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The Horse's Prayer |
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To thee, my master, I offer my prayer. Feed me, water and care for me, |
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and, when the day's work is done, provide me with shelter, a clean, |
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dry bed and stall wide enough for me to lie down in comfort. |
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Always be kind to me. Your voice often means as much to me as the reins. |
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Pet me sometimes, that I may serve you the more gladly and learn |
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to love you. Do not jerk the reins, and do not whip me when going uphill. |
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Never strike, beat, or kick me when I do not understand what you want, |
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but give me a chance to understand you. Watch me, and if I fail to do your bidding, |
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see if something is not wrong with my harness or feet. |
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Do not check me so that I cannot have free use of my head. |
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If you insist that I wear blinders so that I cannot see behind me as it was intended I should, |
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I pray you be careful that the blinders stand well out of my eyes. |
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Do not overload me, or hitch me where water will drip on me. |
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Keep me well shod. Examine my teeth when I do not eat; |
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I may have an ulcerated tooth, and that, you know, is very painful. |
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Do not tie my head in an unnatural position, |
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or take away my best defense against flies and mosquitoes |
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by cutting off my tail. |
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Save me, by all means in your power, from that fatal disease - the glanders. |
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I cannot tell you in words when I am sick, so watch me, |
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that by signs you may know my condition. |
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Give me all possible shelter from the hot sun, |
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and put a blanket on me, not when I am working, |
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but when I am standing in the cold. |
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Never put a frosty bit in my mouth; |
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first warm it by holding it a moment in your hands. |
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I try to carry you and your burden without a murrur, |
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and wait patienty for you long hours of the day or night. |
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Without the power to choose my shoes or path, |
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I sometimes fall on hard pavement |
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which I have often prayed might not be of wood but of such |
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a nature as to give me safe and sure footing. |
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Remember that I must be ready at any moment to lose my life |
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in your service. |
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And finally, OH MY MASTER, when my useful strength is gone, |
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do not turn me out to starve or freeze, |
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or sell me to some cruel owner, |
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to be slowly tortured and starve to death; |
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but do thou, My Master, take my life in the kindest way, |
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and your God will reward you here and hereafter. |
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You will not consider me irreverent |
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if I ask this in the name of him who was born in a stable. |
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AMEN |
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Author Unknown |
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Midi "Meadow" is used by permission and is copyright 2000 Bruce De Boer |
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Facts |
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