Story about kids and animals

Once there was a household in which a Father and Mother had three children: a son, Asterius; a daughter, Bellatrix; and a younger son, Cornelius. Marked by earlier hardships, the Father became awfully stingy; even when he had funds, he would not part with them. For a time this seemed understandable, for he labored to put bread on the table for his children.

He toiled among animals — horses most of all—from dawn until dusk. His favorite was a dapple-gray named Tristan. Overwork led him to neglect his other duties to the family, leaving his wife to manage the home and raise the children alone. He dismissed her constant complaints about her failing health and the pain that dogged her daily.

Years slipped by; the children grew and finished their schooling.

The First Child

When the first child found employment, the Father demanded that every wage be surrendered to the family. Enraged, the son — knowing his father hoarded money — fled the house. Despite the wife’s and the other children’s pleas that the Father would come by, for they wished only to find the boy, the Father instead pronounced a curse on Asterius and on all he would ever possess. Asterius came to a place where those around him cared little for money.

The Second Child

The Father kept buying ever-new horses, saddles, and horseshoes, yet he set aside only the smallest portion of his wealth for his children.

Bellatrix found work—better even than her elder brother’s — and concealed it from her Father. Then the Mother died, worn down by grief and sorrow for her husband, who still labored all day and rarely spent time with her or the family. Change came swiftly after her passing. When the Father discovered that his daughter was working, he ordered her to hand over all her earnings to the household, just like he did to Asterius. And Bellatrix, too, chose to leave the family behind.

The Third Child

More years passed. When the third child secured a job, he knew it was only a matter of time before the Father noticed. Without a word, Cornelius left.

One morning the Father rose to find no breakfast and no freshly washed clothes. As on every morning, he went out to his horses — only to see they had all fled, and his beloved Tristan lay in the meadow, cold as ice. Only then did he understand that greed and envy had brought him nothing else but death.