Crystal the Snow Pony by Poppy Shire

Author:Poppy Shire
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2008-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Suddenly Sasha popped out from behind the wall of frozen water and waved at Emily.

“How did you do that?” Emily gasped. “You were inside the waterfall!”

Sasha beamed. “Not exactly. I told you my secret place was special, didn’t I? Come and see.” She beckoned, so Emily ran along the path to where she was standing.

The sheet of silvery ice stretched up beside them, but there was a gap between the wall of ice and the mountainside behind it. “Come on!” Sasha beckoned once more, then slid into the gap.

Emily took a deep breath and followed her. Behind the frozen waterfall, the mountainside arched away to form a large rocky cave. The dappled light of the forest changed to a pale, watery glimmer as it filtered through the thick sheet of clear, greenish ice. It was like being underwater. Emily laughed in delight.

“Come and see this!” called Sasha, who was standing at the back of the cave.

The floor of the cave was rocky and uneven so Emily kept one hand on the wall for balance as she walked over to Sasha. Suddenly she noticed strange patterns under her gloves, delicate swirling lines in all different colors. “Sasha, look! The walls are painted!”

“I know! Aren’t they beautiful? I think they are paintings of Spring Festival—there are people dancing over here, surrounded by pictures of flowers.” She stood on tiptoe and pointed to some dark blue splashes. “See, those are gentians, like the ones we saw. I wonder if the painters used squashed-up gentian petals for the color. I don’t know how old the paintings are. They’re probably ancient.”

Emily nodded. Then she peered more closely at the cave wall. One of the shapes was bigger than the rest, painted in light brown with four stubby legs.

“It’s a pony, just like Crystal!” Emily cried. She pulled off one of her gloves and traced her finger around the shape. The small, delicate head and spiky mane were exactly like Crystal’s!

They followed the paintings along the wall, spotting more flowers and different animals. Eventually, Sasha said, “We ought to get back. It’ll be time for lunch soon.”

Emily stood in the middle of the cave and took one last look around. “Thanks so much for bringing me here, Sasha. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. I never dreamed I’d walk behind a waterfall!”

They went back out to Crystal and Clover, who were happily munching sweet mountain grass. Even though the wind was still cold, it felt much warmer out in the bright sunshine. It was strange to hear the sound of dripping water and birds singing after the quiet cave.

“I’ve just got to tighten Clover’s girth,” Sasha said. “It felt a bit loose as we were coming up.” She started to fiddle with the leather strap.

Emily stroked Crystal’s ears. “There was a pony just like you painted on the cave wall,” she whispered.

Crystal tossed his head, as if he was pleased. “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Is there anywhere around here to have a drink?”

Emily noticed a pool of melted water at the foot of the waterfall.

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