Helen Juwel

by Kawat3ngusan

Die Kindheit von Helen

Die Kindheit von Helen

Helen's childhood

It had now been three months since Braune Pflanze and Gelbes Mehl had moved into old Hunk's house.

The newlyweds did everything to repay Hunk for the hospitality, Braune helped him with the garden and the hay, and on some days he took the sheep to graze, and Hunk took him on the days he sold his products at the stall at the market, Braune didn't mind going to the market, and often met new ponies.

There were ponies of different breeds, as in all known cities, he saw ponies working in inns, ponies working in the market, high-ranking unicorns strolling the streets, pegasi flying through the skies to bring messages from afar or to deliver goods to various houses.

Then there were unicorn pony guards and pegasi patrolling the streets, and it wasn't uncommon to see some of them apprehending a thief, Braune understood that even the town of Kieselstein wasn't free from thieves and knaves, Hunk always told him to keep an eye on their goods as there was always some ponies who could steal them, especially if there were beggar ponies around.

While Hunk and Braune were at the market, Gelbes took care of the house, who was always on the go, milking the cows, sometimes she too picked vegetables, mended clothes, made bread thanks to a wood-burning oven, prepared to eat and of course looked after little Helen.

For the newlyweds that life was excellent, they had a home, food, a job, and their sweet little pegasus.

Gelbes above all was happy, whenever she felt tired she watched little Helen as she slept and if she cried she gave her milk, or she cradled her in her little wooden bed, and if she kept crying she sang her a lullaby.

-“Meine kleine Helen (My little Helen), you are my dearest treasure, I don't know how Braune and I would have done without you, indeed it was thanks to you that dear Hunk allowed us to live here, sometimes I can't believe you are so beautiful, you came out like a masterpiece, and you are bursting with energy, sometimes I wish you would just sleep, but I am so glad when you toss in your crib and cry, so I can take you between my hooves, cuddle you, and sing you a song"-,

Gelbes was very attached to her filly to such an extent that she wanted only her to look after Helen and Braune was a little jealous of that, but when he returned from a fine morning at the market Gelbes let him take his daughter in his hooves .

Gelbes settled little Helen back into her wooden cot and went back to the cauldron to prepare a good soup of hay and beans for Hunk and Braune, took some carrots from the garden and some parsnips, then, after cutting them with a knife, put everything in the saucepan and stirred.

At one point she heard the bell tower of the city tolling, it was now time for lunch which meant that Hunk and Braune would be back early for lunch, normally old Hunk was not used to lunch around noon, but as many ponies did in the Middle Ages he just ate in the morning and in the evening, sometimes if he was hungry he just ate some cheese and bread, or else he ate some vegetables, but since he had a family again and he wasn't alone anymore, it also came back to him the appetite.

Gelbes kept looking in the direction of the city to try to figure out when the two ponies would be back, and only after half an hour she saw them coming, Hunk was pulling a small wagon with his vegetables, and Braune stood behind him to make sure they didn't fell.

-"Welcome back, how was the market?", Hunk put his hat on a piece of furniture and sat down,

-" It didn't go very well today, we sold very little stuff, but at least since the crops are abundant we can afford it, and furthermore we won't die of hunger, but now I would be thirsty"-,

Gelbes took a jug with beer in it, poured it into a glass, and gave it to Hunk.

-“Aaah, dieses Bier ist köstlich, (Aaah, this beer is delicious) just what I needed”-, Braune went to Gelbes and kissed him on the mouth,

_"What did my sweet little wife prepare for lunch?"-

-“Oh, nothing special, a good soup of vegetables and hay, just to fill the stomach and go back to work”-

-“And how is our little Helen?”-

-“She's sleeping, but I think I'll give her some milk when she wakes up”-, Hunk got up and spoke

-"If you don't mind, I'd go outside for a moment, I'll go split the wood in the back, then I'll come and eat the soup, in the meantime start serving"-, Gelbes agreed

-“Ja, all right, we'll put the plate for you too, Hunk”-, so Hunk went outside, took an ax and went to the back of the farmhouse, and Gelbes started serving soup for her and Braune, then took some bread, and he sliced it, put a plate for Hunk too and then they sat down to eat.

-“Tell me Braune, how was your day today?”-

-“Oh the usual, I've met a lot of ponies, and the servants of noble ponies even come to Hunk's stall, even servants of the king, and since I go to the market I always seem to see a lot of guards, it seems that crime you can also find it here”-

-"It's a bad thing, if we were to meet a thief I don't know how I would behave"-

-"Luckily Hunk has some old daggers here in the house, so if a thief armed with a dagger were to enter, we shouldn't be very afraid"-

-"But you don't know how to fight, we two are just two humble peasants, your cutie mark is a plant in a pot, and mine is a yellow pile of flour, we never had experience of dueling"-

-"I know, but of necessity, we have to learn if we want to see our Helen grow up, I would never want some thief to kidnap her and take her away from us"-

-“What a bad situation you described, I hope it will never happen”-

-"Anyway, between us, in these months that I've been going to the city I've asked the people about Hunk, some blacksmiths, innkeepers, even guards"-

-"And what did they answer you?"-

-“It seems that dear old Hunk is not seen very well in this town, some said he is just an old pony who has lost his children and grandchildren as well as his wife, others say he has messed up in the past and that now he is left alone for his misdeeds”-

-“What will they mean?”-

-“I have no idea, however to me Hunk gives the impression of a lonely pony, I think he's just a little grumpy, but after all he's been alone for too long, and a servant was amazed when I told her that he gave us asylum, a guard instead told me to keep an eye on him, that in the past he was a bad guy"-

-"It's strange that he didn't tell us anything, maybe he wants to hide something from us, what do you think?"

-"I think we should ask him a couple of questions, but the problem is what would happen if he kicked us out of his farm?"-

-“ Du hast recht! (You're right), maybe if we spoke to him in a calm way he would tell us something”-.

Gelbes and Braune began to eat, but then little Helen's crying was heard from inside, the mare got up and she went to get the little pegasus who was sleeping in a wooden cradle and put her in her arms.

-“My little Helen, don't cry, don't cry”-, Gelbes took little Helen into the kitchen and brought her to her father.

-“She is beautiful even when she cries”-

-"Ja, but I can't make her stop, I have to give her some milk right away"-,

so the mare took a wooden bucket in which there was milk milked that morning, she took a wooden spoon and little by little she put it near the filly's mouth and the little filly slowly began to drink it. Braune turned to his wife,

-“Do you want me to relieve you? You've already worked hard all morning, better if you eat"-

-"But you too have struggled, and even more than me, let me take care of the little one, she can go on eating"-

-"Okay, but then let me keep it, so you can eat later"-.

Gelbes after giving milk to Helen put her on her shoulder and stroked her with a hoof to make her burp, after a while, she decided to go out for a moment to rock her while she flew around the farm for a bit. Then she saw old Hunk chopping wood, and suddenly she stopped and sat down on a stool.

Gelbes decided to approach Hunk, as she seemed to her that he was crying or that something was bothering him. She sat on her hind legs and moved next to him.

-"Is...is there something wrong, Hunk?"-

-“Nein, nothing is wrong, it's just that…..I've seen Braune talking to several ponies and it worries me”-

"Is that what worries you? That my husband talked to the other ponies?”-

-“Ja, and that makes me sad”-

-"How come?"-

-“Because now your husband must be having bad thoughts about me, that I'm an ugly pony, or that I can't be trusted or something else”-

-"But nein, what do you think?"-

-“Your husband didn't tell you anything? Be sincere"-,

Gelbes didn't know what to say, she didn't want to lie to Hunk after all he was still the pony that had allowed them to live there, and she certainly didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she had to say something to keep from shutting up.

-“Here…the fact is that….”-

-“Forget it, I understand, Braune talked to the people of the city and they will have told him everything about me I guess”-

-“Nein, listen, I don't want to tell lies, but they only said vague things”-.

So finally Gelbes said what people had recommended to Braune, which was that Hunk was no good, and that he had lost his children, and that it seemed strange that he sheltered anyone.

As nice as Gelbes had been in saying those things, Hunk was demoralized, but then he turned back to her.

-"And tell me, I... what do I look like after those gossips?"-

-“Hunk? I want to be honest with you, I don't care who or what are you, you gave us a place to stay, and all you asked for is a hoof in your work, and that's what we're doing, you give me the idea of just a pony that's been alone too long time, that's all, for me, nothing changes what I think of you, and I'm grateful for everything you've done for us"-

-“So….didn't they tell you anything in town about me?”-

-“Only those words I said to you”-

-"Well, they're right I'm really a bad pony, and it's better that I tell you now rather than waiting for the other ponies to tell you, you must know that Einmal war ich ein Dieb(Once I was a thief)" -

-“Was?(What?) Were you a thief?”-

-“Ja, a long time ago when I was younger I was a thief, I was part of a group of thieves, and I robbed knights, merchants, nobles, I even stole from alms boxes for the poor in churches, then one day I stopped, I got a job and met my wife in this village, we had two children, then time passed and my two children got married, unfortunately it happened that sometimes the money was not enough for me and so I robbed secretly, but one day the guards they caught me and I was taken to jail, and the past came back, an old merchant recognized me and then my identity came out”-

-"I am sorry"-

-“I'm more sorry, I just wanted to help my children, but then I ended up being seen as a stranger in their eyes, they left the city and never spoke to me again, they didn't want anything to do with a thief, and after all what I had done for them, they were ungrateful, but they were right, they only came back here to Kieselstein to introduce me to my grandchildren”-

-“And they never came back?”-

-“Unfortunately, my first son and his wife died in a fire and my first two grandchildren were never heard from again, while my second son and his grandson were eaten by a big troll while they were out for a picnic in the woods” -

-“Ach, I'm so sorry, Hunk, I had no idea….”-

-“I would have preferred to spend my life in prison rather than having this news, but then the king took pity on me, and so he offered me a deal, I would have to work for him on this farm, and he would have forgiven me what I would have done in the past, in fact, every two months I meet soldiers who are waiting for me to pay them a lot of coins to pay for the farm property, and thanks to your help I am now close to finishing paying, so I will have the farm all to myself”-

-"How much do you still have to pay?"-

-“I have only one year left and then the king will give me this farm as my property and will forgive all my misdeeds”-

-"But why didn't you tell us all these things before?"-

-"I was afraid that you would misjudge me, and after losing my wife too I didn't want any more pain, but then I saw your daughter and I thought that for me that could be a new opportunity for me to have a family now I'm left alone for so long that I didn't know what it meant to have one”-

-“Braune and I also lost our parents due to accidents, mine died of an illness, Braune's were attacked by timber wolves, and so we decided to leave our city to come and visit a better place, and here we are”-

-“More than anything you found me, now surely you would like to leave since you know my truth”-

-“But not at all, I don't care what people think of you, you must have been a thief too, so what? For me it doesn't change what I think of you, you are a good pony and you gave us a house to stay in, and then little Helen is fond of you, to me you are like a father, and to the little filly you are a new grandfather , I don't know what Braune will think, but I'm going to stay by your side to help you, because I'm glad I met you, and that's it”-,

Gelbes stared at little sleeping Helen and then handed her to Hunk.

-“Hunk? Do you want to hold her for a bit?”

-“Was? Are you sure?"-

-“I would really like you to hold her, after all you are her grandfather, you are her new grandfather”-,

Hunk took little Helen firmly and rocked her a little, seeing that little pegasus sleeping between his hooves gave him a sense of tenderness and warmth.

-“She's really beautiful, she looks like both you and Braune, I can't believe I can hold a filly in my arms again”-

-"I believe that Pony Heaven brought both you and us together, I believe that through Helen we met, and always thanks to her we are now a family, we have all been given a chance"-

-"By the way, is she baptized?"-

-"What? No, she is not baptized yet, we have not yet thought of talking to a church pony ”-

-“Ach, but then we absolutely have to prepare everything for her baptism, I'll talk to the pony who lives near the church, he's an old friend of mine, and he's also one of the few who doesn't judge me, then we'll have a party between us, I want the best for little Helen"-

-“You really are a fantastic pony, now I'm going to tell Braune immediately”-.

Gelbes left Helen in Hunk's hooves and went to Braune to talk to him.

He told him everything she and Hunk had talked about besides Helen's christening.

And he answered

-“I see, so this is the truth about him”-

-"But I know that it doesn't matter to me, he is a pony who suffered, and now he has a new chance to have a family, and we have one too, why not leave him alone?"-

-“You're right, it doesn't matter to me either that Hunk was a thief, he gave us a house and he's a kind pony who asked for nothing but a little work and company, to me he's a fine pony , so if it suits him we will stay here”-

-"It's fine with him, by now Helen too is fond of him"-

-"Ok, then this will be our home and now let's roll up our sleeves, we have to go back to work after lunch, and then we have to think about Helen's baptism"-.

Hunk came back with little Helen in his arms,

-"I'm feeling peckish, what can we eat?"-

-"Sit down Hunk, I talked to Braune and he agrees with me too"-

-"Great, now I can say again that I have a nephew, or rather a niece, and a beautiful niece"-, so all three ponies sat down at the table to eat lunch and then went back to their chores.

The days went well for the three ponies, now that things had cleared up, Hunk was happy to have a family again and a week later Braune and Gelbes together with the dear old pony took little Helen to be baptized by a priest in a church.

There were several ponies at church but none of them had come for the family, just to hear Mass, but the three ponies didn't care, the important thing was that their little filly received her baptism.

The pony priest took some blessed water from a bowl and wet little Helen's forehead and with a gesture of his hoof he blessed the filly.

-“Dear little Helen Pflanze, I now in the name of the Great Merciful Pony have washed you of your original sins and given you new life, may peace be upon you little daughter of Pony Heaven”-,

Helen did not cry once during the religious service, and Gelbes was happy that her baby was comfortable between her hooves even in a new place for her, both parents and Hunk were happy for that moment . That evening they celebrated the filly's christening with each other, Hunk getting the freshest beer in town he could find, while Gelbes cooked a hay and carrot cake and ate it among themselves.

Hunk wanted to propose a toast

-"I want to make a nice toast, to little Helen who is now truly a little angel in the eyes of the Great Merciful Pony, and to this family, which is a new way of seeing life for me, before it was lonely and melancholy and I didn't need no one, but then one day you came and I saw her, your filly, and I immediately fell in love with her, I didn't want her to leave, and so I let you live here with me"-, Braune answered happily

-"It really was heaven that brought us together, because it gave us all a chance, we all had a new family, and little Helen was able to have not only a home, but also a new grandfather"-,

-“So let this toast go to my new family, and to life, Auf die Gesundheit (Cheers)”-, Braune and Gelbes raised their glasses of beer and answered Hunk's toast

–“Auf die Gesundheit”-.

And so while the three ponies celebrated, night was falling on the town, and tomorrow everyone on that farm would go about their business again.

Several months later little Helen had grown a year and although she still didn't utter a word she seemed to show interest in everything around her, both when she watched her mother do her farm work and when her father took her around to show her the city, she was always curious.

One day while Hunk was tending the vegetables and Gelbes was milking the cow, Helen stood in the wooden cradle watching them both work, her mother watched her,

-“What is it, Helen? Do you want some milk? What's up? What do you want?"-

-“Sometimes I think she wants to tell us something, yet she still doesn't speak”-

-"My mother told me that I didn't speak until I was two, so it could be the same for Helen, but my mother also told me that even before I was one I wanted to get off the ground and start flying, but Helen doesn't seem like that want to fly"

-“But it seems that she wants to start walking all the same”-, Hunk pointed to Helen who was getting out of her cradle, Gelbes took her in his arms and stopped her,

-"Come here little princess, where do you think you're going? You need to take a nap”-, for the first time it seemed that Helen didn't want to be between the mother's hooves, on the contrary she was wriggling,

-“What is she doing? Doesn't she want to sit still?”

Hunk came over and picked up little Helen,

-“Come in grandfather's arms, let's see if you stay still”-, and in fact Helen stopped still, and even started smiling, also thanks to Hunk who caressed her tummy with his hoof, Gelbes was amazed,

-"I don't understand, who knows what's wrong with her"-

-"Perhaps she wants to spend some time in her grandfather's arms, I have held her very few times"-

-"Ja, but she never did that with me"-

-“Maybe she just wants to stay a little with her grandfather that's all, now I'll put her back in her cradle”-, but Helen started to cry and moved her wings, it seemed that she didn't want to stay in her cradle .

-"Maybe she doesn't want to sleep, maybe that's what she wants to tell us"-

-“Or maybe she's just hungry, maybe I should give her some milk”-, then Helen, standing in her grandfather's arms, pointed to her vegetable garden,

-"How strange it seems that now she's started pointing to my garden"-

-"What will she ever want, then?"-

-"Maybe she wants to see my vegetables, now I'll satisfy her"-, and so Hunk started pointing out his vegetables, and the trees he had in his garden to the little pegasus, and the strange thing was that and Helen was interested in what he said.

-"You seem to be interested, maybe when you grow up you can help me with my garden, eh, if I'm still here"-

-“Don't say that, Hunk”-

-"Eh, but by now I'm in my age, I'm old, I've lived my life, now I can only hope to live enough to see the little girl grow enough"-, then Hunk placed little Helen on a tree in garden low enough to put her in, the filly began to look around.

-“You like the view huh? This is my walnut tree, it hasn't grown enough, but in the autumn it gives me a lot of good fruit, and so I can prepare the walnut cake that my wife used to prepare for me, and which luckily I learned to cook, now stay there while I finish hoeing.

Hunk went back to hoeing the garden while he occasionally glanced at Helen. After a while Gelbes finished milking the cow and carried the pail of milk into the house, then returned later to give Hunk a hoof.

-“Let me help you, Hunk”-

-“Nein, thanks, I'm pretty attached to my cabbages and turnips, and you know it”-

-“But a little rest is good for you too, and you know it, and….”-, Gelbes looked around and could not see her daughter.

-"But... Helen where is she?"-

-"How where is she? Up there in that tree” – but when Hunk turned around he didn't see Helen up in the tree, the two ponies went to take a closer look.

-"Ich verstehe nicht (I don't understand), I left her there for a while, and every now and then I looked at her, I looked away for a while"-

-“Ach nein, who knows where she might have ended up now, where will my little Helen be?”-, both of them started looking for her, she wasn't at the foot of the tree, or even in the garden, they searched among all the vegetables but Helen wasn't there, they searched near the cows, but there was no sign of her there either.

Gelbes was beginning to worry more,

-“And now where can she be? Where? Where?"-

-"Let's calm, she can't have gone far, she's just a filly, I don't think she's gone far"-,

-"So where can she be?", The two ponies searched well not only in the garden but also in the house, when then Hunk noticed something strange.

-“I thought I saw something flying”-

-“It's not the time to think about the birds, we have to find Helen, who knows what I'll have to say to Braune”-, but Hunk went outside to see, and he did well because he finally found Helen, the filly was flying around the farm,

-“Hey Gelbes, I found her, she's out here she's flying”-, Gelbes immediately ran out and was amazed by what she saw, she couldn't believe it, her daughter was really flying.

-“But…..it's amazing, wundebar(Awesome) Helen is really flying”-

-“Evidently she was getting bored staying in that tree and so she started flapping her wings and then started flying”-, Gelbes noticed that Helen was not only flying straight, but she was also starting to fly in a straight line circled and sometimes did loops in the garden, and also noticed that the little girl was chasing butterflies that fluttered here and there.

-"I understand, you evidently started looking at those butterflies and perhaps she wanted to chase them"-

-"Perhaps, but the fact is that your filly already knows how to fly, and if we haven't been able to see her maybe she can have climbed even higher"-

-“Perhaps she has more talent than me, I didn't do like her when I started either, but now it's time for her to go down”-, Gelbes flew towards Helen and took her in her arms,

-“Come on, little girl, you had too much fun, do you know that you made us worry about me and our grandfather? Now stop flying”-

-Come on, make her fly some more, maybe so she runs out of energy and she falls asleep ”-

-“Fine, but this time I'll put her on top of me and let her fly for a while, then I'll put her to sleep”-,

Gelbes positioned Helen above her, and started flying above the farm she circled around it for a while then went down and then went back up again, and Helen appreciated it a lot, she often started smiling, she really liked flying.

After quite a few flights and hopping around the farm, Helen fell asleep between the hooves of her mother, who promptly carried her back to her cradle to sleep.

-“I am touched, my sweet Helen is already able to fly”-

-"She has quite a talent, I really think she could be very good at flying, maybe she could also give us a hoof with our works when she is older"-

-"I sure hope so, so we'll have extra hooves"-

-"She can help us with the vegetables, with the cows, with the kitchen and who knows how many things with you"-

-"She could really be a promising genius, who knows what kind of education she will ever have"-

-“We can always teach her everything”-

-"But I can't read, and neither does Braune, that is, not completely, he knows a little bit of reading"-

-"Well, I won't be able to write, but I can read and I can also count, we will educate her in some other way, without needing to spend a lot, and then it's not that fillies nowadays are all educated"-

-"Right, but I want the best for my Helen"-.

When Braune got home he was delighted to hear from his wife that Helen had made her first flight. And it wasn't even the last of her, in the morning the little one always tended to fly a bit all over the house and in the garden, and she often flew close to her grandfather who always hugged her happy.

Over time Helen flew more and more often and her mother indulged her by teaching her to fly even higher, Gelbes was happy for this and often took her between her hoowes to fly through the streets in the city, sometimes Braune took her with himself to show her the market so the little one would have acclimatised already going to the city.

After a year Hunk finished paying his debt to the King of Kieselstein and so the farm finally belonged to him, but meanwhile Helen was already two years old and when her birthday always approached everyone in the house was excited for their sweet filly.

By now Helen was growing up well, over the years her mother read her stories before going to bed, the pegasus didn't know how to read so she limited herself to inventing words by looking at the drawn images, while instead Hunk taught her to count, she often took a lot of coins and taught them slowly, with astonishment the filly's first word was Großvater (Grandfather) and Hunk was delighted for this and there were not few times when he kept Helen all to himself and made her fly high up to then pick her up again arm.

Life flowed peacefully for the beautiful little family and when Helen was three years old she already knew a little about reading, she also counted well everything thanks to Hunk and a little to her father.

One of the many times Hunk taught her to count, he would place coins on the table and ask Helen to repeat.

-“So, little Helen, repeat with me, let's count to ten, Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier, Fünf, Sechs, Sieben, Acht, Neun, Zehn, now you repeat”-, Helen began to take the coins with her hooves one by one and counted,

-“ Eins…..Zwei…..Drei……Vier……Fünf…….Sechs….Sieben…..Acht…Neun….Zehn!”-

-“Good, Du bist sehr gut(You are very good), you have to count a little faster, but for this we will see if we practice a little more”-,

as the days went by Hunk taught Helen to count beyond the tens, going so far as to make her count even beyond the number 50, even going up to a hundred, and also taught her to subtract, multiply and divide, it was not difficult for him to teach her, having been a thief, and it seemed that Helen understood perfectly what he told her.

Time passed and now that she was quite grown up, Helen gladly gave a hoof in the house, helped her mother make bread and prepare soups, then went to the garden to milk the cows and fetch vegetables and when it came to taking care of the garden, she often went to get a cloud and trampled it to get the water out to water the whole farm, in fact her mother taught her not only to fly but also to handle the clouds, and there were times when Helen flew happy in sky with her mother, the little pegasus was always happy to be able to use her wings to soar in the sky, but always in the company of her mother, even if most of the time she didn't go far from the farm.

That little piece of land was much more to Helen, it was worth much more to her than an old farm, her family, a good meal, and the sky were enough for her to be happy, and of course also to be able to make herself useful.

Gelbes was always happy because she had managed together with her husband and Hunk to give a good fillyhood to her beautiful daughter.

After turning 5 Helen began to follow her father to the market to sell vegetables and she often wore little dresses ted as a peasant girl that her mother arranged for her on purpose to go to the city. Helen loved to see the ponies coming and going, all those shops and so many other things.

The little pegasus, however, also noticed unusual things for her, she saw ponies lying against the wall of a house asking the other ponies for money, and sometimes guards came to take them away. Curious, Helen asked her father what the guards did to those ponies.

-"You see Helen, the fact is that those ponies are beggars, they are ponies that don't have a home, or a job, some don't even have a family"-

-"And why are the guards taking them away?"-

-"They take them away because maybe they annoy the noble ponies, they put them in prison, or they take them away from the city, unfortunately in this one there are no ponies that can help them, unless they take them near the church if they are lucky"-

-"But what annoyance do beggars give?"-

-"the king is not always aware of what happens here in the city, so sometimes the decisions have to be taken by the guards, and if some noble pony says that they are annoying then..." -, Hunk intervened,

-“Helen, listen well unfortunately this world goes on with money, without money it doesn't go on, in this city there are many noble ponies and if they see a beggar they ask to be removed from the city or to go to prison, otherwise they will be sent to the church where the priest ponies take care of the poor, but they can't do much, but that's life"-

-“So….beggar ponies are bad people?”-

-“Nein, beggar ponies are ponies that have lost their jobs and have nowhere to go and therefore have to beg on the street, the soldiers are the real bad guys, but who is the baddest is the one who gives them orders, their captain, often does it by order of the king, but our king is not bad, but sometimes it can happen that bad nobles exist, and believe me they do, when I was a thief I robbed various evil nobles” -, Helen was a bit perplexed,

-“But… aren't thieves bad?”-

-“Not all thieves are bad Helen, sometimes thieves steal to make the ponies they care about happy, sometimes they steal to take away from those who deserve it, or at least I did most of the time”-, Braune interjected,

-"You can't tell her like that, she might think it's right to steal for a good reason"-, Hunk got angry,

-“Are you saying that I was wrong? I dealt with awful ponies who didn't deserve that much money, so what I stole I used for me and my friends who couldn't afford much, and a lot of that coin and jewelry I kept there I used to give a modest life to my wife and children, I didn't use everything I stole only for myself but also for others, and there were many times when I went to church to donate to the offerings of the poor , therefore I was not an evil thief”-, Braune tried to calm him down,

-“Calm down Hunk, I didn't say you're evil, it's just that I don't want my little Helen to grow up with the fact that it's right to steal, it's wrong I know, it's not my choice….”-, Hunk approached Helen and spoke to her,

-“Helen, listen well, sometimes thieves, or rather ponies have to do things they might regret but if they do it's because there are bad ponies and good ponies in the world, what I want to tell you is to follow your heart and not your head, do what you want, but know that it's not easy to recognize the bad guys and the good guys, but keep in mind what you're doing, steal only from those who have too much and only from the noble bad guys, understood?” -, Braune pulled Helen back and this time it was he who spoke to her, –“Helen? I know that it is wrong to steal, even the Great Merciful Pony says it is not necessary to steal, it is true that it is permissible to steal from those who steal, but you must not become a thief, understand? You must not steal other people's money, it is wrong ”-, Helen was no longer puzzled, and she spoke to her father about her,

-“Ok Vater (Father), I will never steal other ponies' money, I promise”-

-"That’s ok, and now give us a hoof to sell vegetables"- .

After a good morning selling their produce at the market, it was finally time for lunch and Braune, Hunk and d Helen immediately drove their cart to the farm outside the city, where Gelbes had already packed lunch. The pegasus welcomed them joyfully,

-“Ah, welcome back, I hope you're hungry with what I've done we can eat until tomorrow”-, but Hunk didn't seem to want to eat, and in fact said he could do without it and went upstairs to sleep until he would not hear the bells ringing in the city. Gelbes asked what had happened, and Braune told him of the dialogue they had had in the market, her wife began to reflect, then she spoke to her husband,

-"I think you offended him, you shouldn't have told him those things"-

-“But he was telling Helen that stealing is not wrong”-

-“Honey, Helen is still small but we have already taught her what is right and what is wrong, in short, we even go to church on Sunday"-

-“And what if Helen were to steal one day?”-

-“But steal what? We have no problems here, and then don't forget Hunk took us in his house, and then who knows what pains he's had to endure in his life, Hunk maybe didn't want to say those things to Helen, maybe he was just venting, you shouldn't have treated him in that way"-

-"Maybe…... you're right, I shouldn't have made him feel inferior, I just wanted to protect our little girl, she's so innocent"-

-“But she knows that stealing is a bad sin as well as a bad thing, we taught her ourselves, and she knows that Hunk is not bad”-

-"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have behaved like that"-, while the two parents argued, Helen's gaze passed from one to the other and in the meantime she devoured a good loaf of bread with a good piece of cheese of which she was greedy.

Gelbes got up from the table and made her way upstairs to Hunk's room, she found him staring out at the city from his small window from the bed.

-“Hunk? My husband is sorry for what he said, he didn't mean to offend you, he just wanted to protect our daughter, try to understand him, he can't understand your point of view, try to forgive him”-, Hunk turned to di Gelbes and after sighing spoke to her,

-“Gelbes? I was actually wrong."

-“Was?(What?)”-

-“In the past I was part of an organization of benevolent thieves”-

-“Benevolent thieves? What is it about?”

- “We were a group of young thieves who wanted to do good and therefore we stole from those who had too much or from those who didn't deserve it, such as unpleasant nobles or bad guards or other thieves and we gave what we stole to poor families or beggars and then we kept the rest for us, but then I took a liking to it and left the group and started stealing on my own, I stole paintings, weapons, jewels and then sold them to the various bidders, but if I could go back I'd go back with my friends"-

-"So you were a thief who stole for good?"-

-"Exactly, but I often confessed my sins in church in the presence of a priest, now I don't know if I will be able to go to Pony Heaven, but one thing is certain, since you entered my life I have stopped feeling alone and therefore I no longer want to think about my past, even if sometimes I think about it"-

-"Have your friends ever visited you again?"-

-“No, after I left they decided to give up stealing, at least that's what they told me, but then we split up for the kingdom of Germaneighia, the only one I kept in touch with was Arthur, but the 'only thing I know about him is that he became the abbot of a monastery in the south, he decided to let go of the past better than me and devote his life to prayer, now I think he calls himself Father Arthur, maybe I should have do like him, but I'm happy with the life I'm leading here, especially now that I have a granddaughter again”-

-"And we are happy that you are part of our lives, but now come down while the soup is hot"-

-“I'm coming, I'm coming”-, Hunk got up from the bed, and Gelbes opened the door, but to his surprise he found Helen leaning against the wood of the wall,

-“Look, look, and what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be down eating your soup and your bread?”

-"Is grandpa sick?"-

-“No, Helen, he’s not sick, it's just that she wanted to tell you that sometimes some ponies make bad choices, but sometimes they do it for the good, but you have to do as we teach you, because what Hunk went through is been tough compared to what we go through” -, Hunk turned to Helen,

-“Listen Helen, actually I was just venting to you, you don't have to become a thief, you don't have to deal with thieves, I used to deal with good thieves, but now I don't know if there are any again”-, Gelbes told them both to go downstairs to eat, then Hunk spoke in Helen's ear so that her mother wouldn't hear,

-“But listen, if by chance you should ever meet a thief who has a spotted woodpecker embroidered inside his robe you can trust him, but still be careful because it's good to be smart and intelligent in this world and if you're a filly often they won't let you to be, because for fillies there isn't much room in this world, since they take a back seat, understand?”-

-“Understood, grandpa”-

-"Please, don't tell your parents these things, it will remain a secret between you and me, understand?"-

-“Clear, grandpa”-

-“Now let's go down to eat”-. So the little family settled down to eat their lunch, no one spoke to each other and the only thing Hunk said was that he needed Helen to plow the field and he asked Braune to fix the scarecrow he had, the pony agreed, then said something ,

-"I have to apologize Hunk, I didn't mean to offend you, I can't know what you went through, so I'm sorry if I offended you in any way"-

-“No, you don't have to apologize, that's fine, you just wanted to protect ere Helen, and I can understand it, you don't have to apologize, now let's think about eating and then we must all think about working"-, Gelbes spoke,

-"I also think that in addition to thinking about our clothes I will have to think about making more cheese, Helen is greedy for it, she is like a little mouse"-

-“Such a cute little mouse”- added Hunk, and everyone started laughing, except Helen who cut herself another slice of cheese.

To be continued……

My Little Pony by Lauren Faust and Hasbro