Pony Tails 08- May Rides a New Pony

by Bonnie Bryant

  May thought about it. She didn’t want Corey and Jasmine to see her moping around the barn. And anyway, meeting a new horse would be interesting.

  “Thanks, Dad,” she said.

  As they headed out of the barn, Mr. Grover said, “You’re not going to believe what this horse is called.”

  “What?”

  “Zeus. Isn’t that strange?”

  “Totally strange,” said May as she walked with her dad toward the family station wagon. “Um … why is it strange?”

  “Zeus was the king of the gods in ancient Greece,” Mr. Grover said.

  “Well, it must be some horse,” May said.

  “My thoughts exactly,” said Mr. Grover with a smile.

  Corey and Jasmine were lying on Jasmine’s bed staring glumly at the craft book.

  “I thought for sure this book would be full of ideas,” Jasmine said. “And it is full of ideas, but …”

  “But none of them are right,” Corey said.

  Jasmine nodded. She wanted their project to be outstanding. After all, the other craft items at the fair would be made by adults.

  “What we need is a really brilliant idea,” Corey said.

  “And that’s exactly what we haven’t got,” said Jasmine.

  “If May were here, she’d have one,” Corey said. “She always has good ideas.”

  “But she’s worried about Macaroni,” Jasmine said. “She wants to be with him.”

  “That makes sense,” Corey said.

  Corey turned to a page that was filled with pictures of pillows. “We could make pillows.”

  “Too boring,” Jasmine said.

  Corey turned the page. The next page was filled with pictures of teddy bears.

  “We could make bears,” Jasmine said.

  “Too hard,” Corey said. She pointed to a pattern for a bear. “That one needs twelve pieces. We’d be lucky to make one bear by Friday.”

  “I think we’re stuck,” Jasmine said.

  “Why don’t we go ask your mom?” Corey said.

  “Hey.” Jasmine giggled. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  They walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

  Mrs. James was sitting at the table sewing red and yellow pieces of material together.

  “What’s that?” Corey asked.

  “It’s a tea cozy,” said Mrs. James. “When you put it over a teapot, it keeps the tea warm.”

  “Great idea,” Corey said. Then she remembered that she and Jasmine had no ideas at all. “We’re totally stuck.”

  “You couldn’t find anything in the book?” asked Mrs. James.

  “Pillows are too boring, and bears are too hard,” Corey said.

  “Hmmm,” said Mrs. James. “Maybe I can help.” She put down the tea cozy and frowned. She looked up at the ceiling, then down at the table. “Ah,” she said. “Why don’t you make pony pillows?”

  “Ponies don’t need pillows,” Corey said. “They sleep on straw.”

  “I mean pillows shaped like ponies,” Mrs. James said. “You can cut pony shapes out of fabric, sew them, and stuff them. Willow Creek is full of pony lovers. I think pony pillows might be popular.”

  “Good idea,” Corey said.

  Jasmine smiled. She had known her mom would come up with a great idea.

  “But how?” Corey asked. “It sounds hard.”

  “It’s not as hard as it sounds,” Mrs. James said. She went over to a drawer next to the telephone and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pencil. She brought them back to the table.

  “I hear you’re good at drawing ponies,” she said to Corey.

  “She’s great,” Jasmine said. “She draws the best ponies ever.”

  Corey had been drawing ponies half her life, but suddenly she felt nervous. What if she drew a terrible pony?

  “You can do it,” Jasmine said.

  Corey hunched over the sheet of paper. She started with the pony’s ears. She knew that was an odd place to start, but that was the way she always drew ponies. She made one ear a little forward and the other one back. Then she drew the upward curve of the pony’s neck and the downward curve of the pony’s back. She raised the line in another curve for the pony’s rump. She drew the tail, making it long and wispy. She did the two backward Cs of the hind legs. And two neat hooves.

  The pencil flew across the paper. There were the pony’s stomach, his front legs, and then his head.

  Corey sat back. Sometimes her ponies came out really odd-looking. But this pony was okay.

  “That’s the best pony I ever saw,” Jasmine said.

  “It’s really excellent,” said Mrs. James. “Now draw a line half an inch outside the outline of the pony.”

  Corey did that.

  Mrs. James handed her a pair of scissors. “Cut along that line.”

  Corey did.

  “Now you have a pony pillow pattern,” Mrs. James said. “Pin that to cloth and cut around it.”

  “Wow,” Corey said. “These pony pillows are going to be the best pony pillows ever made.” She giggled. “They may also be the only pony pillows ever made.”

  Corey turned to Jasmine, expecting her to look happy. But Jasmine had on a worried frown.

  “I just remembered something,” she said. “May hates to sew.”

  “Not pony pillows,” Corey said. “She’ll love sewing them.”

  “I don’t know,” Jasmine said. She kept remembering how everyone had teased May about her sewing at camp the summer before.

  “We’ll talk her into it,” Corey said. “She’s going to wind up as pony-pillow-crazy as we are.”

  “Come into the sewing room,” Mrs. James said. “I’ll give you my bag of fabric scraps. You can choose anything you want.”

  The three of them walked into the sewing room, which was just off the kitchen. Mrs. James picked up a blue denim laundry bag and handed it to Jasmine.

  Jasmine upended it, pouring fabric scraps onto the floor.

  “There are so many of them,” Corey said. “They’re so beautiful. How will we ever choose?”

  4 Meeting Zeus

  “What if Zeus doesn’t fit in the trailer?” said May. “If he’s king of the gods, he’s bound to be pretty large.”

  “He’ll fit,” Mr. Grover said. “The trailer stalls are bigger than you think.”

  They climbed into the front of the Grovers’ beat-up old station wagon. As Mr. Grover turned the key, the engine started with a cough. He put his foot on the gas pedal, and the wagon and horse trailer rattled down the driveway.

  Mr. Grover turned left onto the paved county road and drove for several minutes. Then he turned left again and pulled into the driveway of a large brick house with green shutters and huge chimneys at either end. Everything about the house was so new and tidy that it looked unreal.

  “That’s some house,” said May. The Grovers’ house was nice, but it had a lived in look.

  “The Randalls just moved in,” Mr. Grover said. “From what I hear, they’ve only been here a few weeks. Everything is new for them, including Zeus.”

  The Grovers’ station wagon and horse trailer clanked up the driveway, past the house and to the barn. Mr. Grover climbed out, stretching his arms.

  An amazing sight appeared from a side door of the house. Standing on the doorstep was a girl about May’s age. She was wearing pleated linen pants, a silk blouse, and a gold belt. May looked down at her own outfit, which consisted of jeans, a pair of dusty old boots, and a T-shirt that said MARVIN’S CAR REPAIR.

  “Are you the horse people?” asked the girl as she took in May’s outfit. She didn’t sneer, but she didn’t have to. Her opinion of May’s clothes was obvious.

  “That’s us, half-horse, half-human,” said May jokingly. She brushed her uncombed brown hair out of her eyes.

  Mr. Grover nudged her. May remembered that training horses was a business for him, and he had to be polite to his customers, no matter how obnoxious they might be.

  “I guess you just mo
ved in,” said May, trying to be friendly.

  “I’ll be leaving for sleepaway camp tomorrow,” the girl said. “I’ll be gone for a month.”

  May understood she was supposed to be impressed. But personally, she had no desire to go to sleepaway camp. Things were too much fun in Willow Creek.

  A man in a blue business suit came out the door behind the girl. “You must be Mr. Grover,” he said, striding toward them. “I see you’ve met Kimberly.”

  “That’s right,” Mr. Grover said, “and this is my daughter May.”

  Kimberly gave May a snooty look.

  “Have you met Zeus?” Mr. Randall asked.

  “Not yet,” Mr. Grover said. “But I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Come on.” Mr. Randall walked to the stable and threw open the barn door.

  The barn was one of the fanciest May had ever seen. There were four stalls, each with an elaborate wooden door and a brass nameplate.

  Only one plate had a name on it. The name was Zeus. The only problem was that Zeus seemed to be invisible. May couldn’t see any horse in the stall.

  Mr. Randall opened the stall door. Inside was a brown pony. A small brown pony. If Mr. Grover sat on the pony his feet would touch the ground.

  “Ah,” Mr. Grover said. “Yes, ummm.” He looked totally stumped. May knew that the only way to train a pony was by riding it. But there was no way Mr. Grover could ride this pony.

  “How come you called him Zeus?” May asked.

  Mr. Randall smiled. “Kimberly is a great student. What she doesn’t know about Greek mythology isn’t worth knowing. We always call her Princess. So she thought she might as well name her horse after the king of the gods.”

  Mr. Grover looked at May. His eyes were moist. May could tell he was struggling to keep from laughing. May had to look at the ground to keep from laughing herself.

  “We have a problem here,” said Mr. Grover solemnly. “I was expecting a horse.”

  “Horse, pony, what’s the difference?” Mr. Randall asked.

  May wondered what her dad was going to do. Horse trainers had a lot of expenses, and the Grovers weren’t rich. In fact, the family always joked that being only somewhat poor was their dream. Mr. Grover couldn’t afford to turn the job down, but he couldn’t do it properly, either.

  “I can’t ride Zeus,” Mr. Grover said.

  “But you have an assistant who can,” May said.

  Mr. Grover looked at her curiously.

  May knew she had to do this right. Otherwise no one would believe her.

  “What I don’t know about ponies isn’t worth knowing,” she said. “I’ve ridden them, trained them, and showed them. Other pony trainers ask me for advice.”

  Mr. Grover’s face was now bright red. May couldn’t tell whether he was angry or amused.

  Kimberly looked at May’s outfit. “You’re a pony trainer?” She obviously didn’t believe a word May had said.

  “We pony trainers don’t like to dress up,” May said. “It’s a matter of style.”

  Kimberly stared at May’s MARVIN’S CAR REPAIR T-shirt. “That’s style?”

  May knew she had to act fast. She walked into Zeus’s stall. Luckily, she still had the apples she’d meant to give Macaroni. She put one on the flat palm of her hand and let Zeus sniff it.

  Zeus neatly grabbed the apple with his teeth. He chewed it, swallowed it, and looked at her as if he was waiting for something else. Suddenly he leaned forward and gently nipped at the pocket that held the other apple.

  “How did you know I had another?” May asked. “You’re one smart pony.” She gave him the other apple.

  Zeus had bright, lively eyes and a long brown mane and forelock. He might be small, but he was a great-looking pony.

  “I think we’re going to get along,” May said to him.

  Then she realized that the others were waiting for her. She walked out and closed the stall door behind her.

  “No problem,” she said. “I can see Zeus is inexperienced, but he has a good attitude, and he’s intelligent. I don’t think there will be any trouble. You’ll be amazed at what I can do with Zeus in a month.”

  “But you’re so … young,” Mr. Randall said.

  “Young, but very experienced,” May said.

  Mr. Grover, who was standing behind Mr. Randall, rolled his eyes and looked at the sky.

  “If you can give me a couple of hours, I’ll explain what I’m planning to do,” May said. “My pony training ideas are complex, but I think you’ll find them interesting. For instance …” She clasped her hands and tried to look as if she were about to give a long, boring speech.

  Hurriedly Mr. Randall looked at his watch. “I’ve got to get back to work.” He turned to his daughter. “How about you, Kimberly?”

  “I’ve got to pack for camp,” she said. “The maid never does it right. I’ve got to do it myself.”

  “That’s tough,” May said. “But I can loan you a book that explains my training techniques. It’s a really thick book. If you read it every night after dinner, you can finish by the end of camp.”

  “Never mind,” Kimberly said airily. “I think I have something better to do with my evenings.”

  May heaved a sigh of relief.

  Then Mr. Randall’s beeper went off. He grabbed it from his pocket and read the message. “Sorry,” he said, “something has come up.” He looked from May to Mr. Grover. “So everything’s settled?”

  “Definitely,” May said. “Zeus is in good hands.”

  The Randalls disappeared into their house.

  “I didn’t know you were a pony trainer,” Mr. Grover said. He was trying to look stern, but his eyes were twinkling.

  “It’s a surprise I was saving for you,” May said.

  “Surprise is the right word,” Mr. Grover said. “So, Ms. Pony Trainer, what do we do now?”

  May rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I would say the first step is to get Zeus home.”

  Mr. Grover grinned. “Good thinking.”

  A horrible thought crossed May’s mind. What if Zeus was trailer-shy? A lot of ponies really hated horse trailers. If May couldn’t get Zeus into the trailer, it would look bad.

  She glanced at the Randalls’ house. Kimberly was standing at an upstairs window, watching.

  “Do you want me to help?” Mr. Grover asked.

  “No,” May said. “I can do this myself.”

  Maybe, she thought. Or maybe this is going to be one big disaster.

  Casually she walked into Zeus’s stall.

  “You’re about to have a really fun experience,” she said to Zeus. Then she realized that sounded phony, so she started again. “You’re about to go in a trailer. You might not like trailers. You might really hate trailers. But at the other end of your ride is going to be the greatest stable on earth. Namely the Grover stable.”

  Zeus looked at her with bright, expectant eyes.

  “Please help,” she said.

  Zeus nodded and looked friendly.

  “Here goes,” she said. She clipped the lead rope onto his halter and led him out of the stall.

  Outside, she saw that Mr. Grover had let down the trailer ramp.

  “So here we go,” she said to Zeus.

  She took a step onto the ramp. It clanked. Oh well, she thought, here goes nothing. He’s never going to follow me.

  Zeus trotted up the ramp, his hooves making neat clicking sounds. May stood to the side so that he could enter the stall. This was the tough part. Lots of ponies would go to the top of the ramp but then change their minds about walking into the narrow stall.

  “There you go,” she said.

  Zeus moved past her into the stall. She closed the door.

  “You are the world’s greatest pony,” she said to Zeus’s rump.

  Zeus nickered as if he agreed.

  When May climbed into the front seat of the Grovers’ station wagon, Mr. Grover said, “Nice work, May.”

  “I think Zeus might be the greate
st pony on earth,” she said. “With the exception of Macaroni, that is.”

  The station wagon with the horse trailer behind it clanked past the Randalls’ house. Looking up, May saw that Kimberly was still watching from the window. May tossed her a casual wave.

  As they turned out onto the paved road, Mr. Grover said, “Thanks, May.”

  “For what?” she asked.

  “I was kind of in a hole,” he said. “You got me out.”

  “Hey,” she said, “we trainers have got to stick together.”

  “True,” Mr. Grover said. He was grinning from ear to ear.

  When they got to the Grovers’ stable, May backed Zeus out of the horse trailer. Although most ponies hated walking backward, Zeus was cheerful and frisky. When they got to the bottom, May led him into the stall her dad had prepared.

  “You’re going to like it here,” she said to Zeus. “And I’m going to love you.” She put her arms around his neck and felt the slow, easy rhythm of his breathing. “And you’re going to love Macaroni. I know the two of you will be best friends.”

  When May had Zeus settled, she went to the feed room to get a carrot for Macaroni.

  Macaroni was awake now. He was munching on hay and looking like his usual mellow self.

  “I’ve got great news,” May said. “We have a new pony for a while. His name is Zeus.”

  Macaroni grabbed the carrot she held out and chomped it to bits.

  “Zeus is smart,” May said. She was about to tell Macaroni how Zeus had found the apple in her pocket, when Macaroni yawned.

  “Okay, so you’re still sleepy,” May said.

  She went off to look for Corey and Jasmine.

  She knocked on the back door of the Jameses’ house.

  Mrs. James came out. “Hi, May. Corey and Jasmine just went to the shopping center.”

  “Oh,” May said. Corey and Jasmine knew she loved going to the shopping center. Why hadn’t they asked her?

  “How come they didn’t tell me?” May asked.

  “It was an emergency,” Mrs. Grover said. “They needed notions right away.”

  May was totally confused. “What’s a notion?”

  “Buttons and thread and yarn,” Mrs. James said. “They need them for the pony pillows.”

  “Pony pillows?”