Sparkle the Circus Pony
Page 4
The music rose and fell, and the crowd began to clap in time. Around and around Sparkle cantered, without making a single mistake. It was the most wonderful night of Megan’s life!
“Well done,” she heard Sparkle say, as she stretched her leg up to make a “Y” shape.
“I could never have done it without you,” Megan said to him, as she brought her leg down again.
The grand finale was almost over. The music built up to a crescendo as the ponies cantered around one last time. Then, through the curtain, she saw Mr. Scarletti standing next to Juliet. He lifted his top hat to her and grinned. Megan was so glad she hadn’t let his circus down!
She breathed in the sharp smell of sawdust and waved with both hands, gazing in delight at the sea of happy smiles. It was over—Sparkle was heading for the beautiful red velvet curtain, and Megan gave one final wave. But as they cantered out of the ring, Sparkle’s thundering hoofbeats suddenly faded. Instead of the roaring crowd, Megan heard the faint sound of fairground music. The air filled with glittering pink and silver sparkles that slowly cleared away.
Megan looked around. There was no sign of Juliet or Mr. Scarletti. She was back on the Magic Carousel, riding Sparkle the carousel pony. Her beautiful costume had vanished, and she was wearing her jeans and jacket again. And there was her mom, smiling and waving as the carousel slowed down.
When the carousel finally came to a halt, Megan slipped off Sparkle and patted his neck. It felt like sleek painted wood now. Something tickled Megan’s neck. She reached under her collar and pulled out a soft, pink feather that must have fallen off her costume. “It’s mine to keep!” Megan gasped. Now she would have a bit of the circus with her forever.
“Thank you, Sparkle,” she whispered. “That was the most amazing adventure I’ve ever had in my life. I’ll never, never forget it!”
And just for a moment, she was sure his ears twitched in reply.
Acknowledgments
With thanks to Gill Harvey
About the Author
POPPY SHIRE lives in the English countryside. She loves ponies—and writing about ponies—more than anything else in the world. Every time she goes to a fair, she looks for a Magic Pony Carousel! Unfortunately she hasn’t found one yet.
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Credits
Cover art © 2007 by Ron Berg
Cover design by Sasha Illingworth
Copyright
MAGIC PONY CAROUSEL #1: SPARKLE THE CIRCUS PONY. Text copyright © 2007 by Working Partners. Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Ron Berg. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Adobe Digital Edition July 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-196657-6
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