Nathaniel by John Saul

Author:John Saul [Saul, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-307-76792-9
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2010-10-19T16:00:00+00:00

Michael stepped out of the sunlight into the shadows of the Simpsons’ barn. “Eric?” he called out. When there was no reply, he went farther into the barn. A soft whinny came from Magic’s stall, and Michael paused to pat the big mare’s muzzle. “Where’s Eric?” he asked, and Magic, almost as if she’d understood the question, pawed at the floor of the stall, neighed loudly, and tossed her head. Michael grinned, then called out his friend’s name once again, more loudly this time.

“Back here.” Eric’s voice drifted faintly from the far end of the barn, and Michael abandoned Magic for the tack room, where he found Eric working with a tangle of leather straps.

“Whatcha doin’?”

“Trying to make a bridle for Whitesock.”

Michael frowned. “Who’s Whitesock?”

“Magic’s colt. He’s got one white stocking, so we named him Whitesock. I found this old bridle, and if I can make it small enough, I can start training him.”

“Where is he?”

“Out in the pasture behind the barn.”

“Can I go play with him?”

Eric shrugged. “I guess so. But he probably won’t play very much. Today’s the first time he’s been away from Magic, and he’s kinda skittish.”

A few minutes later, Michael was staring over the pasture fence. Just yards away, the colt stared back at him through large, suspicious eyes.

“Hi, Whitesock,” Michael said softly, and the colt’s ears twitched interestedly. “Come on, boy. Come over here.” He reached down and tore up a fistful of grass, then held it out toward the colt. “Want something to eat?”

The colt took a step forward, then quickly changed its mind and backed away. Michael frowned, and shook the grass. The colt wheeled around and trotted across the pasture, then finally stopped to look back at Michael.

Grinning, Michael scrambled through the barbed wire fence and began walking toward the colt, holding the grass out in front of him. “It’s okay, Whitesock. It’s good. Come on, boy. I’m not going to hurt you.”

But when he was still a few yards away, the colt once more bolted and ran off to the far corner of the pasture.

Michael was about to follow the horse once again when he felt something brush against him. He looked down to see Shadow, his tail wagging happily, crouched eagerly at his feet. “You want to help, Shadow?” The dog let out a joyful yelp and jumped to his feet. “Okay, let’s sneak up on him. Come on.”

Slowly, the boy and the dog approached the colt, and this time Michael was careful to do nothing that might spook the little horse. He moved only a few feet at a time, pausing often to let the colt get used to him. Shadow, seeming to sense what his master was doing, stayed close to Michael, matching his movements almost perfectly.

Finally, when they were only a few feet away from the horse, Michael began speaking quietly, as he’d heard Eric do when he was calming Magic. “Easy, Whitesock. Easy, boy. No one’s going to hurt you. Look.” Slowly he raised his hand, offering the colt a taste of the grass.

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