The Mare And Her Foal

© Regina Franziska Rau
August 1988
Turkey - Bitez near Bodrum

It happened in Turkey, nearby the village Bitez - close to the city Bodrum, which is exactly in the southwest corner of Turkey.
My life-companion of that time, our son and I had set up our two house tents in a snuggy bay. The tourist beach was not too close to it.

A cook who cooked for a pub in the neighbourhood and whose kitchen was nearby - had given us the permission to camp on his ground. At the right side the property was enclosed from aspens, which rustled quietly in the balmy wind and waved their silvery leaves. At that place we had set up our two tents. I had fallen in love immediately with this little spot of ground.

Behind our tents, a few natural 'hedges', separated us from the the fallow lying part of the property, which once had obviously been used as garden. A mysterious path winded its way through the dense tangle of tendrils and bushes, passed at the little lemon- and orange trees. Pomegranate blooms and fruits shone tempting in the full green of the branches. Mighty wild vines climbed at a high poplar, full of deeply dark-red fully grapes. This place seemed to me like a dream, that became reality.

The farmer, to whom this small paradise belonged, had allowed us, that we plucked as many fruits as we wanted. He had asked us formally, yes he had really summoned us, to be not too modest. And one fine day he appeared in front of our tent with a large and nearly overflowing basked fully from the most splendid exquisiteness from his garden. And with a face full of joy he explained that everything was for us.

From this day on I spent a wonderful time together with my little son in the gardens of the farmer and on the meadows behind. There we sweetened our days with its sweet fruits. The extensive meadows were climbed from heavy-fragrant blackberry tendrils, that leaned down to the earth under its heavy load of dark-violet sweetness.

We stood in the berries, while the sun shone mildly and golden on our skin. In the distance, a little shepherd boy played yearning songs on a flute, that made my heart melt. I was in love up to my ears to that wonderful country.

One day, I discovered a mare with her foal on a meadow. They grazed there without a rail. The mare was prevented from gallopping away with a loosely tied cord at her rear runs. But she could move suitably freely. My son liked visiting these big animals very much and so we visited them almost daily. I observed the behaviour of the mother, when we greated her - and also that of the foal. She always lifted her head and cleared her throat distinctly, shook her mane and looked exactly into my eyes.

Then, she nudged her baby with the nose at the rear end and showed it that it should stick closer to her. During the first days I didn't approach to her much further. But soon I answered with the same gesture of her greeting, cleared my throat as strikingly as she did and shook my hair in the wind, while I looked exactly into her eyes.

After a few days, her eyes seemed to flash, when she saw us coming - and she didn't seem to find it necessary to warn her baby from us, and give it her protection.

One day, my son wanted to this wonderful animals to his father and persuaded him, to come along. We explained exactly to him, how wonderful our greeting worked out and that the horses already let us stand close to them and even touch a little bit. I wanted to show my friend the greeting rite.

But his dynamic step had made the mare suspicious and she behaved very reservedly again. Then my friend turned to me and my son and said: "Now, I will show you once, how one has to do with horses"! and he approached to the horses straighlyt, and said in very assertive sound: "Well, Hi - how are you?!". And he stretched out his hand swiftly to the mare, showing a fearlessly face.

There, the mare lowered the head, positioned the ears. In the next moment she reared and despite the cords at her rear runs she galloped in unexpectedly great jumps on to Kemal.

He only took his cap and made from the dust..., but not before having shouted to the horses: "You stupid beasts!" When he was gone, the mare seemed to grin and looked at us - as if she wanted to say: "Well - was it my fault?"

 
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