May 2009 Story Contest

Ginger by Catstem

I sat down at the breakfast table with Mom. I was eating really fast being eager to go to the pony auction.

"Slow down,Nikka,you still have an hour,"said Mom.

I slowed down to regular speed."I'm sorry Mom. I'm just so excited!" I said with delight.

"I know that.You still don't have to rush,"Mom answered.

"Okay Mom,"I said.

After breakfast Mom walked me out to an empty stall.

"That's where it's staying Nikka,and you're responsible for it," she said.

At 9:30 we got in the truck. We rode down to Pony Gate. This is where I would find the perfect horse,the horse of my dreams. As they pulled in to the parking lot, I rushed inside with my mother. There were horses and ponies. I wanted a horse. Mom went to talk to friends while I walked up and down the aisles.

I walked through an aisle full of paints,but none of them seemed to touch me.Then I got to a row of chestnuts.Here one did catch my eye. A beautiful mare stood in the third stall down the isle.She was perfect!She had a white spot on her chest. Her ginger color made me seem to almost smell ginger.

I slowly lifted my hand up through the bars.The mare brought her muzzle down until her nose was in my palm. I knew I would bid on her.

"Nikka,dear!I'm sitting down now!The bidding's about to begin!" called Mom.

I pet the horse one more time before I left to sit down. I had $620 in my pocket. I earned it from a hand done car wash my friends and I did. As I sat down a black and white paint was released into the rink. After that a pinto,then a palomino. After five horses,the mare was let out.

"$100!"shouted a man in the back.

"$400!'shouted a woman in the front.

"$600!"I shouted."

"Okay.We have a bid for $600.Going once, going twice,sold to the girl in the middle!" announced the man in charge.

Mom loaded me and the mare into our truck.We were on our way home.

When we got home Mom,the mare,and I walked to the stall where the horse would be kept. I took down a small groom bucket. Mom got the hose and put it by a metal pole. I took the groom bucket over to Mom. She had the soap bucket,the sponge,and the hoof pick. We took the mare and tied her to the pole. Mom and I hosed a wash towel until it was soaked completely.

"What are we going to name her?"I asked as I scrubbed the mare down with the towel.

"How about Wildginger?" asked Mom.

"That's it Mom!Ginger! It's the perfect name!" I said.

Now I was sponging Ginger down with the soap sponge. Mom went inside to make lunch while I finished taking care of Ginger. Ginger turned out to be the horse of my dreams,but soon things went bad.We found out that she had been sold sick, abandoned at the vet's. So they took Ginger without caring to cure her sickness. They sold her at the pony auction.

We drove Ginger to the vet in the truck the next morning. I was really worried about my horse, but the vet said she wasn't very sick. He gave me some medicine to put in Ginger's oats. He also said that Ginger would be fine in only four days,and that she would be ready for riding in just a week.

School began again on Monday.When I got home,Ginger was all better and ready to ride. I took care of her and saddled her up. I slowly and carefully mounted up on her left side. I gently squeezed her with my knees.She started walking. I walked her over to the gate that lead out onto a trail. I didn't know where it lead,but now I was going to find out. Rumor has it that the trail leads to a tree shaded meadow.

I cantered her down the trail until I reached a forked path. I saw a sign pointing East that read:"Acorn road". The sign pointing West read:"Meadowland Trail". I headed down Meadowland trail until Ginger stopped. She stopped in front of a bridge that we were about to cross. It seemed she thought thought something was wrong. Then I saw. The bridge was loose underneath. I knew that if we crossed we would fall one hundred meters down.

"That's my Ginger,"I said as I reached down to pat her neck lovingly.

We headed back down Acorn Road.We did see a meadow.It was partly shaded. A black Clydesdale stallion and a merry gray stood in the sunlit area. While the stallion was staring at me,the merry gray skipped around the fenced arena. I walked Ginger to the gate. I carefully slipped off her back and grabbed the bridle. I opened the gate leading into the arena. I heard voices. I saw a house. It wasn't empty. I saw people in the window.

"Hey look who's back!It's old Merryberry! With a person!" I heard someone say.

Merryberry? I thought. That's the worst name for the horse! I walked Ginger into the arena. I got off her back and took off her bridle, saddle, and saddle blanket. I put all her "stuff" over by the fence. On my way up the short path to the house, I saw tons of horse statues.

The people living there did not look like nice people. I knocked on the the door.

"Who's there? If you come to talk about horses, this is the wrong address," said the person who answered the door.

Why did he not want me to have come to talk about horses? I thought.

"Well your stallion and-" I got cut off by a sharp whinny. "Ginger!" I shouted.

Ginger and the other two horses galloped away, back down the trail. I ran after them, without Ginger's riding gear. I didn't care about that. I cared about Ginger and the others more than the riding gear! I was afraid something bad would happen. For example, one of the horses accidentally stepping onto the bridge! I ran faster then I ever had.Was I too late? Were they gone, dead? I peered through some leaves.They were all there, in front of the beginning of the bridge. Ginger was standing in front of the other horses, as if she was guarding the bridge. She wasn't. She was protecting the other horses.

I then realized that the others were in very bad condition. I was able to get the horses from the man and since he had no more horses, he had his house torn down and he moved away to Ireland. Mama and I took the horses to the vet the next day. We got all the medications needed to save the horses.

I got my riding gear back, and we even bought some more gear for the stallion and the merry gray. We named the stallion Black Beauty. He did remind me of Black Beauty, you know,the one from the book and the movie? We named the merry gray mare Misty, because she had that merry misty kind of act. We only owned three healthy horses, because of Ginger.

THE END