The father kept his promise

Just because the gift turns out to be a motorcar doesn’t mean we should try to argue that the original promise of a horse was only meant figuratively. A horse was meant, a horse was what the child understood, and a horse was expected. But the changed circumstances and the progress of history enabled the promises to be fulfilled in a different and far superior way, without emptying the promise either of its purpose (to give a means of transport) or of its basis in a relationship of fatherly love. The father kept his promise in a way that was even better than when he made it.