Once upon a time many years ago in the desert
of Arabia, there was a Bedouin warrior who owned a very special Arabian mare - a
mare he rode into a battle and to whom he entrusted his life.
Theirs was a very special relationship, a bond
of trust, love and mutual respect. Either would have given his life for
the other. In fact, their bond of trust was so strong that the mare often
"read her master's thoughts," doing exactly what he needed at exactly
the right time , allowing them to win many battles and to be the envy of all the
Bedouin tribes.
Years passed and one day in a fierce battle
the master was severely wounded, falling across the neck and shoulder of his
beloved war mare. Although her master was unconscious
and she was miles from home, the mare carefully balanced him across her
shoulder, carefully carrying him toward home. She went for days without food or
water to return her master to his family.
When the courageous mare finally arrived at
the encampment, she was exhausted and weak, her master was dead. As the
family carefully removed the master's body, they saw that the mares shoulder was
heavily stained with his blood, leaving a distinct red mark on her shoulder.
Although they had lost their leader, the
Bedouin family was eternally grateful to the mare for delivering his body from
battle. They knew that the long journey had been very difficult for the
courageous mare, and they were very concerned for her because she was heavily in
foal.
Finally the time of her foaling arrived, and
there was great concern for the cherished war mare. But when the
long-awaited foal was born, he was healthy and vigorous and healthy and of
exceptional quality. He also bore the identical "bloody
shoulder" that his mother had from her master's blood.
It was then that the tribe realized that Allah
had rewarded this mare and their tribe for their courage, loyalty and faith and
that the bloody shoulder was a reminder of his favor.
Since that time, hundreds of years have
passed, but once in a great while there is a mare of exceptional courage beauty,
quality, and courage who foals a very special foal graced by God with the bloody
shoulder. The Bedouins have continued to believe this is a sign of Allah's
favor. Who are we to disagree?
Back to
Legend
Bint al
Bahr's Bloody Shoulder Mare and the Breyer Model Story
|