The horses stayed put. The laughter travelled.
A Race to the Hill
Poppy wanted to race to the hill.
Finn wanted to come too, but first he needed to know which hill.
“That one,” Poppy said, pointing ahead.
Finn looked past the fence. A large horse stood on the other side, lowering its head towards the grass.
“Behind the horse?”
“Farther.”
“I thought we were going to the sea.”
Poppy considered this. “Is there a hill by the sea?”
“There can be.”
“Then we’ll race to that one.”
They settled onto their rocking horses. Poppy’s was white, with a pale mane. Finn’s was the colour of warm sand. Both horses stood on curved runners, facing each other.
“Do they know where the hill is?” Finn asked.
“We’ll show them.”
Poppy gripped the handles and counted to three. At once, the horses began to rock.
The Bridge on the Way Back
“Clippity-clop, clippity-clop,” Poppy said.
Finn joined in, but his horse rocked more slowly.
“We’re passing three trees,” he announced.
“Are they fast trees?”
“They’re standing still.”
“Then we’ve passed them.”
A moment later, Finn pointed towards the fence.
“There’s the bridge.”
Poppy rocked harder. “We’re going over it.”
“Carefully. There’s an angsa underneath.”
“A what?”
“An angsa. It’s a goose. I gave it a new name.”
“Does it know?”
“I’ll tell it when we come back.”
Poppy’s horse reached the front of its swing and tipped gently backwards.
“I can see the hill,” she said. “I’m nearly there.”
“The sea is beside it,” Finn added. “And the angsa is watching us.”
Poppy rocked three more times.
“I’ve arrived! I win.”
Finn continued moving.
“You can’t have arrived yet. We haven’t crossed the bridge on the way home.”
Poppy stopped. Her horse rocked twice more before it settled.
“There’s another bridge?”
“The same one,” Finn said. “We have to go back over it.”
“You didn’t tell me the race included going home.”
“I thought it did.”
Poppy looked at the fence. “I thought it ended at the hill.”
A Better Set of Rules
Finn let his horse come to a stop.
“We could have the hill at the end,” he said. “But then we won’t see whether the angsa likes its name.”
Poppy thought about this.
“We could visit it after the race.”
“Will the horse be tired?”
“My horse is very fast. It might need a little rest.”
Finn patted his horse’s neck. “Mine likes looking at things. It may need a little more journey.”
Poppy smiled. “Let’s go again. I’ll make the sounds, and when I raise my hand, you can tell me what we’re passing.”
“Can there be a bridge?”
“Yes. One on the way there and the same one on the way back.”
“And the hill?”
“We’ll go up it before we come home.”
Finn looked around. “Where’s the finish?”
Poppy pointed to the fence behind him.
“Here. When we reach it again, I’ll raise both hands.”
Finn agreed. They checked that the large horse was still behind the fence.
“It can watch the finish,” Poppy said.
“Will it know who wins?”
“We’ll tell it.”
Already at the Finish
Poppy counted to three again.
“Clippity-clop, clippity-clop!”
The rocking horses moved together. Poppy raised one hand.
“We’re passing the three trees,” Finn said. “The last one has a bird in it.”
Poppy made her horse rock faster and raised her hand again.
“The bridge! The angsa is underneath.”
“Does it like its name?”
“It hasn’t heard it yet.”
Poppy slowed her horse as they climbed the hill. At the top, Finn announced that they could see the sea and a very small boat. Poppy made a sound for the wind, then a much louder sound for the journey down.
They crossed the bridge again. Finn leaned towards the imaginary water.
“Your name is Angsa!” he called.
“What did it say?” Poppy asked.
“It said it would think about it.”
At last, Poppy raised both hands. The horses rocked once more and came to rest.
“We’re home,” she said.
Finn looked at the fence behind him. The large horse had moved a little farther along it.
“Who won?” Poppy asked.
Finn studied their two horses.
“They were already here.”
“Who was?”
“Our horses. They got to the finish before we did.”
Poppy looked at her white horse, then at the fence.
“That’s not fair.”
“Perhaps they knew a shorter way.”
“We’ll have to choose a different race next time.”
Finn patted his horse. “Somewhere it hasn’t been before?”
Poppy considered the question. Then she looked at the hill beyond the fence.
“We might have to make a new one.”
Livora Gracely ♥
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