Star of Wonder (2 page)

2

A Dangerous Lesson

STAR OF WONDER’S birth turned out to be quite an event at Lucky Foot Stable. Even Mr. McMurray, the owner of the dairy farm
where the little green-roofed stable sat next to the huge cow barn—biggest one in the county, Willie often said—came by later
that week to welcome the baby into the world. Mary and Jody were just taking down the little Christmas tree from the top of
Jody’s tack box when he appeared in the doorway.

“Well, girls, I hear congratulations are in order,” he said in his thick Irish brogue. “You know, I don’t care so much for
horses, hay burners they are, and eating the cow’s pasture for no profit, but I would like to see the little devil. Willie
says he’s right smart looking.”

Mary finally found her voice after the initial surprise of seeing Mr. McMurray in Lucky Foot Stable, where he had rarely set
foot since the day he agreed to let the girls keep the ponies there in exchange for carpentry work from Jody’s father and
bookkeeping from Mary’s mother.

“Oh, yes, sir. He is, and right smart in the head too!” she exclaimed proudly. “We’ve already put a halter on him, and he
didn’t care a bit!”

“Come see him—he’s out in the paddock with Lady,” Jody said, forgetting her shyness and taking a surprised Mr. McMurray by
the hand.

The snow that had fallen lightly on Christmas Eve still remained in small patches here and there in the paddock, and Star
of Wonder was pawing and snuffling at one of these curious white spots when Mr. McMurray looked over the door of the stable
into the paddock. As soon as the foal saw the new face, he stopped pawing and boldly walked over, raised his muzzle, and sniffed
Mr. McMurray’s outstretched hand.

“He’s not shy, now, is he?” Mr. McMurray said, chuckling as he rubbed the top of Star’s head. Lady raised her head for a moment
from her pile of hay, but anticipating no danger from this visitor, quickly resumed her breakfast.

“He’s getting really strong and loves to run around,” Jody said. As if on cue, Star flung up his head and spun in a circle,
prancing and kicking across the paddock on his spindly legs. Mr. McMurray laughed out loud at his antics as the girls watched
him with pride.

“Well, girls, like I said, I never had much use for horses, but I will say he is a handsome lad, and full of the devil!” He
laughed as Star took another turn around the paddock, bucking and kicking up his heels.

“Mr. McMurray, Christmas break is almost over and next week we have to go back to school,” Mary spoke up. “We’re a little
worried about Star because he needs us.”

“He needs you, does he?” Mr. McMurray said. “And what about his mama? Doesn’t she take good care of him?”

“Well, yes, but Lady needs us too. She has to be fed extra grain so she can make good milk, and we have to turn her out at
separate times from Gypsy for right now until the baby gets a little bigger, and somebody needs to keep an eye on Star because
he runs around like crazy, and we’re afraid he’s going to fall down and break his leg!” Mary continued breathlessly.

“Hmm, I see—so what are you saying, Mary?” Mr. McMurray asked.

“Well, I just wondered, since you came to see him and everything, and you think he’s a right smart handsome lad, if you could
just look in on him once in a while. And maybe you wouldn’t mind if Willie came over when he’s not too busy with the cows
to turn out Lady and Star and bring in Gypsy during the day?”

“And I’ll be here after school, as soon as I finish my homework,” Jody added. “My dad got me a new bike for Christmas and
I can get here really fast from my house!”

“And instead of going home from school and then riding my bike here, my mom said she could pick me up from school and bring
me straight here, as long as I get back home in time to do my homework before bed!” Mary said.

Mr. McMurray looked from one girl’s upturned face to the other and tried to sound serious.

“I’ll have a word with Willie and see what we can do,” he said. “But we can’t take too much time away from the cows, you know.”

“Oh, we know, sir, and we’ll help Willie with them too, if he needs it.” Jody promised. “And as soon as Star gets bigger and
gets weaned, and it gets to be spring, we won’t worry so much. Because the ponies will be out in the pasture all the time.”

“Am I interrupting anything?” a voice came from the stable aisle.

“Mom!” Mary said, turning to see her mother, who was dressed in her best work clothes. “I was just talking about you!”

“I thought I would stop on my way to work and check up on that new baby,” Mary’s mother said, looking out over the stable
door. “Hello, Jody. And Mr. McMurray. How are you today?”

“I’m well, Mrs. Morrow. I think that’s a fine looking colt out there, and the girls are thrilled, of course.”

“Oh, yes, and he’s grown since just a few days ago!” she exclaimed. Mary was pleasantly surprised to see her mother in the
stable, because her mother didn’t like the smell of horse manure, and the high heels she wore to work weren’t suited to walking
in a barn.

“Mom, I was just telling Mr. McMurray that maybe you could pick me up at school and get me here fast so I can help Jody take
care of Lady and Star,” Mary said hopefully.

“I’m going to try, Mary, but you know some days I won’t be able to take a break from work. And what about your schoolwork?”

“I’ll be home in time to do it before I go to bed. Mom, I’ve been getting straight As, remember?”

Mrs. Morrow smiled and shook her head. Ever since Mary’s father had left the family when Mary was a baby, her mother had worked
hard to keep them together and happy. But sometimes she wondered why the two of them were so unlike each other. Almost since
Mary could talk, she had asked for a pony every year for Christmas, and her room was filled with horse books, horse posters,
horse calendars, and horse models. Mrs. Morrow had finally decided that Mary was ready for a real horse, and so they found
the dark chestnut pony with the flaxen mane and tail at a horse and pony rescue stable. Mary named the mare Gypsy Amber, and
she made up a suitably wild story to explain her background, although Mary’s mother knew that the pony had come from a home
where she had been neglected to the point of starvation. Mrs. Morrow had contacted Mr. McMurray about using a stall in the
little white and green stable in return for developing a good record-keeping system for his cows and monthly bookkeeping.
And Jody had arrived a month later with her little pinto Lady. The girls had been inseparable ever since, and Mrs. Morrow
never regretted her decision.

“Well, I’ve got to get to work.” Mrs. Morrow said, stepping gingerly across the dirt floor of the stable aisle, balancing
on her toes. “I’ll see you at home later, Mary, and don’t forget . . .”

“I know, I know, take my barn clothes off on the porch before coming in the house,” Mary recited with a smile.

After all visitors had departed from Lucky Foot Stable, Mary and Jody decided to give Star a lesson in being led around the
paddock. “Star was so good when we put the halter on him—he shouldn’t mind the lead rope at all,” Mary said confidently. Lady’s
halter was obviously too big, so Willie had given the girls an old calf halter for the foal and it fit him perfectly. Now
it was time to fasten the lead rope to it and teach Star to lead.

He kicked and bucked around the paddock once with his
tail held high and his back toward the girls.

“Mare, are you sure we’re not pushing him? He’s only a week old, you know,” Jody worried.

“Well, we’ve been petting him and rubbing him and we even brushed him, and he loved that,” Mary said. “And he already follows
us around like a dog, so what’s the difference if we have a rope on him?”

The difference was clear the instant Jody snapped the rope onto Star’s halter and gave a little tug. Star was fine following
Jody and Mary of his own free will, but when he felt the pressure on his head to go forward, he automatically pulled back
and threw up his head, yanking the lead rope from Jody’s hand and taking off at a canter across the paddock.

“Star!” Mary shrieked. “Jody, the rope is hanging down between his legs! It could wrap around them and trip him! He’ll break
his leg!”

Mary and Jody both knew that chasing the foal would be the worst thing they could do—he would just run faster. As it was,
he kicked and bucked around the paddock once, then he trotted, with his tail high and his back toward the girls, sidestepping
away from them at the last minute. Just as he went by, Mary reached out to grab the rope, but she missed. Jody was almost
crying as she watched the rope flip in and out between Star’s fragile front legs. Lady, meanwhile, looked up from her hay
just as the foal trotted past. Until then, Lady had paid little attention to Star galloping around the paddock. But as he
trotted near her, she seemed to almost know that the dangling rope was dangerous and reached out and grabbed it in her teeth,
stopping Star in his tracks.

Mary and Jody stared in amazement as Lady stood calmly holding the end of the rope in her teeth while Star rubbed his muzzle
on her neck, then moved down her flank and nuzzled for milk. The girls turned and looked at each other and burst out laughing
at the same instant.

“I can’t believe she did that!” Jody gasped. “We have to tell Willie!”

“Willie will never believe it,” Mary replied. “I wish we had a camera, just so we could prove it!”

“Well, I guess we pushed him a little too fast,” Jody giggled. “Let’s unhook him and try again in about six months.”

3

Time to Grow Up

BY THE TIME six months had passed, not only had Star learned to lead around the paddock, but Mary and Jody had led him around
the whole farm, introducing him to the cows, taking him to see Willie out in the field, even walking him up to Mr. McMurray’s
big stone house. Of course, they led Lady along with him, because Star was still dependent on her milk and her company. They
had even placed a saddle on his back and tightened the girth one hole at a time until he got used to the feel of it, and they
laughed to see his expression when he turned to look at the funny thing. They had begun to feed him small amounts of grain,
and he had started to nibble on Lady’s hay. It was summer, and the time had come for Willie to give the girls some advice
on the next step in Star’s upbringing. Ever since the day Willie had challenged the stallion at the horse show, the girls
had realized that he knew much more about horses than they had ever suspected.

“You know, it’s time for him to grow up a little more,” Willie said to the girls as they led Star around the paddock with
Lady’s saddle on his back.

“What do you mean, Willie?” asked Mary. “He’s growing every day. Look how big he’s getting!”

“I mean, he’s got to grow up in his head. He’s got to get away from bein’ so attached to Lady.”

“But, Willie, he’s only six months old,” Jody said. “He’s still nursing!”

“I know he’s still nursin,’ but it’s high time he quit nursin’ and started eatin’ on his own. Lady’s milk won’t last forever,
you know,” Willie replied, tugging on his earlobe.

“Well, he has been eating on his own—he eats grain now, and a little hay, and he drinks water sometimes. He’ll stop nursing
pretty soon,” Mary commented matter-of-factly.

“But, Mary, he’s got to be weaned. I know you know what that word means, with all the horse books you have and that dictionary
you’re always looking things up in,” Willie insisted.

Mary stared at Willie speechlessly, until Jody interrupted the silence with a question.

“Mare, what does he mean?”

“Well, it means we have to separate Star from Lady, so her milk will dry up, and he’ll have to eat just grain and hay and
drink water from now on.” Mary explained solemnly.

“Separate them? But they’ll both go crazy! Remember that time Lady got stuck in the stable somehow while Star was in the paddock,
and she almost broke the door down trying to get to him?!” Jody cried.

“He was a lot younger then,” Willie said. “Now he’s older and even Lady knows he should be on his own. Haven’t you seen her
pushin’ him away sometimes when he comes to nurse?”

The girls looked at each other in silence, knowing it was true but not wanting to admit it.

“But, Willie, what should we do? Do you have any ideas?” Jody asked.

“Well,” Willie said, taking off his hat and scratching his head like he always did when he was thinking, “I reckon we could
put Lady and Gypsy together out in the pasture like we always used to, and keep Star here in the paddock. You girls will have
to keep him company until he gets used to the idea of not being with Lady.”

“But he’s going to run around and cry like he did the day Lady was stuck in the stable,” Jody said, feeling like crying herself.

“He will; I won’t lie to you,” Willie said, “and Lady will be upset too, even though she’s gettin’ tired of him nursin’ on
her. I wish there was a place we could put Lady far enough away where they couldn’t hear each other hollerin,’ but the cow
pasture’s as far as she can go.

“It’s got to be done. They’ll be all right in a month or so, and then they can go back together again after Lady’s milk dries
up, and they won’t be so attached to each other. And Jody’ll be able to ride Lady again without Star trailin’ along.”

Mary and Jody looked at Star, who blinked at them with so much trust in his eyes, and at Lady, who was nibbling on her hay
at the other end of the paddock. Jody sighed and then looked at Willie.

“When should we start?” she asked in resignation.

“Well, no sense puttin’ it off,” Willie said. “Today’s as good a day as any.”

“Today?” Mary cried. “But, Willie, we haven’t even had a chance to get used to the idea!”

“No point in waitin’ for that. You might never get used to it. You just have to do it. Now, Jody, get that saddle off Star
and give me his lead rope. I don’t want you tryin’ to hold onto him when he starts run-nin’ around. In fact, I want you both
in the stable, not out in the paddock with him. I’ll get Lady and take her around to the pasture. Gypsy’s out there, ain’t
she, Mary?”

Mary was almost too upset to reply. “Yes, she’s out there, Willie. She’ll be glad to see Lady. But, Willie, are you sure we
have to do this today?”

Willie was already halfway across the paddock with the lead rope, and Jody had already taken the saddle off. The girls obediently
went into the stable, looking out into the paddock from the stable door.

Willie hooked the lead rope to Lady’s halter and walked her toward the gate. Star was at her side in an instant, expecting
to go out of the gate with her as he had done so many times before on their trips around the farm with the girls. But this
time, Willie hurried out with Lady and turned, shutting the gate before Star could follow.

“Oh, I can’t stand it,” Jody said, covering her eyes.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Willie called to the girls.

“Don’t do anything until I get back. And stay in that stable.”

The experience of watching Lady walk away from him was a first for Star; he had always been by her side. He threw up his head
in surprise, then turned and looked at Mary and Jody, as if to say, “Hey! Get over here and open this gate!”

But Mary and Jody, as much as they wanted to go out in the paddock, stayed where they were. Star stood stock-still, head up
and staring as Lady and Willie turned the corner of the dairy barn on the way to the big pasture. The moment Lady was out
of sight, Star shook his head, snorted once, and let out a high-pitched whinny. An instant later, Lady answered from the pasture.

“I was hoping he wouldn’t be able to hear Lady from the pasture, but he can hear her loud and clear,” Mary lamented. “This
is going to be terrible!”

Star whinnied again, Lady answered, then Star began galloping around the paddock, kicking and bucking, stopping only long
enough to whinny once again, then taking off for another round.

“Mary, he’s going to either run himself to death or hurt himself trying. I’m going out there to try and calm him down,” Jody
said, pushing open the stable door.

“Don’t you do no such thing,” Willie said. He had come silently into the stable and was watching Star from the aisle behind
the girls.

“But, Willie, he’s going to break a leg!” Mary cried.

“No, he’s not. His legs are a lot sturdier than you think they are. He’ll run around until he gets tired, then he’ll stop,”
Willie said simply.

Mary and Willie continued to watch Star gallop and whinny, but Jody sat on a bale of hay in the stable with her eyes closed
and her hands over her ears. She suddenly felt a warm wet tongue on her face. Finnegan had come into the stable to see what
all the commotion was about and was doing his best to cheer her up.

“Oh, Finney,” Jody cried, throwing her arms around him and burying her face in his fur. “I can’t watch. When is it going to
stop?”

As if on cue, the whinnying did stop, and so did the sound of hooves beating against the hard clay of the paddock. Jody sat
up on her bale and looked at Mary and Willie, who still had their backs to her as they stared out into the paddock.

“What’s happening?” Jody asked fearfully. “Is he all right?”

“Just like I told you. He’d run till he got tired, and then he’d stop,” Willie replied calmly.

“Jode, I don’t think you want to see him right now.” Mary warned, “Better wait a few minutes.”

Of course, that statement made Jody jump from her bale and rush to the door. What she saw across the paddock brought tears
to her eyes.

Poor Star had run himself into a lather, and he was standing by the gate, head hanging to the ground. Having no more voice
left, he made snuffling noises that sounded to Jody like crying. And she began to cry herself.

“Oh, Willie, what have we done to him? He’ll never forgive us,” Jody wailed.

“Oh, yes, he will,” said Willie, patting Jody awkwardly on the back. “You go on out there to him now and give him a pat. He’s
missin’ his mama, but he’ll be better tomorrow. See if he wants a drink, but just give him a little until he cools down.”

Jody wiped her eyes and started off across the paddock to Star. Mary was close behind, but Willie caught her by the arm before
she went very far.

“Let Jody go to him, Mary,” Willie said. “He needs to make a connection with somebody besides Lady, but just one person for
now. He’s feelin’ pretty blue.”

As much as she wanted to be with Star, Mary stopped and nodded. She watched silently as Jody approached Star with an outstretched
hand.

“Star, I’m so sorry,” Jody said quietly. Star’s breathing had slowed down, and when he saw Jody’s familiar figure, he raised
his head, blinked at her as he always did, and stretched out his muzzle to sniff her hand. Jody turned and smiled at Mary
and Willie.

“I think he still likes me,” she said. Star sighed, took a step closer to Jody, and laid his head wearily on her arm, nickering
softly.

“Willie, can I take out a little water in a bucket for him now?” Mary whispered. “I won’t bother him, I promise.”

“I reckon that’d be alright,” Willie said.

Mary took the water out in a small bucket and held it under Star’s muzzle. He sniffed the water, but didn’t drink. Instead
he began rubbing his head up and down, up and down on Jody’s arm like he always did when he had an itch.

“Come on, Star,” Mary said quietly. “I know you’re
thirsty, boy, and you’ve cooled down enough now.”

“Come on, Star,” Mary said quietly. “I know you’re thirsty, boy, and you’ve cooled down enough now to drink a little bit.”

Star finished rubbing Jody’s arm and sniffed the water again, tentatively lapping at it with his tongue like a dog before
taking a real drink.

“That’s a good boy,” Jody said. “I know it’s not as good as Lady’s milk, but you’ve got to get used to it.”

“Don’t say anything to remind him of Lady,” Mary whispered. “He’s got to forget about her for a while. Let’s see if he’ll
eat some grain.”

The girls walked slowly toward the stable to get the grain, hoping Star would follow them in his usual way. Star stood still
for a moment, watching them go, and then, on tired unsteady legs, he trailed after them to the stable door. Mary went in to
get the grain while Jody stayed with Star outside the stable. Willie reached over the door and rubbed Star’s head briskly
between the ears.

“Feelin’ sorry for yourself, ain’t you, buddy?” he asked sympathetically. “You’ll have a sorry night tonight, but you’ll feel
a little better tomorrow.”

Just then another long, plaintive whinny came from the direction of the big pasture, and Star again threw up his head and
tried to whinny back, but a hoarse squeal was all that he could muster. He shook his head in frustration as Mary came out
with the scoop of grain and offered him a bite. He shook his head again, reached out, got his nose under the scoop, and flipped
it right out of Mary’s hand, scattering grain all over the ground.

“Star! Where are your manners?” Jody cried.

“He’s startin’ to get his strength back, and remem-berin’ how ornery he can be,” Willie laughed as Star turned and cantered
across the paddock, throwing in a buck for good measure. Then he turned and trotted back to the girls, dropped his head, and
began lip-ping at the grain, picking up one piece at a time from the packed clay of the paddock.

“See, he’s forgettin’ about his mama already. Ain’t that always the way?” Willie said. “He’s gonna be fine, just like I told
you.”

“But, Willie, we can’t leave him alone tonight,” Jody worried. “We’ll have to stay here and sleep in the stable. Should we
put him in Lady’s stall? We could sleep right next door in Gypsy’s, in case he needs us.”