Publishing Group at

info@outerbankspublishing.com

This book is a work of fiction. All of the characters and events in this book are not real, and any resemblance to actual events organizations or actual persons living or dead, is unintentional.

Cover design by Maverick Book Services

www.mavericktambiga.wixsite.com/bookservices

FIRST EDITION – January 2018

ISBN 13 - 978-0-9906790-6-6

ISBN 10 - 0-9906790-6-3

eISBN - 978-1370623723

Also by Koos Verkaik

DUTCH

Novels

Adolar

Terug naar het Dorp

Conflict Afrika

Mana, en Toen Brak de Hel los

De Meesterparasiet

Grapstad

Psycho Park

Alvader

Wolfstranen

Neanderthaler Dromen

De Dans van de Nar

Series of Children’s Books:

Saladin Series

Saladin het Wonderpaard

Saladin en Silver

Silver en het Spookpaard

De Nar van Nottingham

Slimmetje Series

Het Konijn uit de Hoed

De Boze Beer

Schipbreuk

De Hoge Hoed is weg

Ridder Joris

De Schat van Kabouter Bollewijn

Professor in Paniek

De Tovertrein

De Verdwaalde Walvis

Sneeuwmannen in Kabouterland

Otto de Otter

Krimpende Paddestoelen

Wolpertinger series

De Monsterherberg

De Onderlanden

Oom Ballon

Het Land van Franje

De Drakentuin

Roest IJzervreter

Drie Dolle Prinsen

Koning Leo Lawaai

De Kater is Jarig

Alex de Grote

Heros de Haas

ENGLISH

Novels

The Nibelung Gold

All-Father

The Dance of the Jester

HIM, After the UFO Crash

Heavenly Vision

Series of Children’s Books

Alex and the Wolpertinger

The Monster Inn

The Downhills

Uncle Balloon

The Land of Fringe

The Dragon Garden

Saladin Series

Saladin the Wonder Horse

Saladin and Silver

Silver and the Ghost Horse

The Jester of Nottingham

This series is dedicated to all brave, adventurous children in the world.

Chapter 1

The Colt of Baltimore

The girl’s name was Angela. She didn’t even have a family name—everyone on the farm of Lord Patrick Baltimore called her simply Angie. A young girl with light brown hair, a delicate face, and dark eyes, she had lost her parents, and had the lowest status of anyone on the farm. All she possessed were the clothes she wore. She slept in a stable, where her duty was to take care of the horses.

She loved the frisky foals just as much as the big, strong workhorses that were used on the farm and, in times of war, in battle by the soldiers of the estate.

Angie was growing up in England, in the turbulent times of the Middle Ages.

King Richard the Lionheart had left in the company of a large number of knights to take part in the Crusades, and now his brother, Prince John, was ruling the country. It soon became obvious that this prince was out more to enrich himself than to rule the country in a good and fair way. He was hungry for money and imposed high taxes on the people.

At the beginning Angie hardly noticed this. She worked hard and was actually too young to understand what was happening around her.

In fact she was rather satisfied with her life.

In the kitchen there was always a place for her by the fire. She liked feeding the horses, grooming them, and bringing them to the fields, where the servants put them to the plough.

Patrick Baltimore was good to her, and his daughter Samantha, a girl of her own age, often helped her with her work. When they cleaned out the stables together there was time left to go out for a ride.

Angie was not allowed to do a thing like that all by herself, but together with Samantha it was no problem. She preferred to ride Misty, a beautiful gray mare. In fact, Misty was her favorite horse. It seemed as if the clever animal understood that the girl was especially fond of her.

When Angie rode, without a saddle, holding tight to the mare’s long mane, she felt free and happy. She would go at full gallop along the fields and through the woods, and Samantha always had trouble keeping up with her on her own horse. For Angie was an excellent rider and, especially when she sat on the back of Misty, no one could overtake her. Even the most fearless rider had to do his utmost to be a match for Angie on her mare.

While Prince John and his Norman allies terrorized the country and made the people toil and slave, Angie worked on the big farm of Lord Baltimore and noticed little of the changes. She was not aware of the brave Saxons fighting the prince’s power, and she knew nothing about the plundering and raids, the oppression and blackmail.

She lived her own life, in her own little world among the horses and the other animals she took care of.

She could not suspect that her life would soon change totally.

***

It was noisy in the kitchen where Rose, a fat, always cheerful woman, rattled her pots and pans to provide the workers with food and where the men sat at long tables drinking beer and telling each other tales. The work was done for the day, and everyone was in a good mood.

But Angie didn’t hear the sounds. She sat there on a stool by the fire, with her chin in her hands and her elbows resting on her knees, and kept silent. In thought she was with Misty, the gray mare.

Misty was almost ready to foal. At first Angie had been happy about it, but now her happiness had changed to concern. Bernard Brown was the man on the farm who always helped with the birth of a foal; he was the man who knew all about horses, who understood every situation, and who actually should have been present right now to take care of Misty. But Patrick Baltimore had sent him out, together with some other men, to sell part of the harvest at the market, and he would be away for a couple of days.

Lord Baltimore was worried about the mare as well. Without the help of experienced human hands, it was unlikely the animal would be able to give birth to the foal.

Therefore he had ordered one of his servants to send for Thomas Jenkins, a man who knew as much about animals as Brown.

Angela looked up when she heard the loud voice of Rose. The woman was standing right in front of her with a bowl of hot soup in her hands.

You got to eat, Angie, you hear?

The girl shook her head.

I’m not hungry at all. I couldn’t eat that soup to save my life. I want to go back to the stable!

There’s already someone with Misty right now. You better stay right here in the kitchen. It’s rough outside. It’s rainy and stormy out there, and here it’s nice and warm. It’s too chilly for you there in the stables.

Why do you say that? I sleep there every night.

Never mind. Just eat. Or is my soup not good enough for you?

Of course it is, Rose, you know that very well. It’s just that I don’t have any appetite for soup right now. Do you realize how bad it is with poor Misty? The mare has a high fever, she’s panicky. If I’m with her, she’ll calm down—I’m sure of that. That’s the least I can do for her. Even Lord Baltimore cannot help her, and he’s a man who is able to find a solution for everything. But now . . .

Calm down, little girl. Someone’s on the way to look for Jenkins. And Jenkins is like a medicine man. He’ll know what to do, he’ll help Misty.

Angela looked up at the friendly woman, who still stood there in front of her with the bowl of soup in her hands. Tears came to her eyes as she said:

Jenkins lives in Eastwood. That’s far away from here. If he doesn’t come soon, Misty will probably die, and the foal will never be born.

Rose was about to say something, when the kitchen door swung open with a creak. A cold gust of wind made the men at the table shiver. Drops of rains splashed inside, and a figure loomed up in the doorway.

Joe! Close that door right away! someone shouted in annoyance. Leave that cold outside, will you?

Angie jumped to her feet. Why was the man alone? He had been ordered to send for Jenkins, hadn’t he?

The man hung up his soaked coat and wiped the wet hair from his eyes. He said:

I’ve already been to Lord Baltimore to inform him. Thomas Jenkins refuses to come. He sits in the Grey Eagle Inn in Eastwood, and there is nothing I can do to get him to come here. He’s busy playing dice with Norman soldiers, and he told me that he can make more money that way than by lending a helping hand to Lord Baltimore. He’s such a stubborn fellow...and a giant as well!

Joe paused, looked at the girl, and then said, in a much softer voice:

"I’m so sorry, Angie. I couldn’t have done more. I know you’re so