"Polly is spooky," said Maggie.
"Hmm," said Dad. "You know that already? Well, come on." He got to his
feet and so did Maggie.
Mom said, "Corky better stay in the house. He could frighten the
horse." She grabbed her barn jacket.
Maggie and her parents went out to the barn. Dad bridled Molly and led
her out the door. Polly whinnied frantically and jumped around in her
stall. Molly ignored Polly.
"I'll go first," said Dad. "Just to be sure it's safe."
He led Molly to a hay wagon and crawled on from there. He clucked to
Molly and rode off. He turned Molly right and left, and they even
trotted a little. Dad slid off again.
"This is a good horse," said Dad. "She handles as well as most riding
horses. Ready, Maggie?"
Maggie looked up at the huge horse and gulped. "I guess so," she said.
Dad boosted her on, and she looked down. Yipes, it was like being on a
tall building that breathed. And Molly's back was so wide that
Maggie's legs were doing the splits. She was scared.
"Slide up by her neck," said Dad. "She's not so wide in front."
Maggie slid forward and grabbed a big handful of mane. She felt a
little safer, but then Dad led Molly forward a few steps. The whole
huge body twisted under Maggie. She held on for dear life.
"Relax," said Dad. "Let your body go with the horse."
Maggie tried, but it was hard. Finally she realized that she hadn't
fallen off yet, and let out her breath. She felt sort of proud. Not
many kids had ridden a horse this big, she told herself.
[Illustration]
When Dad said it was time to stop, Maggie looked down. It was too far
to jump, but Dad grabbed her around the middle and lifted her off.
Just then a green truck drove up hauling a wooden wagon. Dad grinned
and waved at the driver of the truck. "That's Larry with the wagon he
sold me."
"Good morning," called Larry as he got out of the truck. "That's a
mighty nice horse you've got there." His tent-like bib overalls rocked
as he considered the horse from every angle.
"Thank you," said Dad. "I'm glad you brought the wagon so I can start
driving my team."
Larry turned to Dad. "Ever drive a team before?" he asked.
"Well, not since I was a kid," Dad admitted. "I did more riding than
driving, but my grandpa had a team."
"I see," said Larry. "A fellow can get in a lot of trouble with horses
if he doesn't know what he's doing."