Star of Wonder (5 page)

“Well, there’s only one way to find out! Colonel Sanders, here we come!”

7

Colonel Saves the Day

COLONEL SANDERS HAPPENED to be in Lucky Foot Stable when Jody came in with Star in tow and Mary close behind, carrying their
new friend. Cocking his head to the side and peering down from his perch on the top board of Lady’s stall, he eyed the new
addition with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

“Look, Colonel,” called Mary, “it’s . . . it’s . . . well, who is it? We have to think of a name for him! Hmmm . . . let me
see . . .”

“Mary?” Jody said timidly. “How about . . . well, what about . . .”

“Spit it out, Jody. What about what?”

“Well, do you remember that old movie we watched with your mom last week? Remember how we laughed when we saw the name of
that one actor?”

“I remember laughing, but I don’t remember the name of the actor.”

“It was Walter, remember? Walter Pidgeon! Let’s name him Walter!”

Mary looked solemnly at Jody, and then she began to laugh.

“Walter! Walter Pigeon!” she chuckled. “That’s perfect! Walter it is! Now we have to make a home for him!”

Jody, suddenly feeling very proud of her suggestion, quickly made another one.

“How about the old bunny cage? We could fix it up just right for a bird.”

“Excellent idea!” Mary agreed. “And after he gets used to it, we’ll let him fly around the stable and teach him to go back
to his cage to eat. Birds are very smart, you know.”

Star used that moment to stretch out his muzzle to Walter once again, startling him so that one wing escaped Mary’s grasp
and smacked him soundly in the center of his nose. The girls laughed at Star’s surprised expression as he snorted and shook
his head.

Not to be outdone, Colonel Sanders suddenly let his presence be known by standing to his full height, flapping his wings,
and letting out a very indignant, “Ba-bawk!”

“Oh, Colonel, calm down,” Mary scolded. “You’ll see, Walter will keep you company.”

“You can help him get settled in,” added Jody generously.

“All right, troops, enough introductions for one day. Walter’s tired,” observed Mary, dragging the old bunny cage away from
the wall where it had stood unoccupied for the past year. “Jody, put Star in his stall. It’s time to get Walter’s house ready.”

The girls could not bring themselves to mention the previous occupant of the cage, a brown-and-white lop-eared bunny named
Uncle Wiggly, who had come to a sad demise the previous summer. The day had been too hot to ride, and Mary and Jody had decided
to give the stable a thorough cleaning. Together they had picked up the rabbit cage with Uncle Wiggly inside and set it outside
the stable door in the paddock, intending to keep it there just long enough to rake and sweep the dirt floor where it stood.
Well, the truth was that they had gotten so involved in cleaning and raking and talking and giggling that they forgot poor
old Uncle Wiggly. By the time they remembered the unfortunate bunny, he had passed out from the heat, and no matter how hard
they fanned him and begged him to revive, he lay still as death. Mary even tried rubbing him down with cold water—a trick
she had learned in a book once—but to no avail. Poor Uncle Wiggly never woke up. The girls had conducted a very solemn ceremony
for him, burying him by the corncrib and erecting a cross made of willow switches in his honor.

Mary dragged the cage to the middle of the stable, and the girls surveyed it in silence.

“Poor old Uncle Wiggly,” Jody finally whispered.

“May he rest in peace, and we’ll say no more,” Mary answered solemnly. Then, after a deep sigh, she continued briskly, “Well,
time’s a-wastin.’ We can’t cry over spilled milk. The cage will be put to good use now. Uncle Wiggly would be glad.”

“Mary, isn’t it a good thing the cage has such a high roof? It’ll be just perfect for a bird,” observed Jody.

“Yep, and you know, we’ll let him out a lot too. He won’t be caged up all the time.”

“He’ll need a food bowl, a water bowl, and a bathtub,” Jody decided. “Birds like to take baths, you know.”

“And he needs grit. All birds have to have grit for their gizzards, so they can digest their food,” Mary added knowingly.
“I read that in a book once. And as for watering, watch this!”

Mary walked over to the stable water pump, pulled up the handle, cupped her hands under the flowing water, and took some in
her mouth. Then she took Walter from Jody’s grasp, opened her mouth so that her tongue was rolled back and her jaw made sort
of a water bowl, and pushed Walter’s head gently down so that his beak just touched the water.

“Mary!” shrieked Jody. “What are you doing?!”

At the shocked expression on Jody’s face, Mary laughed so hard she spit the water across the stable. “I’m teaching him how
to drink from my mouth! It’s an ancient Indian custom. I think. I don’t know, I read about it somewhere. Watch. I’ll try again.
I think he’s going to get it!”

So Mary again took in some water and gently pushed Walter’s beak into her open mouth. To Jody’s amazement, the plucky bird
sipped some of the water and tilted his head back to swallow it, as birds do.

“Mary, did you see that? He drank some!” Jody yelped.

Mary could only nod slightly as she held Walter close to her open mouth. This time he cocked his head to one side, eyed the
welcoming water, and took a drink with no encouragement. Jody giggled with delight as Colonel Sanders clucked indignantly
and shook his head at the scandalous behavior. Mary spit out the rest of the water and held Walter up, looking him directly
in the eye.

“Walter,” she said solemnly, “you are going to be all right. After your feathers grow and you can fly, we’ll let you out so
you can have your freedom. But never forget, we are now eternally bonded.” Walter only blinked. “Now, let’s get your cage
ready!”

While the girls busied themselves scrubbing water and feed bowls and preparing a comfortable home for Walter, an unwelcome
guest crept into the stable and silently leapt onto an old shelf and then up to the wooden rafters above their heads. Creeping
slowly, his belly low on the rough boards, the creature surveyed the activity below with his round yellow eyes. His name was
Beamer, but his reputation for catching mice on the farm had prompted Mary to give him the title Supreme Barn Mouser. Unseen
by the girls, he sat directly above them and began nonchalantly cleaning his black and white fur as they ruffled the bed of
straw in the corner of the old bunny cage, arranging it just so. Meanwhile, Walter sat motionless where the girls had placed
him in a small cardboard box on a stool in front of Star’s stall, awaiting his new home.

“He won’t fly out.” Mary had declared as they placed him in the box. “His wings aren’t ready yet.”

Beamer rested on the rafter like a lion on a tree limb, blinking lazily as he watched the girls. He had almost lost interest
and was turning to go in search of mice when the sound of Walter’s claws scratching the bottom of the box caught his attention.
Beamer’s eyes widened and his ears pricked up as he crouched again, his head shaking slightly with excitement as he eyed the
unsuspecting squab scrabbling and pecking at the bottom of the box. Mary and Jody didn’t notice as Beamer crept ever so slowly
to the end of the beam until he was directly above Walter.

“OK, Jody, get the bowls. The cage is almost ready,” Mary said, oblivious to the menace overhead. Jody went out to the paddock
to retrieve the small white crockery bowls from the spot in the sun where the girls had placed them to dry. Meanwhile, Beamer
gazed down, measuring the distance he would have to jump from the rafters to the top board of Star’s stall. Finally, he gathered
himself and leapt, landing nimbly on the board and teetering for just an instant before regaining his balance. Star started
at the sight of the cat, but he soon lost interest and went back to munching his hay. Poor Walter, on the other hand, became
so frightened upon seeing the cat not two feet above his head that he scrabbled frantically in his box and flapped his wings
in terror.

Then he swooped down upon the escaping cat with
every talon bared!

“All right, all right, Walter! Your home is almost ready. Calm down!” Mary yelled, not turning from the cage to see what the
matter was. Then, in the blink of an eye, Beamer was in and out of the box and running across the stable with Walter in his
jaws!

“Beamer!” screamed Mary as the murderous cat flew past her toward the small crack between the stable doors where he had crept
in earlier.

“Walter!” Jody screeched, running in from the paddock and racing with Mary to attempt a rescue. Beamer had not anticipated
the size of Walter, who was much bigger than a mouse, and he was finding it impossible to get himself and the pigeon through
the crack all at once. With the girls almost upon him, Beamer turned and raced back to the front of the stable where he could
make his escape by jumping through the low window there. But just as he crouched to make the leap, Colonel Sanders, from the
top board of Lady’s stall, drew himself up to his full height, squawked, and flapped his wings menacingly. Then he swooped
down upon the escaping cat with every talon bared! Beamer yowled in pain as the Colonel’s claws found his flesh, and Walter
dropped at last from the astonished cat’s open jaws. Beamer escaped the clutches of the Colonel long enough to make it through
the window, but the Colonel continued after him, flapping and squawking in full pursuit.

“Oh, Walter!” Mary cried, kneeling by the squab where he lay on his side on the dirt floor.

“Mary, is he dead?” Jody asked fearfully, her voice quivering.

Mary picked Walter up gently, and as she did, he opened his eyes and blinked.

“Phew! I thought so for a second. He’s so petrified his heart is beating a mile a minute! And,” she said, examining the skin
under his feathers, “he’s got a little blood on him where Beamer’s old teeth went into his skin.”

“Not a very nice first day!” Jody exclaimed, stroking Walter’s head sympathetically. “We’ll have to clean him up a little.”

“Did you see the Colonel?” Mary asked with a chuckle.

“I couldn’t believe it!” Jody exclaimed. “Did you ever expect him to do something like that? He’s really earned the name Colonel
now!”

“I have a feeling the old Colonel’s been waiting for years to get that old cat for something, and this just gave him a good
excuse! Now, we’d better get Walter cleaned up and in his cage, and we have to make sure the top is secure!”

So Walter was placed lovingly in his bed of straw with full bowls of food and water, and as the girls watched quietly, he
settled into a corner, ruffled his fuzzy breast, tucked his tired head behind his wing, and fell fast asleep.

8

Circus Act

IN THE SPAN of just a few weeks, Walter’ wings had developed so that he could fly effortlessly around Lucky Foot Stable. His
favorite resting spot was on the top board of Lady’s stall, close to the Colonel. It was almost as if he knew the old white
rooster had saved his life, and he seemed content and happy to be one of the family. Now when Mary and Jody rode their bikes
to the stable at the crack of dawn on weekend mornings, the first thing they did was to free Walter from his cage.

On one such warm and sunny morning, the girls met in the stable early as usual. After feeding and grooming Star and releasing
Walter—who immediately flew to his roosting spot and began preening his feathers—they went to sit under the weeping willow
tree in the middle of the big pasture and talk about their plans for the day.

“Mare, it’s such a nice morning, and you know we haven’t ridden since Lady and Star were separated,” Jody hinted as they watched
Lady and Gypsy graze peacefully with the cows.

“I know, it seemed like she was too upset before, and we didn’t want her to see Star. What do you think she would do if she
saw him now?”

“I don’t know, Mare, I still don’t think they should see each other, at least not until Willie says it’s OK. So we can’t ride
past Lucky Foot, and the only way to ride off the farm is past Lucky Foot,” Jody moaned.

“That means we can’t go to Secret Place, or the Piney Wood, or even the field where the Christmas trees are.”

The girls sat in perplexed silence, watching the ponies swat flies with their tails.

“Mary, I have an idea!” Jody suddenly said. “Why don’t we practice our circus act right here in the pasture? The cows could
be our audience!”

“Not bad, not bad,” Mary said thoughtfully. “Let’s ask the ponies what they think. Gypsy! Ladabucks!

Do you want to practice our circus act today?”

The girls laughed when Lady snorted loudly and Gypsy shook her head, just as though they had understood the question.

“Lady thinks the cows are too stupid to appreciate our death-defying trick riding!” Mary chuckled.

“And Gypsy is just lazy!” Jody added. “But I think it’s a good idea. Cows are a better audience than nothing, I guess. And
we do need the practice.”

Mary and Jody weren’t practicing for a real circus, of course. But they had come up with a real circus act anyway, and it
had been a long time since they had worked on it.

“Let’s run to the stable and get our helmets and the bridles. And we can say hello to Star and make sure Walter isn’t getting
attacked again,” Mary said, jumping up from the grass. “Be right back, Lad and Gypsy!”

The girls were back in the pasture with the necessary equipment almost before the ponies knew they were gone. Bridles and
helmets were put on in a jiffy, and the girls mounted up bareback. It was time for the circus act to begin!

As Mary and Jody cantered around the pasture to warm up, the cows continued to graze peacefully, unaware of the exciting events
about to transpire. Of course, Mary decided it was her job to get their attention. She reined Gypsy to a halt in the center
of the pasture and stood on the cooperative pony’s back, her sneakered feet planted firmly on the generous flesh on either
side of the mare’s backbone. Jody giggled as she watched from a seated position on Lady.

Holding the bridle reins in one hand and gesturing grandly with the other, Mary addressed her audience.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Mary hollered in her best ringmaster voice, “today we will present to you our act, a circus act, an
act of death-defying courage and riding trickery such as the world has never seen! Was that bad grammar?” Mary asked Jody.
Jody nodded and giggled some more. A few cows raised their heads.

“Anyway, ladies and germs, we shall begin today by introducing our fearless, beautiful, and well-trained steeds—the indescribable
flaxen chestnut mare from the highlands of Europe, Gypsy Amber . . .” (Jody applauded enthusiastically.) “And accompanying
her in the fantastic and incredible spectacle you are about to witness, straight from the wild and untamed Western plains,
raised and trained by the Indians, the painted mare, Lady White Cloud!”

At this, Jody raised herself to stand on Lady’s back and bow grandly to the audience. Several more cows looked up at the curious
sight of the girls standing side by side on the ponies, but they soon lost interest and dropped their heads again to graze.

“Now, let’s start the show!” bellowed Mary.

On cue, the girls clasped each other’s hands in the air, dropped their reins, and raised their free hands in a majestic salute
to the audience. At the same moment, their feet slid down the ponies’ sides and they were seated on the pony’s backs for just
an instant before sliding back with their hands still clasped, off the hind ends of the ponies, landing on their feet in the
pasture. The well trained and amazing Gypsy and Lady stood perfectly still while Mary and Jody, in unison, took three giant
steps backwards, then ran and vaulted onto the pony’s backs again from behind.

“A trick we learned from watching the unforgettable Western movie actor, Mr. John Wayne!” Mary announced proudly. Again in
unison, the girls gently slapped the shoulders of their mounts with their right hands and then raised them to the sky in another
grand gesture of the circus.

“For our next feat, we will demonstrate the astounding agility and dexterity of these fearless beasts as we guide them through
the serpentine! Note the flying lead changes executed by Lady White Cloud and Gypsy Amber as they maneuver around each pole!”

The girls clasped each other’s hands in the air, dropped
their reins, and raised their hands in a salute.

The serpentine was a straight line of rickety fence posts at the side of the pasture that had not been removed when the new
fence was put up. The ten posts were just the right distance apart for a pony to snake through, in and out all the way down
the line.

“The challenge, ladies and gems, is to ride this difficult course at a canter—that is, faster than a trot and slower than
a gallop—without the rider’s legs touching the posts, or banging into them, which is a most painful occurrence, as we well
know from our years of practice!”

The girls trotted Lady and Gypsy to opposite ends of the serpentine and then turned to face each other. The ponies pranced
with excitement, remembering this trick from previous rehearsals.

“Aaaaannnddd . . . on your marks, get set, GO!” screamed Mary. Jody leaned forward and Lady took off at a canter, swerving
through the posts at a fearful rate but with such skill that Jody’s legs never brushed any of the posts. At the end of the
line, Jody slapped Mary’s outstretched hand, and Mary took off in the opposite direction on Gypsy, whooping and hollering
through the posts with one hand in the air.

After the last post, Mary reined Gypsy in and trotted calmly to Lady and Jody. The girls again saluted the crowd, none of
whom were paying the slightest bit of attention.

“And now, ladies and gents, for our final and most awe-inspiring performance of all, we will attempt—and I did say attempt—a
stunt that has not been performed since Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, by none other than the world famous Miss Annie Oakley!
Now,
riders dismount
!

The girls swung their legs over the ponies and landed at the same instant on the ground.

“But before we attempt this trick, we will demonstrate the quiet nature of our mounts once more, while at the same time rewarding
them for a job well done so far today!”

At that, Mary crawled behind Gypsy’s front legs and Jody behind Lady’s, and sitting cross-legged, they each grasped a front
leg of their pony in each hand, looking at their audience between the pony’s legs as if behind bars. A sugar cube was produced
from each girl’s pocket and held just beyond each pony’s reach as Mary continued:

“Now, Gypsy. Now, Lady. You may accept your rewards, and
take a bow!
”

The ponies dipped their heads to take the sugar cubes held in the girls’ outstretched palms, giving the illusion of a bow
to the audience.

“Thank you, thank you!” Jody and Mary exclaimed grandly to the imaginary applause.

“Enough of this nonsense, now for the grand finale!” Mary shouted as the girls crawled from under their ponies and faced the
audience. “Watch carefully now, as we vault onto our fearless steed’s backs at the trot, and without missing a beat, retrieve
a minuscule scrap of cloth otherwise known as a handkerchief from the ground while hanging precariously by one leg! And all
with no visible means of support! Jody, the handkerchief, please!”

“The handkerchief?” Jody asked blankly.

“Yes, the handkerchief!” Mary repeated loudly. Jody searched her pockets frantically.

“The one around your neck,” Mary finally whispered from the corner of her mouth.

“Oh! Sorry,” Jody said sheepishly, untying and whisking the red bandana dramatically from her neck and handing it to Mary
with a flourish.

“Now, we will drop the handkerchief halfway down the field while avoiding the cow pies, and after a running vault which will
amaze and astound you, we will canter down and retrieve it from the ground using methods previously described!”

Jody’s heart began beating a little faster in anticipation of this, the most difficult trick in their circus repertoire. The
last time they had attempted the trick, the pickup item had been a very large burlap bag, not a very small handkerchief. But
Mary didn’t seem the least bit worried as she dropped the handkerchief in the middle of the cow pasture and trotted back to
where Jody stood with Lady. As Mary dismounted from Gypsy, Jody made her first announcement of the day.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mary and Gypsy will be first!” she declared grandly.

“Oh, we will, will we?” Mary laughed. “Alrighty, then, my partner has nominated me to be the first to attempt this death-defying
demonstration of riding skill not seen since the days of the Wild West! Oh, and one more thing—do not attempt this at home!”

Mary slapped Gypsy lightly on the hindquarters, urging her into a slow trot. Trotting along beside her, Mary grasped her mane
and vaulted onto Gypsy’s back just as she began to canter.

“Mary, be careful!” Jody yelled as Mary approached the handkerchief at a brisk canter. Her breath caught in her throat as
Mary grasped Gypsy’s mane firmly in her left hand and slid off to the side, as the lower half of her left leg hooked over
the mare’s back and her free hand reached for the small scrap of red cloth.

“Yeeehaaa!” Mary screeched as she grabbed the handkerchief and twirled it in a circle above her head while Gypsy cantered
on. Then, “aaaaaghhh!” she continued, trying to right herself on Gypsy’s back but instead tumbling off into the cow pasture
in a heap. The minute Gypsy felt herself with no rider, she stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Mary as if to say,
“Whatever happened to you?”

“Mary! Are you OK?” Jody asked breathlessly, reaching her friend seconds later.

“Of course I’m OK!” Mary declared. “And if I hadn’t landed smack dab in the middle of this fresh cow pie, I’d be perfect!”
she continued, holding out her right hand, which was completely covered in greenish muck. “Can you help me up?”

“Help you up? Not with that hand, I can’t.” Jody laughed. “Eeewww!”

“Well here, then, this one’s clean,” she said, offering her left hand for Jody to pull her to her feet.

“Eeewww, Mare, look at your britches! And
your
hair!
”

Without thinking, and being right handed, Mary reached around with her muck-covered hand and felt the back of her muck-covered
hair, and continued down to touch the back of her muck-covered britches. Jody burst out laughing uncontrollably as Gypsy extended
her muzzle and sniffed the offending area and snorted loudly, curling her upper lip to the sky as horses do when they smell
something particularly unpleasant. Mary, undaunted and mindful of her showmanship, simply turned to her audience with a flourish.

“Ladies and gents, as you well know, even with the best and most accomplished of trick riders, mishaps do occasionally occur—at
times due to the unpredictable nature of the mount and at other times due to the clumsiness of the rider. What you have witnessed
today was an unsurpassed demonstration of the clumsiness of the rider!”