The first time he tried to catch Twinkleheels in the pasture, Johnnie
Green found his new pet entirely too playful to suit him. In response to
Johnnie's whistling Twinkleheels came galloping towards the bars. But
when he caught sight of the halter that Johnnie held he stopped short.
And he snorted, as if to say, "I don't believe I'll go with you. I'm
having too much fun here."
"Come on!" Johnnie called. "We're going to the village."
But that news didn't catch Twinkleheels. When Johnnie Green began to
walk towards him Twinkleheels waited until his young master reached out
a hand to take hold of his mane. Then Twinkleheels wheeled like a flash
and tore off across the pasture, leaving Johnnie to clutch the empty
air.
Johnnie chased him, crying, "Whoa! Whoa!" It seemed that the faster he
ran the faster Twinkleheels drew away from him. So Johnnie soon fell
into a walk. At last Twinkleheels stopped and waited for him, pricking
up his ears at Johnnie's whistle. Now, however, he wouldn't let Johnnie
get within a dozen feet of him.
"This is great sport!" Twinkleheels chuckled as he dashed away again.
Johnnie Green, however, did not enjoy the sport. After following
Twinkleheels all over the pasture he became tired and breathless.
Back toward the barn he turned at last.
As he climbed over the fence he looked at Twinkleheels, who stood on a
knoll and regarded him pleasantly.
"I'll get you yet!" Johnnie called to him. "You needn't think you can
beat me!"
Twinkleheels dropped his head, flung his hind feet into the air twice,
and galloped off. He was sorry that Johnnie Green had stopped chasing
him.
Johnnie found his father at work in the barn.
"What shall I do?" Johnnie asked him. "I can't catch Twinkleheels. I've
been trying for about an hour. And he won't let me get near enough to
him to grab him."
Farmer Green laughed.
"He's a rascal," he said. "You'll have to coax him with something to
eat. Put a few handfuls of oats in the four-quart measure and hold it up
so he can see it. Shake it, too, so he can hear the oats swishing around
in it. You'll get him that way."
Johnnie Green hastened to carry out his father's plan. And he was
smiling as he stepped through the doorway, holding the four-quart
measure and shaking it to hear the sound that the oats made inside it.
Then his father called to him.
"You'd better keep the halter behind you, when you get to the pasture,"
Farmer Green said. "If Twinkleheels saw it he might not come--oats or no
oats."
Johnnie Green chuckled.