March Story Contest

The Golden Stallion
Part One

by Snowy2351

Age 12

Prologue
The golden horse stood on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the valley. Above him, a hawk circled in a series of swoops and turns, calling as he did so. The horse let out a long, proud neigh to let the valley and everything in it know that he ruled it, and he would for generations to come.
But, unkown to the wild golden stallion, all of this was about to change.
* * *
Beck woke up to the sound of birds singing sweetly outside her window. Another great day for riding! she thought.  She quickly pulled on a t-shirt, jeans, riding boots and a warm jumper and hurried outside to the stables. It was a fresh, frosty morning and as she neared the stables she was welcomed by Dinky's neigh. "Good morning, everyone!" she called out to the horses. She was answered by a chorus of impatient neighs, the horses hungrily eying the bucket of carrots she carried. "Okay, okay, greedyguts!" Beck laughed when she saw Calypso, her father's chestnut mare, stick her head out the half door, eagerly looking at Beck for a carrot. "Looks like somebody wants a carrot!" she said as she went over and stroked Calypso's head. "Of course my second favourite horse in the world will get one," she said. After feeding all the other horses, she went over to Dinky's stall and said hello.
"Hi boy!" she said as he nickered a warm welcome. She gave him a carrot and while he munched, she quickly groomed him and put a bridle on his head, then led him out of the barn and jumped onto his back.
 
"Come on, boy!" she shouted as Dinky streaked across the grass paddock. She usually started her days like this. Dinky was used to the thrilling gallop early in the morning, along the Forest Trail, which led to Beck and Dinky's secret place in the forest. As they neared the thick canopy of trees, Beck slowed Dinky down. "Whoa!" she said until they came to a dead stop in front of the forest. Beck looked up at the tall jarrah trees looming up in front of her. The height of these trees always made her feel very small.
 
Half an hour later, Beck was sitting in the clearing with Dinky grazing beside her. This was her place where she could sit and think things out, or just enjoy Dinky's company and the stillness of the forest.
Suddenly, she heard a loud neigh. "What was that!" she said to Dinky. He must have heard it too, for he reared up and answered back to the mysterious neigh. Dinky began pacing around, nosing Beck, obviously saying: "Quick! Climb on! There's a horse in danger!" Beck understood, and while Dinky paced around, she managed to grab a handful of his mane and swinng herself onto his back.

* * *

Beck held on tight, for this was nothing like the slow, relaxing gallop that brought them to the clearing. She gave Dinky his head, and he seemed to know where to go.
As they galloped through the woods, the undergrowth got thicker and Dinky began slowing down, but he kept running as fast as the rough terrain allowed him to. At last, they neared a quarry with long, steep sides, and very carefully, Beck swung down from Dinky's back, and began leading him forward. Inch by inch they advanced towards the edge of the quarry.
There, Beck looked over the edge, and to her horror, she saw two men trying to catch a wild golden stallion, rearing up and screaming his lungs out. His coat gleamed bright golden in the sun, and his mane and tail were as black as the night. Beck had never seen a horse as majestic as this stallion in her whole life. "Wow!' she whispered under her breath. But then she realised that with each step, the men were getting closer to catching the stallion. "How are we going to rescue him?" Beck said to Dinky quietly. He nickered to her as if to say: "We'll work something out."  "I hope so," Beck said, chewing her nails with concentration. Then suddenly, she had an idea. What if Dinky could somehow distract the men? Then the horse could just run away, couldn't it? It would just have to work. She looked into Dinky's deep, liquid brown eyes, and said "I can trust you, can't I?"
 
What will happen next? Will Dinky be able to distract the men so that the stallion could be freed? Don't miss the next Part of Beck's task to free The Wild Golden Stallion!