Dreams Come True

stretched out his muzzle to say hello.
    Twilight blew down his nostrils in reply.

    ‘They like each other!’ Mel said. She beamed at Lauren. ‘It’s going to be so cool being neighbours – I can just tell!’
    Happiness welled up inside Lauren.
    ‘I’ll get Shadow tacked up,’ Mel said. ‘Then we can play catch in the paddock.’
    Lauren and Mel had great fun. Shadow was fast and could turn very quickly, but Twilight was also pretty speedy. They chased each other round the paddock, trying to tag each other, and then they had an egg-and-spoon race, a trotting race and a race where they had to canter around poles stuck in the ground in a line. ‘This is loads better than riding on my own!’ Mel said as they finished in a dead heat.
    ‘Shall we jump next?’ Lauren asked, looking at the fences.
    Mel’s face fell. ‘There’s no point,’ she sighed. ‘Shadow doesn’t jump. I took him to a Pony Club mounted meeting last month but he wouldn’t even go near a jump. Watch.’
    She cantered Shadow away from Twilight and turned him towards one of the fences. He slowed to a trot and then to a walk. Mel kicked his sides but it made no difference. He stopped a metre away from the jump.
    ‘He does it every time,’ Mel said, riding back to Lauren. ‘And I don’t know what I’m going to do. There’s another mounted meeting this Saturday and Jade Roberts and her friend Monica were really mean about him when he wouldn’t jump last time.’
    ‘Maybe he’ll follow Twilight over a jump,’ Lauren suggested.
    But even when Twilight jumped, Shadow refused to follow. As soon as Mel turned him towards the fences, he slowed down, his ears back.
    ‘It’s no use,’ Mel sighed. ‘He’s not going to do it.’ She patted Shadow. ‘It doesn’t matter, Shadow,’ she said. ‘I love you whether you can jump or not.’
    Although Mel tried to smile, Lauren could see the sadness in her new friend’s eyes. ‘I’ll try to think of some other way to help,’ Lauren promised. ‘If I come over tomorrow after school, maybe we could try again then.’
    ‘That would be great,’ Mel said, looking more cheerful. ‘Between the two of us we must be able to think of something.’
    They untacked the ponies and turned them out into the paddock to graze. Then Mel showed Lauren around Goose Creek Farm. Just up the track from the barn with Shadow’s stall was an enormous red hay-barn. In it was Mel’s cat, Sparkle. ‘She’s just had two kittens,’ Mel said to Lauren. ‘They’re only three weeks old.’
    Lauren gasped in delight as she saw the two tiny black kittens snuggled into their mother’s side. Sparkle had made a nest in a pile of loose hay at the back of the barn and the two kittens were sleeping beside her.
    ‘What have you called them?’ Lauren asked in a low voice.
    ‘Star and Midnight,’ Mel whispered back. ‘Mum and Dad have said I can keep them both.’
    As they walked back down the path towards the paddock and the farmhouse, Mel turned to Lauren. ‘You know, you should join Pony Club too. We have mounted and unmounted meetings every month, competitions and there’s even a camp in the summer!’
    Lauren hesitated, thinking about the two girls who had been mean to Mel.
    Mel seemed to read her mind. ‘It’s only Jade and Monica who are like that,’ she said. ‘The others in my group are really nice.’
    ‘OK then,’ Lauren agreed. ‘I’ll ask.’
    ‘You two look like you’ve been having fun,’ Mr Foster said, as Lauren and Mel ran into the large kitchen. He and Mr Cassidy were sitting at the table, having coffee.
    ‘We have!’ Lauren exclaimed. ‘We went riding and then Mel showed me round, and she wants to know if I can join her Pony Club.’ She looked at Mel, who nodded eagerly.
    ‘We could go to the meetings together. It would be cool!’ Lauren added. ‘Can I join, Dad?’
    Mr Foster smiled. ‘It sounds like a great idea.’
    ‘I’ve got the secretary’s number somewhere here,’ Mr Cassidy said, getting up and rummaging through a pile of papers by the telephone. ‘Yes, here we are.’ He wrote it down on a piece of paper and handed it to Mr Foster. ‘It’s a good Pony Club. The kids learn a lot there. There’s a mounted meeting next weekend. Lauren and Twilight are very welcome to have a ride there in our trailer.’
    ‘Thanks,’ said Mr Foster, taking the paper from him. ‘I’ll ring the secretary when we get home.’
    Lauren and Mel exchanged delighted