Once upon a time, there lived a little boy who lived in a beautiful land. There were cool streams that ran to the foot of the mountains and flowers  that blossomed in every color of the rainbow in the summertime. In Autumn, a warm breeze came through the land, singing in the leaves. This was a good place indeed, the boy often thought. One day, the young boy was lying underneath a great oak tree. He was watching the leaves, and noticing they were turning an orange and fiery red color. He saw little acorn babies swinging from their cradle branches. The boy began to doze off to a deep slumber. And in his sleep, a majestic white pony came to visit him. The white pony told him of a place downstream that wasn’t too far away. At the end of the stream, in a cave, there lived a dragon. He was a very kind-hearted dragon. But he had been trapped in the cave for many, many days. The dragon found his way into the cave, but couldn’t find his way out, for it was too dark to see. The little boy awoke, hoping that he could call to the pony and they could visit the cave and the kind dragon together. So, the little boy made a wish in his heart. He closed his eyes and whispered…

”Star, star above me bright, I wish a little wish tonight, please bring to me the white pony, so we can help the dragon out of the dark cave once and for all.” 

Now, as some wishes you make in your heart do come true, the little boy began to hear the klippety-klop of hooves running towards him. As they grew louder, the horse came closer. The little boy called out to him, 

“Oh, little white pony! Come hither, come thither, come to me!” 

Now the sound grew louder.

Klippety-klippety-klippety-klop

Klippety-klippety-klippety-klop

Klippety Klop Klippety Klop

Klippety-klippety-klippety-klop

The boy couldn’t believe his eyes, but right in front of him, stood the majestic white pony: with a long mane, a long wispy tail, and eyes the color of deep golden honey. The pony needed new shoes, and as the little boy’s father was a blacksmith, the little boy went right to mending the pony's shoes - each one with tender care. 

“Here’s my hammer and here’s my nail, just as my father the blacksmith hammers a new shoe.” 

Pitty patty polt, a new shoe for my colt

Pitty patty polt, a new shoe for my colt.

Here a nail, and there a nail, 

Pitty patty polt, a new shoe for my colt

And sure enough, all four of the pony’s hooves were dressed with a shiny new silver shoe. The little boy hopped on and away they rode. They followed the stream to the bottom of the mountain. There, they found where the cool water pooled, a cave that was oh-so-dark. The little boy went on, with bravery and might in his heart. He could feel the hot flame of the dragon's breath from the mouth of the cave. He called out, 

“Hello in there! Can anybody hear me?” 

But, alas, not a peep was returned. 

“Oh!” said the little boy, a little nervous now, “I cannot see in that deep, dark cave. It is too dark and I have nothing to light my way.”

The boy sat down and began to weep. Just then, the white pony came to the boy and whispered, 

“Many moons ago, there were shooting stars dancing across the sky. A piece from one of the shooting stars fell down to earth, and landed in the silver stream. Seek a shining stone. Not one that just anybody can see. Look closely, tread carefully, and it is there waiting for you.” 

And so the little boy went down to the stream. He dipped his feet in the water, and down the stream he lightly tread. Just below, he saw shimmering light and glowing. 

“A stone! That has fallen from the star dust!” 

The boy picked it up with his hands, and it brightened all around where he was standing. The boy went to the pony by the cave to show him, and then he got all the courage he could muster and went into the cave. The cave lighted up with starlight, and the dragon could see that the little boy was there with his good, kind heart. The dragon followed the boy out of the cave and into the starry night. He  saw that the land was beautiful, and it was a good place indeed, The dragon bowed his great head and thanked the little boy and the pony for setting him free from the dark cave.