Suddenly there is an all-too-familiar sound. Pellets being poured into a metal bucket. Midgie’s ears flicker. I can tell he is trying to resist, but he can’t help himself. He runs straight past the flag towards the fence where Porsha stands shaking a food bin.
‘Oops,’ she smiles as Midgie runs to the fence expectantly.
Maisy isn’t sad or embarrassed anymore. She’s angry. Really angry. I think a lot of people are. Porsha’s mum comes over and tells Porsha to go back to their horse float and before we can say anything she disappears into the crowd.
We gloomily walk back to the stall. Chelsea sneaks me a look. Neither of us knows what to say. Maybe Maisy was right. Maybe this isn’t the sort of place for us. It’s nearly over and I’m quite glad.
Then the loudspeaker calls for the last event of the day. It’s the Barrel Race.
‘You don’t have to do it if you’re tired, Maisy,’ I say.
‘This is Porsha’s favourite event,’ she says grimly, and she turns Midgie towards the ring and trots in. Porsha looks surprised to see her, but Maisy doesn’t even look at her. She just sits up tall and faces the judges.
‘How’s she going?’
I turn to see Max mounted on top of his huge inflatable Tyrannosaurus. He’s made a bridle for it out of string.
‘Oh, great,’ I say. ‘Now the circus really has come to town.’
Max looks around excitedly.
‘A circus?’
I sigh. ‘Where’s Dad? Did he bring you?’
‘He’s just over there with Mum. Some horse has cut its leg in the jumping so she has to fix it up. There’s gore everywhere. It’s disgusting.’
For a moment I am torn. I would love to go and help Mum, but I know I have to stay and support Maisy.
One by one, the horses and their riders come forward to compete in the barrel race. Some of the horses are dancing around, almost bursting with excitement. When it comes to their turn, they are all amazingly fast. I look over at Midgie and Maisy. He is quietly eating some grass. We are doomed.
Then I have an idea.
‘Chelsea. Grab a bucket. Here, put this in it.’ I grab a handful of pellets and throw them into it. Then I put some in mine. I whisper my plan in her ear and we race into our positions, just in time. Midgie is up next.
Maisy struggles to get him to lift his head from eating the grass. Porsha laughs out loud. I glare at her.
‘Hey, Midgie!’ I call loudly, and I shake the bucket of pellets. I stand on the other side of the fence, right behind the first barrel.
Midgie looks up straightaway. He starts to prance on the spot as Maisy edges towards the starting line. She holds him back with her reins.
‘Go!’ says the timekeeper.
Midgie races towards me. All Maisy can do is hang on. As he gets to the barrel I run away from the fence and Chelsea takes over from the other side of the arena. He spins and races around the first barrel perfectly.
‘Midgie!’ screams Chelsea, furiously shaking her bucket.
The little pony is so excited he takes off towards the other side of the arena. Maisy is onto it now. She holds on with all her might and spins him hard at the second barrel.
By now I am in position at the third. If we can just get him to this side, all Maisy has to do is race him back to the finish line. He races towards me and stops dead at the fence, waiting for his food. One second, two seconds . . . but Maisy can’t turn him around.
BOOM!
Max’s inflatable dinosaur bursts behind us. The noise is unbelievable.
Midgie spins around and takes off like a shot. Maisy hangs on for dear life.
Midgie crosses the finish line and keeps running all the way to the back of the arena where Chelsea is waiting with his food.
The whole place is quiet, except for the soft sobs of poor Max behind me.
The judge and timekeeper look at each other and shrug, before writing down the time.
Maisy proudly leaves the arena with a long, shiny green ribbon tied around Midgie’s neck. We all hug each other, and then we hug Max. I’m sure Dad can fix his dinosaur.
‘Well, it’s not blue, but it’s definitely a ribbon,’ I grin.
‘Oh, but don’t you know?’ says Maisy, kissing the ribbon. ‘Green is my favourite colour in the whole world!’
A couple of Maisy’s friends from school cheer as she leaves the arena. Then they come over to see us. Porsha calls out to them, but they don’t seem to hear her.
While Maisy gets her photograph taken, Chelsea and I start brushing down Midgie.
I look at Chelsea.
‘You know how I was quiet the other day and I said it was because I had a headache?’
Chelsea looks at me.
‘Well, the reason I was quiet was that I was scared that you were starting to like Maisy better than me.’
Chelsea drops her brush.
‘Juliet Fletcher! I like Maisy, I really do. But just because I like her doesn’t mean I am going to like you less or leave you out. I know how awful that feels. If we all stick together, we might even show some of those girls at school how much fun you can have without having to be part of a group.’
Chelsea grins at me as Maisy comes to join us, and I suddenly feel really, really happy.
As we drive off that afternoon we look back at Midgie though the windows of the horse float trailing behind us. He looks very smart with his green ribbon looped around his neck. And Maisy can’t stop smiling.
It’s very satisfying being a vet.
Quiz! Are You Nearly a Vet?
1. Why do they paint horses hooves for shows?
a. To match their handbags.
b. To make them look shiny and healthy.
c. So the horse feels more confident.
d. Because painting their noses doesn’t look very good.
2. Which event does Maisy win a ribbon in?
a. Flag race
b. Hairiest horse
c. Best apple eater
d. Barrel race
3. How many baby guinea pigs are born?
a. 9
b. 8
c. 58
d. 11
4. Why shouldn’t you touch baby guinea pigs when they are first born?
a. It messes up their hairstyle.
b. You have to wait until visiting hours.
c. It can make them sick and their mother may reject them.
d. They might start calling you ‘Mum’.
5. How are the feathers different on frizzle bantams?
a. They smell like bacon.
b. They are bright and pink.
c. They curl backwards.
d. They fall out if you touch them.
6. What do you call the hair that runs down the top of a horse’s neck?
a. A forelock.
b. A mohawk.
c. A fringe.
d. A mane.
7. What did Juliet use to measure the size of the guinea pigs?
a. Max’s plastic dinosaur.
b. A tape measure.
c. A dinner plate.
d. Her hand.
8. How can you tell if a chicken is healthy?
a. Its comb on its head is nice and bright and stands up.
b. It doesn’t eat too many lollies before dinner.
c. It goes for a 10km jog every day.
d. It eats the carrots first when you throw the scraps out.
9. What do they measure the height of horses in?
a. feet
b. heads
c. hands
d. bananas
10. How do you know when you have a good friend?
a. She cleans your room for you on Saturdays.
b. She writes your name all over her pencil case.
c. She doesn’t leave you out when someone new comes along.
d. She names her pet after you.
Answers : 1b, 2d, 3a, 4c, 5c, 6d, 7b, 8a, 9c, 10c. Well done!
From Rebecca Johnson
When I was growin
g up, I was mad about animals. Not just the normal kind like cats, dogs and horses, but anything that moved. The best part of all was that I actually lived next door to a vet! We are still great friends and he’s 95 now. One of my fondest memories of growing up is going out in a canoe with my sister and brother after a flood and rescuing animals that were stranded on sticks and twigs and ferrying them to safety. Not every girl I know would be happiest in a canoe full of mice, bugs and the odd green snake, but I’m sure Juliet would!
From Kyla May
As a little girl, I always wanted to be a vet. I had mice, guinea pigs, dogs, goldfish, sea snails, sea monkeys and tadpoles as pets. I loved looking after my friend’s pets when they went on holidays and every Saturday I helped out at a pet store. Now that I’m all grown up, I have the best job in the world. I get to draw lots of animals for children’s books and for animated TV shows. In my studio I have two dogs, Jed and Evie, and two cats, Bosco and Kobe, who love to watch me draw.
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ISBN: 978-1-74253-531-9
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