by Tina Nolan
“Mum was upstairs hoovering the bedrooms. I was downstairs and I heard everything go quiet. So I snuck up and found her standing at the window, just staring at Merlin in the field.”
“Cool, it’s working!” Eva grinned. She decided it was time to let Annie in on her plan. “Listen – my idea is to find a home for Guinevere and Merlin really nearby. I know your Aunty Ruth would take them, but I was thinking of somewhere much nearer than Devon.”
“How much nearer?” Annie interrupted.
“So near that they wouldn’t have to move at all!” Eva grinned. “My idea is to get your mum to fall in love with Merlin so she’ll want to adopt him and his mum.”
“When did you think of that?” Annie gasped.
“A few days ago. It was you who gave me the idea – when you said that your mum used to love ponies when she was a child.”
“Yeah, I know, but…” Annie shrugged. “I guess it might work. But Aunty Ruth’s already said yes and Mum’s not the sort to back down easily. Remember how she feels about Animal Magic.”
“Come into the stables and help me muck out,” Eva suggested, guiding Annie across the yard. “People change their minds,” she pointed out, sticking a spade into Annie’s hands. She grinned again at the idea of Linda Brooks gazing down at the little grey foal during this, his fourth day in the sunny field. “And now that you know the plan, Annie, you have to work on your mum.”
“How?”
“Tell her about Miss Eliot never seeing Guinnie again if she goes to Devon. Remind her how gorgeous ponies are, how much you’d like to have one because then you could learn to ride like she did when she was younger – all that kind of stuff.”
Spade in hand, Annie promised to try. “But don’t hold your breath,” she warned.
“Try!” Eva insisted, finishing the work in the stable and picking up Guinevere’s head collar. “Time to bring them in from the field. Do you want to come?”
Together the girls left the yard by the side gate and went down the footpath. Everything was calm and quiet as usual, until Eva heard the sound of a car engine in the distance. “That’s weird,” she muttered, hurrying to the gate and spotting Guinevere and Merlin at the far side of the field.
Annie ran after her. “What is?”
“There’s no way in for traffic, but I’m sure I just heard a car.”
Sure enough, as she climbed the gate into Tom Ingleby’s field, Eva saw a Land Rover and trailer crossing the old stone bridge over the river. It had driven straight across the empty golf course, heading for the ponies’ field.
“That’s not right!” she whispered, as alarm bells began to ring in her head.
Hadn’t Cath Brown warned them about horse thieves in the area? And hadn’t she herself seen two angry strangers supposedly fishing on the river bank? “Oh no!” she cried, setting off at a run. She had a vision of the two men loading Guinevere and Merlin into their trailer and driving off at top speed.
To Eva’s surprise, she wasn’t the first person to have spotted the Land Rover. Linda Brooks had climbed her garden fence and was sprinting down the field towards the bridge.
The Land Rover towed the trailer over the bridge into the field.
“Stop!” Linda called. “This is private property. Leave the pony and her foal alone!”
Frightened by the disturbance, Guinevere and Merlin cantered off to the furthest corner of the field.
“They’re horse thieves,” Eva cried, beginning to panic. “We’ll have to try and catch Guinevere!” She ran across the field determined to beat the thieves to it, hoping that the sight of Linda Brooks waving her arms and yelling would be enough to make them turn around.
The Land Rover came to a halt and two burly men stepped out.
“Turn around or I’ll call the police!” Linda insisted, going right up to the men. “You have no business to be here. The golf course is private, and this field is most certainly not a right of way!”
The men folded their arms and stood with their feet wide apart, taking in the panicky scene.
“Hey, Guinnie, it’s OK,” Eva said softly as she approached the mare. At her side, little Merlin trembled and peered out from behind her. “We won’t let anything bad happen.” Slowly she slipped the head collar on.
Meanwhile, Linda stood her ground. “Didn’t you hear me? I said I’ll call the police.”
“And tell them what?” one of the men asked, the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried not to smile. “That Tom Ingleby sent us to set up some electric fencing?”
Linda stared. “Tom Ingleby?”
The man nodded. “He’s our boss. The fence posts are in the trailer if you’d like to check it out.”
“Fence posts?” Taking a deep breath, Linda walked around the back of the trailer and peered inside. “Hmm,” she muttered. “I thought … I mean … I was watching from my window … I thought you were trespassing. And the girls here – they said you were horse thieves!”
“You can’t be too careful,” the man agreed. “I’m Dan Shaw. And this is Nathan. Nathan, ring the boss and get him to tell Mrs…”
“…Brooks,” Linda mumbled. She was red and hot, her hair stuck to her forehead.
“Get him to tell Mrs Brooks that we are who we say we are.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Linda stammered, calling to Annie and Eva that everything was OK. “I’m awfully sorry, Mr Shaw. You must think I’m a total idiot!”
Slowly Eva led Guinevere and Merlin towards the men. Merlin trotted calmly beside Annie.
Dan Shaw grinned. “I pity any poor horse thief who tries to steal those two. With you three around, they wouldn’t stand a chance!”
Linda’s blushes deepened. “Annie, Eva, meet Dan and Nathan. They work for Tom Ingleby.”
Eva gulped. Annie groaned. But the two men chuckled and said they would come back to do the fencing some other time, when the field was empty. Then they climbed into the Land Rover and drove slowly away.
“Oh wow!” Eva muttered and shook her head.
At his mother’s side, Merlin suddenly took a little skip and hop towards Linda.
“Aah!” Annie sighed.
As Eva looked on, she noticed Karl dashing across the field towards them.
“What happened?” he called. “How come Tom’s men drove off without doing their job?”
Eva, Annie and Linda stared at him.
“You knew about Dan and Nathan?” Eva stammered.
Karl nodded. “I took a phone call from Tom Ingleby earlier this afternoon. He said to expect his men to turn up to set up some electric fencing.”
“Thanks for telling us!” Eva groaned.
“Uh-oh, why do I get the feeling that my little sis just jumped to the wrong conclusion as usual?” Karl laughed.
“I’m afraid we all did,” Linda confessed. She stroked Merlin and smiled as he hopped a little closer. Then he stuck out his nose and nuzzled her hand.
“Oh, how dreadful it would have been if those men really had been horse thieves!” Linda sighed. Gently she stroked the foal’s soft nose. She went down on her knees and rested her cheek against his neck. “You’re beautiful!” she whispered. “I’m sorry if we scared you, but I thought those men were coming to steal you, and I couldn’t let that happen!”
Annie nodded at Eva, who smiled back.
“You’re totally gorgeous!” Linda murmured. She looked up at Eva with a tearful face. “What’s his name?”
“Merlin,” Eva replied.
“Like the wizard,” Linda whispered. “Well, Merlin, you’ve worked your magic on me!”
“So you see, we think it would be a wonderful idea if Guinevere and Merlin could stay in Okeham,” Linda Brooks told Heidi and Mark.
She’d called at the house with Annie late on Wednesday evening, just as Jimmy Harrison had arrived with Miss Eliot to pick up Tigger.
The farmhouse kitchen was full of visitors, all drinking tea around the big pine table. Annie sat beside Eva and Karl with an e
normous grin on her face.
Mark cleared his throat. “Let me get this straight, Linda. Are you actually offering a home to the pony and her foal?”
Linda nodded. “I’ve talked with my sister, Ruth, on the phone, and she agrees it’s by far the best solution to keep them here. I’ve also spoken to Tom Ingleby, who’s perfectly happy to carry on renting us the field at the back of our house. And of course Jason agrees that it will be lovely for Annie to have a pony.”
“Whoa!” Mark muttered, holding up both hands. “Did I miss something?” he whispered to Eva.
The shock waves of Linda’s offer allowed Miss Eliot to break into the conversation. “Oh, it would be wonderful to be able to visit Guinevere!” she sighed. “It softens the blow of having to sell Ash Tree Manor if I know I can still see my beautiful pony!”
“And her new foal!” Eva added. She had a warm glow in her stomach, knowing that Animal Magic had once more done its work to match the perfect pet with the perfect owner.
“Well, Annie, there’s no need to ask how you feel about the arrangement!” Heidi smiled. “I can tell by the look on your face that you think you’re in heaven.”
“Pinch me, someone!” Annie sighed. “I’m actually going to have my own pony. Eva, because this is all down to you, you can ride Guinevere whenever you want!”
“Now someone has to pinch me and make me believe what’s happening!” Eva exclaimed, closing her eyes and picturing herself riding Guinnie by the river, with Merlin trotting along at their side.
Heidi turned back to Linda. “And does this mean you’ll be withdrawing your petition to have us closed down?”
An embarrassed frown appeared on Linda’s face. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that. Mr Winters tells me that he’s in the middle of writing his report.”
“So we’ll have to wait and see.” Mark nodded.
“Oh dear, oh dear,” Miss Eliot said softly. “I had no idea!”
“Come and see Merlin,” Eva cut in, eager to change the subject. She, Annie and Karl led the old lady out to the stables. The grown-ups followed behind.
There, in the glow of the lamp, Guinevere stood guard over her foal. She raised her head and snickered as Miss Eliot approached.
“Who’s my clever girl!” the old lady sighed, gazing down at Merlin. “What a beautiful little creature you are!”
Merlin looked up from his bed of straw. He was too sleepy to get up, though he raised his head and flicked his ears towards the visitors.
“Wonderful!” Miss Eliot murmured with tears in her eyes.
Karl stood with his hands in his pockets, doing the don’t-show-your-emotions boy thing. But Eva felt her own tears well up. Guinevere and Merlin would never be more than a stone’s throw from Animal Magic. It was a dream come true.
Annie couldn’t help it – she cried in full view of everyone. “I’m just so-o-o happy!” she sniffed.
And Merlin settled down in his warm bed and slept.
There's always something
going on at Animal Magic.
Read on for a sneak peek!
“Gordon is a black and white goat,” Karl Harrison typed. “He needs a home with high fences and plenty of grass.”
“Put ‘gorgeous’ in front of ‘black and white’,” Eva told him. “‘A gorgeous black and white goat’. We have to make people really want to adopt him!”
“OK,” Karl muttered. “G-o-r-g-e-o-u-s.” He’d already scanned a picture of Gordon into the computer. Now it was up to him and Eva to write a description.
“What else? Can we say he’s great with ponies and horses?”
“Good idea. How about, ‘Good company for ponies out at grass’. That should make horsey people look twice.”
As Eva and Karl worked at the computer in Reception at Animal Magic Rescue Centre, their mum, Heidi, was busy in the surgery next door. She was admitting a young, abandoned terrier called Jasper.
“Just look at this poor dog’s teeth!” Heidi tutted.
Joel, the centre’s assistant, peered into the terrier’s mouth.
“See! There’s a build up of plaque and gum disease like you’d never believe,” Heidi complained. “And Jasper can’t be more than three or four years old.”
Joel nodded. “I can see. It won’t be long before his teeth begin to drop out.”
“Not if I have anything to do with it,” Heidi said firmly. “Let’s microchip him and give him his jabs, then get straight to work on some dental hygiene before it’s too late!”
But the little white and brown dog had other ideas. When they tried to look into his mouth again, he squirmed and wriggled, yelped and barked.
“Calm down,” Joel said. “We’re trying to help here.”
“Woof!” Jasper objected. “Woof! Woof!”
“Hey, do you mind – I can’t hear myself think!” Karl objected. “What else can we say about Gordon?” he asked Eva. “Come on, you’re good at these description thingies.”
“OK. ‘Gordon is a gorgeous black and white goat’,” she repeated. “‘He’s sleek and silky and very smart!’”
From the moment their dad had brought Gordon into the rescue centre two days ago, Eva had adored him.
“The owners can’t handle him any more,” Mark had explained. “They say he eats everything in sight and has escaped from his field more times than Houdini!”
Heidi had shaken her head and sighed. “He’s going to be a hard one to rehome,” she’d predicted. “People want nice, quiet ponies and donkeys, not noisy goats. Especially a billy goat.”
But Eva had fallen in love the moment Gordon trotted into the stable. “He’s gorgeous!” she’d sighed, putting her arms around his neck and letting him nuzzle close. “How could anyone not want someone as adorable as you!”
“Dad, why don’t people want goats?” Eva asked.
She’d left Karl in Reception, hard at work on the computer. Crossing the yard, she found her dad mucking out the new stables. It was early evening. The sun was setting over the golf course beyond the river behind Animal Magic.
“Because goats are greedy, noisy and famously bad tempered.” Her dad grinned, and winked at her as he wheeled a barrow out of the stable block.
“Hush!” Eva looked astonished. “Don’t say that. Gordon can hear you!”
Her dad laughed. “He doesn’t understand – he’s a goat, remember!”
“Goats are clever,” Eva protested. “For all we know, Gordon can understand every word you say!”
“OK, Gordon, I didn’t mean it!” Mark called over his shoulder. “I love you anyway!”
“You do?” Eva checked.
He nodded. “Even though he just butted me while I was mucking out his stall.”
“Really?”
“Really! Right on my backside – pow!” Gingerly Mark rubbed the spot.
“Oh – I’m sure he didn’t mean to,” Eva said hastily. Now she wanted to get past her dad to check on Gordon and make sure he hadn’t hurt himself. She sidestepped and slipped into the stables.
“He meant it all right,” Mark said, as he wheeled the barrow across the yard. “And I have the bruises to prove it!”
“I love you, Gordon!” Eva soothed the goat’s hurt feelings. She noted the full hay-net and the bucket of fresh green cabbage leaves in the corner of his stall. “And so does Dad. He’s given you all this yummy food!”
Gordon nuzzled close to Eva. His dark brown eyes were fringed with lush white lashes. His black face had two beautiful white stripes running down its length.
“You’re so silky smooth,” Eva said. She stroked his neck, then bent to pick a choice cabbage leaf from the bucket.
With perfect timing, Gordon lowered his head and gently butted her in the back. Eva pitched forward into the newly laid straw.
“Hey!” she cried. “I’ve just been sticking up for you and now you go and do that!”
Picking herself up, she glanced round at Gordon, who stared at her with twinkling eyes. The corners of his
mouth were turned up in what Eva could have sworn was a smile.
“Gordon!” she cried. “You’re wicked!”
He flicked his long white ears and did a little hop and skip in the straw.
“But you’re still my favourite!” Eva grinned. “Whatever people say about you, you’re still totally … well, wicked is all I can say!”
Copyright
STRIPES PUBLISHING
An imprint of Little Tiger Press
1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road, London SW6 6AW
First published as an eBook by Stripes Publishing in 2016
Text copyright © Jenny Oldfield, 2006, 2016
Inside Illustrations copyright © Artful Doodlers, 2016
Cover illustration copyright © Anna Chernyshova, 2016
Images courtesy of www.shutterstock.com
eISBN: 978-1-84715-829-1
The right of Jenny Oldfield and Artful Doodlers to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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