Introduction
"Children,
you need to
get in bed in order for me to read you your
bedtime stories!" the father said sternly to his two daughters who
were playing instead of getting ready for bed.
"We
are not tired,"
Emma, the oldest daughter, claimed.
"Yeah,"
Charolette, the younger daughter, chimed in. "We are not tired."
"
I guess I will not
read your favorite stories then.
You know the horse book that Grandma and Grandpa sent for you because
you girls liked it so much at their house," the father said
slyly,
knowing that this would intrigue them.
"No.
I want to hear the
stories. They are my favorite!" Emma and
Charolette shouted in unison.
"Well,
I am going to
give you ten minutes. Pick up all of your
toys, brush your teeth, and change into your pajamas and I will be
back. If you girls are not finished in ten minutes then I will
not be reading this bedtime story." He said this in a very serious tone
and then left and went down stairs.
"Hurry
up,
Charolette. I am not going to miss out on my favorite
story because you do not want to move fast," Emma shouted at
Charolette.
"I
am moving
fast. I cannot help it that my
legs are shorter than yours," Emma whined back.
The
girls swiftly put
all of their toys into the appropriate
bins. Then they each put on floral pajamas. Charolette's
pajamas were pink, while Emma's pajamas were purple. They then rushed
to the bathroom and brushed their teeth. They had just turned the
water off when they heard their father's footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Run.
Quick. We need to
beat Dad to the bedroom," exclaimed Emma.
They took off running and jumped in each of their own beds just as
their dad made it into the bedroom.
"I
see you girls are
ready," he said as he reached over to the book
shelf and pulled the Famous Mythical Horse Creatures book from
it. He strolled over and took a seat on the hot pink bean bag
chair that sat in between the two beds. "What story should I read
tonight?" he asked.
"I
want to hear the one
about Pegasus, Dad," shouted Charolette.
"No.
I want to
hear about Buraq," Emma shouted louder.
"Let's
not fight.
We can hear one today and the other
tomorrow. I'm going to turn to the table of contents and close my
eyes, and put my finger on the page. Whichever story that my
finger is closest to is the one that I will read tonight," he said,
trying to make it extremely fair. "Sound good?"
The
girls
looked at each other and said, "Yeah."
The
dad, careful not to
show the girls that he was reading the index,
looked at what each of the stories were about.
Chapter
1: Pegasus- An
immortal winged horse in Greek mythology, born from the blood of the
monster Medusa, who was caught and tamed by the hero Bellerophon.
Chapter
2: Buraq- A
winged horse whose name means
lightning. Buraq is supposed to be a horse creature that comes
from
heaven. In Islamic tradition this horse carried their prophet
Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem, which are both Islamic holy cities.
Chapter 3: Kelpie- A water horse that comes from Celtic legends.
It lives in rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland and preys on
children and women.
Chapter 4: Unicorn- A unicorn the size of a mountain is tied to Noah's
Ark and saved from the flood.
Here's a link back to my Coverpage
Chapter 1: Pegasus and Bellerophon
Chapter 2: Buraq and Muhammad
Chapter 3: Kelpie
Chapter 4: Noah and the Unicorn
Picture of Buraq. Image Information from: ZBrushCentral