Keeker and the Sneaky Pony
Read Keeker and the Sneaky Pony Online
Authors: Hadley Higginson
and the Sneaky Pony
HADLEY HIGGINSON
Illustrated by
MAJA ANDERSEN
Dedicated to my parents, who gave me the perfect wild and woolly childhood —Hadley Higginson
To Kai, Tom and Cecil —Maja Andersen
This is Catherine Corey Keegan Dana, but everyone calls her Keeker. Keeker is eight. She lives in the country with her mother, her father, five dogs, two cats, a goat and a parakeet. She loves all the pets, of course, but not one of them is really “hers.” She’d like someone to go around with and tell things to. What she really wants is a pony.
This is Plum. Plum is a Shetland pony who lives in a big field at Berry Hill Farm.
She likes to canter around with the other ponies, snorting at butterflies.
She rarely, if ever, thinks about little girls. She certainly doesn’t want one.
This is how Keeker and Plum met. One day while Plum was busy cantering and snorting, a
big rig pulled into the driveway at Berry Hill. It was a truck with a horse trailer. The farmer who owned Plum led her out of the field and tried to coax her into the trailer.
But the trailer was dark and scary and smelled funny. Plus, it rattled and clanked.
“Yikes,” thought Plum. “I’m not getting on that thing!”
The farmer talked to Plum gently. He fed her some carrots and showed her that there were more in the trailer if she would just walk up the ramp.
Plum was exceedingly fond of carrots. So she put one foot on the ramp, then another, then another…
That same day not so very far away, Keeker was sitting outside her house, feeling sad.
Even though she took riding lessons every week AND went to riding camp every summer AND had read a kazillion books on horses and horse care, it still seemed as though she would never, ever get her own pony.
“BOY am I sad,” thought Keeker. She wasn’t sure whether she looked as sad as she felt, though, so she tried to make her eyes fill up with tears.
It was hard to do. So hard she almost didn’t notice the big truck coming down the road, headed right for the Danas’ house.
The truck with a horse trailer pulled into Keeker’s yard, and Keeker’s mom came whizzing out of the house to help the driver unload the trailer.
Plum came clattering down the ramp.
“I had a pony when I was your age,” said Keeker’s mom, “and now you have one, too. Congratulations!”
Keeker stared at Plum.
“My OWN pony,” thought Keeker. “I love her already.”
Plum stared at Keeker.
“Whose girl is this?” thought Plum.
Keeker wanted to go riding right away, but her mom said no—not until Plum got used to her new home.
Plum appeared to be quite comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that all she did was eat.
Munch, munch, munch.
Keeker liked to sit cross-legged in the field and watch Plum’s rubbery lips move around in the grass.
“What a nosy little girl,” grumped Plum. “I wish she would go away and let me eat in peace.”
