Jeff jumped straight up in the bed. He had never heard a sound like this one before at his house. Jeff was visiting his grandma. It was Jeff's first visit to his grandma's ranch. His grandma lived out west and it two thousand miles away from where Jeff lived.
Jeff had heard a cat meow. He had heard a dog bark, but he had never heard anything that made this kind of noise.
"Grandma," Jeff shouted. "What's that noise?"
"It's nothing to worry about, Jeff," his grandma answered. "Get dressed and I'll take you to the barn. It's time to feed and you can see what's making the noise.
"It's a horse," Jeff said excited when they got inside the barn. "I've never seen a real live horse before."
The chestnut colored horse stared at Jeff. She nickered softy when Jeff's grandma poured a scoop of oats in to her feed box. Her tailed switched back and forth in attempt to chase away an annoying fly.
"You can pet her now that she's finished eating," Jeff's grandma said. "She doesn't like to be bothered while she's eating."
Jeff ran his hand across the horse's side. Its hair was soft like cotton. He rubbed the horse's nose and it was soft too. It wasn't rough like he had expected it would be. The horse snorted and Jeff got a whiff of molasses from the oats the horse had just finished eating. Jeff put his head next to the horse's shoulder. The horse smelled nice and clean. It smelled like the shampoo his mom use to wash her hair.
"The horse is beautiful, Grandma," Jeff said. "I'm glad I come to visit. What's the horse's name?"
"Her name's, Miss Sassy, Jeff's grandma said. "I can tell she likes you, Jeff."
"I like her too," Jeff said. "I can't wait until I get back home to tell Mom and Dad, and my best friend, Edward that I saw a real live horse while I was here."
Copyright © 1998 Jo Ann Lovelace. All Rights Reserved.
