A great story to read along with your younger children, or for your older child to read independently!
Deep in the country, where you can't see your neighbor's house and there's nothing but green grass for miles and miles, Stripe and his adopted fri...
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The day had finally arrived! Stripe leaped up from his bed, cooked a pancake breakfast, and ran to get Brady. The night before, Stripe took Brady to sleep in the guest bedroom just like he'd done every night since the kitty showed up. He always woke up in the middle of the night to go sleep in Pocahontas' stall, though. I don't even know why I bother checking in here, Stripe thought as he made his way out to the barn. Pocahontas nickered cheerfully at the sight of her owner, but she didn't move at all. Once again, Brady ended up entangling himself around the mare's legs in his sleep, and Pocahontas knew not to move. Stripe went into a stall just across from hers. It was extra large, and was likely built to be space for a bigger horse or a pregnant mare. Instead though, Stripe kept a garbage can in there full of horse feed. Using a scoop, he shoveled some of the feed into a bucket. The loud splash of pellets against the plastic bucket woke Brady. As the smaller cat let himself out of the stall, Stripe opened a little container and dumped a handful of pellets from there into the bucket. "What's that for?" Brady yawned. "Well, good morning!" Stripe smiled, in a great mood, "these pellets in the small container are hoof supplements. It helps Pocca's hooves to stay nice and strong. In the large trash bin here is a mixture of pellets and oats. I feed her a scoop and a half in the morning and in the evening. Will you get her hay? She needs two flakes in the morning." "Flakes?" Brady gawked. "Yes, two sections of hay. They're called flakes." "Oh, okay!" Brady went into the opposite corner of the feed room and did what Stripe told him to. There was no hay feeder in Pocahontas' stall, and no place to pour grain. Letting Brady try feeding, Stripe opened Pocahontas' stall door and handed him the grain bucket. Pocahontas excitedly yet politely approached Brady with her ears perked forward. He sat the bucket down in front of the open stall door. He then went to the other corner and put the hay down, being sure to fluff it nicely. "Good job!" Stripe complimented, "now let's get some of these other chores done quickly. We have something important to do today!" "Oooh!" Brady gasped in wonder, "Are we gonna ride Pocca into town to do this important thing?" "No," Stripe laughed, "because the important thing we're doing is buying our first breeding stallion! There's a horse auction in town, but we're going to walk. I want Pocca and her new soon-to-be-mate acquainted slowly and carefully. If we ride Pocca there and end up leading another horse back home behind her, it may startle them both. They need time to get to know each other before we have them together at all." Brady nodded and went on his way, "Got it! No bringing Pocca, and we're getting our chores done fast today!" —————————— It was about 3 in the afternoon when Stripe and Brady made their way to their bleacher seats in what was a large indoor dirt arena. Stripe started out hopeful and enthusiastic, pointing at some of the different horses' physical characteristics in order to educate Brady on selecting a good breeding horse. "Now see, that guy looks very skinny, but with enough care, he'd be great! Too bad he's a gelding." "What's a gelding?" Brady asked. Stripe answered matter-of-factly, "Geldings are male horses, like stallions! Only geldings have had a special surgery to make sure they can't ever have babies. Geldings are normally much better behaved than stallions, and it's for that reason mainly that people choose to have their horses gelded." "Oh I'm learning so many new things!" Brady cheered while clapping his paws. "Okay, now see that mare they just brought in? Real pretty, but her feet are very small. If she passes that onto a foal, it may grow up to have severe lameness issues, meaning it will hurt its feet a lot. Also, see how she's kind of mean to the handler leading her? She's shaking her head aggressively and snapping her teeth? I'd want to train any mare out of that before breeding. Foals can learn bad behavior from their moms too and grow up to be very naughty." Stripe would continue talking about the different horses that were being auctioned off. However, the longer they sat, the more discouraged and annoyed Stripe became. Each horse that was brought forward seemed worst than the last, having many conformational faults that would make them not ideal for breeding. The prices at which the horses were being purchased at went lower and lower too. One horse even sold for only $95! Brady began to notice how disappointed Stripe seemed, so he started talking up all of the horses, "Wow look at that one! He's really pretty! Oooh, and that one has a cool mane. Check him out, he's painted just like Pocca! Oh wow—" "Brady," Stripe interrupted, "I'm not looking for just any old horse, I'm looking for the best I can get on a budget!" Shaking his head, Stripe got up and turned to Brady, "I'm going to go to the local diner to bring back some fried chicken and french fries. Please be good while I'm gone." Brady sat and sat. Stripe was gone for so long, he thought that he'd have to sit for the rest of his life, or at least it felt that way to an impatient youngster. Brady watched the horses come into the arena, feeling just as bored as Stripe was just a moment ago. That was, until a show stopper made its way into the arena! Brady's eyes widened at the sight of this horse that had just walked in. He had a big, flashy step. He reared up high in the air, fighting his handler and trying to break free from his halter. He had a glimmering brown coat, a black as ebony mane, with white socks and a big white blaze to match. The things that really stood out to Brady though was that this horse was very large, well-muscled, and he had a lot of long fur around his hooves. Bids went up on this stallion faster than the auctioneer could seem to call out. $100, then $200, someone jumped all the way up to $500, then someone outbid him to $1,000. In one hasty move, Brady raised up both front paws and shouted, "FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!" —————————— "So, let me get this straight," Stripe growled, trying very hard to stay calm towards Brady, "You not only bid on a horse without my permission, but you bid over ten times what the horse is worth?!" "Well, I know you saved a lot of money! Plus, wait till you see him! He's perfect!" Brady celebrated. "BRADY!!!" Stripe began to shout angrily, "I don't have to see him! I left to get food at horse number 38. Every horse after that was brought in by mustang wranglers. You just bought a wild mustang. No mustang is worth $40,000! Not even the best! And you know what else?! Mustangs breed in the wild! There are tons of little baby mustangs out there! You don't breed them once they're in captivity!" Stripe began to pace frantically while Brady sat, ashamed and sad. After some panicked muttering, Stripe grabbed Brady's paw and grumbled, "I guess we're bringing home a mustang stallion. That is really a shame, I was holding out to see if I could find a paint horse just like Pocahontas." Once they arrived at the paddock where their new horse was being kept, Stripe gawked left and right. He turned to Brady and asked, "Are you sure this is the right horse? Hip number 44?" "Yep!" Brady smiled proudly, "isn't he just as perfect as I said he was?" Stripe couldn't seem to find the words. He stammered a bit, "This is not a mustang. He's big and really well-built. The only thing wild about him is his energy. Some type of warmblood or sport horse perhaps, but he's certainly not a mustang!" "See? I did a great job!" "No, bidding $40,000 of someone else's money on something they don't want is not good. Especially since I'm not allowed to get a refund!" The new, very large stallion had made it clear to Stripe and Brady that he would not be easy, or in any way possible to lead home. So, Stripe ended up having to pay a large fee to have him shipped over to his farm on a horse trailer. Once the new stallion arrived, Stripe was busy cleaning Pocahontas' stall, so Brady took it upon himself to unload the horse from the trailer. He couldn't help but gaze at him with awe. However, the new horse did not return Brady's gesture as he reared up, snatching the rope from Brady's paws, and galloped around the enclosed paddock Brady had struggled to lead him into. Despite the act of violent rebellion, Brady sighed to himself, "Wow, this horse really is perfect!"
