Ariuna and her brother Tuli live in Mongolia. When Tuli and his horse are hurt and cannot ride in the Naadam, Ariuna decides to take his place.
Ariuna and her family go to the Naadam. Forty children are at the sports field with their horses. Their families are there too.
Ariuna goes to join the other riders. Delger is on his grey horse. He laughs at ariuna. “Your horse is not going to win. My horse is going to be first today.”
An old man calls, “Riders, are you ready? It’s time to start the race.”
“Good luck!” shouts Ariuna’s family.
The race starts. The horses are galloping. The noise is loud in Ariuna’s ears. She can only see the dust in the air. She is hot and her horse is hot too. Its back is wet.
Soon, they come to a shallow river. Ariuna rides into the water.
Splash! A boy has fallen off his horse. His horse keeps running. The other children don’t stop. The boy drags himself up onto the rocks beside the river.
Ariuna rides to the boy. It is Delger. There is blood on Delger’s head and leg. Ariuna gets off her horse. She goes to the river and scoops water in her hat. She washes Delger’s head and face.
“You have to get back to your parents. That leg s bad,” says Ariuna. “You can ride on my horse with me. Can you stand up?”
Ariuna helps Delger stand up. Then she helps him up onto the horse. It is difficult and Delger is in Great pain. “Ah, my leg!” he cries. Ariuna then climbs onto the horse and the two children begin to ride. They are a long way behind the others.
At the sports field, people are waiting. They see dust and they hear the sound of the horses’ hooves. One horse is in front of the others it is Delger’s horse, but it has no rider. Then the other horses finish.
The families of the children run up to the young riders. They are all happy. But Ariuna’s and Delger’s parents are worried. Then Tuli shouts, “Look! Here they come!”
A horse is coming over the hill there are two riders on it. They are Ariuna and Delger! The crowd cheers.
extracted and adapted from the young riders