The little humpbacked horse

A small seahorse "on the back with two humps and donkey ears." There is a whole series of fairy tales about the humpbacked horse, better known to us by the brilliant poetic arrangement of Ershov. The main character humbles the Golden Mare and she, in return for freedom, gives birth to him a humpbacked horse. The ridge is a reasonable creature, true servant to his master, has magical powers, able to jump very quickly, including through the air, speaks in a human voice.

This fairy tale (however, like many others) contains many layers of meaning. Here and echoes of the ancient myth of the struggle of the hero with the deity, which makes the hero go through the world of the dead (the famous jump backwards), and obvious Parallels with the books of Castaneda (the old king – teacher-nagual, Ivan-fool – his disciple, humpbacked horse-inorganic creature, ally, and so on).