Editor's Note: When our first son was an infant we sailed from Long Beach Island, NJ to Goodland, FL with magical stops at both Chincoteague Island and Assateague Beach where we saw the ponies.

Thousands come to this narrow, windswept island on Virginia's Atlantic coast every summer to see Chincoteague's ponies, wild horses that have been here since colonial times and have been a boon to the town for the past century.

Residents here have made their wild pony population both an engine and a symbol of their town.

We trekked far and wide with our son on his father's back in a backpack baby carrier, while I, four months gone with our second son, told the story I remembered from my childhood of Misty of Chincoteague. The children's novel was written by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis, and published by Rand McNally in 1947.

Set in the island town of Chincoteague, Virginia, the book tells the story of the Beebe family and their efforts to raise a filly born to a wild horse.

Whe we reached our Florida destination I remember calling my mother to tell her all about how the book she'd read to me in my New York City bedroom on the ninth-floor of a Manhattan apartment building had been recounted to her first grandchild while we stood in the presence of Misty's potential descendants.

Imagine the Christmas gift of giving your child or grandchild this beautiful part of history and children's literature!

Want to own a Chincoteague Pony descended from Misty, the pony made famous by a popular book series and later movie? Now's your chance.

Foal #69, a young colt, is going up for silent auction. His mother Summer is a Misty descendant.

The auction will end on December 23, with the winner being notified that evening.

The minimum bid is $2,000. Foal #69 would be ready to go home to his new owner around the end of February.

"This handsome, frisky young man is going to grow up to be a stunner for sure," stated a post from Chincoteague's volunteer fire department.

Bids on the foal should include the bidder's name, address, phone number and email.

They can be sent to the following address:

CVFC
Chincoteague Vol Fire Co.
P.O. box 691
Chincoteague Island, Va., 23336
Attn: Denise