Hossie
Copyright 1991
George Willard

My Stepmother, the Horse
Part 3


Chapter Eight


For the next week the weather was fine, Dad got his computer running and made a good start on his first book, Ayesha and I became very good friends, (I'd bring her a little sugar in the mornings -- after I asked Dad!) and Doug spent most of his time playing over at friends' houses.
The only thing that made it less-than-perfect was the strange way Dad was acting after we went to bed. Again, I heard his voice coming from the barn as he worked on his book. Again, I thought I heard a woman's voice. I thought it might be Aunt Ellen, but one night when I heard the voices, I could also hear my aunt downstairs cleaning up in the kitchen. This was starting to bother me, and I knew I'd have to find out what was up, sooner-or-later.
But before I could do anything about that, trouble came. It's name was Doug. It figures.
On the back corner of our property is an old mineshaft. It's fallen in, and only about 25 feet deep, but it's still dangerous with water and old junk at the bottom where people used to throw their trash before they knew that could hurt the environment. There's a cover of boards on it, but they're getting old and rotten. Doug and I were taught from the time we could walk to stay away from there. That first day, I showed Ayesha the spot and warned her about it. She seemed to understand.
Doug, it seems, hadn't ever forgiven Ayesha for dumping him off. He hadn't tried to ride her again since that first time, and that suited me just fine. All the time I thought he was just playing with his friends, he had other plans.
He had swapped a lot of his toys with a friend for a fancy slingshot, the kind made with rubber tubing. The kind that can kill a rabbit or a squirrel. Or really hurt a horse.
He had spent a week learning how to shoot it right. I guess in a way it shows he's growing up, learning to plan ahead like that... but I wish he had learned it a better way.
The day of the trouble, Dad and Aunt Ellen had to go into town for a couple of hours to take care of some business at the bank. They left us alone with strict orders that we were to stay in the house or the front yard. I settled down with a new mystery book from the library, and Doug went outside.
I was just getting to the part where the twin girl detectives were heading for trouble, only they didn't know it, when I heard loud footsteps on the porch. There was a fumbling at the screen door, and thoughts of prowlers, gangsters, MURDERERS! rushed through my head! Just as I was about to make a dive for Doug's room and his baseball bat, Ayesha opened the door and poked her head inside. "Co-o-ome!" she whinnied.
I just stared at her, mouth gaping, jaw moving but no words. Again. "Co-o-ome! Qui-i-i-ickly!"
In a daze, I went to the door and the talking horse. Ayesha flipped her head, flinging the screen door wide, and backed out, turning and running for the barn. I ran after her.
"Ge-e-t rope!" she whinnied. It was like that. Whinnies, but I could understand words in them.
"Ge-e-t rope, brother hu-u-u-u-r-r-t!"
I hurriedly dug around in the tool corner, still in shock over hearing Ayesha's talk.
I ran outside with the rope, saw her standing by the stump. "Hurr-r-r- y!"
I clambered aboard. She said, "Hold tight." As soon as I had bent forward and grabbed her mane, she took off like a shot, heading right for the old mineshaft.
As I slid off Ayesha's back, I could see a ragged hole in the wooden cover. "Careful-l-l" came the warning. I lifted boards at the edge until I could see down inside.
"Doug? Are you down there?" I called.
A moan drifted up. I looked, letting my eyes adjust to the gloom. I could see him lying in some water with rusty metal poking up around him.
I took one end of the rope and tied a knot in it, dropped it down to him. "Doug! Get the rope! Hold onto the knot, and Ayesha and I will pull you out!"
He opened his eyes and looked around for the rope. But when he reached for it, he screamed.
"I can't! I think my arm's busted!"
"Broken," I muttered.
He looked up at me. "Okay, BROKEN, smarty-pants! Get me out of here!" I was glad to see that his spirit wasn't "busted."
I looked around. There stood Ayesha. What the heck, maybe she can do more than talk? "Any ideas?"
The mare nodded. "Ro-o-pe around ne-e-e-eck. You go dow-w-wn, tie rope on bro-o-o-other."
It took me one crazy moment to figure out she meant for me to tie the rope around HER neck, not mine, then I did it, hoping I could remember how to tie a bowline knot from Girl Scout camp. I finally got it right so it wouldn't slip and choke Ayesha, then started crawling and sliding down the rope into the shaft.
At the bottom, I felt around for solid footing in the junk and the water, then carefully looped the rope around Doug's legs then up under his arms, the way I had read about in one adventure book. I tied this off with another bowline, then looked it over. It looked right, the long part of the rope tied at his chest so it wouldn't dump him upside-down.
"Okay, Ayesha," I called. The rope started to move up quickly until it tightened. Then, gently, foot-by-foot, I saw my brother go up the shaft. This left me time to wonder.
Just how was I supposed to get out?
While I thought this over, the end of the rope came slithering down. How had Ayesha untied it? I didn't feel too muchlike worrying about my blessings just then, so I tied a loop in the bottom, put my foot in, grabbed the rope, and yelled, "I'm ready!"
Thoroughly muddy, and scratched and scraped a bit I emerged from the shaft into the daylight. As soon as Ayesha saw that I was clear, she stopped and backed up to give me some slack on the line.
That was good, since I didn't tie the knot right this time. The loop was squeezed around my foot until it felt like it would fall off.
After working the knot loose, I noticed that Doug was still tied up in my harness arrangement.
"How'd you get the rope free?" I asked.

"I got out my pocketknife, but couldn't open it with my hurt hand," Doug said. "Ayesha reached out and held it in her teeth, then I could use my good hand to open the blade and cut the rope." He displayed the cut end in front of his chest. "That's one smart horse!"
I shivered. "You don't know the half of it! Why, did you know she can--"
Over Doug's shoulder I saw Ayesha shaking her head, hard. "--er, she can open the screen door! That's how she got me to come out here," I finished, lamely.
I looked at Doug's arm. "I don't think it's broken, but it looks like it's sprained. We should let a doctor look at it."
I looked at the house. It was a good quarter of a mile. "Do you think you can hold on if I get you on her back? And not kick?" Doug looked pained at more than his arm. "Yeah. I'll NEVER hurt Ayesha again!"
When we got back to the house, I made Doug take off his filthy jeans and T-shirt and lie down under a blanket in case of shock (Girl Scout First Aid) while I called the bank.
Fortunately, Dad was there, and came right home. He and Aunt Ellen took Doug to the Emergency Room for X-rays. Since there wasn't room in the truck with Doug lying down, I stayed home with Ayesha. That was all right. I had some pointed questions to ask that horse! And I expected answers..pa?

Chapter Nine

 

I walked out to the barn, hoping Ayesha would be inside. She was, munching hay in her stall and trying very hard to look like a plain, average, non-talking horse.
"Okay, Ayesha, you're a heroine, now."
She just twitched an ear and rolled an eye at me, nosing around in the bunker for any stray oats that might have escaped her earlier.
"Playing dumb animal?" My temper was starting to rise. She looked around, then resumed eating.
"Look," I cried, frustrated.
"I KNOW I heard you talk! I KNOW that you did things no horse should be able to without practicing them over and over.
"I KNOW this, and either it's true, or I'm going crazy!"
Ayesha sort of hunched her neck down into her shoulders and kept eating.
First I knew that a horse could look guilty.
"I thought we were friends. Can't you talk to a friend? Are you going to leave me thinking I'm crazy?"
Tears were starting to run down my cheeks. Ayesha hung her head, then came over and started licking my hair.
"No!" I shouted.
"If you won't talk to me, then just go away!"
Ayesha hung her head again. "Ho-kay-y-y." She talked. She did.
SHE TALKED!

"Thanks. Uh, I guess you have tried pretty hard to keep it a secret. It's a good thing you were willing to talk to help Doug."
I paused, trying to think of what I wanted to know about her.
"Are you really smart?
I mean, not just smart for a horse, but really smart?"
She nodded. "Shmar-ter than Doug. I didn't fa-a-a-ll in!"
I laughed and she gave a straight whinny. A horse-laugh, I guess. We sobered up.
"Does Dad know you can talk?
A nod.
I thought a little more.
"It must be hard, to be so smart and trapped in an animal's body!"
"Not sho ba-a-a-d," she replied.
"I can run and jump and roll and have friends. And then there's--"
She stopped suddenly.
"What is it? Why do you talk clear sometimes and not others?"
Ayesha shook her head.
"I don't know. Just sometimes, when I try really hard, I can talk very clearly, like this."
"No, I meant to ask you, what else is there?
You started to say...
" I saw a tear start in her eye.
"Please don't ask me. Don't make me shay any more. I want to be your friend, but it's da-a-a-a-nger-o-u-u-s to talk too much!"
"You mean, someone might hear us?"
She just nodded this time.
"Are there other horses like you? Do all horses talk?"
She shook her head hard, then nodded slightly.
"Umm. Does that mean that not all horses talk?"
A nod.
"But there are some others like you?
Nod.
"How did you get like this?"
She hesitated, looked around as though checking for eavesdroppers, then said the last thing I could get her to say right then.
"Ask your fa-a-a- ther."
Boy, would I!.pa?

Chapter Ten


I went back to the house just in time to see the others pull up. Doug looked okay, but had a few bandages where he had been scraped, and an elastic bandage wrapped around his sprained arm.
As soon as we went into the house, Dad asked both Doug and I what happened.
Doug piped up first, "Ayesha chased me, and I got scared and ran, and forgot about the old mine."
"That can't be true!" I said. "Ayesha saved him!"
"Just what were you doing out back, anyway, Doug?" came Dad's question.
Doug looked ashamed. "Well, er... Oh, heck! I'm sorry! Diane's right, and I'm right, and it's all my fault, and I wish I could grow up and not do dumb things!"
Well! I certainly agreed with his last wish! Aunt Ellen stroked his head as he burst into tears. "There, there. We all do dumb things, even grown-ups. The important thing is to learn from our mistakes so we don't waste all our time repeating them." She grinned. "It gives us time to make new ones."
Doug looked up. "You don't understand! I was doing something awful!" Dad again, "You can tell us. There is nothing so terrible you can do that you can't tell us."
I wondered about that, but kept quiet.
"Well," Doug said, continuing to sob, "I was still mad at Ayesha for dumping me off, and getting me sent to my room, and being such good friends with my sister, and I don't have anyone special like that, and..." he started crying again.
In a minute he stopped. Aunt Ellen urged him to continue. "Anyway, I traded Tommy for his Rocket slingshot, and I decided to tease Ayesha. I snuck up on her in the pasture, and hit her with a rock, right on the hind end. Boy did she jump!" His eyes started to come alive with he memory until he saw the look on Dad's face. Eyes downcast again, he went on. "Oh, it was such a rotten thing to do!"
I agreed again, but silently.
"She let out a whinny, and started running in circles. I was laughing when I saw that she was coming right to where I was hiding, then I got scared! I jumped up and ran, and went right through those old boards!
"I'll never do it again, honest! Ayesha's too nice a horse, and she rescued me and everything, even after I was mean to her,
and...and--"
He cut off into a full-house bawl, then, but kept trying to talk. Finally, we could understand him saying, "I just wish she was my friend, too!"
I don't see Dad mad very often. And I don't think I have ever seen him THIS mad! I was pretty hacked off, too. Treating an animal like that, and especially a talking one! Never mind that Doug didn't know that part.
Aunt Ellen saw our faces, and stepped to Doug's rescue. "Now, Bob, and you too, Diane! I'll talk to Douglas; maybe you should go outside for a little walk."
Dad stood still for a moment, and I watched, kind of hoping to see him knock Doug's block off.
Then he turned toward me and said, "Maybe that's a good idea." I looked at his face, and knew this was not a time to argue with him..pa?


Chapter Eleven


As we stepped outside, I also realized that this was not a time to ask any pointed questions about talking horses, or strange voices in the night. But I still wanted to know. The more I thought of it, that woman's voice I had heard couldn't have been Ayesha. Just what ELSE was Dad up to?
After about fifteen minutes, Dad said we had probably calmed down enough to go back inside. He looked at me and said, "You better calm down, too. It was a terrible thing he did, but he's only ten years old. And ten-year-olds sometimes get funny ideas."
He was right. I remembered the time I thought it would be funny to-- no, there's no good reason to go into that.
When we went inside, Aunt Ellen and a very sad-looking Doug were sitting quietly on the couch.
Dad looked at Doug. "I still want to hear about this marvelous rescue."
I spoke up. "Ayesha came and got me."
Aunt Ellen looked at me funny; Dad looked interested. "I mean she, well, er, she came up on the porch and nosed at the screen door until I came out, then she ran back and forth like she wanted me to follow her, you know, like Lassie did in the movies when Timmy was in trouble, and so I followed her, and it seemed like a good idea to grab some rope like they always did in the Lassie shows, and we went and got Doug out!"
Aunt Ellen looked amazed. Dad gave me a very close look in the eyes. I put on my best earnest, innocent expression. Doug opened his mouth. "See what I mean? Ayesha's so smart, and I tried to hurt her!"
As it looked like he was going to break out crying again, Aunt Ellen put her arms around him. "There, there. We worked all that out, didn't we?"
Doug sniffled a little, than nodded.
"Yes. I'm going to clean Ayesha's stall, and comb and brush her, and take 'specially good care of her! And I'm grounded for a month, with no TV or video games, and if that's not enough, then I'm to take whatever Dad hands out, besides!"
He looked back up at Dad.
"Well, it sounds as if you have things worked out pretty well.
"But listen, young man, if I EVER hear of you mistreating an animal again, I'll try an older method of discipline!"
Doug's face showed relief. I dunno. I think I'd have done a lot more to him, myself.
"And where's this super slingshot, young man?" "Uh, I think it fell in with me."
"Well," Dad said, "that old mine shaft is a perfect place for it! And first thing tomorrow, I'll call Barney and see if he and his boy can bring a few truckloads of dirt and rock. It's high time I filled that dangerous old mine in, anyway!"
Aunt Ellen spoke up. "I'd better get busy, right away, then!" We all looked at her, puzzled.
"Silly folks! You're forgetting that we have a heroine in the family now. I'm going to bake that wonderful horse a big apple pie!"
We all laughed. Then, together in a chorus of voices, "I'll help!"..pa?


Chapter Twelve


When the pie was finished, and placed on top of the refrigerator to cool where the mice couldn't get to it, and we ate supper, it was bedtime.
Tonight, however, I didn't go to sleep. I didn't even change into pajamas. Instead, I carefully eased out of my window onto the back-porch roof, and then climbed down the old rose trellis. Pausing to see if anyone had heard me, I cat-footed my way over to the barn and slipped quietly inside.
The ladder to the hayloft was just inside, out of sight of Ayesha's stall. Being so quiet I scarcely dared even breathe, I climbed up.
Inside the hayloft there were holes in the floor where people used to drop hay down to the stalls, and another trapdoor in the middle where they could hand hay up from below in case they didn't want to use the outside door. I very carefully went to the hole above Ayesha's stall, hoping she wouldn't hear me, and peered down.
Good! She was standing lock-legged, head drooping down in sleep. I looked out through one of the open outside loft doors. It was almost dark. I could see a little glow where the moon was starting to come up. Looking back out the other door toward the house, I could see Dad coming!
Quickly, but still stealthily, I moved to lie down at the edge of the big trapdoor where I could see almost all of the barn.
Dad came in, carrying a covered tray. He sat this down on the workbench by his computer, turned on the lights, closed the doors and waited.
I waited.
And waited.
Then I heard a rustling sound from Ayesha's stall. I looked to see if she was awake. Dad stood up and walked directly under me. Lucky for me.
Lucky, because...
My eyes popped open and I fell right down through the trapdoor. If Dad hadn't been underneath me, I might have been hurt. But I was so surprised, I might not have noticed it if I had been.
Dad noticed, though.
He yelled, and startled the beautiful young woman. The young woman that surprised me.
The one walking out of Ayesha's stall.
Correction: Ayesha's EMPTY stall!
As Dad picked himself and me up off the floor, muttering words I had never before heard him use (although Tommy from down the street uses them all the time), the young woman caught herself and rushed over to help us.
She was wearing a long, flowing robe with a hood on it, and a veil, and she had on a golden belt, and a band of gold circled her head. Honest! Just like those old desert movies.
I stared at her, hardly noticing when Dad put me down on my feet. Her skin was just slightly darker than mine, sort of a lion-colored coppery-brown, her hair and eyes dark. I couldn't see much more of her face because of the veil, but the shape seemed very fine and noble. She spoke.
"Are you all right, Diane?"
That voice! It was the very voice I had heard at night!
"Uh, er, yeah, I guess. Who are you?"
She looked at Dad. He looked at her. They both looked at me. Dad spoke.
"Diane, I guess I have a long story to tell you."
"Yeah, you sure do! Did you know that Ayesha can--"
I broke off, remembering that there was a strange woman present, and that I shouldn't let Ayesha's secret out.
"Yes, Diane, I know all about Ayesha. Look, I brought some-- er, supper out for our guest. Why don't we let her eat it while we talk?"
It sounded only polite. Of course, I was so confused, now, that offering her a rock to chew on would have sounded polite if Dad suggested it.
As the woman carefully sat down at the workbench and uncovered the tray, Dad sat down on the folding bed across the room, and I took the old easy- chair.

"Darling, a long time ago in a distant land, the same land that I just returned from, there was a family of princes that ruled the land. Now, this country was quite rich and the people lived good lives."
"But a very evil band of men, warriors and thieves, decided that this rich land should be theirs. So they watched the people, and planned, and then, one day, attacked the country."
"The bandits burned homes and fields, killed many helpless people, and surrounded the city. They had destroyed everything in their path, and the prince knew his people couldn't fight them off, because they had spent their lives building and learning. Rather than tax his people to support an army to protect them, the prince, and many princes before him, had instead used the wealth of the land to create an easy life for themselves and their people."
"The people were willing to fight to protect what they had, but they didn't know how, nor did they have anyone who knew how to lead them. They had counted on being hidden away from greedy eyes in their mountains and valleys, and this worked well enough, long enough, for the people and the princes to forget the dangers that lurked outside."
"The prince was desperate. His only hope lay in a legend, just like this one I'm telling you now, that under the city were ancient caves in which an old, wise sorcerer lived."

I shook my head a bit at this. "You mean, you believe in sorcerers?"
Dad smiled a bit. "Now, I didn't SAY that, did I? But judge for yourself when I'm done with my story...
"...anyway, the prince of that time sent for his advisors and surveyors and those who knew the history of the city, until he at last found one person who knew where the entrance to the caverns was.
"Explaining the danger the city and country were in to the man, hardly more than a boy, the prince persuaded him to go into the caverns in search of the old wizard.
"The prince had to stay in the city to rally what defenses he could, so he offered to send other men along. The young man, wise beyond his years, said, Only those willing to risk everything can gain everything, so I think your son should come along."
"The prince was at first horrified at the idea, for he had only one son, but the young man was persuasive. And so they set off."
"Now, I heard the whole story, but the tale of the two in the caverns is long, and I want to get this finished."
As Dad paused for breath, I noticed that the woman had finished her meal and was watching and listening.
"They found the old wizard and explained the problem to him. Of course, being a wizard, he already knew it. He also complimented the young man on his wisdom in bringing along the prince's son, since it showed him how serious the prince was about wanting help."
"Returning to the city with the two youths, the wizard presented himself to the prince. The prince asked if there was anything he could do to save his land."
"The wizard replied, `Yes, but not as it was before. You and your people have grown soft, and have brought this upon yourselves. I can remove the bandits, but everything, even magic, has a price."
"The prince was so elated to hear that there was a solution that he agreed to bear the cost, whatever it might be."
"The sorcerer called for screens to be set up to hide him from sight, and from behind those screens arose terrible noises and moans, and dark, foul smokes and odors, and thumping and lightning and all sorts of frightening things. Then the furor slowly died away and the wizard opened the screens."
"It is done?' cried the prince."
"Behold,' said the sorcerer, waving his hand toward the city walls. And the bandits were gone, leaving behind their tents and other belongings. All that was left of them was a slowly-settling cloud of dust as they ran as fast and as far as they could."
"Good!" I said, "It sounds like they got what they deserved!" Dad smiled. "In more ways than one! Not only the bandits, but the people of that country."
I looked at him and raised my eyebrows.
"Remember the wizard saying they brought it upon themselves? Well, he certainly remembered it!"
"When the prince turned back to him, the wizard said, `And now for my price."
"The prince was already thinking of ways he could pay the sorcerer's bill, hoping he wouldn't ask for all the Royal Treasury, but willing to pay it if he did. However the wizard had something else in mind."
"From this day forward,' he declared, `Your land shall no longer be so rich and attractive to bandits. Your people shall work hard to earn their livings, and shall also work hard to learn to defend themselves, and each man shall stand ready to fight whenever it becomes needful."
"The prince nodded, for the last part made sense. He was dismayed to hear that life would no longer be easy, but he could see the sense in that, too. He asked, `Do you wish the Royal Treasure?'
"No, you may keep that, but use it wisely, for you shall add very little to it from now on."
"Again, the prince nodded. He had nearly lost everything, but at least his people would now be safe for as long as they were willing to defend themselves. He asked, in awe of the mighty wizard, `I have been a foolish prince, and have ruled my people poorly. Is there another who would rule better?"
"No, Your Highness. Your family has made good rulers, ones who care about their people. I know this, because you did not ask the price when you asked me to help them. That WAS foolish of you, though. Your family shall rule this land for many years to come, but I suggest you take the young man who led your son into my caverns as an advisor, for he did well in insisting your son come along on the journey."
"The prince nodded yet a third time. 'Is that all?' he asked. "One final thing. I grant you both a curse and a boon. As a reminder of what happens when you fail to pay the price of vigilance and defense, and this is the boon, I curse the line of royal descent so that, during the day, they shall be beasts of burden to remember the weight of their office, and only again become human when the moon rises at night. Yet, so that you and your descendants may rule whenever necessary, I grant that you shall keep your powers of speech and reasoning in whatever form you may be. This shall happen to each person in the royal line when they reach adulthood on their twenty- first birthday, and only to those in line to rule.'"
"Oh, Daddy," I said, "that's a wonderful story! What a beautiful fable!" As I looked up at Dad, I realized he wasn't smiling. He had that funny look on his face again. He looked over at the young woman who arose and walked over to us.
"Diane, you tie pretty good bowline knots... most of the time, that is!" And she gave a little laugh that sounded a lot like a whinny..pa?


End of Part Three
Part One <> Part Two <> Part Four

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