She climbed down and went around to Sam’s head. There was foam around his lips, and his neck was flecked with white.
“Sam,” she said. “Oh, Sam.” She put her arms around his neck. She could feel his heart booming.
“Oh, boy,” she said into his mane. “Oh, sweetie.”
She heard hoofbeats. Jasmine and May rode up.
“Are you okay?” May said.
“Check Sam,” Corey said. “He’s what counts.”
May and Jasmine tied their ponies to trees and came over to examine Sam. May checked his legs. Jasmine listened to his breathing.
“I’m not a vet,” May said. “But he looks okay to me.”
“His breathing seems okay to me,” Jasmine said.
“Corey, you scared the wits out of me,” May said.
“I scared the wits out of myself,” Corey said.
May and Jasmine hugged Corey. Then they hugged Sam.
May checked her watch. “We still have time to get to Folsom’s.”
“Yes!” said Jasmine.
“Whew,” said Corey.
They got onto their ponies. They had to walk because Sam had had enough action for one day.
When they got home, they untacked the ponies and hopped onto their bikes.
As they turned into the road, Corey felt something on her nose. She looked up. Snowflakes were drifting down. She stuck out her tongue and felt the sting of the first flake. She looked at May and Jasmine and grinned.
But when they got to Folsom’s she stopped grinning. There was a sign on the door that read:
CLOSED EARLY BECAUSE OF SNOW.
HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY.
“There goes the animals’ Christmas,” groaned Corey.
5 The Three Chefs
The three of them headed miserably home.
“I can’t do anything right,” Corey said.
“Oh, come on,” May said. “It’s not that bad.”
“You don’t know,” said Corey gloomily. She told them how she had tried to trick her father into coming for dinner. And how he wasn’t coming. And how she was stuck with all this macaroni and cheese that no one wanted to eat. And how her father thought she was a dork.
And now the animals had nothing to eat.
“I ruined Christmas,” Corey said.
“You did not,” said Jasmine.
“You didn’t ruin it. You just injured it slightly,” said May with a giggle. “Besides, I have an idea.”
“Not even you can fix this mess,” said Corey.
“Remember how we convinced my mother that we were going to make the world’s scariest cookies?” May said.
Corey nodded.
“What if we make the world’s best cookies?” May said. “And biscuits and chewies? What if we make a great animal feast?”
“How are we going to do that?” asked Corey.
“Our feed room is full of things that animals love to eat,” May said. “Like oats and apples.”
“But that’s not special,” Corey said. “It’s everyday food, not party food.”
“Says who?” said May indignantly. “As of this moment the Pony Tails are great chefs. When we get through, the party will be an extravaganza. The animals will be talking about it for years to come. Parakeets will tell their grandchildren about it. Raccoons will bear the word until the Pony Tails are famous from one end of Willow Creek to the other.”
“I could go for that,” said Jasmine, laughing. “I am totally unknown among raccoons.”
“We’ll fix that,” May said.
They went to the Grovers’ house, and May asked her father for permission to take feed from the feed room. When Mr. Grover heard that it was for the animals’ Christmas at CARL, he said they could take as much as they wanted.
May insisted on taking buckets of everything.
“This is just for one meal, not all year,” protested Jasmine as she lugged one of the heavy buckets.
“You’d be amazed at how the animals will gobble our fantastic treats,” May said.
“I think Mom has a recipe for homemade dog biscuits,” Corey said. “She can help us.”
But when they went to Corey’s house, it turned out that Doc Tock was at the animal hospital in Willow Creek, taking care of a sick dog.
“Your mother left a message for you,” May said. She pointed to the blackboard in the kitchen next to the refrigerator. On it Doc Tock had written:
Dear Corey, I can’t wait for Macaroni Madness tonight.
Love, Mom
“Yerrrch,” said Corey, clutching her head. The thought of the meal filled her with horror.
“Wait a second,” May said. “You can take it.”
“I can?” said Corey.
“You know it,” Jasmine said. “Pony Tails are strong.”
“And brave,” said May. “Pony Tails aren’t afraid of macaroni and cheese.”
“I’m not so sure,” said Corey. The thought of that casserole made her quiver and quake.
“Always remember that you’re a Pony Tail,” Jasmine said.
“I’ll try,” said Corey.
“On to Jasmine’s house,” said May.
When they got to Jasmine’s house, Mrs. James was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea. “Can you believe it? Sophie is asleep and I’ve got a moment to myself,” she said.
“There’s nothing worse than a moment to yourself,” May said darkly.
“Really?” said Mrs. James with a smile. “I’ve been dreaming about it for weeks.”
“You could get bored,” May said quickly.
“I don’t feel bored,” Mrs. James said.
“Boredom leads to trouble,” May said. “You could wind up getting arrested or something.”
“Oh,” said Mrs. James. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Luckily, we have just the solution for your free-time problem,” May said. “We are going to make treats for the animals’ Christmas party at CARL, and we need you to help us.”
Corey winced. She figured that the last thing Mrs. James wanted was to fuss around in the kitchen. But, to her amazement, Mrs. James smiled.
“That’s just what I would like to do,” Mrs. James said. “I haven’t done a project with the Pony Tails in ages.”
“We want to make really great things,” Jasmine said. “Nothing ordinary.”
“Hmmm,” said Mrs. James. “I have a few ideas.”
The Pony Tails grinned at each other. Not only was Mrs. James a great cook, but she was an artist, too.
Mrs. James came back from the sewing room, where she kept her crafts supplies. Her arms were full of papers.
“I have a recipe for dog biscuits,” she said.
“We’ll make two sizes,” said May, her eyes wide with excitement. “Puppy Pops and Dog Divines.”
Mrs. James smiled. Corey could tell that she was glad to be back at work with the Pony Tails.
“I have a recipe for Christmas bells made of bird seed. We could hang them in the trees for the wild birds,” said Mrs. James
“We’ll call them Wild Bird Bells,” said Corey.
“We need red ribbon to tie the bells to the trees,” Jasmine said. She dashed off to Mrs. James’s sewing room to get some.
“I have a recipe here for liver treats for cats,” Mrs. James said.
“Liver, yeeeeeu,” said May.
“Phew,” said Corey. All three Pony Tails were nuts about liver. That is, it drove them nuts.
“But if cats want liver, we’ll give them liver. In fact, we’ll give them Cat Candy!” said May. “Isn’t that what Christmas is all about?”
By the end of the afternoon the Pony Tails had baskets of colorful Christmas treats for the animals at CARL. Nothing was left except for some dried flowers and a bowl of tiny lady apples.
“Wait a second,” May said. “What about our ponies? Let’s make treats for them.” Then they turned the dried flowers and lady apples into fancy bouquets.
“These are Pony Perfections,” May said.
&
nbsp; The girls packed the CARL treats in the back of the Jameses’ station wagon, and they left the Pony Perfections in the Jameses’ mudroom, next to the kitchen.
Mrs. James looked at her watch. “It’s time for dinner.”
Corey’s stomach turned over. It was time for her and her mother to have Macaroni Madness.
6 Macaroni Misery
Talk about bad ideas, Corey thought. Macaroni Madness was up there with the worst ideas of mankind.
As Corey walked into the mudroom of her house, she repeated to herself what May had told her—the Pony Tails were strong, and they were brave. They could handle anything, even macaroni and cheese.
From the kitchen came the sound of her mother talking on the telephone. “Everyone will be so excited,” her mother said. She was using the happy voice she used when she talked to Mr. Lee.
Corey stood still. She knew that she shouldn’t listen to her mother’s conversation. But her feet were stuck to the floor.
“It’s so perfect,” Doc Tock said. “I can’t wait until the announcement.”
Corey had a sudden thought. What if her mother and Mr. Lee were talking about getting married? What if they were going to announce their engagement at the animals’ Christmas party?
Corey thought of all the food the Pony Tails and Mrs. James had made. For a second she wished they hadn’t made it. What’s to celebrate? she thought. Then she realized that she was being a jerk again.
She put her chin up and said to herself, “I’m a Pony Tail. I can take it.”
Corey walked into the kitchen wearing a big grin. The grin felt absolutely phony, but at least it was there.
“Hi,” Doc Tock said happily. “My stomach is growling. Let’s get started on our Macaroni Madness.”
“No problem,” Corey said. She marched over to the refrigerator and got out the cheddar cheese. “We grate the cheddar cheese very fine.”
“I’ll do that,” her mother said.
“For the macaroni we need a huge pot of boiling water,” Corey said. “You don’t want to crowd your macaroni.”
“No way,” her mother said. Doc Tock settled happily at the kitchen table to grate the cheese. “There’s going to be a wonderful surprise tonight,” she said.
“I can’t wait,” Corey muttered.
“You’ll be thrilled,” Doc Tock said.
“I’m thrilled already,” Corey said grimly.
While she was waiting for the water to boil, Corey set the dining room table. She used Christmassy green mats, jolly red plates, and the best silver. She stood back to look. The table was definitely missing something.
Candles. With a heavy heart Corey walked back into the kitchen to get the candles.
“Your water’s boiling,” her mother said.
Corey got the macaroni from the cabinet, opened the pack, and held it over the water. Here goes nothing, she thought. She dumped the macaroni into the boiling water.
“I love that smell,” her mother said.
“Wait until the casserole is baking and bubbling,” Corey said bravely. “Then you’ll really smell something great.”
Corey got the candles and pulled off the cellophane wrapping.
“What lovely candles,” Doc Tock said. “You have great ideas, Corey.”
Corey took the candles out to the dining room and put them in candlesticks. That’s me, Corey thought, a fountain of bad ideas.
7 Oh Come, All Ye Parakeets
“Goober the skinny greyhound had a very clammy nose,” sang May to the tune of “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The Pony Tails were in the Jameses’ station wagon on the way to the animals’ Christmas party.
“Come on, Corey,” May said. “We’ve got to practice.” May had written Christmas songs to sing to the animals at the party.
“I’m not in the mood,” Corey said.
“You don’t like that song? Then we’ll sing ‘Oh Come, All Ye Parakeets,’” said May. To the tune of “Oh Come, All Ye Faithful” May sang:
“Oh come, all ye parakeets,
Joyful and triumphant!”
Corey knew she was supposed to join in, but she couldn’t.
“You’ve got to practice, Corey,” said May.
“I’ll fake it,” said Corey glumly.
The station wagon headed down a road with bare maple trees on either side. It pulled up in a parking lot that was jammed with cars.
“CARL has a big crowd,” said Mrs. James.
Great, Corey thought, everyone in Willow Creek will be here for the engagement announcement.
“Who knew so many people would come?” said May. She sounded a little awed. But then she said, “Lucky them—they get to hear us sing.”
Jasmine collapsed into giggles. But Corey felt worse than ever. This was like being in a horror movie.
“I see your mother, Corey,” Mrs. James said. “She’s by the front door.”
Corey spotted her mother. She was wearing silver earrings and a silver pinecone pin on her collar. Next to her was Mr. Lee. They both looked very happy, which made Corey feel even worse.
May jumped out of the car and did a rock-and-roll dance. “It’s snoooowing,” she sang.
Corey got out and looked up. The snow was white and powdery.
“Yo ho ho and a barrel of snow,” sang May.
“Are you okay?” said Jasmine softly to Corey.
Corey swallowed. “Kind of.”
Jasmine put her arm around Corey.
Next thing Corey knew, May had her arm around her, too. “Hey,” May said. “What’s up?”
Corey nodded toward her mother and Mr. Lee. “I think they’re going to announce their engagement,” she whispered.
“Oh, man,” May whispered.
“We can handle it,” Jasmine whispered.
“No, we can’t,” whispered Corey.
“Yes, we can. We’re the Pony Tails,” said May.
Corey’s chin went up. She didn’t really believe that she could handle it, but she knew she had to try.
Holding hands, the Pony Tails stood at the back of the crowd.
Mr. Lee stepped to the microphone. “Welcome to this happy event,” he said.
May and Jasmine squeezed Corey’s hands even harder.
“This has been the most outstanding year in the history of CARL,” Mr. Lee said. He went on to tell how many cats, dogs, birds, gerbils, rabbits, and white mice CARL had saved.
Who else could make pets sound boring? Corey thought. She imagined Mr. Lee at the breakfast table making lists of all the things he was going to do that day.
Corey felt an elbow in her ribs and saw that May and Jasmine were smiling and waving to the crowd. Mr. Lee was saying, “And now Corey Takamura, May Grover, and Jasmine James will feed the animals.”
The girls uncovered the baskets that held the animal treats. The crowd oohed and aahed.
Corey spotted her father over at the side. If only he didn’t have to be here.
“Heads up,” whispered May.
Corey put her chin so far up that her neck ached.
They went inside the shelter, with Mr. Lee and everyone else following. May explained about the Cat Candy, Puppy Pops, Dog Divines, and Wild Bird Bells.
“You girls have done a wonderful job,” Mr. Lee said. “The animals will really love their treats.”
Corey thought the animals did look pretty happy.
“And now the girls are going outside to feed the wild animals,” said Mr. Lee. “It was their idea.”
The crowd murmured with approval.
When everyone went outside, the Pony Tails spread Deer Dessert on the hillside and hung Wild Bird Bells from the trees. They scattered Chipmunk Chewies around the bushes and Mouse Munchies next to the walk.
“As soon as we leave, the wild animals will have their own feast,” Mr. Lee said. He cleared his throat. “Soon I will be making an important announcement. But first the girls have some songs to sing.”
“No songs,” Corey whispered.
“
We can do it,” Jasmine whispered. “We’re the Pony Tails.”
From her pocket May pulled three sheets with the words to the songs on them. “Which one should we start with?” May said.
“Let’s go for the parakeets,” said Corey bravely.
The Pony Tails held up their sheets, put up their chins, and sang:
“Oh come, all ye parakeets,
Joyful and triumphant!
Come ye, oh come ye to
the Animal Rescue League.
Come and behold them.
See the happy gerbils.
See the chipmunk family …”
That did it. Corey felt a sob rise within her. She looked up. The snow was falling faster. Through her tears the snowflakes looked like stars.
8 Silent Snow
When they were done, Mr. Lee pulled out his handkerchief and blew his nose. “That was beautiful,” he said, looking puzzled by his emotional response. He put the handkerchief back in his pocket. “And now for the important announcement we’ve been talking about.”
Doc Tock stepped forward with a big grin on her face. She winked at Corey.
For a second Corey almost hated her mother. Corey shrank into the crowd. If she could make herself invisible, maybe she wouldn’t hear Mr. Lee’s big announcement.
“This year CARL is going to do something it has never done before,” Mr. Lee said. “It is going to award a prize for outstanding work with animals. I guess it’s pretty obvious who gets the prize.” There was a murmur from the crowd. “The winners are Jasmine James, May Grover, and Corey Takamura. Not only did they organize this wonderful party, but all year they have been helping feed and groom the animals. They’ve made a lot of lonely dogs and cats feel better.”
“Oh,” said Corey.
May nudged her.
“Wow,” Corey said.
May flashed a grin and said, “This is the greatest thing ever.”
“It sure is,” said Jasmine.
“That’s it?” Corey whispered. “That’s all?”
“Yes,” whispered May.
The crowd cheered. Doc Tock stepped forward, put her arms around Corey, and hugged her. Corey hugged her back as hard as she could. May’s and Jasmine’s parents hugged them, too.
“Speech!” called the crowd.
Pony Tails 15- Corey's Christmas Wish Page 3