Calvino by Whitney Sanderson

Author:Whitney Sanderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2017-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

But de Haro pressed me forward, and we continued our march through the city until we reached a stone wall with a wrought-iron gate. De Haro rang a brass bell set in an alcove.

The gate swung open, and I entered a rectangular courtyard lined with shade trees. A fountain in the center bubbled into a round trough of polished marble, topped by a bronze statue of a rearing colt.

A dozen young men in black coats and white breeches appeared from an arched doorway at the far end of the yard. They unhitched the tired carriage horses and led the thirsty mares to water.

De Haro dismounted and handed over my reins. The saddle was whisked from my back, and my bridle was replaced with a neck collar of buttery soft leather. A silk sheet bearing the king’s lion crest was draped across my back.

When the mares had drunk their fill, I pulled my handler forward so that I could slake my own thirst. The water was as fresh and cold as if it had come from a mountain stream.

Campeón splashed his muzzle noisily into the water and remarked that we would finally have a decent meal after the cow fodder we had been served on our journey.

The royal horses eat only the plumpest oats and sweetest corn, toasted with barley syrup and linseed oil to make our coats shine, he prattled. I do hope my boy, Gabino, will file my hooves tonight—they are chipped to ruin from the stony paths.

All around me, the courtyard walls were so high that only a square of blue sky was visible above. I craned my neck to look back through the gate, which had shut behind us.

A small brown bird landed on the bronzed colt statue and began singing sweetly. I was suddenly reminded of Ana Sofia’s pet nightingale in its golden cage.

A shudder ran through me so that I danced away from my handler and let out a high, ringing whinny to no one at all. In truth, I was more afraid of the walls around me than I had ever been of Joaquin’s spurs or the cattle’s horns.

Was my beautiful new home a palace or a prison?

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.