Nate's Story by Kitson Jazynka

Author:Kitson Jazynka
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Published: 2013-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

“Hey,” Nate said to Vik, when no one could hear him. “Thanks for taking over with the feeding. I don’t know why, but being close to these horses gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

“Like me and the spider,” said Vik.

“I guess,” said Nate. He felt sheepish, especially after Vik had praised him for being brave after the owl hunt. “You’re doing great with the horses, though.”

“Yeah, I’m surprised. I didn’t think I would,” admitted Vik. “Especially when I first saw them. I mean, horses are so much bigger in real life than you think they’re going to be, and they smell so much worse!”

Nate laughed.

Vik continued: “I especially like old Herschel here. I was wrong about him. He’s not stupid. He’s just laid-back. What do you think Joe meant when he said Herschel was done for?”

Nate shook his head. “No idea,” he said. He reached out tentatively to pat Herschel’s neck, then changed his mind and stuck his hand in his back pocket, next to his bird notebook. “What’s the matter with me?” he muttered under his breath, disgusted at the discovery he’d made about himself. “Why am I scared of a horse?”

“Hey, don’t sweat it,” said Vik. “You’ll get used to these horses, even Herschel. He’s ugly, but that’s part of his charm. Right, Herschel?”

Herschel snorted, but in a friendly way.

“Okay, everybody,” Joe said. “Next thing on your list is the water trough. Empty it, scrub it out, rinse it with water from the hose, dump that water out, and fill it with fresh water.”

“Be careful,” said Simon. “Don’t waste the water. Remember, we’re having a dry spell.”

“I get the hose!” said Will.

“I call the sponge!” said Zee and Yasu at the same time.

When the boys shouted and ran to get the hose and the sponges, all of the horses startled at the commotion—all except for Herschel. The horses left their buckets and rushed to the other end of the paddock.

“See what I mean?” said Joe. “They spook easy.”

Birds spook easy too, thought Nate. Maybe horses and birds aren’t so different. So how come the horses spook me?

“What about that horse?” asked Zee, pointing to Herschel, who hadn’t left his bucket.

“Herschel is a really smart horse,” said Joe. “He’s an old, experienced kind of guy. A steady Eddie.”

After the boys had been quiet for a few seconds, the other horses came back. Trying to move slowly and carefully, the boys set to work scrubbing out the water trough.

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