A Foal Full of Trouble (ages 9-12)

Word Prompt #20: Andi has found a new pet. What is it? And what adventure (or trouble) does this new pet bring?

          Andi Carter was sitting in the tree at her 'special spot.'  Taffy, her horse was grazing nearby.  Taffy perked up her ears and went around the tree.  Andi was too relaxed to see what she was doing.  But Taffy kept going around the tree.  So Andi looked down, and Taffy wasn't the only one walking around the tree.  On the other side, where Taffy couldn't see, was a little black and white foal. 

          Andi got down from the tree and said, “Well, looks like we're going home a little early.”

          So she got a rope from Taffy's saddle and tied it around the foal's neck, then mounted Taffy.  As they were doing a steady trot home, Andi thought, What are we going to do with her?  I wonder who she belongs to.  Chad will know.

          As soon as they got home, she walked inside the house.

          “Well you're home early,” said Mother, who didn't look up from her book.

          “Chad,” Andi said, “I think you need to see something.”

          Chad got up from playing checkers with Justin and followed Andi outside.  She walked around Taffy, but all she saw was the rope hanging from the saddle.

          “What's wrong, Andi?” asked Chad.

          “Th—there was a black and white foal.”

          “Okay,” said Chad, and walked out of the house.  “Looks like Andi's been imagining again.”

          “I am not!” said Andi angrily.

          Halfway to the door he stopped short.  There, at least three feet away, was the foal.  Chad was shocked.  He tried to grab the foal, but the foal just ran away.

          “I told you I wasn't imagining things,” Andi said.  “I found her when I was taking Taffy out for a ride.”

          “Well,” said Chad, chasing the foal around.  “We'll put her in the stable for tonight and look for her owner tomorrow.”

          Chad finally caught her and led her to the stable.

~ ~ ~

          Later that night, while Andi was in bed, she couldn't help but thinking about the foal.  She's a little bundle of trouble, Andi thought.  Trouble.  That sounds like a good name for her. 

          “Trouble,” whispered Andi, as she finally drifted away.

~ ~ ~

          The next morning after breakfast, Andi stepped outdoors to give Taffy breakfast.  And outside their door was Trouble!

          “Trouble, what are you doing here?” Andi asked.

          “Trouble?” asked Chad, stepping out of the barn.  “She's definitely that.  What a funny name for a horse.  I tried to look for her, but she was nowhere in sight.  Her stable door was open.  I don't know how she got out.”

          “She probably tipped the lock with her nose,” said Andi, as she stroked Trouble's nose.

          Later that afternoon, Andi was doing chores in the stable, like she always did, and walked out of the stable to fill a bucket with water.  While she was walking, it almost sounded like footsteps walking behind her.  She turned around, and there was Trouble following her to the pump.

                                                                                                                  

          “Come on, Trouble,” she said, and Trouble sped up her pace.

~ ~ ~

          During the next three days, as Chad continued to look for the owner, Andi's bond with Trouble grew stronger and stronger.  She groomed her, she stroked her, she fed and watered her, and Trouble wasn't afraid of her anymore.  Andi made such a bond with Trouble that she started taking her everywhere Taffy went, and Taffy didn't mind.  Andi thought Taffy actually enjoyed it.

          One day, when Andi and Taffy were walking home from their 'special spot,' she saw Mr. Holister's horse tied to the post.  Andi quickly unsaddled Taffy and ran to the house.  She opened the door and it seemed like everyone was in the kitchen, except Melinda, who was away in town.  She could hear Chad and Mr. Holister talking in the kitchen.

          “A foal from your direction came and startled them.”

          Startled who? thought Andi.  She gasped.  She hadn't seen Trouble all morning!  She quickly walked into the kitchen.

          “I think that was Trouble,” Andi said.

          “Trouble?” Mr. Holister repeated, confused.

          “We found her three days ago.  Black and white, has a star on the front of her head.”

          “Yep, that's the one,” Mr. Holister said.  “Found her in my sheep pen this mornin'.”

          “Do you know where she is now?”

          “She ran back toward your place.”

          Andi went outdoors and looked around.  She walked around the house, and she walked beyond the stable, and in the cow pen was the funniest cow she had ever seen.  It was black and white and was standing up.  All the other cows were sitting down—

          “Trouble!  Trouble!” she yelled.

          The little foal's head popped up and she ran toward Andi.

          “How'd you get in there?”

          Trouble looked like she was smiling at her.  Then, at the largest opening in the fence, she put her head through, put her front legs through, then wiggled until the rest of her body came out.  She landed on the ground with a thud.

          “Trouble, go back to the stable,” said Andi, leading her there.

~ ~ ~

          The next afternoon, Andi saw Chad walking toward their house, with a few envelopes in his hand.  “No luck yet, Andi.” 

          He stopped by the barn and shuffled through the mail.  He stopped near the end and looked.

          “What is it, Chad?”

          “Unfamiliar hand writing.”  He ripped it open and unfolded the letter.  His eyebrows shot up.

          Chad didn't say anything.  He just handed the letter to Andi.  Andi picked it up then read it.

          Dear Carter family,

          We're looking for our lost little Star.  She's a black and white foal with a star on her head.  If you have seen her, place contact us at the J.H Ranch.

          Sincerely yours,

                   The Hendrick family

 

          Then she read it again, and again.  She swallowed a lump in her throat.  “We've found Troub— I mean Star's owners, didn't we?”

          Chad nodded his head sadly.  Andi walked to the house, then jogged, then ran.  She pounded up the stairs, went to her room, thrust the door closed, flopped on her bed, and sat there crying.

          Five minutes later, Chad opened the door and sat next to her.  “So,” Chad started slowly, “I'm going to the Hendrick family, to bring Star back to them.  Would you like to come with me?”

          Andi nodded her head sadly.

~ ~ ~

          When they were at the J.H Ranch, Chad knocked on the door.  A lady opened the door and said, “Hello.  How can I help you?”

          “We think we found your horse.  Could you get Mr. Hendrick?”

          “He's out in the field.”

          Chad and Andi walked to the fields, but Star ran.  Mr. Hendrick looked up.  “Star!  Where have you been?” he asked, stroking the horse's neck.

          “We found her,” answered Chad.

          “Thank you for returnin' her.  Please, let's go to the house.  Mrs. McGregor, our cook, surly has somethin' bakin'.”

          They walked to the house, and Andi couldn't stop thinking about how much she would miss Trouble.  As they sat down in the parlor, the room smelled of cookies and coffee.

          “Thank you for returnin' Star.  The story is that Star got out of her pen one day.”

          Andi was too sad to listen.                                    

          “The plan was to sell her—” 

          Suddenly Andi looked up. 

          “—Once she was old enough,” Mr. Hendrick continued.

          Andi didn't listen anymore.  All she could think about was buying her.  They returned home—but without Trouble.

~ ~ ~

          “Happy birthday, Andi!” everyone said.

          After lunch was finished, Mother handed her a present.  “Happy birthday, Sweetie.”

          Andi opened the small, round package, and there was a little necklace with a horse on it.

          “Thank you, Mother, it's beautiful,” she said, putting it on.

          “Happy birthday,” said Melinda, as she handed her a little pink notebook.  “It's a diary.  It comes with a pencil.”

          “Thanks, Melinda.”  She looked at Chad, Mitch, and Justin.

          “In the barn,” said Chad, grinning.

          Andi then looked at Mother, and Mother nodded.  She ran out to the stables.  In the stall next to Taffy's, now a little older, was Trouble.

          “Trouble,” Andi breathed.

          Trouble unlocked the stable door with her nose, and then kicked it open and ran to Andi.

          “I missed you, Trouble.”

          And she had.  And it was the best birthday ever.