There was once a young colt who had all his hopes and dreams carefully placed on a dirty, ragged blanket in front of him as he sat back against the wall trying to stay as warm as possible. His desires were many, as they should be for a child. But this colt knew he would never see any of his hopes and dreams come to pass.
A stallion saw the colt from a distance on his way to his job as manager of a shipbuilding company. He saw the colt hand a rather short stallion what appeared to be a gem, which the short stallion examined for a few seconds before pocketing it and tossing the colt a coin as he trotted away. The colt looked seemingly displeased with the amount of money the short stallion had tossed him, and after a moments hesitation, he lowered his head and sat back down against the wall.
Confused as to what had happened, the stallion walked the last thirty or so steps to the colt and asked him “you there! Colt! What are you doing on the side of the street? You are going to catch cold. Where are your parents?” The colt looked up and frowned “I have never met my parents.” the colt looked back down “and I'm here to sell my hopes and dreams” The stallion furrowed his brow and asked for the colts name. “They call me useless at the factory” said the colt demurely. The stallion shook his head and knelt so as to look at the colt in the eyes. The stallion then asked “Why are you selling all your hopes and dreams?” “So I can eat again” the colt replied.
On that note, the colt gestured towards his merchandise “Do you see anything you want?” “only three shillings a piece!” he said with a false excitement. The stallion stared in disbelief as he looked over what hopes and dreams the colt was selling “these are dreams every colt should experience” The stallion thought. “What has this city come to?”
The colt interrupted his thoughts as he said “hey mister, your hoof!” the stallion reflexively pulled his hoof back, he then noticed that the colt was referring to the crushed side of his right hoof. The stallion looked back at the colt and noticed that he too was holding up his right hoof and for the stallion to see. It was crushed in the same spot. It then dawned on the stallion that this colt had been working in the same whale oil factory he had worked in as a child. The oil-drum-lid fastening machine had a nasty habit of clamping too early, a problem the factory management apparently still fail to recognize after all these years. Although they never really listened to the child workers anyway.
The factory manager had yelled at him for being careless and sent him to the nearby steel mill to have the wound cauterized. Then it was back to work the very next hour.
Unconvinced with the stallion's interest the colt snapped the stallion back to reality “These aren't all my hopes and dreams.” he said timidly ”I kept this one because I'd rather keep it instead of eat dinner, but maybe you would pay for it?” The colt reached into his torn, ragged clothing and produced a small golden trinket not unlike a pocket-watch. He then carefully opened it and looked at it longingly for a few seconds before suddenly thrusting it towards the stallion through bouts of crying. “Here! Take it!”
The stallion was stunned as to why the child was crying, and finally took the trinket from the child, who by this point was leaned against the wall crying softly into his crossed forelegs. The stallion examined the trinket, it was obviously crafted with great skill. It was also far more worn at the edges than the other hopes and dreams from being carried in a pocket for so many years. He then opened the trinket and stared blankly as he read what was engraved inside. The stallion's expression immediately softened as a tear ran down his face, followed by several more. The stallion read the words under his breath as he started to weep.
"To be loved."
