Star the Western Pony

by Poppy Shire

  “I’m sorry,” said Laura.

  Jolene looped Smoky’s reins over the rail. “It was your fault that the calf jumped into the river,” she told Laura over her shoulder.

  Laura looked at Star in surprise. The calf had been startled when Smoky kicked the stone! Star gave a tiny shake of her head that only Laura could see. Laura knew she shouldn’t quarrel with Jolene—the Magic Carousel hadn’t brought her here to argue! She decided not to say anything about Smoky’s mistake.

  “You should have roped the calf as soon as he left the herd,” Jolene added. She finished tying Smoky’s reins and walked off toward the water pump.

  Laura sighed. It looked like Jolene was determined not to make friends. She stroked Star’s soft muzzle, then reached up and rubbed the little white star on her forehead.

  “Don’t worry about Jolene,” said Star. “She’s probably just jealous because you rescued the calf and not her.”

  “What do you think I should do now?” Laura asked, feeling slightly nervous.

  “You’ll be fine,” said Star. “Just get a quick drink and come back here. You’ll be thirsty later if you don’t.”

  Laura walked over to the water pump. The other cowboys had finished drinking. Laura drank a mug of refreshing water, then skipped back to Star.

  All around her, the cowboys were climbing back onto their ponies.

  “Let’s go!” said Luke. “There’s some wild country to get through before we reach the next camp.”

  Laura climbed into Star’s saddle. “Shall we follow them?” she whispered. It was hard to know if they needed to go with the cowboys to find out their special task, or if they should stay behind in the little town.

  Star scraped her front hoof on the ground as if she was thinking. “I think we should go with them,” she said. “After all, I am a cowgirl’s pony!”

  Laura and Star cantered after the others. They soon caught up with the long line of cattle stretching into the distance. Up ahead, the rolling grassy plain ended in a line of rocky hills. Laura felt a flicker of excitement. That must be the wild country that Luke had mentioned!

  But as Laura joined the back of the drive, Luke cantered over to her, frowning. “Hey, Laura!” he called. “You’ll have to go back to the village now.”

  Laura’s heart sank into her cowboy boots.

  “We have a long way to go with these cows,” Luke went on. “And I only take the most experienced cowboys and cowgirls on my cattle drives.”

  Laura thought quickly. She had to persuade Luke somehow! “My mom and dad said I could join the next drive that passed through,” she said. She gave Luke a pleading look. “Please let me come.”

  Just then, there was the sound of hooves as another cowboy rode up. “What’s going on here?” asked Red in a friendly voice.

  Luke explained, and Red smiled. “I think you should let her stay,” he said. Laura’s heart flipped over hopefully. “She saved the calf, remember?” Red reminded Luke. “She’s obviously a good rider, and she could be company for Jolene, too.”

  There was a tiny moo from beside Star, and Laura looked down to see the little calf trotting along close to Star’s flank.

  Red chuckled. “You see, Luke, you can’t send her back. That calf has adopted Laura as his new mother. She’ll have to keep an eye on him from now on.”

  Luke watched the calf for a moment, then smiled. “You’re right, Red. I can’t send her back now.”

  “Thanks, Luke,” said Laura. “I won’t let you down, I promise.”

  She looked at the calf. He stared back with big, adoring eyes, then mooed again. Laura smiled. He might not know it, but this time the calf had saved her! Now she had a special calf as well as a magic pony. She couldn’t believe her luck!

  As Red rode on ahead with Luke, the old cowboy turned and gave her a big wink.

  On they rode, across the plains, with the rocky hills slowly drawing closer. The cowboys spread out along the line of cattle, keeping them from straying too far off the trail. It was hard work, because the cattle kept wandering off to graze on any tasty bit of grass they saw!

  The land began to change. Instead of swaying grass, Laura noticed prickly pear cactuses and boulders and bright yellow desert flowers. As they rode through a rocky canyon, she saw a lizard slither between some stones and a hawk fly overhead on the hunt for jackrabbits. And all the time, the calf trotted along close to Star. Laura smiled at her loyal new friend.

  “I think we should give the calf a name,” she said to Star. “What do you think we should call him?”

  Star arched her neck and blew gently on the calf’s ears. The calf twitched his ears happily. “Something to do with how you saved him?” she suggested.

  “How we saved him,” Laura corrected her, laughing. “How about River?”

  “Perfect!” agreed Star.

  As daylight faded the men set about making a camp. The cattle were allowed to stop and graze, and Laura made sure that River was settled among them. A young cow with a white patch on her nose sniffed at River, then let the little calf graze next to her. Feeling relieved, Laura rode off to join the rest of the cowboys As she dismounted, she couldn’t believe how stiff she felt! She had never spent so long on a pony before, and traveling across country was very different from trotting around a field in a riding school. But she wouldn’t have missed a moment of the amazing adventure she’d had so far.

  Star nuzzled her, and Laura wrapped her arms around her pony’s neck.

  “Thank you, Star,” she whispered. “This has been the best day of my life.”

  Star gave a happy whinny, then butted her with her nose. “You need to rest,” she told Laura. “It’ll be another long day tomorrow.”

  But Laura was too excited to sit down. She watched as some of the others unbuckled bedrolls from the backs of their saddles and laid them out on the ground. But Star didn’t have a bedroll behind his saddle—what would Laura do? The ground looked very hard and uncomfortable. Then she saw Luke pass Jolene a bedroll and nod in Laura’s direction. Jolene didn’t look very happy, but she started to walk over to Laura.

  “Here. You can borrow this one,” Jolene said in a quiet voice, handing the bedroll over to Laura. It was a beautiful striped red, yellow, and blue blanket.

  “Thank you!” Laura said, hoping that Jolene might be feeling more friendly. Jolene gave a thin smile and walked away. Laura watched her leave, then laid her blanket out near the horses, so that she could sleep close to Star. Then, after making sure that Star had plenty of food and water, she set off to explore the camp. She had learned the names of all the cowboys during the long ride, and already she felt as if she was part of the team.

  Luke and Red were slowly riding around the cattle, keeping an eye on them, while Carlos the cook was unloading cooking equipment from the back of a pack mule. Tex and Mark were making a fire, with Jolene helping them. It was quickly getting cold now that the sun had set, and some of the cowboys wrapped themselves in colorful blankets when they sat down. Carlos began stirring a big pot of beef and bean stew on a smaller fire. It smelled delicious and Laura suddenly realized how hungry she was. She offered to help, and Carlos produced a stack of tin plates from one of his saddlebags.

  “You can help me dish out,” he said.

  Laura gave Jolene a plate of stew first.

  “Thanks,” said Jolene without looking up.

  “What about Luke and Red?” Laura asked Carlos, when everyone had some food.

  “Don’t worry about them,” Carlos told her. “I’ll leave some stew in the pot and they’ll eat when their shift’s finished.”

  Laura felt a bit sorry for them—they must be really hungry! She sat down to eat her stew, thinking that being a cowboy was very hard work.

  After a while, Laura noticed Jolene slip away to lie down in the shadows. Leaving the other cowboys sitting around the fire, Laura went over to her bedroll and snuggled down wrapped in her warm blanket.

  “Good night, Star,” she whispered. />
  “Sleep tight,” her magic pony replied softly.

  As Laura dozed off, she heard the sound of singing. At first, she thought it must be the men around the fire, but then she realized that it was coming from where the cattle were grazing. It was Luke and Red, singing to them as they rode around! Laura smiled and began to drift deeper into sleep.

  Suddenly, a voice nearby jolted her awake.

  “…prices will be good enough,” she heard.

  Laura opened her eyes. The singing had stopped. She had no idea how long she’d been asleep. Perhaps Luke and Red had finished their shift by now.

  “It will be easy money,” said a muffled voice.

  Laura felt her skin begin to prickle. There were definitely men talking nearby. And they weren’t casually chatting—they were talking in urgent whispers, as though they were making a plan.

  Laura lay as still as she could under her blanket, listening.

  “Just need to wait for half the cattle to go into the ravine,” said one of the men.

  “The secret valley near that ravine is going to be really useful!” said another. “We’d never be able to steal the cattle without it.”

  Laura’s heart began to pound. Had she just overheard a plot to steal some of Luke’s cattle?

  Chapter 5

  Laura heard the men walk back toward the fire. They passed close to where she was lying, and she held her breath. Suddenly one of them muttered crossly.

  “What’s wrong?” asked a companion.

  “Nothing,” replied the man. “Just a stupid cactus scratching my hand.”

  As the footsteps went past, crunching on the dry earth, Laura heard the rattling chink of a spur. She thought there were three men, but it could have been four. Her mind was racing. The men’s voices had been muffled by her blanket, which was tucked up around her ears, so she hadn’t recognized any of the speakers. All she had were two tiny clues—one of the men had scratched his hand, and another was wearing a loose, jangling spur.

  She heard the sound of one man mounting a horse, or maybe two. It was so annoying not to be sure! Laura wondered if Star was listening, too, but she didn’t dare call out to her. Soon, the sound of singing started again, drifting on the night air. The rest of the camp grew quiet, and Laura peered out from underneath her blanket. She’d have to wait until morning to talk to Star. She stared up at the millions of stars stretching across the clear night sky. Only one thing was sure: all three or four speakers had been men.

  At last, Laura drifted off to sleep again. When she woke up the gray-pink light of dawn streaked the sky. There was a chill in the air, and she shivered. Sitting up, she pushed aside her blanket and tiptoed over to Star.

  The cow pony was dozing, resting one hind leg, but she woke up as Laura approached and whickered a friendly hello.

  “Star!” whispered Laura, stroking her nose. “Last night I heard some of the men talking. I think they’re planning to steal some of the cattle. Did you hear anything?”

  Star pricked her ears. “No, not a thing. What happened?”

  Quickly Laura told her everything. Star listened, her nostrils flaring.

  “I think I know which ravine they’re talking about,” she said. “I overheard some of them talking about the route ahead yesterday. There’s one place where the trail gets really narrow.”

  “That must be it,” agreed Laura. “What can we do? I don’t know who was talking about the plot—though they were all men, so that rules out Jolene.”

  Star tossed her head. “Well, maybe you should talk to her.”

  “But I don’t think she likes me very much,” Laura pointed out.

  Star blew softly into Laura’s blond hair. “She was the only girl before you came along,” Star reminded her. “Maybe she just needs some time to get used to you.”

  “We don’t have time,” said Laura. The camp was already beginning to stir. She could see that Carlos was lighting his fire to cook breakfast. “We’ll get to the ravine today, and that’s when the cowboys are planning to steal the cattle!”

  “Well,” said Star, “we’ll just have to hope that’s enough time for you to make friends with Jolene.”

  When the cowboys had finished their breakfasts, they packed up the camp and saddled their horses. Laura tried to strap her bedroll into place behind Star’s saddle. It was difficult, because the buckles were stiff.

  “Do you need a hand there, Laura?” asked a kindly voice.

  Laura looked around. Jesse was smiling down at her from his mustang. She yanked on the stiffest buckle, and the leather strap slipped into place.

  “I’m fine, thanks.” She smiled back at him.

  “Well, you let me know if you need help with anything,” he said.

  He sounded so nice and friendly, and Laura hesitated. Surely he couldn’t be one of the thieves? She needed to tell someone, and Jesse was just the sort of person she’d willingly trust! But just as she opened her mouth to speak, another of the cowboys rode close by and gave Jesse a friendly slap on the shoulder. Laura snapped her mouth shut again. She knew the slap might not mean anything, but all the same, it reminded her that any of the men could be thieves—even Jesse!

  Laura swung herself into Star’s saddle. River trotted over and greeted Laura with a friendly moo. Laura really wanted to check all the cowboys’ spurs and whether any of them had a scratch on his hand, but it was impossible. The men quickly spread out around the herd, and with all the dust it was difficult to see anything clearly.

  “You’re right,” Laura said to Star, patting the pony’s neck. “I can’t stop the thieves on my own. I’ll have to speak to Jolene.”

  Chapter 6

  The cattle began to move slowly onward. Laura spotted River in the middle of the herd, and she felt glad that he seemed happy to be with the cattle again after his scary experience the day before. She could see Jolene’s shiny black pigtails up ahead and realized that now was her chance!

  Laura nudged Star with her heels. “Let’s catch up with Smoky and Jolene,” she said.

  “Good idea,” Star said, and broke into a canter. They soon caught up with the other girl. But as they slowed down to a trot beside her, Jolene turned to them with her eyes blazing. “What d’you think you’re doing?” she snapped. “You’ll panic the cattle, cantering through them like that.”

  Laura was stung. She and Star hadn’t cantered through the cattle—they’d cantered around them! Why didn’t Jolene want to be her friend?

  Out of the corner of her eye, Laura spotted a few cattle that were straying, and she pushed Star into another canter to guide them back to the rest of the herd. Once they were safely in line, she trotted back to ride alongside Jolene again.

  “Well done,” Jolene said grudgingly. “Which ranch did you learn on?”

  Laura wasn’t sure what to say. She’d learned to ride at her local riding school, but she’d learned about Western riding from movies! She couldn’t say that. She thought quickly. “Oh, a place called Shady Creek,” she said casually. Well, it was almost true. It was the ranch in her favorite Western storybook.

  “Never heard of it,” said Jolene. She shrugged. “I guess it must be pretty good.”

  Laura grinned. She was glad to hear the other girl say something nice at last! She patted Star’s neck. “Well, I wouldn’t be much good without Star,” she said, and for the first time, Jolene gave her a friendly smile.

  It was too good an opportunity to miss. Laura took a deep breath. “I think some of the cowboys are planning to steal half the cattle,” she said. “I heard them talking about it last night. They’re going to use a secret valley near a ravine.”

  Jolene stared at her as if she was crazy, and then laughed. “There’s no secret valley around here. You must have been dreaming.”

  Laura’s heart sank. Maybe she’d gotten it wrong. After all, Jolene knew the trail much better than she did.

  But then Star tossed her head and gave a whinny. “If Jolene knew about the valley, it wouldn’t be
secret,” she pointed out.

  It was true. Laura knew she had to keep trying. “I’m sure I heard right,” she insisted.

  Jolene rolled her eyes. “My dad knows all these guys really well. He would never use thieves on his cattle drive,” she said. She raised one eyebrow. “Maybe you think my dad’s a thief, too?”

  “No!” Laura protested. “I just know what I heard, that’s all. There were three or four men speaking, and one of them had a loose spur. Another scratched his hand on a cactus.”

  Jolene shook her head disbelievingly. A big cow wandered out of line up ahead, and she kicked Smoky with her heels.

  “Now what?” exclaimed Laura, watching Jolene canter away to round up the cow.

  “You did your best,” said Star. “We’ll just have to think of something else.”

  “Something else!” Laura echoed in despair. “Someone else is what we need. I can’t help at all. The carousel must have made a mistake!”

  “No, no, that doesn’t happen,” Star said, shaking her mane. “The Magic Carousel always chooses the right person to help!”

  But right now Laura didn’t feel so sure.

  The sun rose in the sky, and the air grew hotter and hotter. The trail began to narrow, with craggy rocks towering up on either side in deep yellows and reds, contrasting with the lovely blue sky.

  “The ravine must be getting close now,” Laura said to Star, who nodded her head in agreement. Laura felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Then she noticed that one of the cowboys had dropped back and was dismounting.

  Laura raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun and saw that it was Hank. She turned to Tex, the cowboy nearest to her. “Is Hank okay?” she called.

  “Oh sure,” replied Tex. “He’s just fixing his spur. It got loose yesterday.”

  Laura gulped. Hank must be the thief with the clinking spur! “Star, what can I do?” she muttered.

  “Stay calm,” said Star. “The ravine’s just up ahead.”