Horseflies

by Bonnie Bryant

  Stevie frowned. “All I remember is Alex looking speckled and griping all the time. My mother had to bathe him with some kind of oatmeal soap, so our whole bathroom smelled like a giant cookie. It made me hungry.”

  “Didn’t you have to take the oatmeal bath, too?” Lisa asked.

  Stevie shrugged. “I guess not. If I did, I don’t remember it. I think Alex had a much worse case than I did.”

  Just then the waitress arrived with their orders. Along with three small glasses of water, she set a dish of chocolate ice cream in front of Lisa, handed Carole a double-scoop cone, and then placed a huge brown, yellow, and magenta concoction in front of Stevie, complete with two green cherries on top. “There you are.” She gave Stevie a pained look. “Enjoy.”

  “Yum!” said Stevie, digging in.

  Carole and Lisa watched as she took her first bite.

  “Well?” Carole asked. “Do you think this dish will restore you to health?”

  Stevie nodded with a grin. “I’m beginning to feel better already.”

  Lisa swirled a spoonful of her chocolate ice cream in the marshmallow sauce. “You know, I’ve been thinking about Jamie and the fair. It’s too bad he had such an awful time. He’s really such a sweet little kid. And his mother said he’d really been looking forward to going with us.”

  “That’s true,” agreed Carole. “What’s bad is that everything we tried to do to make him feel better only made him feel worse.”

  Stevie popped a green cherry in her mouth. “You mean feeding him all that delicious food and taking him on all those neat rides?”

  Carole nodded. “We meant well, but I think we blew it.”

  “I wonder if there’s anything we could do now to make him feel better,” Lisa said. “I mean, now that he’s sick at home and can’t go anywhere.”

  “We could bring him something to eat from here,” Stevie suggested. Her eyes suddenly brightened. “I know! I could invent a dish and name it in his honor!”

  “Thanks, Stevie. That’s sweet, but we need to do something that will make him feel better, not make him sick all over again,” said Lisa.

  Carole snapped her fingers. “I know. We could go shopping and try to find him a get-well present. You know, something he could play with and keep.”

  “That’s a great idea!” Lisa said. Buying Jamie a get-well present wouldn’t help her save money, but he definitely needed cheering up.

  “Yeah.” Stevie nodded. “That would work. But when can all of us go shopping?”

  “How about Saturday, after Horse Wise?” suggested Carole.

  “Fine with me.” Lisa turned to Stevie. “Can you go then?”

  She nodded vigorously, since her mouth was full of double Dutch chocolate. She swallowed her ice cream, then took a sip of water. “Since we’re discussing the fair,” she began, “let me tell you what happened with Phil after you guys took Jamie home.”

  “Oh, Stevie, we can guess what happened after we took Jamie home. You and Phil had a marvelous time under the romantic midway lights and pledged each other your undying love on top of the Ferris wheel,” said Carole.

  “Yeah, Stevie.” Lisa giggled. “We can fill in the blanks ourselves. We don’t want to pry into your love life.”

  “No, no, no!” Stevie cried. “That’s not what I’m talking about. Remember the dunking booth they had there for charity? Remember how all different sorts of people were climbing in and acting crazy to see if their friends could dunk them in the water?”

  Lisa and Carole nodded.

  “Well, I convinced Phil to do that!”

  “To sit in the dunking booth?” Lisa asked.

  Stevie grinned. “I told him it was for charity, and even if he did get all wet, it would be for a good cause.” She cackled. “When he climbed out he looked like a drowned rat. At first he was mad, but then I reminded him of how much money he’d made for charity. Then I told him I wouldn’t make him pay up the five-dollar bet he’d just lost. By the time the evening was over, I think he kind of enjoyed being soaked!”

  “That’s really funny!” said Lisa.

  “Yeah,” Carole agreed. “But it sounds like poor wet Phil deserves more sympathy than you do!”

  The girls finished their ice cream and paid their bill. “Anybody want to come over for a swim?” Stevie asked as they walked back out into the sunny afternoon.

  “No thanks,” Lisa replied. “I need to go home.” She rolled her eyes. “My mom wants to show me some new colors she’s picked out for my room.”

  “I’m going to walk over to the library,” said Carole. “I’ve got some more work to do on my Pegasus project.”

  Stevie and Lisa laughed. “You’d better hurry, Carole,” Lisa teased. “You’ve only got eleven more weeks to finish it.”

  Carole grinned and waved. “Don’t worry. I’ll do my best,” she called. “See you Saturday!”

  After a twenty-minute walk across town, Carole came to the main public library—an old redbrick building next to the Willow Creek Town Hall. She slowly climbed up the broad stone steps, pausing to admire the two huge granite lions that stood guard at the big double doors. Inside the foyer, a tall young man with curly blond hair sat behind the returns desk, rearranging a stack of children’s books.

  “Excuse me,” Carole said just above a whisper. “Could you tell me where I could find the mythology section?”

  The librarian looked up and smiled. “Sure. Follow me and I’ll show you.”

  He walked over to a far corner of the library. Carole tried to follow him quickly, but her barn boots thumped so noisily on the wooden floors that she finally had to give up and creep along on tiptoe. Even so, people looked up from their reading as she passed. The next time I come here, she thought, I won’t come directly from TD’s and Pine Hollow.

  The librarian stood waiting for her, smiling. “The mythology collection starts here,” he said, pointing to a large red book high above Carole’s head, “and ends here.” He pulled out a short fat volume at the end of a row two shelves down.

  “Wow.” Carole looked at the bulging shelves. “That’s a lot of books.”

  “Is there a particular type of mythology you’re interested in?” he asked. “Greek? Norse? Chinese?”

  “Greek,” Carole replied. “I’m studying the myth of Pegasus and Bellerophon.”

  “Ahhh,” the young man said knowingly. “That’s a good one. Try this book.” He pulled out a tattered blue book with Greek-looking gold letters on the cover. “It covers Pegasus and Bellerophon better than any of the others.” He gave her a funny smile. “It’s almost as if you’re really there.”

  “Thanks,” said Carole. “Thanks a lot.”

  Carole sat down at a small desk and opened the book. Just as the librarian had said, it had many pages devoted to the adventures of Pegasus and Bellerophon, each with wonderful full-color pictures. She scanned down to where her old paperback had left off, then began to read.

  After Bellerophon had defeated the Amazons, King Iobates decided to give him the hand of his daughter in marriage. There was a wedding feast, and for a while Bellerophon and his bride were very happy.

  Before long, though, Bellerophon became dissatisfied with such a quiet, peaceful life. He remembered all the hours he had spent flying on Pegasus’ back and all the adventures they had shared together. “I’m just as brave as any of the gods,” he said one day. “I’ll bet if Pegasus flew me to Mount Olympus, Zeus would make me immortal. Then I could fight dragons and slay monsters forever.”

  So Bellerophon called his faithful friend Pegasus. With a neigh and a rush of white wings, the huge stallion landed at Bellerophon’s feet. The young man climbed on his back and said, “Take me to Mount Olympus, Pegasus. Take me to Father Zeus!”

  At first Pegasus refused to go, but Bellerophon insisted, jabbing him sternly with his heels. The great horse reared once, then spread his wings, and away they flew, faster and higher, until the golden slopes of Mount Olympus glittered through misty lav
ender clouds. Higher and higher yet they flew, Bellerophon calling, “Father Zeus! It’s your son, Bellerophon!”

  All at once there was a blinding flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder. A deep, foreboding voice rolled through the heavens, saying, “Come no further, mortal! Turn away!” But Bellerophon refused to turn Pegasus back. They flew onward until suddenly the sky grew inky black except for a single particle of light that raced toward them. Bellerophon wept tears of joy. Father Zeus must have recognized him and sent a light to show them the way! But the light grew bigger and bigger and then began to buzz like a million bees. Bellerophon realized with horror that Zeus had not sent a beacon to guide him but rather a gadfly to sting Pegasus away!

  “No!” Bellerophon screamed as the fly buzzed nearer and nearer. “No!”

  But it was too late. The fly stung Pegasus viciously on his flank. The huge horse reared in agony, and off tumbled Bellerophon, away from Mount Olympus, falling forever down into the darkness of the earth below.

  “Excuse me? Are you okay?”

  Carole sat up and blinked. The librarian knelt beside her, his eyebrows knotted with worry. “Yes, I’m fine,” she said. “Why?”

  The young man spoke in a soft voice. “Well, I was over there reshelving some books when I heard you call out, ‘No!’ I looked over here and you had your head down on the desk with your eyes closed.” He gave her a kind smile. “I think you must have fallen asleep on Pegasus.”

  “Oh no!” Carole was mortified.

  The librarian laughed. “It’s okay. Nobody heard you but me. I’m just glad you’re all right.”

  Carole gazed down at the book. The pictures seemed to glow before her eyes. It occurred to her that this was the most unusual visit to the library she’d ever had.

  The librarian got up and continued to reshelve his books. “Did you finish it?” he asked.

  “What?” Carole replied.

  “The story.”

  “Uh, no. Not quite.”

  “Go ahead, then. It’s got a terrific ending.”

  Carole rubbed her eyes and began reading where she’d left off, or at least where she’d begun talking in her sleep.

  Zeus, however, took pity on Pegasus, the brave and willing horse that had served Bellerophon so loyally. He soothed the sting of the gadfly with nectar and ambrosia and brought Pegasus to live among the gods on Mount Olympus. Pegasus had many grand adventures with the other gods there, and after many years they honored his courage and loyalty by placing him in the sky. Today he soars through the heavens still, in the stars of the constellation Pegasus.

  For a moment Carole just sat at the desk and stared at the book. It was a perfect story with a perfect ending. Pegasus, the most loyal and magnificent horse in all creation, got to live in heaven, while Bellerophon, who probably couldn’t have done anything at all without a whole lot of help from Pegasus and the gods, got booted out of Mount Olympus before he got his foot in the door. Served him right, thought Carole. His head was getting entirely too big for his helmet.

  Carole put the book back on the shelf. She had more than enough information to finish her project now. She would have to think hard about how to develop it, but she was sure she could come up with something really special to start off the new school year.

  Slowly she walked back to the entrance of the library.

  “Well?” said the young librarian. “Did you finish it?”

  Carole nodded and smiled.

  “What did you think?”

  “I thought it was perfect,” Carole replied. “The most beautiful flying horse gets to live with the gods.”

  The librarian raised one eyebrow. “True, but didn’t you feel just a little sorry for poor old Bellerophon?”

  Carole frowned. “In a way. But only because he never realized how much he owed Pegasus and the gods. It was as if he was so sure of himself that he could never really see the truth. Zeus even warned him not to try to land on Mount Olympus, but he still wouldn’t listen.”

  The librarian nodded. “That’s absolutely right. The gods were never particularly kind to any mortal, and they almost never invited anybody to come up and live on Mount Olympus.”

  Carole looked out the window and saw her bus coming down the block. “Oops,” she said. “I’ve got to go or I’ll miss my bus. Thanks for all your help!”

  “My pleasure.” The young man smiled.

  “HERE YOU ARE, kiddo.” Colonel Hanson pulled into the Pine Hollow parking lot early Saturday morning. “I hope you have a great time today.”

  “Thanks for the ride, Dad.” Carole smiled at her father. He looked so handsome in his Marine Corps uniform that she was almost tempted to go with him and watch the dress parade, but today was Horse Wise, and Judy Barker was going to talk about summertime horse care. That was important, and Carole figured if she was serious about being Judy’s assistant, she’d better not miss it. She unbuckled her seat belt. “I’ll see you at home later this afternoon.”

  “Right,” said Colonel Hanson. “And don’t forget to tell Stevie that joke I heard.” He chuckled. “I think she’ll really get a kick out of it.”

  “Okay, Dad,” Carole promised dutifully. Stevie and her father shared a love of corny old jokes. Colonel Hanson seemed to have an endless supply of them, although Carole thought he had really scraped the bottom of the barrel with this one. “Bye!” She smiled and waved to her father, then hurried on into the stable.

  Stevie and Lisa were sitting by their cubbies. “Hi, guys,” Carole called. “Ready for Horse Wise?”

  “I am,” said Lisa.

  “Gosh, Carole,” Stevie said, grinning and giving Lisa a wink. “We didn’t know if you were coming or not. We thought you might have decided to spend the whole weekend in the library, doing extra research on Pegasus.”

  Carole smiled as she remembered her visit to the library. “Actually, I found everything I needed yesterday afternoon. Now I just have to write my report.” She threw her sneakers into her cubby. “Hey, Stevie, my dad sent you a new joke.”

  “Really?” Stevie grinned with anticipation. “What?”

  “You’d better sit down,” Carole warned. “It’s a real killer.”

  Stevie laughed. “I am sitting down.”

  “Okay.” Carole finished lacing one boot and took a deep breath. “Here goes. Why wouldn’t the skeleton cross the road?”

  Stevie frowned for a long moment, then shrugged. “I give up. Why?”

  “Because he didn’t have any guts!”

  “Arrrggggh,” Lisa groaned, but Stevie nearly fell off the bench laughing.

  “That’s a really good one,” she hooted. “That’s the best one I’ve heard in a long time!”

  “Oh, Stevie,” Carole said. She and Lisa looked at each other and shook their heads as Stevie began laughing all over again.

  Just then some other riders passed by the locker room, trooping toward the front entrance. “We need to go,” said Lisa. “Horse Wise is about to start.”

  The girls hurried outside and seated themselves with the other riders under a maple tree just beyond the riding ring. Max and Judy Barker stood before the group with an array of horse equipment laid out on a red blanket. When everyone had sat down, Max stepped forward and began to speak.

  “Riders, today the first half of our Horse Wise meeting will be serious—Judy is going to talk to us about how seasonal changes can affect the health and care of your horses. For the second half of the meeting, we’ll mount up and have a little fun. So give Judy a nice round of applause, and I’ll turn the meeting over to her.”

  Everyone clapped for Judy, who shook hands with Max and stepped to one side of the red blanket.

  “How many of you have figured out that it’s summertime?” she asked, taking off her cowboy hat and pretending to wipe sweat from her forehead.

  Everyone laughed and held up a hand.

  “Well, your horses have figured that out, too. And just as you don’t have to stay in school all summer, the horses do
n’t have to stay in the stable. In the summer they like to get out and graze in the breezy pasture instead of staying cooped up in a hot barn.” Judy looked at the group. “Can anybody tell me what that means to them foodwise?”

  A little girl in the front row raised her hand. “That they’ll eat a late breakfast and snack later at night?”

  Everybody laughed again. Judy smiled. “Well, you’re almost right. Unlike you guys, they won’t eat pizza at midnight, but they will get up early and graze until they’re put in the barn at night. Their diet will change, too. Just like a big bowl of hot soup wouldn’t sound too good to us on the Fourth of July, in the summer horses like more grass and oats and less hay and corn.” Judy questioned the group again. “Can anybody tell me what else is different in the summertime for a horse?”

  “They don’t have to wear blankets at night,” May Grover responded.

  “That’s right, May. What else?”

  Jasmine James waved her hand. “All their winter hair falls out.”

  “Right. And who can tell me what happens when a horse’s winter coat falls out?” Judy waited for an answer, but nobody seemed to know. “Anybody?” she asked again. No one responded.

  “Okay. I’ll show you, but first I need a volunteer horse from the audience.” Judy’s gaze fell on The Saddle Club. “Carole, would you bring Starlight out here for a demonstration?”

  “Sure.” Carole jumped to her feet, delighted to be chosen but wondering if Starlight would behave. Surely he wouldn’t dare act up at a demonstration with Judy Barker. Carole raced to the barn and clipped a lead line on Starlight. “Please be good, Starlight,” she whispered as she led him back out beside Judy.