Next week, the short story coming out to newsletter subscribers is all about the French monster known as a cheval mallet. Never heard of it? Well, hang on for the ride . . .
First of all, Cheval mallet means “evil horse,” so you probably already have an idea about where this story is headed. The cheval is usually described as looking like a normal horse, just 20% cooler: luxurious saddle, elaborate tack, and a beautiful shiny coat. Most often it is black, but some pictures on the internet depict it as being white as well.
The cheval mallet appears only in the middle of the night to people traveling alone. If the weary traveler sees the grand horse and thinks “aha! salvation!” and gets on its back, the horse will promptly cart the traveler off to hell.
But that last part is supposition, of course. The simple fact of the matter is that travelers who get on the horse are never seen again. Like the kelpie, the cheval mallet traps people, so that once they are on the horse there’s no way to get off.
So, what’s a weary traveler to do? Well, not trying to steal someone else’s fancy horse is a good start. Monster Wiki suggests wearing a medal of St. Benedict for added protection. However, not everyone is so worried: the French language site talkinfrench.com suggests that actually, the cheval mallet is pretty harmless, and “you may even want one as a pet.” 😀 I suspect that, like stories about the kelpie, the tale of the cheval mallet is a warning not to be seduced by beauty alone. And in the Carousel Caper releasing next week, it’s certainly a warning to look twice before you leap!
(And if you haven’t already, you can sign up for the newsletter using the sidebar to the right to get this story and others.)
