For Mya on Her Second Birthday

I give you these stories with hope
that you may come to love the horse
as I love the horse.
I give you stories of Elk Dog,
sacred Dog, Mysterious Dog,
with love, as Old One gave horses to the people.

When you love stories,
when you take them into your heart
& give them a warm place to live,
when you let them become a part of you,
they become alive.
They go out into the world singing
from between your lips.
They come into your heart dancing
through your ears & eyes.
& when stories come to live within you
they will carry you through the world
as far & as fast as a horse.

I give you stories
because they are what I love best
as I love you,
the story you are, & will be;
sequel to my story,
complete in your own telling,
and preface to the story
your own children will someday be.
I give you stories because they are the best teachers
& because they are often all I have.
For me, that has been plenty.
Let these stories open your heart
& your eyes & your wonder
to the rampant beauty of the world
into which you were born
two winters past.