Jingle Bells (Horse Diaries Special Edition) by Catherine Hapka

Author:Catherine Hapka [Hapka, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-385-38486-5
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2014-09-22T16:00:00+00:00

Another week passed. In the meantime more snow came, enough to leave icicles in my feathers when Kari or her father or brothers walked me out to the pasture. The nights were cold, but most of the days were sunny and warm enough to melt away bits of the snow cover. One chilly morning, I was dozing in my stall waiting for breakfast when Kari and Anders burst in. They were chattering excitedly, and after a moment Anders shouted with laughter at something his sister said, causing the dogs to start barking.

Millie came awake in her stall. What is it? she snorted. What’s wrong?

I didn’t respond, stepping to the front of my stall. Just then Lars entered the barn, followed by his wife.

“Kari, back inside!” Frida ordered. “I need your help with the baking.”

“But, Mama, I want to give Jingle a good grooming,” Kari protested, racing over to rub my nose. “I want him to look his best when baby Eva sees him for the first time.”

Anders let out a huff. “As if a baby cares how well a horse is groomed!”

Kari ignored him. “May I please drive the carriage when we go into town to pick up Martin and Pearl and Eva?” she asked. “I know the way to the train station.”

Lars and Frida traded a look. “Martin called to say nobody will need to pick them up,” Lars told his daughter.

“What?” Anders glanced up from filling the chickens’ feed pan. “Then how will they get here? It’s a long walk from town.”

“Too long in this weather, and with a baby,” Kari added. I pricked my ears at the sound of distress in her voice. “Do you think they intend to rent a carriage?”

“I hope not,” Lars said. “With Christmas so close, there are few available.”

“I hope Martin realizes that,” Frida said. “He’s accustomed to Detroit’s big-city ways these days, I suppose.”

Her husband shrugged. “I don’t know what he’s thinking. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

Kari stepped over to the harness bells, which she’d hung on a hook near my stall the day before. They were covered in dust and cobwebs but still gleamed faintly against their long leather strap. When she touched them, they tinkled softly.

“May I polish the bells before I help with the baking?” Kari asked. “Please, Mama? I promise it won’t take long. I want everything to be ready for our trip to Mormor and Morfar’s house on Christmas Eve, and there won’t be much time for such things once Martin arrives.”

Frida smiled. “I suppose that would be all right. Hanne and Asta are probably all I need for the moment.”

Kari helped her father feed Millie and me our morning grain. After that she sat down on a straw bale with the bells on her lap and a cloth in her hand. By the time her father and brothers finished the milking, the bells sparkled in the beams of sunlight coming in through the narrow windows.

“There,” she said, holding up the strap to show me her work.

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