The idea for this short story was given to me by a friend, who mentioned that during her trip to Washington D.C., she learned that Abraham Lincoln had a horse he called "Old Bob". So, this story focuses on Bob meeting his second "owner", Honest Abe himself.
That was it. A blinding flash, and he was sent hurtling, headfirst into the tall grasses of the countryside just outside of Springfield, Illinois. Shaking his head, the unicorn dragged himself up from the ground. Front hooves first, y’all, Bob reminded himself, as he did just that. After he was standing a well six feet above the ground, the unicorn lifted his left foreleg. He shook it, and it hung rather limply, almost like a noodle. “Aw, went and broke it again.” Bob said, rolling his eyes. Any other horse in his situation would’ve been put to sleep, or worse: shot to be put out of his misery.
But he knew enough healing spells from his mother to fix such a thing. Holding the tip of his horn to the main joint in his left foreleg, a small spark began to arise from his horn, as the quick healing process began. Once that was in order, Bob took a few steps forward, looking for any other sign of life in the seemingly desolate grasslands. “Hello? Anyone out there?” Bob called out. No answer. The unicorn kept his eyes open, taking even more steps forward, before breaking into a trot. He eventually trotted himself to what seemed to be a small town, and it was there that he paused, just at the edge of town. Keeping watch for any humans, Bob performed yet another spell, morphing his form until he could pass for a normal Arabian stallion.
Overlooking his new form to make sure that everything was in order, the unicorn seemed pleased enough with his work, and continued on his way into town, no longer fearful of any humans mistaking him for a unicorn, and wanting to steal his horn. At least…that’s what he had been told his entire life. Humans were bad, and all they wanted was his horn.
Eventually, Bob came across a man walking down the street. This man held himself high, dressed in a crisp, black suit, with shining black shoes to pull it all off. Upon his head, he wore a very tall hat, of the same shade of black as his clothing. The unicorn was curious to see just who this man was, as the aura he had was very intriguing. As the fairly tall man walked past, he happened to see the pure white Arabian horse on the side of the road, with a bit of a fearful expression to its face. Walking a little closer, he paused just before the stallion, curious to know if it belonged to anyone around the town.
“Aren’t you just a handsome one?” the man said, as he gently patted the horse’s muzzle. Perhaps Mary Todd would know whom the horse belonged to, as she was the one who knew most everyone around here.
Bob soon found himself being led by this strange man, and had it only been a lead rope, he would’ve accepted that small chunk of fate. But unfortunately for Bob, a passerby with two horses offered the tall man a bridle to use on Bob, along with a lead rope. The unicorn was definitely not okay with this. So that’s what they meant when they said that curiosity killed the cat…’cept, I’m not dead yet. Bob thought.
Oh, if only humans could understand what he wanted to say! He wanted that bridle off, and he would definitely turn into a raging demon from hell if they dared put a saddle on him. Bob stomped his hooves a few times to get the man’s attention, but that went unnoticed. Next, he tried to nudge the man, but instead found the affection returned with a pat on the bridge of his muzzle.
Bob sighed. Humans. They really didn’t get anything, did they? He then resorted to his best…and his worst habit. Before the man even noticed what was going on, the unicorn was already eating at his full head of hair, munching at it as if it were grass. The hat had been tossed to the ground, already with a thin layer of dust upon it. But instead of the incoming storm of rage that Bob was already expecting, the man began to laugh.
Why was he laughing?
Now the unicorn was definitely confused. Most humans he knew actually cared about the appearance of their hair...but this man…this man was laughing at the entire situation! Bob paused, retracting his head like a snake, tail swishing irritably.
“Oh, you’re definitely not one of Eddie’s horses. He wouldn’t ever have the patience for a feisty stallion like you.” the man said, as he picked the hat up from the dusty streets. He then set it upon his head, and fixed it until it looked as it had before.
“There we go! All the more reason to wear this hat, I suppose.” the man said, with a chuckle. He then turned to Bob, patting the Arabian’s forelock. “Well then, it seems that the family has found its newest member. I’ll call you Bob.” he said, before turning away from the disguised unicorn.
The unicorn figured that this man had some strange voodoo witch powers, enough to even know his true name. He then realized that he hadn’t even learned the man’s name. He figured that if this human was going to drag him along to his home, he had better learn his new owner’s name.
Nudging the fairly tall man’s shoulder, he whinnied, and paused in his step. “Oh, me? Yes, yes, how rude of me, treating a new family member like that!” the man said, before tipping his hat to the horse.
“My name is Abraham Lincoln.”
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