Читать книгу Sleepover Girls on Horseback - Fiona Cummings, Louis Catt - Страница 6

I was really excited about going to Mr Brocklehurst’s farm the next day, but I was kind of nervous too. I hadn’t seen the horses since the fire you see. What if they’d changed? What if they were really spooked by what had happened and wouldn’t let anyone near them?

“Are you sure the horses are all right?” I asked Stuart, as Dad drove us to the farm.

“For the hundredth time, Lyndz, they’re fine,” Stuart replied.

That made me feel a bit better, but butterflies were still flapping about inside my tummy. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s just because I love those horses more than anything else in the world and I was worried that they’d be feeling frightened because their routine had changed. Horses are creatures of habit you see.

When we arrived at the farm, I said bye to Dad and jumped out to open the gate. The first thing I saw was Alfie in the field. He was munching grass as usual and didn’t look worried at all.

“Happy now?” asked Stuart.

“Yep!” I nodded.

“Oh look, isn’t that one of your mad friends?” Stuart pointed to the lane leading to the practice ring. Rosie was standing there, waving at me like a crazy woman. I started walking towards her. Suddenly, thud! Kenny leapt on to my back.

“Hiya, Lyndz! Have I missed anything? I would’ve got here earlier, but my stupid sister wanted to come too. I had to bribe her to stay away. She took all my chocolate and made me promise to help with the washing up for a week!” Kenny was all out of breath and red in the face. And so was I, with such a great lump on top of me!

“Gerroff!” I yelled and threw her off.

“Girls! That’s not very lady-like behaviour!” said a loud voice behind us. It sounded just like Mrs Poole, our headmistress. I turned round in a panic, but it was only Frankie. She’s dead good at voices.

“What are you doing? I thought we were supposed to be asking Mrs McAllister how we could help,” said Frankie. She can be too serious sometimes. She’d probably chill out a bit more if she had brothers and sisters to deal with. I’m always telling her that she can have my brothers any time!

“I don’t think she’d like us disturbing her now. She’s taking a ride with Adam and his friends,” said Rosie.

We had walked back down the path and were standing by the field, looking at Alfie.

“All that stuff in the ring is so boring!” said Kenny. “You see Alfie? I bet I could make him jump over that fence – no problem!”

“Oh yeah!” Frankie and Rosie said, laughing.

I don’t trust Kenny sometimes. She has a wild streak in her and you just don’t know what she’s going to do next. I could tell that she was in Grand National mode and I had to get her away from Alfie – fast! Fortunately, just then Stuart walked past, wearing his big wellies and smelling of pigs.

“You’re not frightening the horses are you?” he shouted.

“Ha, ha, ha!” we said together.

“Actually,” he said, coming over to us, “what exactly are you doing here? You’re not planning anything are you, Lyndz? I have to work here, remember. I don’t want you causing any trouble.”

“As if!” I said. He snorted and walked off.

We climbed on to the fence and sat looking at Alfie as he munched away at the grass.

“Did you know that horses graze between sixteen and twenty hours a day?” I asked.

“That sounds nice. I could manage that myself!” laughed Kenny.