Animal reports and kennings from St Augustine's Primary School, Nottingham, UK

Original writing about animals                     Smudge: a cat story

Friends with the Birds

By Isabelle Thom, 10, Coventry, West Midlands, UK

The creak of the leather,
The dust of the hay,
The flow of the canter,
The proud mother's neigh.

The rippling grass under stallions' hooves,
Whoever sees is sure to be moved.
The towering hills and mountains above,
The call of the eagle, the swoop of the dove.

A weak new foal's feeble cry,
The April showers and the wind's gentle sigh.
Together in clusters and herds,
Sleek and beautiful,
Friends with the birds.
(September 2008)

My Turtle

By George, 8, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Once I was in China, I had a turtle. I named it Green Shadow because it's body had a green shadow in the morning light. Then I bought another one. It was smaller than Green Shadow. I named that turtle Spotty because it had spots on his shell.

I put sand into a giant water tank. Then I put my two turtles into the tank. I also put cat fish into the tank for the turtles to eat. I put a big plastic house in the tank. This cool house has a bedroom, a play room and a living room. There was an oxygen tube just connected to the house chimney. Sometimes, the bubbles come up to the surface of the water just like the smoke come from the chimney.

Once the turtles went inside the play room, they started to play. When they were hungry, they went outside of the house to eat the cat fish. When they were tired, they went to the bedroom to sleep.

I miss my turtles very much and I will see them very soon.
(September 2008)

Buffy

By Samantha, 11, Ont., Canada

I couldn't believe that this was happening. I glanced down at the cold, grey stone that had the word 'Buffy' written on it in my clumsy handwriting.

'Buffy, you were the best cat a kid could ever ask for,' I gulped down hard, chocking back a batch of salty tears. 'You were always licking my face after school,' I paused, letting just a single tears fall from my hazel eyes, 'and even though Ma and Pa disliked you, you always were kind to them,' I nearly sobbed.

My head was killing me from holding back all of those tears. I let the salty tears run down my smooth face. I had just lost my best friend, Buffy the cat. The day before I had poured some cat food into Buffy's bowl for lunch and called Buffy's name but Buffy didn't answer. I searched for Buffy for an entire hour but she was nowhere to be found. Finally I found her dead at the side of my house looking at peaceful as ever. Her grey fur smooth and silky in the sunlight. I knew that I had to continue her burial service.

'And Buffy, I loved you from the moment I saw you on the street all alone 'till the moment I saw you at the side of our house. I will always love you and I hope you have a fine time in heaven. I will join you eventually, I promise,' I whispered to the stone. Satisfied with my burial session, I turned around and slowly walked away. I glanced over my shoulder one last time and whispered 'I love you Buffy.'
(September 2008)

My Poem

By Rachel, 10, Scotland

Doggie died,
Sad to say,
That it was on a wedding day,
Wedding sad,
Funeral time,
That's when doggie died.
(September 2008)

Africa

By Samuel, 11, Gillingham, Kent, UK

It is a very hot day in Africa,
There are many animals on the plains,
Very close a pride of lions lie,
The male shakes his shaggy mane,
Suddenly the group get up,
They have spotted a zebra near,
Then the male lets out a roar,
That people miles away could hear.

Not far off elephants walk,
Their great feet plodding along the ground,
Then a little elephant lifts his trunk,
And makes a trumpety sound,
They occasionally stop to feed,
By pulling things off trees,
The smallest asking for extra,
Almost saying can I have more please?

On the African savannah,
The hippopotamus' fight,
All of the gazelles leap around,
And the pesky mosquitoes bite,
The animals in Africa are cool,
The African plains are great,
The sun is great for getting a tan,
But watch for the lion and his mate!
(September 2008)

My Dog

By Roisin, 10, Ireland

Cuddly little thing,
So cute and playful,
Fur so sleek,
Bite so painful,
Eyes irresistible,
Tongue so rough.
(September 2008)

Horses

By Niamh, 11, Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Painful biters,
Serious fighters,
Favouring grass,
Teeth look like brass,
Love to swim,
Races they win,
Very cunning,
Good at running,
Horses are ace,
I'd love a long face!
(September 2008)

The Cow

By Jack , 6, TX, USA

The cow says moo moo moo.

It has black and white spots.

It eats grass on the farm.

It lives on the farm.

And it is owned by a farmer.
(August 2008)

The duck

By Jack , 6, Fort Worth, TX, USA

The duck can float in the water, it eats bread if you feed it, some are red some are blue some are even all colors.
Don't be mean to the duck it is so pretty.
(July 2008)

Orianto and Me

By Madeleine, 11, Tyne and Wear, UK

I clenched my fists. Sweat dribbled down my forehead as I felt the blood pump through my veins. My brunette hair whipped across my green eyes making it harder to see in the cold wind. One wire and I was out of this place. One mistake and Orianto was torn from me forever. I heard him whimper at my feet.

"Shh, Ori..." I whispered, "I need to concentrate." I bent down and patted his head and he went silent once more.

I looked at Orianto, in his grey, wolf form and bit my lip. I turned to the wires and back to him, and then I faced the box again. I gulped. Then I ripped the blue wire apart.

I was ready to run, but I heard no alarm start up... no slams and clicks of the doors shutting and locking me in. All was quiet. Still. Frozen. It was as if everything was going in slow motion. Orianto grinned and whispered: "Way to go!" before leaping up onto the edge of the wall to our right.

"All clear," he whispered. Then he swiftly turned into a strong cheater cub and trotted down the wall laughing out loud as he finally saw the other side of the wall for the first time.

"I thought you said it would be green?" He laughed.

"What do you mean? Isn't it green?" I asked him running below him on the other side still.

"No! It's all white!" he got to the edge of the wall and looked down at me.

"Is it not meant to be white?" he asked.

"No! Of course it..." I got to the gates, which I had opened with the wire.

"Isn't?...."

Orianto jumped off the wall and turned back into a wolf. He scraped at the floor.

"Look! Look here Sophie! It's green underneath!"

"I know that! It's snow!" I answered, grinning.

"Snow?" he cocked his head to one side.

"Yes, snow. It's like rain but frozen so it turns white."

He nodded as he looked around him.

"Like a blanket, is it not? As it covers the ground, Sophie?" He said in a posh voice.

"Yes that's one way to put it, I guess, but it does not keep it warm, it keeps it cold, Orianto" I answered in a similar voice.

Ori nodded once more before giving me his wolf grin then running into the snow and rolling around. I giggled.

"Ori!" I laughed before chasing him down a small hill and catching him just as he was about to change into another animal.

"You monkey!" I said, Orianto shifted into a monkey.

"Oo-oo! Eee! Eee! Oo!" he changed back into a wolf and laughed again.

I stroked his forehead and he rested his head on my knee and closed his eyes as I sat down and crossed my legs. I smiled.

I daydreamed unthinkingly for a while before I lifted him carefully in my arms and walked over to lonely tree on the top of the hill. I laid my back against the tree and rested Ori back onto my legs. He stirred slightly and nuzzled himself back into comfort.

It wasn't cold, although the snow was wet slightly. I didn't really care though. I was out of the 'school' finally and I was still with Ori.

Then I remembered the other children. My crazy, trust worthy, mental friends, Louise and the simple other children, who would stare at us while we giggled for some reason in the corner of the room, pointing at the ceiling or something...

I looked back at the building towering above me, it's dark cracked walls gloomy with age and use. No lights were on but I could hear the sounds of the children echoing through the walls; their cries, their laughter, but mostly their silence.

It was as if the building had once been magnificent, a tall candle, before the fire went out and all that was left was the waxy remains of what it was. It almost made me sad. It must have been beautiful before age took hold of it.

I smiled sadly. I was without friends but I still had Ori. My faithful Ori. So I continued on my way. Nothing would stop me now...
(June 2008)

The Magical Horse

By Julia, 11, MA, USA

There once was a beautiful, white horse that lived in the woods of Crystalville. The horse's name was Topaz. Topaz's glittering hooves were not the only unique qualities about her, but she was magic! She had shimmering wings that made her drift off with the wind. Topaz was happy that she was magical, but one day, all of that changed, when a little girl named Nora found Topaz in the woods. Suddenly, Topaz had lost her magic. She could no longer fly and her hooves were dull.

"Wow! A horse! Nora shouted.

Topaz took 2 steps back and tried to fly. She couldn't. Nora grabbed her mane to hold her back.

"Don't worry, horse, I'll take care of you. Is your name Topaz? You have topaz jewels in your hooves," Nora touched Topaz's hooves softly.

"POOF!"

Topaz got her power back! Nora had a magic touch! The two wizards flew off into the great pink sky, with nothing but their spirits and a little bit of magic...

The End.

June 2008

Wildlife Homes

By Lindsay, 8, Millington, NJ, USA

In the pond
fish swim by,
through the weeds
a sunny sigh.

Turtle swims
through the muck,
catching prey
with any luck.

Green frog jumps
in the sun,
slurping bugs
with his tongue.

Cat-tails wave
like gold wands,
looking over
this blue-green pond.

Pond is home
to all that care,
its beauty is
for all to share.
(May 2008)

Kangaroo

By Yi H, 7, Australia

Long ago, early explorers said Kangaroo is a very strange animal because its head like deer, stood up like human and hopped like a frog. In some tales even described it had two heads because they saw both mother's and baby's heads from far away.
The kangaroo belongs to the group called marsupial, kangaroo can only be found in Australia and Tasmania.
There are two major kinds of kangaroo; the great red kangaroo and the great grey kangaroo.
Male is called boomer, female is blue flyer and joey is name for the young. Male may be over 210cm tall and weight up to 90 kgs, they may achieve the speed about 48km/hr.
Kangaroos have powerful hind legs and long muscular tails. Females have a pouch surrounding the teats. The baby suckled in the mother's pouch for about six months after a 40 days gestation period.
Kangaroos are large herbivores, feed on grass and other vegetation.
Kangaroos protect themselves by catching predator with its forepaws then kicking at it by their powerful hind legs.
Kangaroo is very adorable and cute. It is very famous because it is one of the standard bearers on the Australian coat-of-Arms. It became movies stars in 'kangaroo Jack', 'Skippy the Bush kangaroo' and children's cartoon 'Winnie the Pooh', it even become a logo for QANTAS airways flying around the world.
(April 2008)

The Wolf

By Hye-Won, 12, Seoul, South Korea

The wolf
runs
growls
dashes
leaps
snarls
leaps
sniffs
and howls on its roam through the woods.
(November 2007)

I Went to the Zoo

By Micah, 5, Ashtabula, OH, USA

I went to the zoo
I saw a pink flamingo
He was putting his leg up

I went to the zoo
I saw a bear
It was big and brown and mean

I went to the zoo
I saw a duck
She was inside the bush

I went to the zoo
I saw a really big turtle
It was little, I'm just kidding

I went to the zoo
And I saw beavers
Swimming in the sea

I went to the zoo
I saw a little boy
He was me
(November 2007)

Dogs...

By Caitlin Rose, 10, Hartlepool, UK

Some dogs are soft and fluffy
Some dogs are very rough
Some dogs like to play a lot
Others can be tough

Some dogs have a bad temper
Some dogs are very nice
Some dogs are very silly
Other dogs try to hunt mice

Some dogs are very playful
Other dogs can be dumb
Some dogs are very clever
Most dogs want to have fun

Some dogs are very smelly
Some dogs are very clean
But most dogs that I know of
Smell somewhere in between

Some dogs are very thin
Some dogs are very fat
Some dogs are sometimes stupid
I'd rather have a cat!
(November 2007)

The Doggy Wedding

By Shannon, 9, Back, Isle of Lewis, Scotland

One sunny summer's day there were two kind dogs one called Snowy and one called White Streak. They both admired each other. Snowy and White Streak knew that they loved each other so much. So they came together to organise a wedding at the doggy palace. Snowy knew that Tricky could make the dresses and Floppy could get the decorations for the wedding. Snowy and White Streak would make the invitations for the wedding so they all did that. Snowy was inviting Tricky, Floppy,
King Lucas, Queen Cassandra, Molly, Camilla, Cheeky and others. Snowy and White streak said,
'This is going well'

The day of the wedding was only 3 days away and Snowy needed to get the wedding dress sorted and where they were going to get the wedding decorated. Floppy and Tricky were trying their best but they needed a lot of help. They wanted the visitors to be happy at the wedding.

The day of the wedding arrived. Snowy was dressed in a nice, dazzling white dress and White Streak was in a nice black suit. When Snowy came down the aisle everyone said 'OOoooh' White Streak nearly fainted because Snowy was so beautiful. Snowy was coming down the aisle when she heard . . . . . . . .
'What a pretty big excuse for a bride.'
When Snowy heard what the dog said she went off crying and she went up to the balcony. White Streak went up to see Snowy. They found out that the dog that said that was not invited to the wedding. Snowy was disgusted. The Queen demanded that he be thrown out. The bad day came to an end. Snowy and White Streak went home and they both lived in a nice hotel after the marriage.
(July 2007)

Lone wolf

By Leah, 12, Dublin, Ireland

A lone wolf, howling to the sky
Though only the trees hear his lonly cry
wandering alone without his clan
sniffing the breeze, feeding when he can.

A lone wolf, calling still,
Without any water or a fresh kill,
Gaining strength from the sun,
and hope from the moon,
Surly he shall find his clan soon?

A lone wolf, catching a scent in the breeze,
and seeing his brothers between the trees,
calling to them, he lopes along,
and the air is filled with their happy songs.

A lone wolf, alone no longer....
(June 2007)

The Filly

By Hollyn, 16, Montana, USA

Storm clouds started to move in and little sprinkles of rain started to spatter on the ground as Annie quickened her pace. She knew no matter what she would get soaked; she still had almost a mile to walk until she got home.
She thought to her self, "If I would of just left after school without having to chat to April about her new boyfriend I probably would be home by now, and not wet."
Then she remembered that the fair was this week and they had just started bringing some of the animals in. It probably wouldn't hurt if I took a look, and with all this rain I'm sure all the people are inside.
As she walked around she took shelter in an open barn. There were only a couple of animals mostly sheep and pigs. Annie proceeded to walk down the aisle peering at the shaved and primped sheep and lambs. She thought it was pretty funny that an animal that would soon be sent to butcher looked like a show poodle. Then there were hogs she could almost care less about the pigs plus they stank up the barn.
It was a fairly small town and there was only room for one barn for all the animals and the rest of the area was for the fair rides. She could still hear the pattering sound of the rain hitting the roof and decided to walk a little bit further to where the horses were. She doubted that anyone would bring his or her horses this early to be left alone, but she wanted to check anyway.
She quickened her stride and pinched her nose closed with her fingers, making a silly face while passing the pigs. She just could not understand why anyone would like pigs other than for bacon.
Approaching the horse stalls she could see no horses, then as she was about walk back she saw two small perky ears at the far end. Must be a pony to be that small, it probably can't even see over the wooden door. As Annie approached she noticed it wasn't a pony at all just a filly, it couldn't be much more than a year old. It may have been small but it had the most beautiful dappled gray coat.
She then saw the little sign hung on the gait with bailing twine that said,
'Raffle filly, buy two tickets get one free. Ticket price - $20.00.'
'That is a very expensive ticket I could barely buy one of them let alone two or even three.'
It would be so amazing if I was a able to win that filly, my family would benefit so much from it, and so would I. All my family has is two old worn-down cranky mules, in which they have to do most all the heavy hauling. Only the wealthy people own those cool automobiles.
Looking at the little filly Annie reached out to give her a little pat, the filly instantly indulged in the attention. She thought to her self why the poor little filly was alone in the barn with not even a scrap of hay to be found. She felt very sad for the little filly because she was all alone in the barn. Annie felt a certain attachment to the little animal, that couldn't be explained. Then she quickly remembered that she was supposed to be home soon, like right about now.
Giving the filly one last pat, she said, 'I will try to see you tomorrow, I will do by absolute best to earn the money to buy the ticket.'
As she walked away the filly gave a pleading whinny, trying to persuade her to stay, so she wouldn't be so lonely.
The rain had finally stopped but had left massive puddles and on the dirt road it made a complete muddy mess. But the mud didn't stop her she dashed all the way home muddying up her hand made skirt. She didn't care: all she was thinking about was how she might earn or get the money to buy a ticket so she could win that beautiful filly.
As she entered the doorway of the shabby old shack of a house she forgot that she still had on her muddy shoes, when she heard her mother shout at her.
'Annie, what are doing girl, I just finished cleaning the house and here you come all filthy and all. So before you go one more step with those grimy clothes, take them of this instant. And what in the world are you in such a hurry about?'
'Oh, I'm sorry, mother, I didn't even notice how muddy I got on the way home.'
After Annie changed her clothes and her mother had settled down from the commotion the first word out of her mouth was the filly. She explained to her mother that this filly was the only thing in a long time that she felt she had to have. It wasn't like a spoiled little girl 'have to have' kind of thing. She never asked her parents for hardly anything because of the money situation but this was different, she had a chance to win the filly. She would take care of the little horse's every needs, feeding watering and what ever else she had to do to convince her wary mother to at least let her get some money to buy a raffle ticket.
The other problem even if she were to get the money to buy a couple of raffle tickets there was no guarantee that she would win. To Annie the worse part of all this was not knowing if she would win the raffle and the gray filly. All the money she would have to put into the tickets would be a waste and she would be heartbroken if she did not have the filly. She thought to herself that she would find work anywhere she could, empty out her piggy bank completely, she would even beg for it. It didn't matter what she did, all that mattered was that filly.

* * *

Creature of the night

By Leah, 12, Dublin, Co. Dublin, Ireland

" We have a new arrival coming, Leah, so get a move on and ready stall number 17." I rushed to do as I was ordered wondering what colour was it, was it a mare or stallion, would it be used for the riding school or the show circuit.... My mind was filled with questions bouncing around my head like rubber balls.

Half an hour later, just as I finished grooming Venus, a riding school mare, a horse box came slowly up the drive.
"She's here!" The head groom exclaimed. Turning around he ran up to the office to inform Mrs. Kembly, owner of the ranch. Seconds later they were lowering the ramp. "hello girl, aren't you a pretty gir-OOOF! With a screaming cry, the mare lashed out at the head groom, where he landed on the ground, stunned. She then threw herself out of the trailer and reared, letting out another piercing scream, her eyes flashed red. "grab her!" Mrs. Kembly bellowed. Nobody moved.

Leah stared in amazement at the mare. She was around 17.2 hands, her coat was a satiny blue-black colour and her mane and tail were silvery white. Suddenly she found herself approaching the mare, who tossed her head and pawed the ground.
"Easy girl, I won't hurt you."
The mare tossed her head again, but stood still and allowed herself to be caught. She gentled the mare to her loose box, all bedded down and ready for her. When she walked back to the yard the head groom was back on his feet, helped by Mrs. Kembly and the driver of the horsebox.

"I would've helped but hey, I'm just the driver, I don't know anything about the creatures." The driver apologised as he prepared to leave.

Leah walked down to the office to ask Mrs. Kembly could she go home when suddenly she overheard voices in the tack room.
"Get her destroyed that's what I think." The voice of the head groom insisted angrily.
"You're right, she's too dangerous to keep." Mrs. Kembly agreed.
"I'll call the vet now and see if he can pop down" The head groom offered.
"Right, that's fine by me" Said Mrs. Kembly.

Horrified she ran towards the mare's stall, thinking, "this can't be happening" When the head groom caught sight of her and yelled after her to go fetch the horses from field B and settle them for the night."Then you can go home" The head groom told her. After bringing in the horses she gave in to her tears and ran home, crying bitterly.

Meanwhile, Nightmare was clearly stressed. Outside storm clouds began to gather..."you sure about this?" The man asked dressed in white, he was holding a bag in one hand and a syringe filled with yellow liquid in the other."absolutly" Answered the woman. The headgroom beside her nodded his agreement. The three were standing outside her stall, the man with the syringe was undoing the bolt now, he was inside the stall..There was a scream of pain and the mare burst out of the stall into the storm, transforming.. When she reached the the woods at the top of the hill she swung round and reared, and behind her the entire sky was illuminated as lightening touched the ground at the bottom of the hill behind her. But that wasn't the reason they were staring. Large, powerful wings had sprouted from her shoulders, a single horn gleamed in the middle of her forehead, and her eyes glowed red. Then she swung round and was gone, galloping away. And, amazingly, the storm ended and all was still.

Except for one final cry, piercing the night.....
(April 2007)

Such A Wish........

By Regina , 8, Plymouth, USA

This is what I call such a wish, you probably don't understand, but that is why I'll explain. I absolutely love animals like crazy and I really want a pet. The big bad news is that I really want a dog, but my brother is allergic to animal fur. In many dreams I dream about having a dog. I've tried to convince my mom to at least buy me a hamster. Then one day I heard the best news ever from my mom, she just taken my brother to a checkup at the doctor and the doctor said my brother is barely allergic to fur any more!!! Dreams really do come true! (April 2007)

Oakley Is Here!

By Josh, 12, Sarasota, FL, USA

I woke up at 7:00am and jumped out of my bed. 'This is going to be the best day ever,' I whispered to myself. I sprinted to my parent's room to wake them up. I pranced on their bed and said, 'Get up, get up.'
They both woke up moaning. 'What' my mom says, acting like she doesn't know what is going on. After a moment of silence she says, 'Uh, but it's too early to get up.'
'But mom we have to go get Oakley!' I groaned.
I finally got them both up at 7:43am. So I go help them make coffee. You probably have heard your parents say something like 'We won't go until the coffee is ready,' or 'Wait! The coffee is almost ready,' and that is exactly what they said to me. So while I am making the coffee I smelled the haunting aroma. When I just remembered! I forgot to wake my brothers up. So I ran to their room to wake them up. They woke up very quickly because they also were excited to go see Oakley. It was about time to leave right when the coffee got done. 'Hurry up, get in the car,' I yelled in excitement. 'But honey, it's Saturday, can't we just relax a little and take the whole morning to drink coffee, watch TV, and read the newspaper?' my mom giggled.
So we all jumped in the car and speed over to Petsmart. We got there just in time before the store opened. My brothers and I ran to Oakley to pet her. This would be the first time my dad sees our new dog. Because before this my mom, my brothers, and I were looking for a dog on the Internet we found Oakley. She had light brown fur. And it said she loved kids. So we decided to adopt her from K-9 Castaways. But before we did that we wanted to see if it was a good dog so we asked if Oakley could come over to our house so we could meet her. And they said yes. So that was the day our dad missed her because he was at work.
So now we went up to the K-9 people and asked if we could walk Oakley around the store. 'Yes you guys may,' they said politely. We really wanted to walk her because we wanted to get her a new collar.
While we are looking I heard my dad say, 'She's a cute dog' to my mom. Right after that my dad finds a pink flowered collar. We all agreed that that was the right collar for Oakley. So we bought it and go back to the owners on the other side of the store. And we came and signed the papers to be her foster family. Then we take all her toys and food and leave.
When we got home my mom asked, 'Josh, can you put your sweet little cat outside on the pool deck and leave Oakley inside so they can just look at each other through the sliders.' So I did what she asked. And right when I did that all they did was glare at each other through the glass door.
Then our favorite friends, the Nutter family came over. 'How are you guys?' my mom asked when they walk through the door. Mrs. Nutter said, 'Why we're doing fine.' Then Oakley sprinted into the room to see what was going on. And when she saw the Nutter she was waged her tail fast. 'Oh, is this the cute dog you guys were talking about?' Mrs. Nutter said.
'Why, yes it is,' my dad said. The whole Nutter family reached out there arms and stroked her on the head.
'You guys made a good choice,' Mr. Nutter agreed.
After a while they had to leave and we all said good-bye. So dad closed the door while they walked out and then asked, 'I think we should let Emma in and see how they both do?'
'Lets do that,' I say. So I walk to the door and open it.
They were fine for a while until Oakley ran after Emma and Oakley started barking while she was chasing Emma. So then we had to split them up again. To calm Oakley down we started to watch a movie. I sat on the comfortable couch with my sweet, new dog.
It was 7:00pm when mom had to go on her night shift to work. When she left dad asked, 'So do you guys want to go out to eat?'
We shouted 'Yes!' because dad rarely toke us out to eat. So we put Oakley in her cage because that meant that we could let our cat in. We thought she might be hungry so we left her food in her cage. We locked Oakley up in her cage and I telling you right now she did not want to go in. She was barking like an irate monkey. My dad said, 'She will be alright, let's go, she'll be fine.' We went to a Chinese restaurant. When we got there we all slurped on our steaming egg drop soup.
And after we were done with that, we got our fortune cookies. 'Hey Dad look at mine,' I said.
'Well, that is true,' he giggled while looking at it.
'Hey Josh can I trade with you,' my brother asked.
And it started to get late so we got I the car and left.
But when we came back Oakley was a little toot (as my mom would say); she had knocked all of her food onto the ground. So my brother, Nic, and I had to pick it all up.
'We will be waiting outside for you guys so we can take her on a long walk,' my dad told us.
'Ok,' we agreed.
We then sprinted outside when we were all done. And we all walked around the neighborhood. My brothers, mom, dad, and I are happy to have her with us.
(March 2007)

It's just a Dream...

By Rachael, 12, Sarasota, FL, USA

The loud speaker boomed.
'Next up to tackle the Show Jumping course is Brianne Rose on her stunning horse Magic Moment''
How could I drop out of this competition; how could I do this to them; to Molly, mom, and dad? Most importantly, how could I do this to Magic?
Everything was perfect, just the way I had imagined. I was ranked fourth after both Dressage and Cross-Country. Show jumping was my favorite and Magic's favorite too. We were in the perfect place to win, and being the 20th person to go, I had an advantage to see the places in the course that were harder to ride; tight corners and striding are two things you can't afford to mess-up with.
Then the noise came again,
''Last chance for Brianne Rose,' I could already feel the tears galloping down my face.
'Sorry,' I whispered knowing only Magic could hear me.
Now I was not only crying but I had slipped off of Magic and dropped the reins; I was running. I don't know where or how I'm going to get there, but I'm going there. Everything was racing through my head. How much money it took to get here, how much time I spent practicing, and most of all, all the support from my family, friends, and Molly, my trainer. But before I got too far, I could hear my Mother's voice.
'What in the world do you think you are doing?!''
~~~~~~~~~~
'What?!' I woke up and curved my head to the picture on my sky blue bedroom wall, of Magic and me at a competition last year; we won in our division. It's just a dream. It's just a dream, I thought, trying to convince myself. For five days I've had the same exact dream from dropping out of the Silver Wood Championships. I haven't told anyone about it because I thought it would stop pestering me but now, maybe I should tell Molly.
'Brianne, come and eat some breakfast before we leave!' Patty, my mom shrieked.
I leisurely moved my body up out of my bed and turned my short but muscular legs out from under the covers. I was in no rush because I knew where we were going; Golden River Stables, in other words I'm going to see Molly for the first time ever since The Silver Wood Championships. I knew that all I would have to do was ride a little just to show everyone that I was ok and that Magic was too. I mean, it happens some times; people get nervous and they decide that they just aren't ready for the competition. At the competition I was just a bomb waiting to explode; and I did, explode.
'Almost ready,' I said, grabbing anything I could off of my island of clothes, and walked out in to the kitchen. My mother gave me a plate and I loaded it with, my favorite, M&M pancakes'yum! I sluggishly took my seat at the dinner table and ate, slowly but surely finishing my pancakes and moving on to the bacon that my mother had just slipped on to the table.
'Why are you eating like this has been the only meal you've had in days?' Patty, my mother questioned with a skeptical look on her face.
'I'm savoring it; I haven't had these in a while,' I answered with a full mouth of the bacon. The truth was I hadn't had it since the morning of the Championships. Five minutes later I was done eating and ready to hop into the car and leave for the ranch. My mother just had to grab her jacket and we were off! All the way to the stables neither of us spoke.
Breaking the silence, my mom breathed, 'Almost there'' Then we turned onto the road where the stables were located. I gazed out the car window to see the beautiful fields and hills that I had ridden on so many times. My eyes were filling with tears as I thought back to when I first rode Magic, on these hills. There was a lesson going on; mine, the one I was supposed to be in. They were doing a gymnastic, which are three or four, foot high jumps a stride apart. They are used to build confidence in both the horse and the rider.
'Well, were here!' My mom yelled to me, sounding more exhilarated then myself. The stables have always been beautiful; it was a typical wooden barn with more then twenty stalls that were all full of million dollar horses. The barn had always smelled like fresh T&A hay and wood chips, for the stalls. Never once have I seen the stable dirty. I lifted my boots out of the car and slammed the door shut. What were my friends going to say? Are they even going to talk to me? The questions raced around in my head.
'Go see Molly, she'll have something for you to do,' My mother said as she walked over to the grouping of mothers. Ok, what to do, what to do... I thought, I guess I'll go see Magic. I staggered towards the barn opening but I stopped before I went in. Here I go' I thought to myself. I made my way into the tack room where I'd hope to find Ms. Molly. I cracked the door open so I would not have to get stuck talking to someone about what had happened, no one. I opened the door slowly and quickly went in and shut the door.
'Hello? Ms. Molly? Anyone?' I questioned waiting to hear a reply.
'Brianne? Is that you?' Molly answered.
'Yeah, it's me,' I breathed then took a deep breath ready for her to start yelling. She lingered her petite body over to where I was standing.
'I was wondering if you would ever come poking around again,' She said squinting her eyes at me like I was a patient in the hospital being examined.
'Well you know me, always doing the unexpected,' I answered trying to sound a little confident.
'Ok, well let's get started! M&M is in the last stall on the left, meet me in the indoor jumping arena, we'll start there,' M&M was short for Magic Moment; she has been calling him that ever since we had gotten him.
'Great,' I sighed, 'jumping just what I wanted to do!' I said sarcastically.
I walked over to the hook that said 'MAGIC MOMENT' in big letters on it and then walked out of the tack room. I sluggishly walked over to the last stall to the left and sat my tack down on the hooks provided.
'Hey there!' I yelled. At the sound of my voice he pivoted his body over to the door and made a low but excited whinny.
'Hey; your excited about going off to ride? I thought you would be mad,' I questioned him, noticing that I was talking to a horse. I took his leather halter off the nail holder on the wall next to his stall. It had sheep skin covers that were as soft as Egyptian cotton. I walked over to the stall door and slid it open and shut it behind me. Magic, as usual just sat there and laid his head down so I could easily put the halter on. I led him out of his stall and hooked him up to the crossties. His mane was freshly braided and same for his tail. There was no need for me to brush his dark bay coat so I immediately put the navy blue saddle pad over his withers and followed by my leather saddle. A few minutes later he was all tacked up and ready to go. I stood back to get the whole effect. He looked fabulous; his coat was glowing and his tail had absolutely no knots or flaws in it.
'Ok, I think we're good,' I said amazed at how beautiful he is. I gently pulled the reins over his head and led him out of the stable and towards the indoor jumping arena. When we finally got to the vast entrance I pushed the reins back over his braided mane and pulled myself onto him. Well here we go. I hope I'm not making a big fool out of myself. With a little squeeze of my legs Magic was moving smoothly through the doors. Inside there was a whole course of colorful 3'' high jumps all set-up. My eyes followed the jumps around the arena; I thought I had seen the same course somewhere, but where?
'This is the same course of the Championships,' Vanessa yelled, as she rode up beside me, 'What cat gotcha' tongue?' she said with a questioning look. She was on top of her horse, Midnight Escape; she was a black Dutch Warmblood mare with a little white star on her forehead.
'Hey!' I said, unsure of where she was coming from.
'Better get practicing for next year!' She said sarcastically.
'Brianne I hope you don't mind that Vanessa is riding,' Molly told me sympathetically. Vanessa was one of my friends, before the competition. We usually ride together, but when my mother talked to Ms. Molly, she said it was just going to be her and me.
'No, absolutely not,' I said, trying to fake a smile.
'Ok girls; then let's go ahead and do our regular warm ups,' Molly yelled. I let Vanessa go ahead of me so that I wouldn't have to worry about how bad I look.
I worked Magic through his smooth gaits and did a few dressage movements. Then it was time to start to jump.
'Girls let's do the green cross rail over on the other side of the arena and follow the cones to the purple vertical,' Hours later, Molly had made us do so much training that even Magic looked worn out.
'We have just enough time to do one more course, unless you both don't want to,' Ms. Molly said with a huge grin on her face.
Vanessa and I looked at each other. Please say no, please say no, please say no! Vanessa turned her head to say, 'I think both of our horses have had enough, but maybe tomorrow Ms. Molly.'
'Yes, tomorrow,' Molly said, walking towards the entrance. When Molly had disappeared Vanessa sighed.
'She's been doing that ever since the competition,' She whispered, trying to catch her breath.
'You mean ever since I backed out of the competition,' Vanessa turned her oval face towards me but didn't say anything. Trying to change the subject she said, 'Magic looks great; I think you two will be competing in no time!'
'Really? Because I just about died when she wanted us to do the course over again.'
'You know if you ever want to talk'' she said but I knew just where she was going with it.
Cutting in before she could say anything else I said, 'I'm fine, but thanks.' Before she could say much more I dismounted Magic and walked away. I knew this would happen I just knew it.
When I got back to the stable I grabbed Magic's halter, slipped his Bridle off, and put his halter back on. Maybe I should apologize. I latched his halter to both of the crosstie hooks and walked over to his left shoulder to undo his girth so I could take my saddle off. When I was done un-tacking him I walked towards the tack room door. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Vanessa walking up to un-tack her horse. She waved and motioned for me to stop but I kept on going into the tack room. What should I say?! Before I knew it she had already thrown her things on the racks and was right beside me.
'You don't have to ignore me.'
'I wasn't, I was just''
'I'm just trying to do the right thing and be there for you, and you already made it quite apparent that you don't want to talk to me!'
'I'm sorry, I do want to talk to you, I'm just' not sure of what to say.'
'Anything,' She said, and ran out of the room. Wait to go Brianne! I put the rest of my tack down on the holders and walked out of the tack room and down towards Magic. When I got to Magic I grabbed his lead rope and walked him toward the wash rack so I could give him a bath. Twenty minutes later I was done with all my regular horse chores. I grabbed my jacket and ran to find my mom.
'Mom!' I screamed, 'I'm done, lets go.'
'I'm not, so hold your horses, go talk to your friends; I'll be in the car in ten minutes.' You mean the friends I use to have. Whatever I'm going to sit in the car.
Ten minutes later my mom was in the car and we were half way home.
'So, how was riding?' Patty, my mom questioned.
'Ok,' I answered.
'That tells me a lot,' She announced.
'Mom, I don't want to talk about it! OK?!' I yelled. She looked at me; surprised. She didn't say anything for the rest of the ride home.
Three days later my mother still hasn't talked to me. I'm still having the same dream, exactly the same.
I was in my room reading my favorite magazine in hand when my mom decided to break the silence.
'Brianne? You in there?' my mother asked.
'Yeah...'
'Vanessa's on the phone,' She answered, walking into my room and handing our new phone over to me.
'Hello?' I said.
'Hey,' She answered, 'I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry about what happened and that I understand that you're going through a lot. I don't know why I went off on you like that; I'm really sorry.'
'That's fine I understand but really I should be the one apologizing. I did ignore you because I was afraid of what you were going to say,' I answered sympathetically.
'When will Allison and Jenny be coming back?' I asked. Allison and Jenny were the two other girls I had lessons with.
'I don't know,' She replied, 'well, I got to go eat dinner.'
'Bye.' I said.
~~~~~~~~~
Dear Diary,
Through the following year Allison and Jenny came home from the last competition, and me, Vanessa, Allison, and Jenny all became best friends again. They helped me through so much, training and my emotional days. The dream is still the same and I have continued to keep it a secret. My mother has finally started talk to me again! And by the end of the year I was totally ready for a challenge, in other words a competition. I built my confidence up and went to the regionals that Ms. Molly entered me in. Molly was trying to keep it a secret, but I already knew that the regionals were for the Silver Wood Championships. But I'm fine with it; I think'
Wish me good Luck!!
-Brianne
P.S. I QUALIFIED!! J
~~~~~~~~~
It was the day of the Silver Wood Championships and Magic and me were on our way to the location.
'Almost there,' My mother informed us.
'Good,' Brianne, Allison, Vanessa, and Jenny said in synch. Minutes later they were on the competition grounds. Brianne opened the car door of the truck and walked out. She walked around to the trailer door and opened it up so she could get Magic out. Thirty minutes later Magic was tacked up and looked magnificent! Before she knew it she was next up to go. The rider before her wasn't doing so well, she had one refusal, her horse had kicked three poles down, and she was over time by six seconds. The girls came running up beside her.
'We should tell you something,' They all said.
'I already know, this is Silver Wood,' I said confidently, 'and I'm going to win it!' I was placed second over all and it looks like if I get less than three faults I should be good to win it.
The loud speaker boomed, 'Next up is Brianne Rose and her horse, Magic Moment.'
'Time to shine!' I yelled as I pushed Magic on. I went into the ring amazed at how different it looked on horseback. I got behind the starting line and waited for the buzzer to go off so I could start the challenge.
'Beeeeeb!'
I pushed Magic into a forward canter towards the first jump, then the third, and then the fourth. We had three jumps left, a total of fifteen. I lined Magic up for the first of the double oxer. Nailed it! The last two jumps were a breather; we crossed the finish line! I looked over to the scoreboard: two time penalties points.
'WE WON!!' I yelled at the top of my lungs. I gave Magic a huge hug.
'I love you Boy!'
The loud speaker boomed, 'Brianne Rose is the winner of the 2007 Silver Wood Championships!' I dismounted Magic as the prize awarder came over to me and handed me a blanket, a medal, and a ribbon. The camera photographers took a few pictures and then left. I won. I won. I won. I repeated over and over in my head. I led Magic over to the barn and hooked him to his stall door. The girls all ran over to congratulate me.
'You won!' They all said. An hour later we were back on the road home. After we dropped the horses off at the stable and we dropped the girls off at their houses, my mom and I went home and ate our celebration dinner. That night after I had taken a shower, I climbed into my bed and was kissed goodnight by my mother. The dream I'd been having was gone. Well, not completely the dream was the same except, instead of backing out, I went through with it, and won, just like I did earlier that day. But I could never have done any of it without the help and support from my friends, my mother, and Molly. That is the most important part of winning: having someone to share the joy with.

The End

(March 2007)

Whales

By Lucas, 9, Poca, USA

Whales can stay under water for one hour. Humpback whales can eat many fish. They are large and sometimes mean like a shark. Eats plankton. Somethings can kill the whales like gas. (March 2007)

Whales

By Shawn, 9, Poca, USA

Whales are the biggest mammals on earth. Humpback whales are almost the same size as an blowhole whale. A whale can stay under water for one hour Large and sometimes mean like a shark. Eats plankton. Somethings can kill the whales like gas. (March 2007)

Whales

By Erica, 9, Poca, USA

Whales are mammals.
Humpback whales are big.
A whale is the biggest mammal in the sea.
Lots of orca whales perform in shows.
Eat a lot of fish
(March 2007)

Whales

By Mia, 9, Poca, USA

Whales have blubber. Hump backs are big whales. All whales live in the ocean. Living whales breath through a hole in their back. Every whale is a different kind. (March 2007)

Showing Shimmer

By Scarlet, 8, Berkhamsted, UK

CHAPTER ONE

`Mum, can I go to Sophie`s house?` ten-year-old Tessa Mitchell asked.
`Alright, but be back by four o`clock,` Mrs. Mitchell answered.
But Tessa had already gone to tack up her palomino gelding, Toffee.
Sophie Leonard was Tessa`s best friend. It was strange because they only had one thing in common: they both loved horses. As you have probably already figured out, the two girls were exact opposites. While Sophie was short and rather plump, Tessa was tall and skinny. While Sophie had short, straight, blonde hair, Tessa had long, wavy black hair. While Sophie had bright, sparkling blue eyes that twinkled merrily when she laughed, Tessa had glowing, rather spooky emerald - green eyes that always looked quite dull at first glance. And while Sophie was warm and friendly all the time, Tessa couldn`t help looking sour and grumpy at school, and she didn`t meet many new people at home!
`Can we start with jumping?` Sophie pleaded. Both she and Midnight, her black, pure-bred Arabian stallion, loved jumping and Tessa knew it.
`OK,` Tessa agreed. That was very nice of her because jumping was one of the many things Toffee wasn`t good at...
`Wow,` Tessa breathed as she watched Sophie and Midnight soar over the highest jump on the course. It was five feet high!
They were going to take it down a bit for Toffee because he didn`t like jumping that high. However, he`d have to learn to in the next three weeks because at the show the jumps would be as high as the one Sophie and Midnight had just jumped. At that moment, Sophie interrupted her thoughts by trotting over on Midnight, breathless and with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
`Your turn,` she grinned, gasping for breath. `I`ve just taken them down.`
`Thanks,` Tessa wasn`t really in the mood to chat but she managed a weak smile. Still smiling, Sophie walked Midnight to the other end of the schooling ring to cool him off. Tessa swung herself up on to Toffee`s back and clicked her tongue. He set off at a slow trot (which he didn`t usually do when Tessa wanted him to!). Surprised, Tessa leant forward in the saddle to give him a pat for being a good boy. It felt strangely sweaty. She began to feel a bit worried.
As they approached the first jump, Toffee started to get slower and slower. By the time they got to the jump, Toffee was going so slow, he could only walk over it. The second jump was fine much to Tessa`s relief but at the third jump, Toffee coughed while he and Tessa were in the air, and Tessa nearly fell off. Now she was seriously worried. She tried to get Toffee to stop, but it seemed he couldn`t feel the slight tug at the reins. Now, as well as being worried, Tessa was scared as well. She looked up ahead, nervously. And she certainly couldn`t be blamed for being nervous now. For up ahead, she could see the jump that Sophie and Midnight had only just cleared, the jump that was now four foot high, the jump that ... Oh, she just couldn`t bear to look. She closed her eyes, forgetting that she was on a horse, forgetting that she was approaching a four foot jump. And forgetting how dangerous it was to close your eyes on a possibly very sick horse that was galloping towards a jump that you knew it couldn`t clear`

Tessa didn`t know how long she kept her eyes closed. To her, it seemed like a century. In reality, it was two minutes. However, she wouldn`t have opened them until much later if it hadn`t been for the sound of hooves hitting a metal bar and someone who sounded like Sophie screaming her name. Her eyes flew open, just in time to see Toffee`s hooves hitting the top bar of the jump. He reeled backwards and fell. Tessa pulled her feet out of the stirrups, and with one seconds hesitation, she jumped. She felt herself falling, falling, for what seemed like an age, until she hit the ground. Then everything went black.

`Tessa?` It was Sophie. `Tessa, are you OK?`
Tessa propped herself up on her elbow. `Y - y - yeah, I think so,` Tessa replied, shakily. `B - b - but what about Toffee?`
`He`s alright,` Sophie lied. She didn`t want to worry Tessa any more than she already was. Thinking that Toffee was OK, Tessa stood up and walked towards the house with Sophie.
Mrs. Leonard had seen what had happened and had called Tessa`s mum. Mrs. Mitchell arrived almost straightaway.
When she got there, Sophie pulled her aside and told her about Toffee.
`I`ll come and pick him up later,` Mrs. Mitchell told Sophie quietly.
Sophie nodded and pointed to Tessa, who was coming towards them. She had a puzzled look on her face. `Where`s Toffee?` she asked suspiciously. `Oh, um, he`s fine, don`t you worry,` Mrs. Mitchell said hurriedly, going bright red. Tessa narrowed her eyes but didn`t say anything.
When Tessa and her mother arrived home, Mrs. Mitchell suggested that Tessa go and have a bath. She said it was so that Tessa could get all the muck out of her hair, but it was really so that Mrs. Mitchell could go and pick up Toffee.
After sending Tessa upstairs, Mrs. Mitchell left Kelly, Tessa and Graham with their dad and went and picked up Toffee from the Leonard`s house. She got into the trailer and set off for Sophie`s house.
It took a long time to get Toffee into the horsebox because he had hurt his leg. Mrs. Mitchell was glad when she got him home and was able to take him back into his own stable, where Rebecca, (who had come back from the dentist) fed him and put his rug on. Tessa came flying out of the house as if she was a bullet that had been shot from a gun. She flung her arms around his neck, not noticing the twisted leg.
`Oh Toffee, you`re OK!` she cried happily.
`Not really,` a voice said. It was Graham, who happened to be walking past Toffee`s stable at the wrong moment.
`Why?` Tessa asked, puzzled.
`Look at his leg,` came the short, sharp answer as Graham walked on the tack room to fetch his pony`s saddle.
Tessa looked. She stared hard at the wound. She looked up at her mum. `Why didn`t you tell me?` she asked. Her voice was dangerously quiet and hard, her glowing green eyes accusing. `I - I - well - you see - I ...` But before she could think of something to say, let alone finish her sentence, Tessa spun round and ran as fast as she could out of Toffee`s stable.
`Do you ever think before you speak?` Mrs. Mitchell asked angrily. Graham fed Fanny a carrot and patted her neck. `Graham, I`m talking to you!` Now Mrs. Mitchell was really cross. Graham turned to her.
`What?` he said, innocently.
`You seem to like being mean to your poor sister!` she hissed.
`Yeah,` Graham agreed, lazily stroking Fanny`s nose. Mrs. Mitchell gave up on lecturing Graham. But she did have one thing to say.
`I`ll say one more thing, and one more thing only,` she began.
`Good,` Graham yawned.
Mrs. Mitchell had had enough. `I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT WHILE YOU AND KELLY CAN ENTER THE HORSE SHOW AND RIDE TO YOUR HEART`S CONTENT, POOR TESSA`S STUCK WITHOUT A HORSE!`

CHAPTER TWO

Graham stared. Then he turned tail and walked away. Mrs. Mitchell sighed. She patted Fanny`s nose and went to see what Tessa thought about the whole business.
`Tessa?`. Mrs. Mitchell called. `Where are you?` She could hear someone sobbing. It seemed to be coming from the barn. `Tessa!`. There she was, sitting on a bale of hay, sobbing her heart out.
`What`s the matter?` Mrs. Mitchell asked gently, sitting down beside her.
`You know what the matter is!` Tessa wept, pushing her mother away.
`Tessa, please`` Mrs. Mitchell trailed off, seeing the look in her daughter`s eyes. Tessa made a funny face, the kind you make when you`re trying to talk and cry at the same time. She kept making this face for a while before she was able to talk.
`The matter is, that my favourite horse has hurt his leg, I`m not able to enter the show and I`m probably going to be teased about it at school!` she shouted, trying not to cry, but unsuccessfully bursting into tears again. Mrs. Mitchell sighed again. `Maybe we can find you another horse?` she suggested brightly. Tessa responded by crying even harder and shouting `No! I don`t want to enter the stupid show without Toffee!`
`Time for school!` Mrs. Mitchell called upstairs. `Coming!` Graham and Kelly called simultaneously. `Coming!` came the muffled voice of Tessa. Mrs. Mitchell went into the kitchen to make breakfast, closely followed by Graham, then Tessa, then, last of all, Kelly. They gobbled up breakfast in record time, all except for Kelly. She was also the last person to put on her shoes and get outside, where Tessa and Graham went with Mrs. Mitchell to the car, Kelly set off for her school, which was nearer.
At school that day, everything seemed especially hard. Kelly had a nagging feeling that something was going to go wrong. And it did. Kelly was struggling through a page of arithmetic when she heard a wailing noise. A second later, everybody was up on their feet, and their teacher, Mr. Spencer, was leading everyone out of the classroom. But Kelly got left behind. She was paralysed, frozen to the spot in fear. All of a sudden, Kelly realized what was happening, and made a dash for the classroom door. But the fire was coming in, making it almost impossible to get out. Kelly was terrified. She pushed her way blindly through the towering flames. It was burning hot. She didn`t know where she was, who she was. She simply knew that she was in danger, and that she needed to get out of here, fast. But, again, she couldn`t move. She stood there, and did the thing she thought was most sensible. `HELP!` She screamed. She heard footsteps, and ran towards them. She would have been fine, and escaped safely. She really would have. But she didn`t.
Someone had left their pencil case on the floor, worse luck for poor old Kelly. As you can imagine, running as fast as you can in the middle of the night when you can`t see is not a good idea, is it? But I`m sure you would have done what Kelly did if you were in her situation. You see, because Kelly couldn`t see, she tripped over this pencil case and fell. And that was the end of that.

CHAPTER THREE

Mrs. Mitchell came to collect Kelly and take her to hospital. She called the stables and told everyone what had happened.
`But what will happen to Shimmer?` Tessa asked anxiously. She was very fond of Kelly`s pure white Dutch warm blood, even though Shimmer would never come near her!
`She`ll be OK without Kelly,` Mr. Mitchell told her.
Tessa sighed. Her dad was probably right, but Tessa couldn`t help worrying about the most beautiful horse in the stables, and, more importantly, Kelly`s pride and joy`
The next day, Tessa started pestering her Mum and Dad about the show. She had had to stay at the stables for days without doing much and it was too much for her. She hadn`t been Sophie`s house for over a week, because there was no point. But Tessa wasn`t stupid. She owned a lot of horses and could easily pick one of them and enter. Unfortunately, her mother and father didn`t think it was such a good idea, they insisted that every single horse in the stables was busy on that day. `Apart from Shimmer,` Mrs. Mitchell said thoughtfully. Tessa snorted with laughter.
`That horse,` she began `has bucked off every person who tried to ride her before they have time to put one foot in the stirrup...`
`Except Kelly,` Mrs. Mitchell reminded her.
`...and is now eating your cabbages.` Tessa finished, a trifle coldly.
Her mum shrieked and ran towards their garden where Shimmer was indeed eating her cabbages. Tessa grinned for almost the first time that day and went along to the indoor school where her father was giving the Beginners a lesson on jumping. Tessa noticed that one of them was riding Star, a highly strung blue roan. The child who was riding Star looked about six, which Tessa thought was a big mistake. Star was liable to buck off anyone who didn`t know how to ride or couldn`t control her. She sighed, and went back to the house.
About half an hour later, Tessa was drawing a picture of Midnight and Sophie jumping when she heard a shout from outside. She ran to the window to see what was going on. She saw Star galloping past the window with the poor six-year-old who was riding her. Suddenly Star stopped. She hesitated, then bucked as hard as she could. The child flew off and landed in the dirt. Tessa stood stock-still for a minute, taking in what was happening. Then she leapt into action. She dashed outside. She looked in every stable for a horse, but even Toffee was out grazing. The only horse there was, was- Shimmer.
Tessa was fond of Shimmer, and she did think she was pretty, but she`d never thought she`d have to ride her. She considered what to do. One part of her brain was saying `Don`t bother! Star will be fine!` and the other part was saying `Do! DO! Star can`t survive without you!` Tessa hesitated, but only for a moment. She had no choice. She had to go after Star.
`Good girl Sh-shimmer,` Tessa patted the mare`s neck shakily. They were walking through the woods, following a trail a trail of hoof prints that Tessa thought Star had left. Shimmer was being surprisingly docile. Apart from the height of the horse, Tessa was finding her very easy to ride. Almost too easy. She even felt brave enough to try a trot.

As they trotted through the woods, Shimmer suddenly turned towards the trees and bushes to the side of them. She seemed very interested in something that seemed to be lurking there.
`Don`t Shimmer,` Tessa pleaded, suddenly scared. She seemed to be losing control of the beautiful white mare, and she didn`t like it. She tugged at the reins but Shimmer ignored her and starting nosing around in some bushes. Tessa totally lost control of herself and her horse. A high whinny came from the bush that Shimmer had her nose in. Tessa freaked out. She was riding a horse she had never ridden before. She`d totally lost control of her mount. And she had a nagging feeling that she was lost.

CHAPTER FOUR

Tessa considered what to do. She could sit there without doing anything, get bucked off and possibly badly hurt. She could try to take control of Shimmer. Or she could carefully dismount, tie Shimmer up and keep looking for Star on foot. She decided to try to take control of her horse (sorry, Kelly`s horse) and keep looking for Star. Tentatively, she leaned forward, patted Shimmer`s neck and whispered shakily, `Good g-girl Sh-sh-Shim-mer.` Her voice trembled as she spoke.
Shimmer seemed to be calming down- but not for long. The whinnying sound came again, only closer this time. Shimmer started bucking and kicking again. Tessa lost both stirrups and her reins disappeared. She grabbed Shimmer`s mane.
Suddenly there came another sound. This time it was low and calming. It was still a whinny though and Shimmer didn`t like it. She gave one last buck and Tessa was thrown to the ground, landing awkwardly. Shimmer tried to make a dash for it and Tessa cried out in fear, but the whinny came again, louder and fiercer. Shimmer stopped dead. The thundering of many hooves then came towards Shimmer and Tessa. Tessa saw a jet black horse galloping by, then a group of brown or chestnut or maybe piebald ponies came by.
Suddenly, she saw a flash of white. It could only be one horse. Star!
Tessa swung herself into Shimmer`s saddle. Shimmer galloped towards the wild horses. Star raised her head and neighed. While she was distracted, Tessa leaned forward and grabbed her reins. Star reared in fright. She tried to edge towards the black stallion. Keeping hold of Star`s reins, she watched in interest.
Star nuzzled the stallion. Tessa wondered what was going on. Star playfully nudged the stallion. Tessa watched in amazement.
At last, they really did have to go home. Tessa pulled on Star`s reins and she followed reluctantly.
When at last they got back to the stables, Mrs. Mitchell was looking for them. `Where have you been?` she asked crossly.
`In the woods,` Tessa answered.
`Why?`
`I was looking for Star.` Tessa replied simply.
`And did you find her?`
`Yes actually, I did,` Tessa said, pleased with herself. Star trotted forward, none the worse for wear. Mrs. Mitchell gaped.
`It was Shimmer really,` Tessa admitted, patting the beautiful mare. `We make a great team, don`t we?`
`We were just kidding you before Tess, but you really could ride Shimmer in the show,` Mrs. Mitchell said.
`You`re just kidding me now,` Tessa muttered.
`No, really, can`t you see it`s perfect? I mean, you got no horse and Shimmer`s got no rider. You know you love Shimmer lots really and you`ve always wanted to ride her. This is your chance!`
`I`m not good enough,` Tessa cried.
`Of course you are!` Mrs. Mitchell said encouragingly.
`I`ll think about it,` Tessa answered, annoyed.
Tessa did think about it. She thought about it all day long, until at last she came to a decision.
She ran out to the field where Jasmine, Ripple, Fanny and Shimmer were grazing.
She grabbed Shimmer`s head collar and tied poor Shimmer outside the tack room.
She put on Shimmer`s saddle and bridle and led her out into the outdoor ring. Then she mounted and gave Shimmer a little nudge. Shimmer bolted into a canter, Tessa sighed. There was a lot to do before the show.
By the end of the week, Shimmer was nearly perfect. When Tessa nudged her, she moved into a stately walk. When Tessa squeezed her sides, Shimmer broke into a steady trot. And when Tessa tugged the reins ever so slightly and kicked Shimmer, Shimmer went into a fast canter. On the day of the show, she was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

CHAPTER FIVE

`First, we have Miss Catherine Wellard and her horse, Diamond,` the man announced over the speakers.
Catherine looked about seventeen and her horse looked incredible. They did a near perfect round.
Tessa couldn`t see Sophie anywhere. She had butterflies in her stomach. She was so busy worrying that she almost didn`t hear name being called. All she heard was ``Mitchell and her horse, Shimmer.` Tessa jumped up and grabbed Shimmer. She quickly mounted and rode into the ring.
First, they had to do some small jumps. Shimmer flew over them, easy-peasy. Next there were some higher jumps, then a figure of eight.
At last they came to the last obstacle: the jumps that Toffee had failed to clear. Tessa suddenly felt very nervous. She wasn`t sure whether or not Shimmer could clear them.
She knew Shimmer was a fantastic jumper, but she didn`t want anything to happen to Shimmer like it had to Toffee.
Tessa pulled on Shimmer`s reins. The crowd gasped. Tessa felt tears in her eyes. Shimmer nuzzled he leg, wondering what was wrong.
`I can`t do it Shimmer,` Tessa whispered. Shimmer nodded her head fiercely as if to say, `Of course you can!`
Tessa sat back in the saddle, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, she felt herself flying. She grabbed hold of the reins in fright. Then she relaxed.
It was a lovely feeling, soaring over those jumps. Shimmer behaved like an angel.
At the end, Tessa was breathless. Now she just had to wait for the results` `In sixth place, we have Miss Eleanor Garston and Lucky,` the man announced.
`Fifth, there is Miss Sandy Alexander and Crystal.` Sandy smiled proudly and stroked her horse.
`In fourth place, Miss Josephine Brown and Fudge.` This reminded Tessa of Toffee and she blinked back tears.
`Third, Miss Jennie Scott and Saphire.` Jennie sullenly went to collect her ribbon, obviously cross that she hadn`t done better.
`Second, Catherine Wellard and Diamond.` Catherine smiled graciously and pinned the red ribbon onto Diamond`s shiny leather bridle.
`And in first place, we have`` the man tried to increase suspense. Tessa held her breath and waited.
`Tessa Mitchell and Shimmer!`
Tessa jumped up from her seat as if a bolt of lightning had hit her. `Yippee!` she yelled, frightening Shimmer. `Sorry Shimmer,` she said, sitting back down again.
Toward the end of the show, Tessa saw a short, rather plump figure with blonde hair coming towards her. It was Sophie. Tessa hadn`t seen her for days.
Sophie thumped Tessa on the back. Tessa grinned. `It was Shimmer really,` she said again.
It was the perfect end to a perfect day, except for one thing`
`Is Toffee going to be alright?` Tessa asked the vital question and waited for an answer.
`Well...` Mrs. Mitchell began. Tessa`s heart lurched with fear.
`Don`t tease her Mum,` Graham said, coming out of the house. Mrs. Mitchell didn`t say anything.
`Then I`ll tell her,` Graham decided. Tessa held her breath. Tears were running down her cheeks and her face was even paler than usual.
`Yes!` they both said simultaneously.
Tessa felt more tears coming. She could taste their salty taste in her mouth.
`Aren`t you glad?` Graham asked. `Yes,` Tessa said quietly. Then, `Oh YES!` much, much, louder.


CHAPTER SIX

Tessa took Toffee round to Sophie`s house the next day. There was no show coming up, so they decided to take it easy and do some small jumps.
Sophie wanted to do some bigger jumps, so they put up some very high ones.
Midnight soon wanted a rest, so Sophie trotted him round the ring. Tessa gave Toffee a little canter, because he liked going fast.
It was so nice, that Tessa found herself sitting back in the saddle and letting Toffee do all the work.
Suddenly, she felt a strange feeling, like something was badly wrong. She looked at Toffee and realized that he was heading straight for the jump that Sophie and Midnight had just been over.
`NO, TOFFEE!` Tessa screamed. `NO!` But Toffee kept on determinedly, heading straight for the jump!
Tessa clutched his mane. As the jump loomed up, she decided not to make things harder this time.
She rose into three-point position and held on tight.
Toffee soared over the jump. Sophie watched in amazement. Tessa was shaking with fear.
When Toffee had cleared the jump, Sophie left Midnight standing in the yard, bewildered and hugged Tessa so tight that she was breathless for at least five minutes afterwards.
Tessa couldn`t believe what was happening: one minute Toffee wouldn`t go near a jump that high, the next he was sailing over one like a dream. But one thing was for sure: however much she loved Toffee, she would never forget Showing Shimmer.

(Feb 07)

H