Horse diaries 12, p.1
Horse Diaries #12, page 1
HORSE DIARIES
#1: Elska
#2: Bell’s Star
#3: Koda
#4: Maestoso Petra
#5: Golden Sun
#6: Yatimah
#7: Risky Chance
#8: Black Cloud
#9: Tennessee Rose
#10: Darcy
#11 Special Edition: Jingle Bells
#12: Luna
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2015 by Catherine Hapka
Cover art and interior illustrations copyright © 2015 by Ruth Sanderson
Photograph on this page © Bob Langrish
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hapka, Catherine.
Luna / Catherine Hapka ; illustrated by Ruth Sanderson. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Horse diaries ; 12)
Summary: In the Netherlands in 1855, May, a young member of a circus family who is not permitted to perform because of a twisted foot, bonds with a local Friesian farm horse that she names Luna, and together the two perform a heroic act that changes their futures for the better. Includes facts about Friesian horses.
ISBN 978-0-553-53370-5 (trade) — ISBN 978-0-553-53371-2 (lib. bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-553-53372-9 (ebook)
1. Friesian horse—Juvenile fiction. 2. Netherlands—History—19th century—Juvenile fiction. [1. Friesian horse—Fiction. 2. Horses—Fiction. 3. Circus—Fiction. 4. Netherlands—History—19th century—Fiction.] I. Sanderson, Ruth, illustrator. II. Title.
PZ10.3.H2258Lun 2015 [Fic]—dc23 2015000450
eBook ISBN 9780553533729
This book has been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient™ Leveling System.
Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.
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Contents
Cover
Horse Diaries
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Epigraph
Friesland, the Netherlands, Summer, 1855
Meeting May
May’s Plan
Fire!
Gerrit’s Gift
The Tent
Training
Circus Horse
Flashbacks
A New Life
Appendix
About the Author
About the Illustrator
In memory of Jennifer Reed and all of her horses
—C.H.
Thanks to all my character models: Elizabeth, Abby, Lew, Eric, Jennifer, Joey, and Jeff. And a special thanks to Sophia and her lovely Friesian mare, Froukje.
—R.S.
“Oh! if people knew what a comfort to
horses a light hand is…”
—from Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell
Until my fifth summer, I knew nothing of the world beyond the quiet country village where I was foaled. I lived my first year in a beautiful green pasture with my dam and several other horses. After weaning, I spent another year or more with a herd of young fillies, eating and playing and napping in the sun. Soon the humans taught me to pull a carriage, which I found easy and pleasant work.
Then one morning, a young man from my farm led me along a dusty lane past windmills and fields of grazing cows and sheep. Finally we arrived at a different farm on the far side of the village. There I met my new owner, a kind man with white hair and a wrinkled face who was known as Gerrit. He brought me into his small wooden barn, where I met his other horse, a tall gelding named Coal, along with various sheep, dogs, and poultry.
I felt unsettled at first, being away from everything I’d known. But I remained as calm as I could and soon discovered that life here was agreeable enough. Little was asked of me aside from pulling Gerrit’s carriage to town now and then.
The stall where I stayed at night was roomy and comfortable, and the grass in the pasture sweet and plentiful. Gerrit and his hired man, a husky youth from the village named Kai, were kind and patient with all the animals.
Soon after my arrival, I asked Coal why our owner’s eyes always looked so sad. Coal nodded and considered my question, slow and deliberate as he always was to think and respond. We horses prefer to live in herds, he said.
Yes, I agreed. I missed my old companions. It was much quieter here, with only one other horse and the small flock of sheep for company.
Humans are similar, Coal went on. Except they often prefer to live in pairs, like geese.
I knew little of geese, except that they were noisy and brash. Luckily Coal wasn’t finished.
When I came here, he went on, Gerrit did not live alone on this farm, and he rarely looked sad. His wife lived here with him. She used to bring me apples nearly every day.
My stomach rumbled at the mention of apples. At my old farm, the children had sometimes brought us those tasty treats from the orchard near the house.
Where is this wife now? I asked, wondering if she might bring us apples.
Coal shook his head slowly, causing his thick mane to swing. She is no longer here, he said. She died last cold season, or so said the dogs.
Gerrit’s two dogs were busy creatures, always full of news from their explorations throughout the countryside. This news often involved dead creatures, from hares to birds to snakes—though rarely humans.
Coal regarded me with his large, dark eyes. Now Gerrit lives here alone with his animals, he said. That is why he is sad.
—
Two years passed. By then, Gerrit and Coal were as familiar to me as my dam and other companions had once been. My life was quiet and easy.
Then one day things changed again. Oh, not at first—that morning, Gerrit came into the barn as he did every day, with the dogs at his heel. Though his eyes were as sad as ever, he was whistling, and his step was livelier than usual.
“Good morning, Dark Girl,” Gerrit said, giving me a pat as he passed my stall. “And hello to you, too, Coal.”
Kai hurried into the barn. “Should we keep the sheep and horses in the farmyard, Gerrit?” the hired man asked, nudging the smaller dog out of his way as he headed for the sheep pen. “They might spook at the circus folk setting up their tent in the meadow.”
Gerrit chuckled. “Perhaps the silly sheep will,” he said. “But not my two good stout horses! Isn’t that right, you two?”
I had no idea what he meant, but that wasn’t unusual. Humans were full of words, so many that it was impossible for a horse to keep track.
“Let’s take the horses first, then,” Kai said. “Come on, Coal, old fella.”
As Kai led Coal out of his stall, Gerrit came for me. I walked with him through the barn and outside. I saw nothing unusual in the small farmyard, but when Coal reached the gate, he stopped suddenly and seemed to grow taller as he raised his head to stare at something across the pasture.
What is it? I asked him.
Something new, he responded with a snort. Something different.
After a few more steps, I saw it, too. On the far side of our pasture lay a large fallow field. Normally it was vacant, aside from birds and other wild creatures.
But not today. “Relax, fella,” Kai said with a pat for Coal. “It’s just the circus.”
I stretched my neck upward to see better, not wishing to move forward until I was certain it was safe to do so. At least a dozen humans were bustling about in the middle of the field, though they weren’t my concern—humans caused me no fear. There were four or five pale-colored horses tied up and grazing, along with several dogs running around barking and doing what dogs did. None of that was cause for alarm, either.
However, I could also see a large bundle of brightly colored fabric, which rippled with every touch of wind in a most disquieting way. I watched with caution as the humans shouted and then raised part of this fabric, causing it to stand up as tall as the barn roof. The breeze caught it again, turning it into something resembling a live creature that bucked and swayed in the air. Could there be creatures lurking inside causing it to move that way, or was it truly only the wind? It was difficult to tell for sure. The dogs barked and leaped about nearby, seemingly excited by the activity. Were they worried about the fabric monster, too?
Coal was keeping one eye on the odd fabric and the dogs, but he was also sniffing the light breeze blowing toward us. Do you smell that? he said. What can it be?
I knew the scent he meant. I had smelled it, too, mingling with the scents of humans and dogs and horses. It was clearly an animal, but unlike any animal I’d ever smelled before. It smelled wild and raw and frightening in a way I couldn’t describe.
I don’t know what it is, I said, still watching the fabric carefully. Do you think it’s dangerous?
The men had been standing with us, allowing us time to take in the strange sights. Now Gerrit gave a tug on my halter. “Come along, Dark Girl,” he said. “You’ll be okay.”
His voice wa
Coal reached the same conclusion, and soon we were stepping into our pasture. As soon as the men released us, we walked closer to the far fence line for a better look at the activity beyond.
What are they doing? Coal wondered.
The humans were still moving around the fabric hump. It was starting to take the shape of a building, like a barn but much larger. We watched as the humans raised another section, shouting to each other as they worked.
A few minutes later, Gerrit and Kai herded the sheep into the pasture with help from the dogs. The sheep didn’t notice the commotion in the meadow at first. But when one of them did catch sight of the swaying fabric building, she let out a bleat of alarm and leaped about trying to hide behind her companions. This alerted the other sheep, and they all ran around in a tizzy for a while until their hunger overwhelmed their fear.
Meanwhile, Coal and I grazed near the fence, watching the activity in the meadow between bites. That strange scent still hung on the breeze, mixing with more familiar smells of dogs and human food and other things, but before long I stopped noticing it as much. I spent some time watching the horses, marveling at their pale coats, which gleamed in the sunlight. Most of the horses I’d known had coats as dark as the night sky, with thick manes and flowing feathers of hair covering their lower legs. But these horses’ manes and tails were silky and thin, and they had no feathers.
Perhaps their owners clipped off the feathers, Coal guessed when I mentioned it.
Why would they do that? I stared at a delicate-looking dappled mare with an arched neck as she nipped at a gelding who was crowding her.
Why do humans do anything they do? Coal replied. It’s better not to wonder too much, Dark Girl.
I supposed he was right. But I couldn’t help wondering all the same. Occasionally the pale horses would look our way, but they never came closer, and I guessed that they were tied or hobbled in place.
By the time Gerrit and Kai reappeared to lead us back to the barn at the end of the day, I’d nearly lost interest in the pale horses and the rest of the circus. The fabric building seemed to be complete. It had taken on a rounded shape, with flags that flapped in the wind and occasionally startled the sheep, though Coal and I paid them no mind. That strange scent was still there, but we couldn’t smell it once we were inside our barn and soon forgot to wonder about it, focusing instead on our grain and hay. Gerrit and Kai chatted about the circus as they performed their evening chores, although I hardly listened.
Soon the men left and the barn was quiet except for the cooing of hens, the occasional bleat of a sheep, and Coal’s steady chewing as he ate his hay. Sometime after that, I was dozing off when I heard the door creak open.
I lifted my head, expecting to see Gerrit coming in to check on one of the pregnant ewes, as he sometimes did. But it wasn’t my master’s familiar figure who stepped in.
“Hello,” a girl’s soft voice called into the dim barn. “Anyone in here?”
I let out a curious snort as the girl entered the barn. She heard me and turned toward my stall. Now I could see that she was perhaps half grown, with dark hair and lively brown eyes in a pale face.
“Oh, hello,” she said, reaching up to pat my nose. “Aren’t you a pretty horse!”
I lowered my head so she could reach, sniffing at her as she stroked my face and neck. Her scent was pleasant and clean, though I caught a faint whiff of that mystery smell clinging to her clothes. She moved on to pat Coal and the sheep as well, and even cooed over the sleepy hens on their roosts. But then she returned to me.
I was glad. I’d been watching her as she explored the barn, liking the smell and sound of her and her gentle energy. There was something unusual about her movement that caught my eye, though she was so quick and unpredictable that I couldn’t figure out what had attracted my attention. She smiled at me as I lowered my head to her again.
“What’s your name, pretty girl?” she murmured as she ran her slim fingers through my forelock. I felt her fingers probing my forehead. She parted my forelock and peered up at my face. “Oh, look at this—you’re not black all over like I thought! See?” she said. “You have a little white marking right here. It looks like a crescent moon.” A smile broke across her face. “I knew you were special! You’re not just like all the other big black horses around these parts. You’re unique! I think you need a special name—how about Luna? Do you like that, girl? Hmm?”
I didn’t understand all of what she said. But the word Luna lingered in my ear like the music of Gerrit’s humming, and I nodded with pleasure at the sound of it.
That made the girl laugh. “You do like it!” she exclaimed. “Well, good. Then it’s nice to meet you, Luna. My name is May. My family just arrived here with our traveling circus.”
Coal was watching from his stall. He let out a snort. What is the young human doing here? he asked me.
I don’t know, I said. But I like her.
Hmm. After watching for a moment more, the other horse returned his attention to his hay.
May rubbed my nose, still chattering cheerfully. “I love traveling around everywhere,” she said, her fingers working their way over the itchy spots on my poll and behind my ears. “It’s fun to explore different cities and villages and see new things. I especially like seeing all the different animals in the different towns and countries. Of course, the horses are always my favorite!”
She took her hands away, and for a moment I was disappointed. Then I saw that she was fiddling with the latch on my stall door. Soon she swung it open, and I was able to lower my head farther toward her. When I did so, she laughed with delight and hugged my head, which was nearly as long as her entire torso.
“Oh, Luna, I’m glad I chose this direction to explore!” she exclaimed. “You’re sweet! But here—hasn’t anyone combed out your mane lately?”
She went to work with her fingers. Like all horses of my type, I had a thick, long mane hanging nearly to my shoulders. Gerrit or Kai occasionally ran a comb through it, but they weren’t nearly as gentle as May’s careful fingers as she teased out each knot and tangle.
And still she talked, telling me how beautiful I was and promising to visit every night while the circus was in town. “My family doesn’t know I sneak away at night,” she confided, leaning closer to whisper into my ear. “But I know you won’t tell them, Luna.” She giggled. Then she fell silent, and when she finally spoke again, her voice was sad. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. It’s not as if I’m needed much during the day, so nobody even notices if I sleep a little later than everyone else.” She sighed and was quiet for another long moment. I turned my head—careful not to bump into her—and nudged at her shoulder, wishing she didn’t look so sad.
That made her laugh again. She hugged me, pressing her small head against my larger one.
“Oh, Luna,” she said. “Never mind all that. I’d better get back before I’m missed. But I’ll visit you again—I promise!”
—
Over the next several nights, May returned to see me. I looked forward to her arrival, listening for the sound of her footsteps and the sight of her small figure slipping through the barn door.
On her second visit, May brought a comb. She used it to work out the last of the tangles in my mane and tail. When that was finished, she went to work on the long black feathers on my legs, combing out the burrs and chunks of mud until the hair lay smooth and silky over my hooves.
The morning after that visit, Gerrit glanced down as he led me out of my stall. His eyebrows rose, and he pursed his lips and let out a soft hmmph.
“What is it, Gerrit?” Kai asked, glancing over from outside Coal’s stall.
“Nothing, lad.” Gerrit winked at me and smiled. “Let’s get these beasts outside.”
That night, May arrived a little later than usual. “We had our first show tonight, Luna,” she told me. “Father and Mother and the others were pleased with how many people came.” Her eyes took on a faraway look. “And my sister Minerva had a new costume—she looked so beautiful standing on the back of the horses as they cantered around the ring….”
