by Tina Nolan
Dougal wagged his long tail and trotted into the kennels, where Eva settled him down for the night.
“Good night, Joey, good night, Trixie,” she murmured, passing a greyhound and a Jack Russell.
The dogs yapped and wagged their tails. As Eva turned off the light and closed the door, they fell silent.
She crossed the yard and went into the house to find Karl at his computer, updating the Animal Magic website.
“Hi, Eva. A woman is coming to look at Dougal tomorrow,” he reported.
“Cool. Where are Mum and Dad?”
“In their room.”
Eva heard the low voices of her parents from across the landing. “The Council is sending someone to see us tomorrow afternoon,” Heidi was saying. “They didn’t give an exact time.”
“Do you want me to be here?” Mark asked.
“No, it’s only a quick visit. I can tell them everything they need to know.”
Eva gasped. “Did you hear that?” she hissed at Karl, who nodded.
“Let’s hope they don’t take Linda’s side,” Mark went on. “We could be in serious trouble if they do.”
There was a long pause. “It will mean that all our work at Animal Magic will have to stop,” Heidi admitted. “The Council could close us down overnight!”
Eva lay awake late that night worrying. Every time she closed her eyes she pictured a man from the Council signing a piece of paper saying that Animal Magic had to close.
Then who would find a home for Bruno once his shoulder had healed, or for Joey the greyhound who was too old to race any more? Who would look after animals like Tigger and Guinevere while their owners were in hospital?
Eva tossed and turned. It was no good – she couldn’t sleep even if it was two o’clock in the morning! Getting out of bed, she crept to her window, opened it and listened to the silence. In the distance there was the low hoot of an owl.
I wonder how Guinevere is getting on? she thought, looking over at the stables. She listened in the darkness, and after a few moments was sure she could hear restless movements coming from the stables – the sound of the pony’s feet rustling through dry straw, a low snort, the knock of a hoof against a wooden door. It was no good, whatever her mum had said about Guinevere needing peace and quiet, Eva had to go and take a look!
Eva found Guinevere standing in her bed of straw. She tossed her head in the low glimmer of a safety lamp fixed high on the wall.
“Hey, girl!” Eva murmured. She watched anxiously as the mare began to pace to and fro, then folded her knees and went down on her side, only to get up and pace again. “Take it easy,” Eva breathed.
But Guinevere was restless. She rustled through the straw, went down again, rolled on to her other side and was back on her feet.
“I guess this is the time for your foal to be born,” Eva whispered, feeling sure she was right. She didn’t move.
Guinevere went down on her side a third time, and stayed. Her wide sides heaved as she laid her head on the straw.
“Oh!” Eva was scared. Guinevere looked agitated and helpless. Would it be OK to go into the stall with her?
The mare lifted her head from the straw. She rolled her eyes.
“You’re doing fine!” Eva murmured.
There were footsteps outside, and Heidi came into the stable. “I couldn’t sleep either. I heard you come down,” she muttered to Eva. She took one look at the mare. “Right, this is it!”
She went into the stable and knelt down by Guinevere’s side to test her pulse. Then she held a stethoscope to the mare’s belly. “Uh-oh, the foal’s heartbeat isn’t very strong. I think Guinevere will need help to deliver it,” she decided. “Eva, Joel’s on night duty. Run to the surgery and fetch him.”
Nodding, Eva ran off. She found Joel feeding a litter of orphan kittens with milk from plastic droppers. “Guinevere … foal… Come quick!” she gasped.
Together they ran back to the stables.
“OK, this is happening quicker than I expected,” Heidi warned. “The foal’s head has already emerged. Joel help me ease it out. Eva, stay where you are.”
Anxiously Eva watched her mum and Joel assist Guinevere. She saw the new foal emerge and slither gently on to the straw.
“No panic, it’s all over!” Heidi said, glancing up at Eva.
“Is she … are they OK?” Eva asked.
Heidi’s eyes shone. “Come and see.”
Eva tiptoed towards Guinevere’s stall and peered in.
“I had to turn the foal’s head and help him out,” Heidi said. “He’d got himself jammed for a while back there.”
Him? The foal was a“he”! Eva held her breath. And there he was – the smallest, youngest, skinniest, shakiest foal she’d ever seen!
The baby lay in the straw. His mother licked him clean, and then nudged him with her nose. He braced his front legs and tried to push himself up.
“His head is enormous!” Eva exclaimed. “And his legs are so skinny!”
Guinevere nudged and shoved him gently from behind. The foal was grey, like her, with big, dark eyes.
Once more he tried to stand. He got up and tottered, fell over, tried again.
“Aah!” Eva gasped. “How clever is that!”
“That’s what they’re programmed to do,” Heidi told her quietly. “In the wild, they have to be up on their feet and running away from danger almost the minute they’re born!”
And now the foal was standing on his shaky legs and Guinevere was licking him clean and he was turning to her and beginning to suckle.
“That is so-o-o magical!” Eva murmured. “Guinevere, you’re amazing!”
“Would you like to give him a name?” her mum asked, smiling at Joel.
Eva gazed at the suckling foal. “Let’s call him Merlin,” she whispered. “Like the wizard. ’Cos he’s magic!”
“So, Miss Eliot, you’ll be pleased to know that your mare has had her foal,” Jimmy Harrison said.
He had brought Karl and Eva to visit the old lady in hospital just after lunch the following day. She looked pale and thin, propped up on pillows, with bedclothes folded neatly under her chin.
“He’s grey, like his mum,” Eva broke in. “His mane sticks straight up, and he’s got the longest legs. I was there when he was born!”
“Slow down,” Karl warned. “Sorry, Eva’s always butting in.”
Miss Eliot smiled weakly. “Not at all, you’re excited, aren’t you, dear? And so am I. I was looking forward to seeing the birth myself, but it wasn’t to be.”
“Merlin got up on his feet straight away!” Eva exclaimed.
“Merlin?” Miss Eliot interrupted.
Eva blushed. “Oh, Mum said I could give him a name – just for now – so I chose ‘Merlin’.”
“What a good choice. I think he should keep it. And how is my lovely Guinevere?”
“Mum says she’s doing well,” Karl reported. “And so is Tigger. He’s happy in the cattery.”
Miss Eliot nodded, and then turned her head towards Jimmy. “The doctors tell me I had a slight stroke – nothing too serious, but it’s given me a shock.”
“You’ll have to take it easy from now on,” Jimmy told her kindly. “When you get back home, I’ll pop in and keep an eye on you, don’t you worry.”
Tears appeared in Miss Eliot’s eyes. She shook her head and they trickled down her lined cheeks. “I’m afraid I won’t be coming home, Mr Harrison.”
“Well, not yet,” he conceded. “But in a while, when you’re stronger.”
“Not ever,” the old lady told him faintly. “I have to face facts and admit that Ash Tree Manor is too much for me now.”
Jimmy was about to protest, but the old lady shook her head.
“I’ve lived in the old house all my life and I shall always have many wonderful memories of my time there. But now I’ve made up my mind to sell it and move into an apartment,” Miss Eliot announced. “Tigger will be able to come with me, but not the ponies, of co
urse.”
Eva gasped in alarm. This can’t be happening! she thought. She stared at the old lady’s sad face.
“I would like your son and daughter-in-law to find a wonderful new home for Guinevere and her foal,” Miss Eliot insisted. “I would be so grateful to them if they could succeed.”
“Guinevere and Merlin.” Karl typed the ponies’ names on to the Animal Magic website at the reception desk in the surgery. He remembered what Miss Eliot had told him. “Mother and foal need rehoming together. Guinevere hacks out in company and alone at all paces. Good in traffic. Merlin needs to be with his mum.”
“Listen to this,” Karl called out to Eva. “Does this sound OK?”
Eva listened carefully as he read out the new advert. “You’ve used two ‘needs’,” she pointed out.
“OK, Miss Fussy, I’ll change the first ‘need’ to ‘require’,” Karl nodded, tapping away. “I’ll be out to take photos in a couple of minutes,” he muttered. “Can you get Guinevere and Merlin ready?”
“How do you mean?” Eva asked.
“You know, brushing and grooming. Horsey stuff.” Karl made out he didn’t know or care much about it, but really he was as much in love with the mare and her foal as everyone else. Every time he looked at Merlin, his heart melted.
“Give me five minutes,” Eva replied, dashing out to the stables. Once there, she slowed right down, moving quietly around the ponies as she mucked out and laid fresh straw, and then took a brush to Guinevere’s long mane.
The mare stood patiently, keeping one watchful eye on her foal, who tottered unsteadily through the new straw.
“He’s gorgeous, isn’t he?” Eva murmured, smiling at Merlin’s wobbly legs and soft, tufty tail. She couldn’t believe how tiny his hooves were, or how big his eyes and ears seemed. And he wasn’t scared of having her in the stall with them. Instead he came close and took a nip at the hem of Eva’s T-shirt.
“Hey!” she protested with a smile. She turned and let him take a good sniff at her boots and shorts.
Then Guinevere nudged Eva from behind, as if to say, “You haven’t finished yet.” Eva turned back to Guinevere and was just giving her mane a final brush when someone opened the stable door.
“Nearly finished,” she called out, expecting Karl.
But it was her mum who interrupted. “Eva, this is Mr Winters. He’s come from the Council to take a look at us.”
Eva frowned and chewed her lip. In the excitement of Merlin’s birth, she’d forgotten all about Linda Brooks’s petition and the visit from the Council. She mumbled hello.
“We’ve just opened the stables,” Heidi explained to their visitor. “Guinevere and Merlin are our first customers. I’m hoping to give shelter to goats, ponies and donkeys, and I’m planning to link up with Leebank Pony Sanctuary to find a permanent place for those animals we can’t rehome.”
“So you don’t intend to keep any large animals here long term?” Mr Winters checked. He was a serious-looking man wearing a grey suit and a red and grey striped tie. He was carrying a blue folder and seemed to be making lots of notes.
Eva carried on grooming Guinevere as her mum led Mr Winters outside.
“No, but we do expect this section of the centre to be busy, just like the kennels and the cattery,” Heidi answered honestly. “In fact, to be frank, Mr Winters, we’re already bursting at the seams.”
Eva sighed as the voices faded. She stroked Guinevere’s neck. “You hear that? Mr Winters is checking up on us to see if we’re too noisy.”
Guinevere dipped her head and snorted.
“Exactly!” Eva agreed. “That’s what I think. And Merlin thinks so too!” She pressed her lips together and made a “puh” sound. Too noisy? What a load of rubbish!
Eva caught sight of Mr Winters again as he was leaving. As she came out of the stables, he was shaking hands with her mum, but his face gave nothing away. Was he happy with what he’d seen, or not?
Heidi sighed and shook her head as she turned and walked back into the surgery. Eva was about to follow when she saw Linda Brooks greet Mr Winters on the pavement.
“Ah, Mr Winters!” she called. “I’m glad you followed up my letter of complaint and my petition. Now you can see for yourself how difficult it is for the residents of Okeham to have this animal rescue centre in our midst!”
Mr Winters’s reply was too low for Eva to hear, but as she stood watching, Jason Brooks’s car pulled into the drive next door and Annie jumped out of the back seat.
“Hey, Eva!” Annie cried, dumping her holiday bag and running into the yard. “Wow, am I glad to be back! How are you? What’s new at Animal Magic?”
“Annie, come and say hi to your mum!” Jason Brooks called in vain. He hurried over to his wife’s side just as Mr Winters escaped Linda Brooks’s clutches and drove off.
Annie looked tanned. Her usually neat hair was flying in all directions.
“How was Devon?” Eva asked.
“Cool. I rode ponies and swam in the sea every day. But what’s happening here? What’s with the long face?”
“That was only a visit from the Council to see if your mum can get us closed down!” Eva muttered. But she couldn’t stay glum for long. “Never mind, it’s not your fault, Annie. And guess what – we’ve got a new foal. Come and look!”
“Annie!” Jason Brooks called after her.
“I won’t be long!” she yelled as Eva dragged her into the stables.
“Aah!” Annie’s eyes lit up when she saw Merlin.
He was nestled in the deep straw, his long legs folded beneath him. He looked up at the two girls and blinked sleepily.
“How cute is he!” Annie breathed. “Can I go in and stroke him?”
Eva nodded and led Annie into the stall. “Is this OK?” she asked Guinevere, who hovered close to where her foal lay.
The mare lowered her head and made way for Eva and Annie.
Annie knelt down next to Merlin and reached out to stroke him. “He’s so soft!”
“He can stand and walk already!” Eva said, kneeling next to Annie.
Annie could hardly speak through her broad smile. “What’s his name?”
“Merlin,” Eva whispered.
Annie gave a soft laugh as Merlin nuzzled her hand. “And what’s he doing here at Animal Magic?” she asked.
“He and his mum need a new home,” Eva explained. “Hey, I don’t suppose you know anyone who lives in a house surrounded by fields – someone who loves horses and has space to take in two more?”
Annie sat back. She thought for a while then answered, “Actually, Eva – I do!”
“Devon?” Karl asked.
The family was discussing Guinevere and Merlin’s future over supper that night. Eva had told them about Annie’s pony-loving cousins by the sea.
“I know. It’s miles away,” Eva said. “But Annie’s sure her aunty and uncle would take them. They already own a horse and a pony. And they have loads of space.”
“But we’d never see them again,” Karl pointed out.
“What’s the family’s name?” their dad asked thoughtfully.
Eva recalled the details that Annie had given her. “Simmons. There’s her Aunty Ruth and Uncle David, plus Annie’s two cousins, Jess and Molly. They live on a farm overlooking the sea.”
“So that must be Linda’s sister and her husband.” Heidi worked it out as she collected the dirty dishes and put them in the dishwasher.
Eva traced patterns on the tablecloth with a spare fork. “What do you think, Mum? Is it a good idea?”
Heidi turned to Karl. “Have we had any replies to the advert on the website?”
He shook his head. “But it’s only been up there for a day. Anyway, I think we should say no to Annie’s idea – Devon is too far away.”
“I know how you feel, but I think we should check it out,” his dad argued. “Look at it from Guinevere and Merlin’s point of view … a home by the seaside with other horses – it sounds perfect!”
“She said her Aunty Ruth and her mum used to ride all the time when they were kids. Ruth is still a real animal lover, and Jess and Molly are, too.” Reluctantly Eva spoke the truth. Like Karl, she longed to find somewhere closer for Guinevere and Merlin.
Frowning moodily, Karl stood up from the table. “It’s a stupid idea. What will Miss Eliot say? She’ll have to say goodbye to Guinevere and never see her again. That’s not fair!”
“Right!” Eva agreed, sorely regretting that she’d mentioned the Devon thing. She looked from her mum to her dad.
“We need to talk to Miss Eliot,” Mark pointed out. “After all, it will be her decision in the end.”
“Meanwhile I’ll call Leebank Pony Sanctuary and arrange a visit,” Heidi said. “You never know – perhaps they’ll have room for a mare and foal.”
“I’ll come!” Eva cried, grabbing on to her mum’s new idea.
“Me too!” Karl volunteered.
Please let it be Leebank, not Devon! Eva wished as she left the house and made a beeline for the stables. Better still, let it be Animal Magic for ever!
How cool would that be! Guinevere and Merlin could live in Tom Ingleby’s field at the back of their rescue centre. And every morning Eva would get up and go down to the field to see the dapple-grey mare and her gorgeous foal. They would look up at her and whinny. She would greet them and they would trot through the lush green grass towards her.
Hey, she would even buy a saddle for Guinevere and learn to ride. Merlin would tag along until he was old enough to be schooled…
But in her heart Eva knew it wouldn’t happen that way. No – Animal Magic would find a new home for the gorgeous duo and Eva’s dream would end.
