White Stallion of Lipizza by Marguerite Henry

Author:Marguerite Henry [Henry, Marguerite]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2014-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

THE WORLD IS A WHEEL

The day after his talk with his mother, Hans presented himself at the office of the Spanish Court Riding School. His determination made him miraculously calm. The same red-haired girl who had once told him to queue up left her desk and came to the porthole.

“Yes?” she asked.

“My name is Hans Haupt. I wish, please, to see the Director of the School, Colonel Podhajsky.”

“Have you an appointment?”

“No, miss.”

“He is very busy. There are two men in his office now.”

Hans’s composure was suddenly gone, and with it his voice.

“Could I be of help?” the girl smiled.

“N-no. Y-y-yes. I don’t know.”

“Come, come,” her tone was big-sisterly, “speak up.”

“C-could I see him tomorrow afternoon?”

“No. Tomorrow he goes to Piber.”

Hans was desperate now. “When could I see him?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps if you told me your purpose?”

“I—I want to be a Riding Master,” he said helplessly.

The girl hesitated. A strange resemblance between this boy and her own younger brother made her say, “Wait a moment.” She clip-clopped on her high heels to her desk, studied an appointment book, and returned. “You come back a month from today,” she said. “Here, put your address on this card, and if you do not hear from us, you be here at four o’clock on the tenth day of June.”

For Hans the next month was one of minute preparation. He cleaned out his wardrobe, giving a bundle of clothes and a pair of shoes to Jacques. He gave him his precious collection of horse pictures. He taught Jacques the niceties of handling Rosy—how she didn’t like being groomed under her belly, but liked a good rubbing wherever the harness leathers had touched her, how she submitted to the hoofpick if she were busy eating her grain. And he showed Jacques the technique of arriving at the Hofburg at the exact stroke of seven. One morning he pointed out Borina with great pride.

“Humpf!” sniffed Jacques. “He looks just like the others.”

“Is that so? I suppose you think all children look alike, too.”

“No, I don’t. I know boys from girls.”

At school each day and at the library each night Hans worked with single-minded purpose; he had to make sure he would graduate. He longed to tell Fräulein Morgen of his appointment with Colonel Podhajsky, but he decided against it. Better to surprise her.

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