I wrote this my freshman year in college, when my English teacher talked to us about an author who used vivid words but no dialogue to set the stage for a situation. Here was my attempt at the same:

The sun rode low in the sky, painting the land in an amazing display of rich colors. The horizon seemed hazy with the deep red of sunset and the dust of the plains. The zenith of the sky was a dark blue and the eastern horizon was nearly black with night, pinpoints of starlight showing clearly against the velvet darkness. The vibrant crimson of the sun was offset with royal purples and fiery oranges and it was echoed in perfect precision in the lake centered in the small valley. The still water was a mirror to the soul of the sky, reflecting the colors of the sunset and the gleam of the stars yet to come. Sage dotted the landscape as if some careless hand had let grains of sand slip between their fingers as they passed over the valley. A stray tree was clearly seen against the flat ground. The rock of the ground was almost as red as the sunset, darkened here and there with soil and lightened elsewhere by sand or gravel. Around the edge of the water, a small oasis of vibrant life lived. Delicate flowers and grass grew along the edge; a small colony of ants and a score of ladybugs also claimed the oasis as home. A family of birds made their nest among the grasses and under the surface of the lake, fish lived in a world all their own.

A soft rumble broke the stillness of the gathering night and the creatures of the oasis broke off in what they were doing to sense the air around them. They quickly scurried off as the rumbling increased and kept increasing. Breaking over the edge of the valley, like water over the edge of a waterfall, a herd of horses raced into the valley. With manes flaring scarlet in the last rays of the sun and bodies flashing among one another, the creatures raced to the water, ears perked and tails flagged. As the sun gave its all in a last effort at surpassing its already magnificent splendor, the horses reached the water. Snorting and stamping, the herd gathered around the edge, lowering their sculpted heads to the water to drink, forelocks falling into their eyes.

As the moonlight glinted along their bodies, the horses finished their drink and their heads tossed up. Young colts reared and clashed with one another while fillies copied the more docile manners of their mothers. The herd stallion moved slightly away from his family, surveying them with his proud head lifted high and his wide intelligent eyes wary. His small ears were perked and his nostrils flared as he scented the night air for any sign of danger. Finding none, he relaxed his guard slightly and lowered his head to graze on the sweet grass of the oasis. Soon, the herd had settled down for the night, the moonlight gliding over their smooth backs, flashing along flicking tails and gleaming off of shiny hooves.

As dawn broke over the eastern horizon, the herd started to move on, taking one last drink of water as the golden light turned their coats into molten gold and their manes and tails into liquid light.

Moving along at a sedate walk, the herd; led by its stallion, made its way out of the valley. As they neared the far edge of the valley, the stallion suddenly threw up his head, ears flashing in all directions and nostrils flaring.

The stallion reared and gave a clarion call. He pivoted on his hind legs, nipping the flanks of his mares and lashing out at balky colts with his hooves. Soon, the entire herd was galloping madly back into the valley. They splashed heedlessly through the oasis and the water, charging up to the other side of the valley and continuing on.

From the east, jeeps and cars came rolling on, continuing without pause. They trundled into the valley, wheels crushing the sage and rolling over flowers and grasses. The birds’ nest and the anthill were run-over, their destroyer riding through the pool of water and leaving an oily sheen on the surface of the pond in its passage.

As the vehicles caught up with the running horses, doors were flung open and lassoes whistled out. As a horse was snagged, a tire attached to the rope was dropped out of the vehicle and let drop to the ground. The vehicle then moved on steadily. The tiring horses continued to run, tossing their heads and their flashing bodies covered in white lather, mouths agape and ears pinned back. In less then an hour, the entire herd had been dragged down by tires and each creature stood with their head between their forelegs, forelock falling across their eyes, breathing coming harsh in their throats. Mares stood with trembling legs over the fallen bodies of their foals, the little forms beneath them dragged down by the heavy tires.

The cars soon started to herd the horses back together, foals staggering to their feet at the urging of their mothers and each exhausted animal dragging a heavy tire by the neck. They milled around, the stallion tossing his head and releasing an occasional hoarse neigh. A truck soon lumbered into view, long in the back with high iron sides with slits along the top at regular intervals. The horses shied away from the new thing, but lacked the energy to attempt to run. As the truck pulled to a stop, the back dropped open, a long ramp leading up to the black entrance. Men got out of the cars and out of the truck, both groups looking over the herd, speaking to one another in the language of man.

Finally, with ropes flailing and shouting loudly, the men separated a horse from the group, driving the animal towards the truck. A man grabbed the rope around its neck and pulled the exhausted mare towards the truck. As she reached the ramp, a knife slash separated her from her tire burden and she was shoved into the truck. With hooves clattering, the horse entered into the truck. A shrill cry from the herd heralded the clamber of her colt, which struggled through the press of horses towards the truck. A man also separated the small animal from the burden of the tire, and the freed colt clattered up into the truck after its mother.

Slowly, the other horses of the herd followed, the stallion being the last to go in. He reared and tossed his head. He kicked out wildly and tried to bite the men, but with savage blows that left bloody welts on his hide, the stallion was finally driven into the truck.

The men again converged as the back of the truck was closed and the terrified whinnying of the horses could be heard echoing out through the slits of the truck sides. Once again speaking the language of man, money traded hands and the truck drivers climbed back into the truck, bereft of money but richer in horses. The other men climbed back into their cars and jeeps, richer in money.

As the truck turned to drive away, the writing along the side of it became visible, lettering gleaming brightly in the morning sun:

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© 1997 kithan@mindspring.com

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