The Lonely Pony

by Sarah Hawkins

  Mia felt butterflies in her tummy. If she tried to stroke Polly, would it scare her? Would she canter off to the other side of the field? She didn’t want to upset her, but she wanted to stroke her so much and show her that not all people were horrible. I wish Mum were here to tell me what to do! she thought.

  She shifted her feet, and Polly looked up at her, her deep chocolate-brown eyes curious. Mia started talking gently, hoping that Polly would understand somehow.

  “Hi, Polly,” she said again. “I’m going to stroke you, OK?” As slowly as she could, she raised her hand and reached out to touch Polly on the side of her neck.

  Polly stepped back and tossed her head. “It’s all right,” Mia soothed, “I’m not going to hurt you. Yesterday I went riding with my Auntie Sandra and her horse Gypsy. You’d like Gypsy – she’s really friendly. She’s beautiful, but she’s not as lovely as you.”

  Polly looked at her and gave a quiet huff. “I want to be your friend,” Mia continued, putting her hand out again. This time Polly sniffed at her hand, and then rubbed her nose against it, asking for a stroke.

  “Good girl,” Mia said, keeping the same calm voice, even though her heart was racing. She was stroking Polly on her nose!

  There was a crunch of gravel from behind her, and Mia turned to see Mum there, watching with a big grin on her face. Mum looked from Mia to Polly and gave an amazed shrug. “Brilliant, Mia. She hasn’t let me touch her much at all. She must like you!”

  Mia felt a thrill of pride and tickled Polly behind her ears. She liked Polly, too!

  “Last one in’s a rotten egg!” Jacob yelled as he and Sam ran into the boys’ changing room.

  “Quick!” Jasmine shrieked. She and Mia ran into the girls’ changing room and started putting their swimming costumes on as quickly as they could.

  “I just can’t wait to get on the flumes!” Jasmine squealed.

  Mia grinned at her best friend. She’d been so excited when Jasmine had called and invited her to go to Splashdown! She’d never been to a swimming pool with slides and rides before.

  “Calm down!” Jasmine’s mum laughed as Mia tried to get changed quickly and got tangled up in her T-shirt. “We’ve got all day, there’s no need to rush. Although no one wants to be a rotten egg,” she added mischievously, her eyes twinkling.

  Jasmine’s swimming costume was yellow with flowers on it, and Mia’s was blue and stripy. Jasmine had special goggles instead of her glasses, and a nose clip as well. “I dobt dike it when dhe water goes up my does,” she explained. Mia giggled and grabbed her best friend’s arm as they went out on to the pool side.

  “Walk! Don’t run. The edge of the pool might be slippy,” Jasmine’s mum called after them. “I’ll be in the Jacuzzi if you need me.” She pointed up to the round bubble pool next to the changing rooms. “Tell your brother I can spy everything from there, and if I see him dive-bombing he’s coming straight out.”

  “OK!” Jasmine replied. The girls walked as fast as they could out on to the poolside, then stopped in amazement. There were huge flumes in different colours twirling down from the ceiling. Tall staircases led up to each one, and there were already queues of people waiting for a chance to whizz down and splash into the water.

  A boy standing in one queue waved, and it took Mia a second to realize it was Jacob, wearing long, bright red swimming trunks.

  “Hey slowcoaches!” he called. “We’re going on the deathslide! It’s the black one, the worst slide in the whole place.”

  Mia looked at the looping black tube and shuddered. Jacob’s friend Sam didn’t look too happy either.

  “Are you girls coming, or are you too chicken?” Jacob joked.

  Mia put her hands on her hips. “Jacob Parker, if I can ride a fifteen-hand horse all by myself I’m certainly not going to be scared of a silly water slide. But Jasmine and I are going on the rubber-ring raft ride first.”

  Mia took Jasmine’s arm and stormed off.

  “You weren’t really going to go on the deathslide, were you?” Jasmine asked, looking amazed.

  Mia burst into giggles. “No,” she laughed, “but Jacob doesn’t know that! Besides, there’s no point doing something scary just to show off. And the rubber rings look MUCH more fun!”

  Mia and Jasmine found their way to the huge rubber rings and picked one each. “You can get in together, girls, if you like,” said the lifeguard man, holding it still so they could climb on. Mia jumped in, hanging her legs over the side. Jasmine climbed on next to her and the lifeguard gave them a push. Soon they were floating along, carried by the current, the ring twisting and turning as they gently bobbed about.

  “I love summer holidays!” Jasmine sighed happily.

  “Me too!” Mia grinned. “Especially now Polly’s here!”

  “How is she?” Jasmine asked.

  “She let me stroke her,” Mia told her friend delightedly. “And Mum said I was dealing with her really well.”

  “By the end of the summer you might be riding her!” Jasmine grinned, trailing her hands in the water as they floated along.

  “I’m not sure – it’s going to take a long time for her to get better,” Mia told her. But then she thought of the way Polly had nuzzled into her hand, and grinned. “But she will, I just know she will!”

  After the rubber-ring ride, Mia and Jasmine played in the main pool, pretending they were mermaids as they ducked and swam beneath the water. They went in a vortex that pulled them around in circles, and took turns jumping over waves from the wave machine. Then they went on the rubber-ring ride again, racing against Jacob and Sam to see who could reach the end of the river fastest.

  By the end of the day Mia’s fingers and toes were all wrinkly from being in the water for too long, and she was tired and hungry, but really happy. She hoped Mum and Polly had had as good a day as she had!

  As they drove home, Jasmine nudged Mia. Jacob was fast asleep next to her, his mouth open as he snored gently.

  The girls giggled. “Who’s the baby now?” Jasmine whispered, and they laughed so hard that they woke Jacob up.

  “I’ve got a surprise for you!” Mum said mysteriously as they drove to the centre.

  “What is it?” Mia asked. “Is it to do with Polly?” It had been over a month since Polly had arrived, and Mia had seen her almost every day.

  “Wait and see,” Mum laughed.

  As soon as the car stopped, Mia jumped out, her wellies sending the gravel flying as she raced across the yard and up to the isolation stables.

  “She’s not there!” Mum called.

  Mia skidded to a halt. “She’s not in isolation any more?”

  “Nope, she passed yesterday!” Mum grinned. “She’s taken Dapple’s place in the paddock of young mares, with Honey and Star.”

  Mia glanced across the yard. There were three horses in Honey’s paddock! Two of them were over by the trees, eating the grass, but one had her head over the fence of her paddock, waiting for them.

  “Polly!” Mia called delightedly. Polly was almost the same size as the other horses in the field now, and she was looking happy and healthy.

  Mum came over, carrying a grooming kit. “She was waiting for us!” Mia cried happily.

  “She did that yesterday as well,” Mum said. “She’s been getting on really well with Honey and Star, but she’s such a smart pony that she likes to know what’s going on at the centre, too. She’s still very nervous though, so remember to be very gentle.”

  “Hi, Polly,” Mia said, walking up to her slowly.

  Mmmnnuummph, Polly whickered in reply.

  Mia grinned. Polly’s coat looked glossier and she seemed more alert. Her ears were forward and she watched Mia interestedly.

  “Do you want to give her a little groom, Mia?” Mum asked, pointing at the brushes she’d brought with her. “I don’t think she really needs it, but it’ll be good for her to practise getting used to people, and she seems to really like you.”

  Mia felt nervous as she s
tepped towards Polly. “Good girl,” she soothed, hoping her voice would calm Polly down as it had before. Polly didn’t seem upset now, though. Her ears were pricked up, and her eyes followed Mia as she picked up a brush and slowly went into the paddock.

  As Mum gave Honey and Star some attention, Mia started gently stroking the soft brush over Polly’s coat, tracing the patterns of her white patches. Polly fidgeted contentedly, scratching her side against the brush. “Do you have an itch?” Mia asked, scratching the spot with her fingernails. Polly whickered happily, and turned to look at Mia.

  Mia gasped as Polly pushed her face so close to hers that she could feel her warm breath on her cheek. Polly trusted her! “Look, Mum!” Mia whispered.

  Mum was watching and grinning. “I knew she liked you!” she said. “Here.” She passed Mia a mane comb. “See if you can detangle her mane.”

  Mia took the comb, but as it came closer to her face, Polly started and stomped her hooves on the ground anxiously.

  “It’s OK,” Mia told her, slowly moving the comb closer until she could gently sweep it through Polly’s mane. After a few strokes, Polly gave a deep contented huff that reminded Mia of Marmalade purring. “She likes it!” Mia said delightedly.

  Polly stood still, almost falling asleep as Mia worked on the knots and tangles. A couple of times Mia tugged against a briar and Polly flinched and flicked her tail, but she didn’t move away.

  Mia couldn’t stop smiling as she worked on Polly’s mane. It felt so special that Polly trusted her.

  Soon it was time for Polly to have another small feed, so Mum took her up to her stall. Mia washed her hands and walked back into the yard, feeling like she was walking on air.

  “That was brilliant!” said Mum, giving her a big hug. “Let me get my bag, then I’ll treat you to a celebration ice cream from the shop. Polly’s going to be better in no time if you keep looking after her like that.”

  Mia waited in the office hallway while Mum grabbed her handbag from the office and told the other grooms about their breakthrough with Polly. Mia felt like she was going to burst with pride. As she waited, she looked up at the office pinboard, which was covered with pictures of horses in their new homes. In the middle of them all there was now a picture of Dapple with her new family. She was standing next to an old bay racehorse with kindly eyes, and was surrounded by children. She looked so happy!

  One day Polly will look like that, Mia promised herself.

  “There!” Mia gave a satisfied grin as she jumped down from the stepladder and looked at the sign hanging over the centre gates.

  RSPCA EQUINE CENTRE SUMMER GALA OPEN!

  It was written in big painted letters.

  It had taken her and Jasmine all of yesterday to decorate each letter with pretty patterns, spots, stripes, horseshoes and carrots. They’d even painted the Q so it looked a bit like Marmalade the cat!

  Jasmine jumped down off the other stepladder. “What now?” she asked.

  “Well, Amanda’s going to be displaying obstacle courses with Beans,” Mia told her. “And Mum is doing a talk about how the animals get rehomed…”

  “What are we doing?” Jasmine asked. “We can’t be mucking out because your mum told us to wear posh clothes!” Jasmine gestured at her outfit. She was wearing her riding kit – pristine white jodhpurs, shiny boots, and a T-shirt. Mia was wearing her best riding clothes as well, and Mum had threaded a purple ribbon through her long black hair and tied it into a neat plait.

  “Let’s ask Mum,” Mia said. They raced over to the yard, Mia’s plait whipping round her face like a pony’s tail. She was so excited, she had butterflies in her tummy. There were balloons and bunting hanging all around the yard, and the stables were extra neat and tidy. Lindsay was getting Star ready for her grooming demonstration, and had all the brushes lined up on a table for people to touch. Volunteers were setting up stalls and blowing up a bouncy castle in one corner of the yard, and the shop doors were open wide, the ice creams all ready for hungry visitors.

  There was a sign by each horse’s stall with their picture and some facts about them, telling people their name, breed, age and how they had ended up at the RSPCA. Mia felt a bit sad when she read their stories, but she hoped it would make people donate lots and lots of money!

  “Ah, there you are, girls,” Mum said, putting down some sparkling-clean tack as they rushed up to her.

  “Now, are you two ready for your very special job?”

  “Yes!” Mia said. She and Jasmine jumped up and down.

  “You’re going to be in charge of the donkey rides!” Mum said. “We’ve got it all set up so that you can take kids up and down the bridleway. But we need two very experienced stable hands to lead the donkeys.”

  “We’ll do it!” Mia grinned.

  “Oh good,” Mum smiled. “We’ll start a bit later, when there are a few more people, so why don’t you go and have a look around first? It looks like the fete stalls are all set up, so you might find something to spend your pocket money on.”

  “OK!” Mia reached up on tiptoe to give her mum a kiss on the cheek, then she and Jasmine sped off.

  The picnic area was full of stalls. There was a tombola and a raffle and lots of stands selling cakes and goodies that the visitors could buy. There was even a “guess the weight” of the horse competition, and the first prize was a bright-pink unicorn toy. Mia helped Jasmine guess, but she didn’t spend any of her pocket money. She knew it was silly and it would take forever, but she was secretly saving up so that one day she could have a horse of her own. She’d never get one if she spent all her savings!

  Jasmine’s mum was sitting on one of the picnic benches outside the shop with lots of face paints laid out in front of her. A bright sign beside her read FACE PAINTING £2.

  “Girls!” she called. “Come and get your faces painted. My treat!”

  Mia and Jasmine didn’t need to be told twice. They looked at each other in glee, then raced across the yard.

  “What do you want?” Zoe asked. “I can do stars and swirls, or butterflies, flowers or cats. Just don’t ask me to make you into horses!”

  Mia and Jasmine giggled. “I don’t mind,” Mia said.

  “OK, Mia first.” Zoe patted the seat in front of her. “I’ll surprise you.”

  Zoe held Mia’s chin and carefully dipped her brush into the paint. It was cold on Mia’s skin and she squirmed happily. She couldn’t wait to see what she looked like!

  When she was done, Mia looked at herself in the mirror. She had a bright yellow face with black stripes on it. “I’m a tiger! Thanks, Zoe, I love it!” Mia grinned. “I look just like Marmalade!”

  Jasmine got a big bright-pink butterfly with its wings spread over her cheeks and antennae curling over her glasses. “Thanks, Mum, it’s gorgeous!” she shrieked when she saw it.

  “You’re welcome,” Jasmine’s mum replied. “Just make sure you go round the centre and tell everyone you meet that the face-painting stand is over here. I want to raise lots of money!”

  “OK!” the girls said happily.

  “Are you ready, stable hands?” Mum yelled, waving from across the yard. “You look lovely!” she said as they raced over. Mum took them to the field to collect the donkeys, Milo and Patch, and lead them over to the bridleway. The centre was beginning to get busy, and there were lots of families wandering around looking at the horses. Mia even spotted a couple of people that she knew from school.

  Milo and Patch trotted over when Mum called them. Mia stroked their fuzzy grey necks and big fluffy ears while Mum buckled their saddles on. When she was done, Mum gave Patch’s reins to Jasmine and handed Milo’s to Mia.

  Jasmine laughed as she led Patch along. “I don’t think I’ve ever walked a donkey before,” she laughed. “It’s a bit like walking Archie – except Patch is better behaved!”

  At the bridleway, Mum had set out a table and a sign reading DONKEY RIDES.

  “So, girls,” Mum explained, “the rides are for little kids o
nly. A lot of them don’t know anything about riding, so make sure that they don’t kick Milo or Patch, or jiggle around too much. These guys have done lots of donkey rides, so there shouldn’t be any problems, but I still need you two to be responsible handlers. OK?”

  “Yep!” Mia agreed. Jasmine nodded seriously.

  Mia felt really important as Mum helped a little girl put a riding helmet on, then lifted her up on to Milo’s back and handed Mia the reins. The girl was about four years old, with her face painted with pink stars, and stubby plaits poking out from under her helmet. She was smiling down at Milo like she couldn’t believe he was real. “Have you ever ridden before?” Mia asked as she gently led Milo along.

  The girl shook her head. “I love it!” she said excitedly.

  “You should ask your mum for lessons,” Mia told her. “I’ve been riding since I was your age.”

  “Wow!” the little girl breathed excitedly. “Thanks, Mia!” she said as they got back to the start and Mum helped her off.

  Next there was a small boy who kept pretending to be a cowboy and digging in his heels to Milo’s sides. “Don’t kick him,” Mia explained gently. “You wouldn’t like it if someone kicked you!”

  “Oh.” The little boy reached out and patted Milo’s side. “Sorry, Milo.” Milo looked at him, then threw back his head.

  Uh-oh! Mia thought. He’s going to bray! She was used to the loud noise the donkeys sometimes made, but she knew that more than one young visitor had burst into tears when they’d heard them.

  Hee-HAW! Hee-HAW! Milo called loudly.

  “Shhh!” Mia patted him, but the donkey was having too much fun. Mia looked at the little boy, who was sitting on Milo’s back with a shocked look on his face.

  “It’s OK,” she said the moment Milo stopped. But the boy didn’t cry. Instead, his face broke into a huge grin. “That was SO COOL!” he cried.

  Mia laughed as they got back to the yard and she helped him get down. He raced over to his mum, and seconds later Mia could hear him doing an impression of Milo’s noisy call.