But when they left the campfire, Abigail noticed a trail of graham cracker crumbs that led from the fire pit down the path to the Miradero tent. There was a chocolate smear on the tent flap and sticky marshmallow on the zipper. But no Snips.
These three clues were all Lucky needed to solve the mystery.
She declared that Snips had been to the campfire himself and stolen a treat.
Abigail wasn’t willing to give up, and she convinced Pru and Lucky to sit outside for a few hours before they finally gave up and ate the s’mores themselves.
When she couldn’t keep her eyes open another second, Abigail crawled into the tent to discover that Snips was already there, snoring soundly. She couldn’t figure out how he’d gotten past her, but she wasn’t going to wake him up to ask. He looked so peaceful and quiet—this was how she liked Snips the best. She’d just talk to him in the morning. So she crawled into her sleeping bag and settled next to him. Within seconds, she was also sound asleep.
When the sun began to rise, Abigail opened her heavy eyes to discover Snips sitting up, staring at her.
“Good morning, my favorite sister,” he whispered, since Lucky and Pru were still snoozing.
Abigail yawned. “It’s too early,” she said. “Not time to wake up yet. Need more sleep.” In the back of her head was the nagging feeling she needed to talk to Snips, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember about what.
“Señor Carrots and I have plans.” He smiled a toothy grin. “Big plans for today. Big, huge, ginormous plans. It’s gonna be the best day at the Jamboree ever.” He pushed back and undid the zipper of the tent. “So see ya later, alligator,” Snips said cheerfully. “Don’t let the bedbugs bite. A stitch in time saves nine.” He muttered, “I don’t even know what that means….” And then he was gone.
A moment later, Abigail closed her eyes against the rays of the rising sun. It felt as if the conversation was a dream. She was so tired. Her eyes began to close again, and her last thought before she fell back asleep was, I forgot to tell Snips all the reasons he needs to stay invisible….
“We really have to hurry,” Pru said as Abigail gathered her supplies for the Majestic Mare event. They’d slept through breakfast. Pru’s stomach rumbled loudly.
“Here.” Abigail opened her sleepover sack and threw some horse cookies to Pru and Lucky. “I made these myself. They’re hard as rocks, but very nutritious.” The cookies were made of oats, berries, and molasses.
Pru nibbled on the side of one, and then she decided she wasn’t all that hungry. “I think I’ll save this for Chica Linda,” she said, putting it in her pocket.
Lucky took a bigger bite. “Oh no! I think I broke a tooth.”
Abigail and Pru rushed over to look in her mouth.
“Just kidding,” Lucky said, smiling to show her perfectly good teeth. “Spirit’s going to love this treat.”
Abigail put her own biscuit in her pocket for Boomerang. She apologized to her friends. “Sorry. If we hadn’t been up so late, everything would be different.” Abigail huffed. “Blast that Snips. He’s ruining everything.”
“No apology necessary. Today’s a new day,” Lucky assured her. “The Miradero herd is back on track. First we’ll earn the Majestic Mare badge, and then we’ll focus on being honorable.”
“And valorous,” Pru said.
“And compassionate,” Lucky said.
“And honest, too,” Abigail added as she zipped her small carrying bag. “We’ve got to fix our honesty problem.”
“All of them,” Pru assured her. “We’ll be the most heartful Fillies in the valley.”
“In the world,” Lucky said, grabbing Abigail’s sack. “Now let’s go make some pretty horses.”
While walking to the horses, Abigail told Lucky and Pru what she had in mind. “I have a rainbow of ribbons,” she explained. “All three horses are going to match. We’ll start with red ribbons in the tips of their tails, then orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo. If we’ve done it correctly, moving up inch by inch, we should have violet ribbons at the front of each horse’s mane.”
“Sounds fancy,” Lucky said. “Though I’m not sure that Spirit will go for standing around while I braid his mane.”
“He’ll do it,” Abigail assured her.
“Really?” Lucky frowned. “Spirit has a mind of his own.”
“I know,” Abigail said. “That’s why I explained it to him before we came to the Jamboree.” She nodded confidently. “He’s agreed.”
“Uh, okay,” Lucky said with an uncertain glance to Pru. “If you talked to him…”
“It’s all set,” Abigail said. “Chica Linda is ready to be a rainbow of color, too.”
Chica Linda didn’t usually protest grooming. She liked it. Pru said, “I’m guessing she nodded when you talked to her?”
“Yep,” Abigail said. She took her supply bag from Lucky and patted the side. “We’re all set.”
“Spirit!” Lucky cheered when she saw her mustang. “How are you?” She rubbed her hands over his neck and down toward his belly. “I hear you are ready to be even more majestic.” Lucky couldn’t read the expression in Spirit’s eyes, but she knew that he’d want to make her happy.
“Hiya, Chica Linda,” Pru greeted her horse. “We’ll start with a quick bath. How’s that sound?” Chica Linda whinnied happily.
“Boomerang.” Abigail brought her horse around next to the others. “Do you want a cookie?” She fished the hard molasses biscuit out of her pocket and fed it to him. Boomerang ate the whole cookie in one bite. “You must be hungry!” Abigail laughed. “I hope you’re full now! We have a busy day.”
“Hey.” Jimena and her horse, Duchess, approached. “It was fun last night at the campfire.” She looked to Pru. “That ghost story you told was really scary.”
“It wasn’t true, was it?” Ana said. “I mean, there wasn’t really a headless horseman riding through Miradero, was there?”
“It was a long time ago,” Pru assured them. “I haven’t seen him in years.”
She gave a sly wink to Lucky, who said, “Not since the headless horsewoman arrived in town.”
“On the headless horse,” Abigail added.
“You’re joking around,” Olivia said, leading her own horse over to where they’d gathered.
Pru shrugged but didn’t reply.
“Fillies!” Ms. Hungerford called the herds together before anyone else could ask Pru about her story. “Today is the day to show us your best grooming skills. Does anyone know the requirements for the Majestic Mare badge?”
Abigail was the first to raise her hand.
“All right, Abigail,” Ms. Hungerford said when no additional hands went up. “Please tell the others what to expect today.”
Abigail jumped onto Boomerang’s back so she could address the entire group without yelling. “There are three parts to earning this badge,” she said, holding up three fingers. “One: bathing your horse beautiful. That means using nice-smelling soap and then scrubbing and washing it all off. Two: grooming with brushes and picks and combs until your horse gleams. And three: making your horse extra majestic.”
“Very good, Abigail—” Ms. Hungerford began, but Abigail interrupted.
“I wasn’t done. There are three parts to being majestic.” Abigail held up three fingers on her other hand. “One: brushing the mane and tail. Two: braiding the mane and tail. And three: decorating the mane and tail with ribbons and bows. There are many different kinds of braids, and I can show you each one if you want. First there’s the—”
“Very, very good, Abigail,” Ms. Hungerford said approvingly. “It’s clear you’ve read the handbook.”
“More like memorized it,” Lucky said with a snicker.
A hand shot up from a Filly in the back. “What if we aren’t very good at braiding?” Sophie asked. There was a nervous twitch in her voice. “Can we still earn the badge?”
“It’s not a competition,” Ms. Hungerford reminded the Fillies. �
��Just do your best.”
“See?” Abigail smiled at Pru and Lucky. “That’s what I’ve been saying all along!”
Ms. Hungerford carried out buckets and brushes for the girls and led them to the river to collect water. On this side of the valley, the water ran full and heavy, with a rushing current. The girls were warned to be extra careful when filling their buckets while Ms. Hungerford stood guard to make sure no one fell into the wild stream.
The whole way to the river and back again, Abigail kept her eyes peeled for Snips.
“Could he have gone home?” Pru asked her when they didn’t see him lurking anywhere.
“No chance,” Lucky said. “But, hopefully, he’s decided that it’s better to stay hidden.”
Abigail pinched her lips together. Not seeing her brother made her a little worried about him, but she’d still rather not see him than see him.
Washing the horses was a ton of fun. The Fillies got into it and helped one another. When Sophie’s horse kicked over the water bucket, Lucky and Pru gave her some of their water. Ms. Hungerford had brought lavender-scented shampoo for the horses, and they smelled amazing.
“Spirit loves a good bath,” Lucky said, pouring water over his back. His coat shone in the sunlight.
Chica Linda waited until Pru had made the soap into big, lush bubbles, then shook her head, throwing bubbles from her neck into Pru’s hair.
Jimena offered to help, tossing a handful of water at Pru. The water landed splat, right on top of Pru’s head, and dripped down her back and shoulders. At first, Pru looked as if she might be mad, but then she said, “Hey, thanks for washing the soap out,” and she shook her head and whinnied just like Chica Linda.
The Fillies laughed and played as they cleaned the horses’ hooves, used curry combs to remove dirt from their bodies, and smoothed their coats with dandy brushes.
“It’s majestic time!” Abigail told Pru and Lucky as she excitedly opened her supply bag. Ms. Hungerford had brought long ribbons and colored yarn for the girls who didn’t have their own ribbon and bows. She put her box down in the middle of everyone, while Abigail put her bag near Spirit, Boomerang, and Chica Linda.
Everyone was having fun. Abigail checked to see what Sophie was doing, since she had been worried this wasn’t her best event. Sophie had made little braids in her horse’s tail. They weren’t woven with ribbons, but that was okay. Abigail might suggest that Sophie should tie a bow around its tail when the braids were complete, and then it would be perfectly majestic.
Other Fillies were braiding long pieces of ribbon into their horses’ manes and tails. It was like a beauty shop for horses, and Abigail was having the best time ever. She loved turning Boomerang into a majestic-looking horse and was sure everything was on track for them to really earn their first badge of the weekend.
She’d just started her first braid when suddenly an odd, high-pitched voice came from down by the raging river.
“Help!” the voice squeaked.
“Did you hear that?” Ana asked the PALs.
“You don’t think…?” Abigail dropped her ribbons and bows and started to run. “Could Snips be in trouble?” she asked Pru and Lucky as they headed out after her.
The other girls left their half-majestic horses and followed.
“Hello?” Abigail called out at the riverbank. “Anyone there?”
It was silent. Like good Fillies, the herds fanned out and searched the riverbanks. There was no one there. Eventually, they all started to doubt that they’d even heard a voice at all.
“Back to camp, Fillies,” Ms. Hungerford instructed the girls. “It must have been the wind in the trees.”
When they arrived at the field, everything was a mess. The ribbons that the Fillies had been using to make their horses majestic and pretty were now torn and dirty, scattered all over the ground. There were only a few clean ribbons left, and those belonged to the Miradero herd.
“What happened here?” Ms. Hungerford said, not really expecting an answer.
Abigail breathed heavily and frowned. She whispered to Lucky and Pru, “Looks as if Snips has struck again. He distracted us all so he could make this mess.”
“That Snips!” Lucky exclaimed. “He still thinks we need his help. He messed up everyone else’s ribbons but left ours. That way we’d get the badge and no one else would!”
“He is so tricky,” Abigail moaned, looking around at the girls and their horses.
Jimena said, “This is horrible.” She picked up a massive tangle of bows and ribbons.
All the herds worked together to unwind the ribbons and salvage the few pieces that hadn’t been ruined. When they were done, Ms. Hungerford said, “Our next activity will begin in twenty minutes. You must finish the requirements for this badge before then.”
A cry of “Oh no!” rose from the Fillies. There wasn’t enough time to do everything again, and they didn’t have enough supplies, either!
Abigail looked out at all the plain-looking animals. Since the PALs were the only ones with a full box of clean majestic-making supplies, she told Pru and Lucky, “I think we should help.”
“Of course we will!” Lucky said.
“You don’t even have to ask me,” Pru told them both. “I’m in.”
For the next twenty minutes, Abigail braided more manes and tails than she’d ever done before. Pru cut their own ribbons into smaller pieces so there were enough to go around. Lucky tied bows.
The Fillies all helped one another. No one stuck to her own horse. Any horse without a bow got a bow or two. Any horse without braids got braids. And when Ms. Hungerford announced time was up, the Frontier Fillies had a stable of the most majestic horses anyone had ever seen.
A great cheer rose up from the girls when Ms. Hungerford approached holding a bag of badges. She officially inspected each horse before giving its Filly a badge.
When it came time for Boomerang’s review, Abigail realized something terrible: The Miradero horses weren’t fancy—they were just regular ol’ horses.
She tried to explain to Ms. Hungerford. “Pru, Lucky, and I were so busy helping the other Fillies and their horses, we forgot to make our own into Majestic Mares!”
It was true. They’d forgotten to braid their own horses’ manes and tails and tie the planned rainbow of ribbons.
“I’m so sorry, girls,” Ms. Hungerford told them. “The handbook rules cannot be bent. Your horses didn’t meet the last of the three rules.”
Abigail groaned sadly. “They aren’t majestic.”
Lucky was going to argue, but Abigail raised a hand. “No, stop,” she begged.
The other Fillies had already moved on to the next activity, so no one was there to argue for a do-over, like before. This time, the event was over-over.
“Are you sure?” Pru whispered to Abigail. “No more arguing about it?”
“We had fun,” she said, raising her chin, “but rules are rules, and no one believes in the handbook as much as I do. We didn’t earn the badge.”
Diary Entry
Dear Diary,
I can’t believe this is happening.
Without that badge, we’ll never get the votes for the Hungerford Heart. I know, I know… that’s not how it works, but seriously, who’s going to vote for the herd who can’t even make a horse beautiful?
I’m so sad. I want to go home. I even started packing.
Lucky stopped me. She said that we could go home if I really wanted to, but she also reminded me there were still a trail ride and the big showcase. We should have fun at the Jamboree. She also really wants the Saddle Showcase badge, and so does Pru, so we shouldn’t leave.
Pru reminded me that you didn’t have to earn all the badges to be in the running to get votes for the Hungerford Heart.
But I know it helps! A lot! No one will vote for a herd who didn’t get a badge. Especially one as easy to earn as the Majestic Mare badge!
After a whole minute of deep thinking, I decided to stay and was unpacking w
hen Snips stuck his head in the tent. He blamed Lucky and Pru and me for messing up his plans. Then Snips announced that we’d get our badges tomorrow for certain. He ran away before I could say anything.
Lucky tried to grab his foot to stop him, but she missed. He rolled out of the tent and dashed away, shouting something about how the trophy would be coming to Miradero whether we liked it or not.
I am so mad at Snips for ruining everything, but I’m not giving up. Maybe Pru and Lucky are right, and we can still get the votes for the Heart. We just need to be the most virtuous herd at the Jamboree.
The rest of the day is going to be great. We are going on a trail ride. No badges to earn. A quiet ride will help me think about how we can prove ourselves honorable, compassionate, and valorous. (I’ll work on honesty later—Snips is a big problem for that one.) It’s just me, Boomerang, our old friends, and our new friends going on a ride around the valley and down by the river.
I can’t wait.
And the best part about it is, since it’s not a badge or competition, Snips won’t think he should “help.”
Abigail was riding behind Lucky, who was behind Pru. In front of Pru was the Golden Valley herd. They got to go first, of course, because they were the keepers of the Hungerford Heart. Abigail was jealous, but she didn’t let it stick to her. She threw that jealousy in the river and kept riding.
Behind Miradero were the other herds. The horses had all become really friendly and were riding close together. Usually it was best to keep one horse length between riders, but no one was worried about the horses.
Abigail took a quick moment to scan the trees for Snips. Certain that he wasn’t around, she relaxed into the ride. It wasn’t a great adventure, but it was fun.
They clopped along the river under large trees.
“Duck,” Lucky told Abigail as they passed under a thick, low tree branch. She leaned in close to Boomerang’s neck as they safely passed under the tree.
“Watch the ground,” Pru called out as the horses had to step over a moss-covered fallen log.
Spirit Riding Free: Abigail's Diary Page 4
