The Seventh Horse

Lyrics and melody © by Catherine Faber

Count the white horses you meet on the way.
Count the white horses, child, day after day.
Count the white horses til seven; if you
Wish on the seventh, your wish will come true.

I counted them up as the lullaby said,
One by the mayor's house, one by the shed,
One in the lane. . . when the seventh I'd see,
I'd wish on the seventh a hero to be!

One in the pastureage by the back door,
Two by the orchard, and one, that makes four,
Each day I counted and kept them in mind,
But somehow the seventh I never could find.

But yesterday morning, I saw the whole fair,
The horses and horse-dealers gathering there;
I saw six white horses, and as bright as a flame,
The seventh---I wished, and she called me by name!

I'll be a hero, as soon as I'm grown.
The seventh horse loves me, so I'm not alone.
I poke up the fire with branches and bark
And sing my own lullaby here in the dark. . . .