By Frida Nilsson
More than anything Hedvig wants a horse. Ellen in her class got a pony from her parents. Guess what Hedvig got? A donkey named Max-Olov! Dad is very proud. “Half the kids in the country has a horse”, he says, “but who else has their own donkey.” It is not easy for Hedvig to tell her dad that in fact, the only thing that matters when you’re in second grade is a horse. In school they play horses during the break, not donkeys. So Hedvig just happens to say that Max-Olov is her new neighbour, who has three white horses that she gets to ride whenever she wants. Suddenly Hedvig is the most popular girl in class, the other girls would do anything to go along to the neighbour. When the truth gets out it gets very messy. “I hate you!” she yells at Max-Olov. The next day he has escaped! What if she hurt his feelings and he will never come back! Hedvig realizes that she misses him after all.
Frida Nilsson’s award-winning “The Ice Sea Pirates” was an international bestseller. She is a leading Swedish children’s writer whose shortlistings and prizes include the August Prize, German Youth Literature Prize, Astrid Lindgren Prize and selection by the Hay Festival as one of the best emerging writers in Europe under 39.