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The Ballad of the White Seahorse is a rhyming children's poem. It tells the story of Tristan, a golden haired boy with a magical special talent, who lives in a fisherman's village in a mysterious kingdom on the ocean shore. Tristan is able to perform miracles: he can dive to the depths of the waters without the need to breathe and re-surface with precious ancient objects. Everybody is astonished by the wonder boy's performances and soon he becomes a legend among the kingdom's people. Tristan and his friends have a secret hobby, at sundown they sneak into the town's inn and from a hidden place they love to listen to the wondrous adventures and the secret legends of the oceans told by the elderly sailormen. There they hear for the first time of a special ballad, almost forgotten in the midst of time, about a mysterious gigantic creature shining with blinding light. That creature is carefully concealed in the belly of a guardian fish dwelling in the deepest, darkest trenches of the sea.
That legend prophesies that on the day the White Sea Horse will rise from his ocean depths, its unique infinite radiance will remove all anger and worries from people's hearts and thus a new generation of peace will begin. Immediately connecting the incredible prophecy to his unique talent Tristan decides to dive into the deepest darkness. Despite his friend's warnings, our main character is determined to be the one who will bring the mythological being out of its guardian's belly and back to this world. Will he really succeed in doing so? We will get to know it. But first, Tristan has to learn a very important lesson about life and its wise balance, and to understand the true meaning behind the metaphor "the living secret that dwells under the waves... '' 
Part I
 
A fishing village nestled in the Land of Coralay,
Once upon a time by an ocean far away.
 
This ocean had no age and it didn’t have a name,
It looked like all the other oceans and yet was not the same.
The villagers made their living from the sea – from old to young,
And our boy-hero was no exception – the golden-haired Tristan.
At sunrise the fishermen set out in their boats and at sunset came back the same way,
While at home the children would dive off the pier, splash in the water and play.
 Children who grow up by the sea can swim and dive well too,
But no one else had Tristan’s talent to perform the feats he knew.
He could dive swifter than a fish deep down to the ocean floor,
And pop up in a flash with ancient treasures and riches galore.​
Though many years a mariner Tristan’s father himself,
Had never seen such a collection on any museum shelf.
When the sea glowed orange from the setting sun and the boats drew home at last,
The fishermen gathered in their hut on the beach to swap stories and raise a glass.
The children loved this magical time and softly they crept in,
To listen to the stories and go unnoticed in the din.
Sometimes the fishermen would tell their tales with a sigh,
Fantastic fables and adventures from faraway times gone by.
The heart-stopping stories the children heard were of deeds so exotic and brave,
Of monsters, warships, good strong men and the damsels they would save.
Of heroes who searched the ocean depths for the magic of the light,
That shines beyond darkness in the watery world, far away and out of sight.
They spoke of ancient times with shining eyes and smiles wry,
When sunlight and water were one – no gap between sea and sky.
The most wondrous mysterious tale of all was rarely ever told,
And then only by one quiet fisherman, with eyes so deep and old.
 
For this special story the children were willing to stay awake all night,
They loved the tale of the fish that watched over the seahorse colored white.
 
The old man described a sea creature perfect, enormous, and fair,
It glowed blazing white in the ocean depths – it was clear it had always been there.
 
A fabulous creature as old as the sea, it shone with dancing light,
The few who did see it were touched by the grace of the seahorse shining bright.
“Its beauty is a symbol,” the old fisherman said, “of peace that will come by and by,
When bliss and contentment will return to us all, uniting the waves and the sky.”
“It can’t be!” chorused the others, “We’re experts on ocean and tide!”
“If it was true we would know it,” they asserted, all puffed up with pride.
 
“If it were true that such a fabulous wonder lived and cavorted below,
Surely we, the best, finest, fishermen, would be the first to know.”
 
“Our young fisher heroes battle demons all over the ocean, and yet,”
They mocked, “Not one has ever snared this creature, not in any net?”
The old fisherman listened calmly to all the arguments they could bring,
Then turned his flashing eyes on them and said, “I’ll prove you don’t know a thing.
 
“The worth of the White Sea Horse is so much greater than you can know,
Even the ancient gods of the sea pray his light will continue to glow.
 
“Do you imagine they weren’t prepared for fools like you, bloated with pride?
Who would search the seas for their own selfish gain, to find where he might hide?
“Even the best fisher-hunters don’t have the magic knack,
For the gods gave him a protector, who is darker than deepest black…
 
“Mankind is still not worthy to see his glory, we can but yearn and wish,
For the wondrous creature is safe and protected in the belly of a huge bearded fish.

“Legend says when the seahorse rises we will live with a brand new order,
No longer will the sea and the sun be apart – there won’t be any border!”
“One day I will dive there,” Tristan pronounced, “down to dim light, below ocean wave,
And I’ll plumb the sea’s secret and bring up the seahorse from deep in his fish belly cave.”
 
“But that’s terribly dangerous,” whispered Tiltana, his good and faithful friend.
“If you anger the gods, dive to perilous depths, things could come to a very bad end!”
 
Tristan whispered to her so no one could hear:
“I’ll catch him so everyone will see, and next thing I will set him free,
Then no more will a border lie between the land of light and the deep, blue sea.” 

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I prefer the Paberback
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