Gift Horse by Betty Levin

Author:Betty Levin [Levin, Betty]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062044396
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 1996-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

19

BUT THE HORSES name was Loki, not Lucky. Matt found out in time for school. So he was able to get everything right when he told the other kids. He didn’t mind about the name since it sounded almost the same. It might even be Norwegian for Lucky.

After school kids who could walk or bike to Plympton Street came to see the horse. They streamed into the barn and had to wait in line for a viewing.

“Charge admission,” Jerry whispered to Matt, who returned with the emptied garden cart to find the way to the stall blocked.

But it was too late. Some had already seen Loki for free. It wouldn’t be fair to the ones still waiting. Besides, they wouldn’t have come with money.

“And you don’t want to turn kids against Loki,” Linda pointed out. “We need them on our side.” She thought a moment. “But it’s not a bad idea. Maybe we can give them something to do, something fun that they have to pay for.”

All afternoon the stall door had to remain open. Patiently Loki stood tied to the ring while Matt and Jerry and Linda took turns brushing him and various friends begged for a chance to help.

Afterward Linda made a sign-up schedule on posterboard. It took a couple of days to complete, because no one could agree on what to charge a kid for grooming Loki or holding his halter rope for part of his afternoon walk.

By the end of the week most of the kids had stopped coming. That left a hard-core group of loyal fans, not all girls, who still showed up to work or just hang out around Loki. Their parents began to call Matt’s parents. Music lessons had been cut, karate classes bypassed, softball practice missed, baby-sitting forgotten, dentist appointments ignored. The dentist charged for the appointment, anyway. It was hinted that since this was the Hoffmans’ fault, they should pay the bill.

Alan demanded to know how Loki could be a self-supporting horse if they weren’t allowed to collect money from people who were willing to pay for the fun of grooming and walking him. Mom and Dad talked about the high cost of insurance they would need in case a child was injured.

“Loki wouldn’t hurt anyone,” Matt told them. “He likes the kids.”

“Even so,” Dad said, “if someone’s hurt in our barn or with your horse, we can be sued for more than a dentist visit.”

Linda, who had brought a riding schedule on paper to show Mom and Dad, backed off. Slowly she folded the paper into a small enough square to shove into her pocket.

Mom repeated what she had been saying all along about Uncle Oliver. He didn’t understand the limits of a town like Marbury. He didn’t know a thing about residential zoning. Probably it had never occurred to him that Matt couldn’t keep a horse here.

“Probably it never occurred to him to include a bundle

of money in his marvelous gift,” Dad added.

“But we shouldn’t forget that he meant well,” Mom said.

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