THE HORSE AS AN EPIC CHARACTER 



We see by this that the horse has to undergo a pre- 

 liminary training. At least, he must pass some ordeal 

 before he is accepted as a heroic horse. The most fre- 

 quent is the test of his abiHty to carry the hero, who 

 crushes the ordinary horse to the ground. Sometimes, 

 as in the Persian epic, the hero strikes the animal on 

 the back to see whether it can stand the blow. Occa- 

 sionally the hero has to conquer the horse in a kind of 

 duel. The strangest test of all is that described in a 

 Bulgarian ballad. The child Golomeshe enters the 

 cool stable, seizes a Httle horse by the tail and swings it 

 out into the yard. Clearly this one will not do. He 

 continues until he finds one that he is unable to move. 



The horse, when once he has proved his proficiency, 

 can do almost anything. I shall pass over extraordinary 

 feats in running, jumping, and swimming. Often he is 

 able not only to leap from hill to hill, but actually to 

 fly. A number of the Greek, Bulgarian, and Russian 

 horses are as much at home in the air as on the ground. 

 Dyuk's horse is spoken of as having pinions. Markovs 

 could soar high into the air and pursue a Vila (a kind of 

 female elf). Marko's mother's brother Momchil pos- 

 sessed a steed which certainly had wings. They were 

 of fine gauze or silk, evidently invisible when not used; 

 for when Momchil's faithless wife enters the stable to 

 cripple the animal, she burns them off, and Momchil is 

 none the wiser when he sets forth on his last ride. 



Particularly interesting is the fact that the heroic 

 horse, like his master, is a great fighter. Is this because 



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