The Horse Goes To A New Place

The family of animals were living happily till some changes happened. The herd consisted of a cow, two oxen, a buffalo, a goat and a dog. They were living comfortably at one place and taken care well by the farmer. One day the farmer made arrangements for one more animal. An extra feeding pot was put in the same tin shade. This made goat feel very upset,

" For whom are the new things ? We are already crammed in this narrow space.  We are barely managing with available things and the newcomer will draw from our own things. The member will squeeze us further."

Cow, smilingly, " Dear goat, why do you worry?  You are relatively small and you can adjust anywhere. I am okay with the new member because our family is going to be bigger . This means a lot more fun."

Buffalo," I don`t care about any one coming or going. Nevertheless, there should not be any compromise in my food. I,m sorry, I cannot share my food with anyone. While grazing in the field, each one will get its own share. So it`s alright for me."

The two oxen were quite. One of them was getting swayed away with the goat without having his own thoughts.

The dog was observing the talks as a mute audience. He was worried his share of work is going to increase due to these future fights.

Few days later, the farmer brought a young, strong horse and put him at the new place. The goat became very angry. The horse was surprised seeing the new place. He was out of his place for the first time. He was trying to understand the new place and new faces around him. He was missing his mom a lot. But was there a good settling down waiting for him?

The goat has been disliking the new member even before he has come. She was not comfortable with the changes around. She used to tease the horse and hurled disgraceful comments against the horse. Some comments were related to the horse`s unique face. She was trying to protect her resources and safeguard her boundaries. The goat was feeling very insecure with the new member. To safeguard her dominance, she started bullying the horse . She also made one of the oxen to her side. The goat used to incite the ox against the horse. One of the oxen used to intimidate the horse with it`s horns. Both of them made the settling down of the horse very difficult.

While going out to the field for grazing, the goat did not allow other members to graze together with the horse. As a result of this, the horse had to graze alone. They were divided and spread at the two corners of the field. The dog had to put a lot of efforts to control them at the two ends. The dog was praying, "Oh God, please end this find soon."

While swimming and bathing in the pond, the condition was no different. The horse had to bathe and swim at one end, alone.

These things made horse very sad and lonely. He started missing his mom very much. He was thinking of running back to his mother very often. But his mother`s lessons were stopping the horse from running away.

One day the farmer was feeding the horse with the special horse food. The goat saw it and told to other animals that the farmer is doing partiality. He is taking sides with the horse. This made one of the oxen very sad. Thereafter, the goat and the ox, together with the other animals increased the distance with the horse, causing more troubles. But the cow did not find it well and said,

"Hey guys, our behavior toward the horse is not good. Do not forget that the horse is someone`s kid and one day our kids will go to some other place. They might face a similar situation. Let`s stop this and welcome the horse as our family."

The animals were not very pleased with the lessons of the cow. Next day, while they went to the field, the ox and the goat incited the horse and harassed him to such an extent that the horse fled from there. He ran to his mother`s stable.

The mother was not very surprised to see her son and said after listening the story of her son,

"Dear son, when we go to a new place, it takes time to adjust. Some difficulties are expected. You should be able to withstand these situations and not shy away. Once you handle it on your own, you emerge stronger for next hard situation. ."

The horse,"No mom, the goat teases me a lot. It will not change, it will never be my good friend. All these bad things are in its nature.

Mother, "Whatever the goat does with you, fill your heart with love. Do not feel bitter about it. It will lead to change of goats`s heart."

The horse, "Not at all mom, no one likes me there."

Mother, "There will be a lot of good animals around you, find them.  They will help you.There will be some troublesome characters. But they will be out numbered by good ones. One against you today, will make great friends of tomorrow. Have some patience."

The horse, "The goat teases me a lot, sometimes I tend to kick her."

Mother, "Not a good idea my son! Whoever troubles you, have love in your heart towards him. Do not have any bitter feelings against that person. One day she will realize her mistakes and regret. I am sure she will become your great friend, some day."

The horse, "No, she incites others as well. She cannot change. Hatred is in her nature."

Mother, "Hatred and jealousy are short lived. If you keep your behavior good, all will change surely."

Finally the horse returned back home and decided to behave as per his mom`s advice. He paid no attention towards the behaviors of the goat. He did not mind her deeds. The time passed by. When the goat realized that there is no effect of her actions on the horse, she got frustrated. She started feeling sorry about her past behaviors. On the other hand the cow kept on insisting the goat to stop all her bad things. Self realization and the cow`s advice changed the heart of the goat.

One day the goat approached to the horse in the field and apologized saying,

"Your are more strong and smart than me, still why did your bear all this without any retaliation?"

The horse," Wow, my mom was right! Only love can win hearts. With force we can make some deals with people. These deals are short lived. But the friends made out of love are forever. You should not feel sorry. It was my test and I feel I passed through it."

After that, the horse was part of the herd family. He used to graze with all, bathe with all.

Sometimes he used to eat together with the goat.

The dog was very much relaxed, the work was back to normal. There was peace everywhere.