Horse Meadow Book One

Ten

Ten

Stella shivered as the humans unloaded a horse from a trailer that looked exactly like Dillo. It had to be a mustang, because it put up quite a fight. Then Stella looked closer, and realized that it was Dillo. Excitement coursed through her body. She ran to the fence, and whinnied as loudly as she could. "Dillo! Over here! It's Stella!" Dillo looked over at her with a dull look in his eyes. Then his face lit up.

"Stella! Is it really you?"

"Yes! It's me! I haven't seen you for over a moon - cycle!" Stella and Dillo exchanged stories as the humans put him into the pasture next to hers. Stella was so relieved to have Dillo there to talk to. She got so excited that she almost forgot to introduce Kyla, the old mare that she had first met when the people brought her here.

"Kyla, this is Dillo, he lived with me in our herd."

"How do you do", Kyla said politely. "I've heard a lot about you and your herd. "

Dillo replied, "I guess I'm okay, now that I've found some friendly faces." And now that his leg has healed, Stella thought. Dillo had hurt his hind leg when they had jumped a fence, trying to escape. That had been the reason that Stella was here now, and Dillo, too. Stella realized as she looked at Dillo how skinny he looked. Then she realized that he was not skinny, she was just used to the plump horses here. "Dillo, we need to find a way to get back home, but we are so far away, and I don't know how to get back. I feel so exposed away from our herd".

"It's okay, Stella, I have an idea of how to get back".

"How?", Stella asked doubtfully.

"You will see." Dillo sounded so sure of himself that Stella couldn't help but wonder if he was right. Well, if he is, then that's great.

Stella realized how long that she had been gone, and wondered if her herd was still alive, and if they were free. Well, at least she wasn't still at that horrible place where they had killed her mother. She shivered once again at the thought of that place. Why did some humans want to kill the horses, and some love them and treat them as if they really were living creatures?

Stella shook her head. Humans could be pretty crazy.