In the very ancient time, a man went on a long journey(旅行lǚxíng) and left a beautiful daughter and a horse(马mǎ) at home. When the father was not in, the daughter would keep the horse as a company and fed it with grass and fodders(fodder is food that is given to cows, horses, and other animals) every day. The daughter became very lonely at home and missed her father very much. One day, she fed the horse and said to him, "Horse, if you can find my father and cany him back, I will marry you as your wife."

Listening to her words, the horse became extremely excited, swaying its tail and nodding heads. After eating the grass, the horse suddenly rushed toward, broke the rein and ran out of the yard. The horse ran for several days and nights and finally found the place where the father lived.

Seeing his horse running from his hometown thousands miles away, the father was both surprised and elated. He fed the horse with water and grass in person and then rode on it to have a walk. However, the horse did not go anywhere but looked at the direction it had come, neighing from time to time. The father was very surprised on seeing that. Was there anything wrong at home since the horse ran from the hometown far away and acted strangely? So he quickly rode on the horse and went back home.

Arriving at home, he knew that nothing happened at home but his daughter missed him. The horse understood human's emotion and carried the father hack. The father treated the horse very well for its smartness. However, whatever the father brought to feed it, the horse refused to eat and as long as it saw the daughter pass by the stable, the horse would reveal a strange facial expression, neighing and kicking. To hit surprise, the father called his daughter into the room and asked her again and again. The daughter had to tell her father honestly the joke she made to the horse last time. The father became furious and said strictly to his daughter, “It was a shame. Do not tell anyone about it.”