Chapter
Brook Horse
Never had I thought I would be swimming in a murky pond after the stroke of midnight. But here I am, far away from tonight's supper with Mr. and Mrs. Ångström up at the Academy. A white stallion in the splendor of the moonlight, standing among the lily pads on the bank of the Fyris River. A foolish wager made on the canal. Suddenly I found myself on a nightmarish ride away from Upsala Cathedral, through Sala Municipality, past the estates of Avesta and the kilns of Kullhyttan, clinging to the wet back of the brook horse. Good golly, what a sobering up. Now it seems I am left in the wild, with only a mocking neigh as evidence…
— Carl Linnaeus, May 3rd 1732
The brook horse is a magnificent stallion – white, dapple gray, black, or shimmering blue in the moonlight. It is a predator with razor-sharp teeth that lurks in brooks and lakes. Its greatest wish is to lead children or careless farmers into a drowning swamp, or take them on a mad ride away from the region. It usually seems calm and friendly, as it tries to present itself as a normal horse, strolling along a shore or a gurgling brook. It wants to lure curious humans, and its back can grow to make room for several riders. Having survived the prank of the brook horse, the last thing one hears before it vanishes is a sly, neighing laugh.