The Horse Boy

Description: At the foot of the mountain, a small boy sits wriggling in his father's arms, giggling at the strange figure dancing before him. Wearing a deer-skin coat hung with ribbons, pieces of antler, arcane... At the foot of the mountain, a small boy sits wriggling in his father's arms, giggling at the strange figure dancing before him. Wearing a deer-skin coat hung with ribbons, pieces of antler, arcane symbols forged in iron, on his head a masked, feathered headdress, the shaman dances to the rhythm of his own drum, chanting and intoning; lost in trance. All of a sudden, he sits down and beckons for the boy to be passed to him. Still laughing, but also nervous, the small boy is put under the drum, the thundering rhythm loud in his ears. Father and mother look on worriedly: will this be too much for their child? From the pine tree above, its branches hung with blue silk prayer scarves left there as offerings by previous supplicants to the Lord of the Mountain, an eagle looks down on the proceedings, stormclouds gather in the distance. Two cawing ravens flap by on the quickening wind. The horses, grazing outside the circle of noise and movement, swish their tails and look up, ears pricked as the shaman drops his drum, hugs the boy to him and then, with a great shriek, lifts the boy to the heavens, mingling his prayers with those of the mother and father. Please help this child. Lord of the Mountain, help this child