Chu-Chu

I think even the most devoted horse lover wouldn’t claim that horses are known for qualities like kindness, responsiveness, and devotion. Creatures that don’t look you straight in the eye, but only glance sideways—with fear and mistrust, or sizing you up to see where they could bite you best. I could go even further and say that among all the pets humanity knows, horses alone are capable of inspiring completely unrequited passion. I consider these preliminary remarks necessary to prove that my hopeless love for Chu-Chu was not some personal anomaly. She was a young, unbroken horse—by then she had already shaken off everyone in the caravan who tried to ride her, and although she was covered in dust, it was still clear that her coat was astonishingly beautiful, and I had never seen such huge, shining eyes in my life.